Relaxing in a comfortable chair and surrounded by a group of his new friends, Joseph A. Libby, Sr., felt like a king. Though their smiles were covered with surgical masks, the joy on their faces shone brightly in their eyes and facial expressions. It was as if everyone was sharing a special moment at a family reunion.
While it was not exactly a party, it was, in fact, a special occasion. Joe had just completed his second to last radiation treatment at Shore Cancer Center.
"Believe it or not, this is the fourth time I've had to deal with cancer," said the 81-year-old Ocean City resident. "Each time, they have caught it early, so I am lucky."
This particular bout began when Joe learned he had bladder cancer in January 2022.
"My doctor at the time recommended I try Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) treatment. Unfortunately, after the treatment was completed, the cancer was still there."
Joe's son, a doctor, recommended he see an oncologist. His nephew Michael, a University of Pennsylvania Medical School graduate, also encouraged him.
Now living full-time in Ocean City, Joe and his wife Marie looked for options closer to home and quickly learned that Shore Cancer Center was a member of the Penn Cancer Network.
"We have top-notch doctors right here, and they are affiliated with a world-class organization like Penn," said Joe. "The decision to go to Shore Cancer Center was a no-brainer."
"I was delighted to meet Wilson and Dr. Vijay," said Joe, affectionately referring to Penn Radiation Oncologist Dr. John Wilson, head of Radiation Oncology, and Dr. Vijay Sandilya, the medical director of Medical Oncology at Shore Cancer Center. "The two of them worked together to develop a tailor-made plan for me. It consisted of chemotherapy and 20 treatments of radiation."
Joe is happy to report that he has not experienced any pain during treatment. With one treatment to go, Joe expressed a sentiment that might surprise you.
"I have to say that I am going to miss coming here. The nurses, doctors, check-in staff, and everyone here made it enjoyable."
"I feel great, and I cannot wait to get back to spending time with my family," he added. "I have four beautiful children (Michelle, Joe, Monique and Yvette), 16 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. All the grandkids want to golf with me, and I can't wait to get out there again."
"Now that my treatment is nearing its end, I look back and think about how lucky we are to have this incredible Cancer Center so close to us. Everything is right here. They even have their own pharmacy and make the chemo right here. I cannot say enough great things about the staff and the Center itself. If anyone has questions about Shore Cancer Center from a patient's viewpoint, I invite them to email me at jlibbyins@comcast.net, and I'll be happy to chat with them."
The Shore Cancer Center Pharmacy upgrade referenced by Mr. Libby in this story was made possible through generous donations from the community and support of the A Cause to Celebrate Gala and Golf Tournaments. Community support has also resulted in recent advances in radiation treatment at Shore Cancer Center, including the new $3.5 million Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator. This machine delivers fast, powerful accurate image-guided radiotherapy.
If you would like to learn more about how you can support the care at Shore Cancer Center, contact Brian Cahill, Shore's Director of Marketing, at 609.653.3527 or bcahill@shoremedicalcenter.org.
