When Karen Coatney, a 67-year-old great-grandmother from the rural town of Mystic, Iowa (population: 600), was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer, fear took hold. Through her care team at The Iowa Clinic, Karen found more than expert oncology treatment, she found a team that treated her like family. Still grieving the loss of her husband to brain cancer just three years ago, she draws strength from her loved ones and the compassionate, coordinated care she receives, even if it means driving two hours to get it.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what life was like before your diagnosis.
I lost my husband three years ago this month from brain cancer… [he] fought cancer for almost 10 years. I was his primary caregiver, so the last three years really changed our lives…the surgery [and] the treatments caused his disposition to be altered. He had gotten to where he was getting violent… but that was my husband. I vowed to take care of him ‘til death do us part. And I did.
My hobbies: I enjoy crafting and sewing. Before I found out I had cancer, my activities were limited because I had COPD. So, I wasn't doing as much as what I used to do. Part of that was COPD and part of that was age.
How did you first discover something was wrong?
I was having problems; not really chest pain or anything like that. Things weren't right. [My PCP] had me wear one of these heart monitors for a week [and they saw] an irregularity…wanted me to see a heart doctor, and that's when they found this spot on my lungs.
They were taking pictures of my heart and they got the outskirts of my lung and they [saw] the spot. They referred me back to my lung doctor to check this out. It was just kind of a fluke that they found it.
I was devastated. I lost my father to lung cancer years ago when I was 21-years-old. Immediately what came to my mind was the torture my dad went through with treatment, and I was just scared to death. Here I am living alone, and I was just horrified. I had a little dog up until right before Christmas…I had to put him to sleep, and he was my constant companion. I didn't even have my little dog to talk to, so I just got lost.
What was the diagnosis and treatment process like?
It was right after the first of the year…end of January, first of February…I had to fight with my insurance to get the test that I needed for them to proceed with any treatments. My insurance just blocked everything. It took almost two months to get an OK to get a PET scan to see if this cancer had gone anywhere else in my body, and radiation couldn't do their job until they had this PET scan. I just at one point thought, just let me die.
I have [a daughter-in-law] that advocates for me just nonstop. This girl, when I go to the doctor, I usually put her on speakerphone, and she asks questions because she thinks of things I don't think of. It's so good having somebody that hears things that I might miss. She's tremendous.
What drew you to The Iowa Clinic for your care?
The Iowa Clinic is where my pulmonologist (Dr. Mallen) is and they're the ones that initially found something on my scans. He ran some tests and ordered a biopsy, which was done at Iowa Methodist Hospital…[Dr. Mallen] referred me to Dr. Dean Elhag.
We don't have the care down here in this small town that I get up there. We just don't have it.
How has your experience been with Dr. Elhag and The Iowa Clinic team?
They put me at ease. They really put me at ease. The girls in the treatment department, they are so kind and caring. You go in there and you aren't a number. I am Karen. I am a mother. I'm a grandmother. I'm a great-grandmother. I'm a sister. I am a person. I'm not a number. They treat me like I'm family. And it's the same thing in Dr. Elhag's office. They treat you like they really know you, and what they don't know, they want to get to know.
Dr. Elhag's nurse, Mary, she is just tremendous. If I call with a question, she may not get back to me that day, but the next day she does, and she will find out the answer. If she doesn't know, she will find it out.
Can you share a special moment that stood out during your treatment?
When I took my last chemo, the last day of it was my birthday. There was another young gal that was in there getting chemo at the same time as I was, and her birthday was the next day. They had [the clinic] decorated for our birthdays, and it made me feel so good that these people went out of their way to show that somebody cared. They had banners and they had balloons and it was so nice.
We took our picture together before I left that day because I got done before she did…we’ve spoken to each other since. I called her last week when she was having her chemo because mine got postponed and I knew she was having hers, so I called to check on her. She called me back to see how I was doing because I was in the hospital.
What keeps you motivated to fight?
I have too much to live for not to fight this, and I'll fight it ‘til the day I die if I have to because I have grandbabies and great-grandbabies that I want to see raised.
How has your treatment been progressing?
They did a scan right before they started my radiation and compared it to a scan from right after I had my first chemo, and they could see a shrinkage in the cancer. So that really encouraged me.
I'm so glad I listened to my doctors. They told me it's going to get worse before it gets better, and it has, but not so much that I can't motivate and lead a halfway normal life. I just got to watch who I'm around and what I'm doing and get plenty of rest.
What advice would you give to someone experiencing symptoms but hesitant to seek care?
To not let it go. To get it checked out because it only gets worse. Catch it early where treatment is going to help it. Don't wait thinking it's nothing. Just make sure you get it checked. Talk to your doctor. Demand your right to get a second opinion and follow through. Don't just think it will go away because it won't go away.
Do not go on the computer and check this out. Do not. Listen to what your doctors are telling you, not what you're reading. [The internet] had me at death's door before I ever had a treatment.
What do you want people to take away from your story?
Never give up. The cancer treatments have come such a long way from what they used to be…yes, there are days that I feel like I could lay down and go to sleep and that's all I want to do…but you still have encouragement. You know [the doctors] are fighting for you and doing the best that they can for you. Everything they learn on me will help with somebody else, and if they can use what they learned on me to help somebody else and they survive this, then it wasn't for nothing.
Karen continues her treatment journey at The Iowa Clinic with unwavering hope and determination, supported by her two sons, stepson, two daughters-in-law, and a joyful “parcel” of grandchildren. Her story reflects the compassionate, personalized, coordinated care The Iowa Clinic strives to provide every patient: care that treats not just the disease, but the whole person.
Whether you live in a town of 600 and travel hours for care, or a major metropolitan, you deserve compassion, clarity, and excellence, and at The Iowa Clinic, that’s exactly what you’ll find. From your first phone call to the final follow-up, coordinated care isn’t just a promise, it’s something you feel in every interaction.