Early on the morning of Sunday, June 22nd, while most people were still fast asleep, James Steen of Danvers could be found on the corner of Congress and Derby Streets in Salem. He was directing traffic, along with dozens of other volunteers, at the 18th Annual North Shore Medical Center (NSMC) Cancer WALK—the largest single-day fundraising event on the North Shore. But unlike many of his fellow volunteers, Steen had not heard of the NSMC Cancer WALK until relatively recently.
The roots of Steen’s connection to the NSMC Cancer WALK began in early 2007, when a broken ankle that was taking too long to heal prompted him to go shopping for a new primary care physician. Steen was also unhappy with the powerful medications he had been taking for a host of ailments, including heartburn. A phone call to NSMC Salem Hospital’s doctor referral service put him in touch with Dr. Jeff Odiet of Lynnfield Medical Associates, and while Steen was thrilled with his new doctor, the results of their first few meetings was quite unexpected—a diagnosis of esophageal cancer.
Shortly after receiving his diagnosis, Steen began an intensive course of radiation and chemotherapy at the NSMC Cancer Center in Peabody, where he was treated by radiation oncologist Walter S. Sall, M.D. and medical oncologist Lauren E. Dias, M.D. He has high praise for both doctors, but is quick to point out that “everyone at the Cancer Center is unbelievable.” Less than two months after finishing chemotherapy and radiation, Steen underwent lengthy thoracic surgery, performed by James S. Allen, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon from Mass General, an institution with which the NSMC Cancer Center has a close, decades-long partnership.
Beforehand, Steen was told he would receive all his nutrients through a feeding tube for up to six months after surgery. But much to his surprise and that of his doctors, Steen never needed the feeding tube due to his unusually speedy recovery. Still, Steen is the first to tell you that there was nothing easy about recovering from thoracic surgery. In the beginning, “every time you eat, you want to throw up,” he said. “For 69 years I ate three meals a day,” he added. “Now, I have to eat little meals. You’re used to eating what’s on the plate. Now I have to take just so much and walk away.”
Recently, Steen’s doctors ordered biopsies to see if the cancer had returned and all the tests came out negative. For James Steen, the timing couldn’t be better. In less than three months, he and the woman he calls “the girl I married” will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
