SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. — After years of pain and a kidney cancer diagnosis, Cayol Johnson faced a difficult decision about her health.
“I had to do something,” Johnson said. “I mean, it was a matter of trying to go on with my kidneys, or my kidneys fail.”
Johnson became the first patient in Cochise County to undergo a cancer treatment called cryoablation at Canyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista.
The minimally invasive procedure uses extreme cold to freeze and destroy cancerous tissue. Canyon Vista invested in equipment to offer the treatment locally.
Dr. Orlando Micheli, an interventional radiologist, said cryoablation can provide an alternative for some patients with kidney, liver or lung cancer, particularly those who may not be healthy enough to undergo traditional surgery.
“We are in the era of somebody coming in. They have cancer. They have a procedure, and literally they leave the hospital and they don't have cancer anymore, which is amazing,” Micheli said.
With traditional kidney surgery, Micheli said doctors may have to remove not only the tumor but also some healthy kidney tissue.
“A surgical approach would be to go in and sort of cut that part of the kidney out, which means cutting out the tumor and also normal functioning kidney cells, which is sort of unfavorable, particularly in this patient population,” he said.
Keeping cancer treatment closer to home
According to the hospital, Canyon Vista is the only medical facility in Cochise County offering the procedure.
For patients such as Johnson, having the treatment available in Sierra Vista can mean avoiding a trip to Tucson or another larger city for care.
“They're always telling us, ‘Oh, you got to have this done, but you got to go to Tucson,’” Johnson said. “If they can't do it here, I don't do it.”
Micheli said keeping patients close to their families and support systems can be especially important when they are dealing with serious health problems.
“It's good to keep patients by their support system, so near their families, near where they live, preventing travel because travel in the setting of the sick patient is just highly unfavorable,” Micheli said.
He said the procedure performed at Canyon Vista is the same treatment patients could receive at larger medical centers elsewhere.
“This procedure that we do here is the same whether it's done at, you know, Banner or anywhere on the East Coast,” Micheli said.
“The pain is gone
Three months after her procedure, Johnson said she is pain-free and feeling better than she has in years.
“The pain is gone. It was just like it disappeared,” Johnson said.
Beyond the medical treatment itself, Johnson said the care she received at Canyon Vista made a difference.
“A lot of times, you know, people look at you, and you're just a number, but not here,” she said. “You're a person that they care about.”
For Johnson, being able to receive the procedure close to home brought both relief and reassurance.
“It's like a cloud come over you and took care of you,” she said. “That's the way I felt.”
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
