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Patient Stories - Marlene Turchin
Cancer patient grateful for Guest House
Marlene Turchin stayed at the original hospitality house while receiving cancer treatment in 2007.
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In 2007, Marlene Turchin, 46, of Henning, was diagnosed with leukemia the day she graduated as an LPN, from Wadena Technical College. She had started bruising easily and showed her teacher, an RN, the bruises.
“The nurse took one look and told me to go right to the doctor,” said Turchin. “Since I’m a nurse, when I learned my platelets were 33,000, I knew what that meant, and it wasn’t good.”
“My doctor told me I needed to be transported by ambulance right away to a hospital that could treat me,” Turchin said. “I had the choice of going to Fargo Merit Care or St. Cloud Hospital. I chose St. Cloud Hospital because of the previous care I had there when I had my gastric bypass surgery. They were good to me there.”
Oncologist Umesh Chitaley, MD, of CentraCare Clinic, prescribed intravenous chemotherapy treatment that would be given Monday through Friday for five weeks at the Coborn Cancer Center followed by a two-week break and then repeated for an additional five-week period. |
The chemotherapy treatment could not safely be administered close to her home, as close monitoring and medical supervision for serious adverse effects was needed. Since Marlene lived more than 120 miles from St. Cloud, it was not feasible to have her drive every day to receive chemotherapy.
Marlene received her chemotherapy treatments at the Coborn Cancer Center, staying at the River Oaks Hospitality House, the original hospitality house, during the week and going home to spend time with her family on weekends. She was able to receive the treatment needed to control and hopefully cure her cancer but also maintain a relatively normal life by staying at the Hospitality House versus being hospitalized.
Since her diagnosis, Marlene has not been able to work and the income from her husband’s job is needed to support the family.
“I don’t know what I would have done without the Hospitality House,” Turchin said. “It would have been a financial disaster without it. Staying in a St. Cloud motel would have been too expensive and it wasn’t possible for my husband to take off all that time from work to drive me back and forth. Being able to stay at the house was so much less disruptive to my family,” she said. Turchin has four children ages, 27, 21, 20 and 10. She also has a seven- year-old granddaughter.
“The Hospitality House had such a home-like setting,” Turchin said. “It was so comfortable, quiet and restful there. Many days I didn’t feel good after my chemo treatments, so when I got back to the house I’d turn on the fireplace, sit in a chair with a blanket and watch TV just as if I were at home,” she said. “I felt completely safe and secure there.” |
In June of 2009, Turchin was a guest speaker at the new St. Cloud Hospital Gorecki Guest House blessing and dedication.
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“You really get to be close to the other people that stay at the house,” Turchin said. “They are going through difficulty also so it’s nice to be able to talk to them about your situation and be there for them when they need someone to talk to. Sometimes we’d just sit in the living room and do puzzles together.”
Fast forward to June of 2009, Turchin was a guest speaker at the new St. Cloud Hospital Gorecki Guest House blessing and dedication. Her cancer is in remission and she plans to start her career in nursing.
“The new Guest House is wonderful,” she said. “It’s much more spacious than the old hospitality house and offers more privacy for people who stay here. Having your own bathroom makes such a difference to patients and their families. The new living rooms and kitchen also give people a place to visit with their loved ones.”
CentraCare Health Foundation
1406 Sixth Avenue North
St Cloud, MN 56303
Phone: 320-240-2810
Toll-free: 800-835-6652, ext. 52810
Fax: 320-255-6691
E-mail: foundation@centracare.com
Executive Director
Mark Larkin
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