Even an aggressive form of cancer that struck Regina Henneman in 2009 has failed to dampen her spirits.
If anything, Henneman, who now is 83 and lives in Mokena, has a new appreciation for life now that her angiosarcoma, a rare disease that affects one person per million, is in remission.
What does she enjoy about life after facing years with a debilitating illness?
“Everything,” Henneman said. “I love life and being active.”
She found out she was sick in 2009, when she noticed a bruise near her temple and doctors did a biopsy and found angiosarcoma. This cancer affects the blood and lymph vessel linings and is considered fast-growing. It can come back even after surgery and is difficult to diagnose.
Henneman was seen and treated at several hospitals in Texas, the south suburbs and Chicago, most recently at Northwestern Medicine St. George Cancer Institute in Orland Park.
Though Henneman had been a nurse for years, this cancer was new to her, as it is to many doctors. When she first was diagnosed, she was an evening nursing supervisor at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Evergreen Park and she mentioned the disease to colleagues and friends.
“Nobody had ever heard of it,” she said, “so we learned about it together.”
She had six surgeries, the last in 2015, she said, as well as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. But one element of the chemotherapy was so toxic to her body, she only made it through half of the recommended courses.
Even so, she thought she was cancer-free until 2025, when she began coughing up blood. By then she had moved from Evergreen Park to Mokena, and already sought care from Northwestern Medicine St. George Cancer Institute.
“It was very scary because at first they couldn’t figure out what it was,” said Henneman.
Regina Henneman, of Mokena, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer that now is in remission with the help of doctors at Northwestern Medicine St. George Cancer Institute in Orland Park, including Yazan Numan, the medical oncologist/hematologist at Northwestern who has been treating her. (Janice Neumann/Daily Southtown)
Doctors at Northwestern took a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating the cancer. The team included medical, radiation and surgical oncologists, as well as pathologists and radiologists.
“You really have to have a full team who can diagnose it correctly,” said Dr. Yazan Numan, the medical oncologist/hematologist who has been treating Henneman. He said the team was also in touch with a hospital in Houston, Texas, about her cancer because they had her old tissue specimens.
“The trick here is making the right diagnosis,” he said. “You have to understand the extent of the disease.
“This tumor likes to make blood vessels and spread from one place to another,” said Numan, explaining it can be present throughout the body, though hers was contained to the right lung. “It starts spreading through these channels.”
A main task was to get control of the bleeding, he explained, adding the cancer location was not accessible by surgery. So the tumor board discussed the best approach.
They decided on a short course of radiation therapy plus an immunotherapy medication. Immunotherapy has been used off-label for many forms of cancer since 2013/2014, but not until 2022 was it FDA-approved for rare cancers.
“It boosts the immune system in a smart way to make the immune system kill cancer,” said Numan. “Chemotherapy damages cancer cells but causes so much toxicity.
“This combination was able to not only keep the disease from growing but also spreading,” he said.
Numan said the main complication from radiation for Henneman was lung inflammation, which caused shortness of breath, fatigue and a constant cough.
“It was a tough course but as the cancer started to respond, we started to see her recover,” he said.
Her latest surveillance scan showed she was responding well. Should her recovery continue, she should be able to stop the immunotherapy in September. Numan said had they not used the medication, her cancer would likely have spread.
“This is such an amazing case that gives hope to other patients,” he said.
Today Henneman is enjoying the good life again, spending time with family, high school and nursing school friends, going out for a bite to eat and crocheting and embroidering. Her daughter Margaret, whom she lives with, has been a big source of support, as has her son, Paul, who lives in Chicago’s Mt. Greenwood neighborhood. She and her daughter are planning a move to Arizona.
Henneman hopes her story helps other patients going through angiosarcoma by letting them know there is hope. But she said a key part of her recovery has also been the Northwestern team and Numan’s unwavering care, which she said she’ll miss in Arizona.
“He always shows me what’s on the films … he explains everything,” she said. “He knows me and that I’m going to ask him until he tells me. He is very compassionate and thorough,” she said.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.