Alicia Junghans, 79, of Ellington is a warrior. She is a survivor of multiple myeloma who has continued to defy the odds for the last 16 years for both her cancer and its treatment side-effects.
Since 2008 she has been battling the second most common blood cancer in the U.S. and its painful and debilitating buildup of cancerous plasma cells inside her body’s bone marrow. Her care has ranged from chemotherapy infusions to the need for radiation.
“I’m still here!” Junghans exclaims.
She is a former longtime ICU nurse who turns to UConn Health and its Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dr. Swarup Kumar for her multiple myeloma care management and frequent infusions.
Junghans’ career spanned over 50 years of active nursing. In addition to the ICU, she worked as a nurse in the fields of radiology, internal medicine, insurance, and endoscopy. “My favorite was ICU,” she says.
“I’m a nurse, and I choose UConn for my care. I’m very happy to be cared for at UConn Health. The infusion center is fabulous, and so are the nurses.”
But that’s not all Junghans is grateful for at UConn Health.
While at the infusion center one day receiving care for her multiple myeloma, she and the staff she loves noticed a swelling on the side of her neck.
“It felt like a swollen lymph node, but it was pulsating like a heartbeat,” she says.
After an ultrasound of her neck, she got the call from UConn Health to head straight to the emergency department on March 27, where she was put on a blood-thinner medication intravenously.
A large aneurysm had formed in her left carotid artery and needed immediate surgical intervention. The on-call vascular surgeon who came to Junghans’ rescue at the Emergency Department at UConn Health was Dr. Tina Kariya, who admitted her until surgery.
But that’s not all.
“My aneurysm blew during surgery,” Junghans recounts. “It’s amazing that I am still here. It’s a miracle.”
While UConn Health vascular surgeon Kariya was performing a minimally invasive aneurysm resection at UConn John Dempsey Hospital to remove it and reduce Junghans’ risk of a future bleed or potential stroke, her carotid artery suddenly burst.
“Luckily, our surgical team were already using the TCAR system to reverse her blood flow and it prevented her from immediately bleeding out in the OR,” says the vascular surgeon, who quickly created a large incision solution instead to perform an extensive open surgery to repair the burst carotid artery and save Junghans life. The open procedure took 7 hours to complete, and Junghans received blood transfusions during and after surgery.
“Unfortunately, past radiation treatment side-effects for her multiple myeloma caused an aneurysm to develop in the wall of the major artery in her neck that goes to the brain. An intervention was needed because a major risk of aneurysm if left untreated is that it can cause the ballooning artery wall to burst, causing major and life-threatening bleeding, or even a clot can form in the artery, causing a large debilitating stroke in the brain,” says Kariya, assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at UConn Health.
“Alicia is alive and very happy, and it’s very rewarding to see her great success and it’s a privilege to care for her,” Kariya says.
“I’m still amazed that I’m still here. Dr. Kariya is young and phenomenal. Her skill is unbelievable. She did everything right to ensure I came out of surgery alive. She saved me!” says Junghans. “My surgery scar from my ear to my clavicle isn’t even visible.”
As a special thank you, Alicia made a teddy bear named Benji for her vascular surgeon, who performed the lifesaving procedure just a few months after having a baby. The memorable toy is now a favorite of her now 10-month-old son.
Beating the odds of survival once again, Junghans after all these years is now looking forward to this Christmas and being home for the holiday in Connecticut with her daughter visiting from Germany.
“I never thought cancer or an aneurysm would ever happen to me as a nurse,” Junghans says. “But I keep doing what needs to be done for my health. I’m so happy to be at UConn Health for my care and to be where I am. Everyone at UConn Health is great!”
Her message to others battling cancer or experiencing another type of health setback: “Just keep fighting! Also, it is very important that every patient be their own advocate. Know your disease. Be informed. Ask questions.”
And Chief of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at UConn Health, Dr. Kwame Amankwah, also applauds his team’s lifesaving work.
“Dr. Kariya is an amazingly talented vascular surgeon. She is compassionate and provides outstanding care to her patients. We are very fortunate to have her as member of our vascular surgery division as well as a member of the UConn Health care community,” Amankwah shared.
