“I like to say that Penn brought my body back, but dancing brought my soul back.”
In 2018, Gail Cohen was enjoying a day at the beach when she noticed a lump on the back of her left knee and began feeling numbness in her foot. This would startle anyone, but especially a competitive ballroom dancer.
Having faced both a benign brain tumor and lung cancer in the past, Gail understood the importance of addressing potential health issues as soon as possible. So she headed to Penn Medicine, where she had received prior care, to get checked out.
Diagnosis and Decision
Gail was diagnosed with a benign schwannoma, a tumor growing in the peripheral nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system that is located outside of the brain and spinal cord. She was referred to neurosurgeon Dr. Zarina Ali of the Penn Nerve Center to perform the tumor removal. Ali notes that surgical skill isn't the only thing that matters when treating patients like Gail.
"Most important is understanding how the problem affects their everyday life," Ali said. "Doing this puts the risks vs. benefits into context for me so I can give them a framework of what I can do for them. The fact that Gail was a ballroom dancer was very important. She was concerned over losing function of her foot. I knew she had a tumor and I knew I could cure it and leave her still dancing."
Although Dr. Ali was confident she could successfully resect the tumor, there was some risk that Gail could lose feeling in her foot, putting her dancing career in jeopardy. But foregoing surgery could also lead to further nerve damage, so Gail decided to go ahead with the procedure.
Back on the Dance Floor
Four weeks after surgery, Gail was dancing again. Another four weeks later, she was participating in competitions. She currently spends 10-12 hours a week on the dance floor, moving as well as she did before surgery.
Gail credits her full recovery to Dr. Ali and her staff and their dedication to caring for the whole patient. Dr. Ali called her the day after surgery to ask how she was doing both physically and emotionally, and a nurse practitioner was always available if Gail had any questions or concerns.
"Dr. Ali's approach is great," Gail says. "I like to say that Penn brought my body back, but dancing brought my soul back."
The Penn Nerve Center
Gail's success story is due in large part to her swift diagnosis and immediate treatment. This is often difficult to achieve for patients with nerve conditions, whose complex cases may require care from specialists in several different disciplines. The Penn Nerve Center bridges the gap between providers, allowing neurosurgeons, orthopaedic surgeons, plastic surgeons, neurologists, radiologists, physical and occupational therapists, and other specialists to effectively discuss patient plans and treatments, taking the stress of coordination off of the patient and expediting their care.
"When talking about nerves and muscles, time is of utmost importance," says Dr. L. Scott Levin, chair of Penn's orthopaedic surgery department and co-director of the Penn Nerve Center. "If we don't diagnose and treat nerve disorders quickly, patients' use of the affected muscle can become limited. By centralizing diagnosis and treatment in one center, we can efficiently evaluate, test and treat patients, and can collaborate across specialties to offer the best plans for care."
Learn More about Peripheral Nerve Treatment at Penn
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