O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 10

“I was pretty frustrated, so I
emailed one of our radiation
oncologists at UAB and explained
that two doctors at a different local
hospital were unable to figure out
what it was. I asked if he could take
a look at my scans.”
— Valerie Powell
A LIFE-SAVING CAREER MOVE
Valerie Powell credits her job at UAB for discovering and treating
her cancer
By Adam Pope
After an eight-year struggle to figure out why a lump
formed under her jaw, to say Valerie Powell believes all
things work together for good is an understatement.
In 2009, Powell, program coordinator in the UAB’s
Department of Radiation Oncology, noticed a tiny
nodule near the hook of her jaw that had not been there
before. She assumed it must be a side effect of the
several Novocain shots she received at the dentist for
a cavity filling. After calling her doctor, Powell received
regular CT scans, which provided no further insight.
After six years, Powell’s mother was diagnosed with
breast cancer, which led to Powell’s wanting another CT
scan for her nodule.
“I figured after Mom’s diagnosis and the fact this
little nodule had obviously gotten angrier in size and
tenderness that I should check on things again,” she
says.
Her doctors determined that she had an extra piece in
her parotid gland and advised her not to worry.
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O ’ N E A L CO M PR EH EN S I V E C A N C ER C EN T ER AT UA B
Things began to change for Powell after she landed her
program coordinator job in UAB Radiation Oncology in
March 2017. She started researching oncology protocols
as part of her duties, and the first protocol she reviewed
was a salivary gland tumor study, which persuaded her
to try another CT scan from a different clinic, which also
proved to be inconclusive. She also received an MRI,
which showed the same results.
Powell knew something was wrong and demanded
answers.
“I was pretty frustrated, so I emailed one of our radiation
oncologists at UAB and explained that two doctors at a
different local hospital were unable to figure out what
it was,” she says. “I asked if he could take a look at my
scans.”
Soon after, Powell found herself scheduling an
appointment with Department of Otolaryngology Chair
and O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
Senior Scientist William Carroll, M.D. The nodule in
question was diagnosed as pleomorphic adenoma —
a common benign salivary gland tumor.
“We scheduled surgery to remove the tumor because
Dr. Carroll said he would remove it no matter what if I
were his family member,” she says. “From the moment I
met Dr. Carroll, he did feel like family. He’s always been
patient and understanding, and he’s always done his
absolute best to make sure I left his office confident and
comfortable with the care I was receiving, and I would
say that that’s hard to find.”
After the tumor was removed and pathology tests
returned, it was determined that the tumor wasn’t
actually benign; it was malignant.
“I was flooded with questions in my head like ‘Why did
a CT, an MRI and a needle biopsy all confirm that my
tumor was benign when it was in fact cancerous,’” Powell
says. “Why was this happening to me at 28 when I’ve
barely been married two and a half years, and why had
no one paid more attention to this knot in my neck for
the last seven years since it had shown up?”
The more she thought about it, Powell says, her faith
reassured her that things worked out the way they were
supposed to.
“I was supposed to go into surgery knowing it was
benign because my little heart couldn’t have handled
going into surgery knowing that I had let something
dangerous live inside of me for that long,” she says.
“God knew I needed the excitement of getting it out
to carry me into that operating room with peace and a
feeling of security.”
In September of 2017, Powell began seeing Sharon
Spencer, M.D., professor in the Department of
Radiation Oncology and senior scientist with the O’Neal
Comprehensive Cancer Center, for radiation treatments.
It was a familiar setting for Powell since she walked the
path every day to her office, which resides just a few
steps from patient care areas. She worked closely with
Spencer in the months leading up to her diagnosis and
treatment.
(Top) Valerie with William Carroll, M.D., senior scientist in the O’Neal
Comprehensive Cancer Center. (Bottom) Valerie with her mom Vicki
Pocopanni, husband K.T. Powell, and father Paul Pocopanni at a post-
treatment party hosted by her colleagues in the UAB Department of
Radiation Oncology.
“This was kind of a neat plot twist in the workplace
because I showed up to see Dr. Spencer as a patient
instead of needing her signature,” Powell says.
After six weeks of daily radiation, Powell’s co-workers
threw her a party to celebrate her final day of treatment.
“When I saw 50-plus people crammed in our break room
yelling congrats at me, I lost it,” Powell says. “People
from every single department — physicians, residents,
billing, check-in, dosimetry, therapy, social work,
administration and physics. They had all come for me,
and right in the middle was my precious husband, K.T.,
my parents and my brother.”
Powell credits many people — at work and at home —
who helped dry her tears, listened to her worries, and
saw how the effects of radiation affected her physically
and mentally. She says it was a hard road, but it was
exactly where she was supposed to be.
“This was the road that led me to the career I never knew
I needed,” she said, “and the career move that saved my
life.”
UAB.EDU/CANCER
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