{"id":287169,"date":"2026-03-18T15:02:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.southcoast.org\/?post_type=news&p=287169"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:08:52","slug":"roberts-cancer-journey","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.southcoast.org\/pt\/news\/roberts-cancer-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"A equipa certa no momento certo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quando Robert Macedo foi diagnosticado com mieloma m\u00faltiplo em 2022, ele e a sua mulher Kathy n\u00e3o sabiam muito sobre a doen\u00e7a. Mas o que sabiam assustava-os verdadeiramente.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O mieloma m\u00faltiplo afecta a capacidade do organismo para combater as doen\u00e7as porque ataca um tipo de gl\u00f3bulo branco que ajuda a combater as infec\u00e7\u00f5es atrav\u00e9s da produ\u00e7\u00e3o de anticorpos. Quando os plasm\u00f3citos cancer\u00edgenos se acumulam na medula \u00f3ssea, podem provocar graves problemas de sa\u00fade e, em alguns casos, os doentes podem necessitar de um transplante de c\u00e9lulas estaminais.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assim, quando Dra. Edress Othman, Chefe de Oncologia M\u00e9dica<\/a> em Cuidados de sa\u00fade contra o cancro em Southcoast<\/a>Quando Robert e Kathy foram informados pela primeira vez do seu diagn\u00f3stico, ficaram compreensivelmente alarmados. Mas o que eles n\u00e3o sabiam na altura era que Robert acabaria por vencer a luta contra o mieloma m\u00faltiplo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depois de se reformar, Robert gostava de jogar golfe perto da sua casa em Tiverton, RI. Em setembro de 2022, sentiu-se muito cansado enquanto jogava golfe e dirigiu-se ao antigo centro de cuidados urgentes da Southcoast Health em Middletown. O m\u00e9dico assistente mandou transferir Robert imediatamente para o Servi\u00e7o de Urg\u00eancia do Charlton Memorial Hospital<\/a>. A\u00ed, Robert foi internado e passou os quatro dias seguintes em observa\u00e7\u00e3o. Na primeira noite, foi-lhe administrada uma infus\u00e3o de dois litros de sangue. Nos dias que se seguiram, foi submetido a v\u00e1rios testes para determinar o seu estado. No seu \u00faltimo dia no hospital, o Dr. Othman suspeitou que Robert sofria de mieloma m\u00faltiplo com base no seu n\u00edvel de imunoglobulina A (IgA). Enquanto um n\u00edvel normal de IgA \u00e9 de cerca de 300 mg\/dL, o de Robert era de 8000 mg\/dL. Depois de efetuar uma biopsia da medula \u00f3ssea, o Dr. Othman fez o diagn\u00f3stico oficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poucos dias depois, Robert e Kathy estavam a discutir um plano de tratamento com o Dr. Othman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A palavra C \u00e9 devastadora de ouvir, mas n\u00e3o entrei em p\u00e2nico\", diz Robert. \"Desde o primeiro momento, soube que estava em boas m\u00e3os com o Dr. Othman.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kathy, os seus tr\u00eas filhos e quatro netos, que vivem todos na regi\u00e3o, ficaram todos chocados porque Robert sempre gozou de boa sa\u00fade. Mas a f\u00e9 de Robert no Dr. Othman e na sua equipa teve um efeito calmante em toda a fam\u00edlia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O tratamento come\u00e7ou com tr\u00eas tipos de quimioterapia, que Robert conseguiu tolerar bem. \"Surpreendentemente, n\u00e3o senti as n\u00e1useas de que tinha ouvido falar\", diz ele. \"A Kathy gostava de brincar que eu nem sequer perdi o cabelo - uma vez que j\u00e1 o tinha perdido h\u00e1 anos.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As perspectivas de Robert melhoraram ainda mais quando ele soube que n\u00e3o precisaria de uma transfer\u00eancia de c\u00e9lulas estaminais porque tinha respondido muito bem \u00e0 quimioterapia. Isto foi um grande al\u00edvio para Robert e para a sua fam\u00edlia, que come\u00e7aram a sentir-se optimistas em rela\u00e7\u00e3o ao seu futuro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ao longo da sua jornada contra o cancro, Robert nunca sentiu a necessidade de fazer a sua pr\u00f3pria investiga\u00e7\u00e3o sobre tratamentos e ensaios cl\u00ednicos. \"Como confio plenamente no Dr. Othman para tomar as decis\u00f5es certas para mim, tenho tido o prazer de o deixar tratar do cancro para me poder concentrar em manter-me positivo e viver a minha vida.\" Robert apreciou o facto de o Dr. Othman ter sido sempre direto e pragm\u00e1tico quando discutiu o seu diagn\u00f3stico, tratamento e progn\u00f3stico. \"O Dr. Othman demonstra um profundo conhecimento quando se trata de cancro, mas continua a ser f\u00e1cil de falar\", diz ele.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert tem muito a dizer n\u00e3o s\u00f3 sobre o Dr. Othman, mas tamb\u00e9m sobre toda a sua equipa. \"Desde o meu diagn\u00f3stico e tratamento inicial, tenho tido quase sempre a mesma equipa na Memorial de Charlton<\/a> cuidam de mim sempre que vou fazer um acompanhamento. A minha enfermeira de infus\u00e3o Aimee Martins, RN, sente-se agora como parte da minha fam\u00edlia e toda a equipa \u00e9 muito acolhedora.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert est\u00e1 em remiss\u00e3o desde o in\u00edcio de 2024 e sente-se \u00f3timo, mas continua a trabalhar ativamente para reduzir o risco de o cancro<\/a> regressando. Continua a receber tratamento, faz an\u00e1lises ao sangue mensalmente e consulta o Dr. Othman de tr\u00eas em tr\u00eas meses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Por seu lado, Kathy sabe a sorte que t\u00eam foram<\/a>. \"Pelo que aprendi, se Robert tivesse sido diagnosticado 10 anos antes, provavelmente n\u00e3o teria sobrevivido mais do que dois anos. Mas agora, a cada dia que passa, sinto-me mais confiante de que o Robert ainda vai viver muitos mais anos.\" Tal como Robert, ela tamb\u00e9m sabe que passar o tempo a preocupar-se n\u00e3o ajuda ningu\u00e9m. \"N\u00e3o podemos deixar-nos consumir pelos 'e se'\", afirma. \"Este \u00e9 um momento maravilhoso das nossas vidas e tencionamos aproveit\u00e1-lo, tal como t\u00ednhamos planeado.\" O casal tem vindo a cumprir esta promessa e tem planos de viagem emocionantes para breve, incluindo um cruzeiro no Alasca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert acredita que \u00e9 essencial para algu\u00e9m a quem foi diagnosticado um cancro encontrar um m\u00e9dico em quem confie, e depois concentrar-se em manter-se positivo e tirar o m\u00e1ximo partido de cada dia. \"Para mim, ter total confian\u00e7a na minha equipa fez toda a diferen\u00e7a.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitar cancer.southcoast.org<\/a> para saber mais sobre os nossos servi\u00e7os de cuidados oncol\u00f3gicos.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":287170,"template":"","categories":[1231],"class_list":["post-287169","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patient-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Right Team at the Right Time - Southcoast Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When Robert Macedo was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2022, he and his wife Kathy didn\u2019t know much about the disease. But what they did know truly frightened them. So, when Dr. Edress Othman, Chief of Medical Oncology at Southcoast Health Cancer Care, first walked Robert and Kathy through his diagnosis, they were understandably alarmed. 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