By Vicki Prichard
NKyTribune reporter
Joe Geraci knows all too well what it feels like when life comes crashing down.
“I tell people, you remember where you were when you saw or heard about the Twin Towers, and if you have a call from a doctor saying you’ve got cancer, you will definitely remember where you were and what you were doing,” says Geraci.
It was February 2004, when Geraci received such a phone call.
While training for a Cincinnati Reds fantasy camp, Geraci developed pneumonia. During his treatment, doctors discovered a spot on his lungs. A series of scans revealed lung cancer.
Geraci was not a smoker, but throughout his 32-year business career in Cincinnati — he was director of public relations for Cincinnati Bell — and then as a lobbyist in Frankfort, he was often exposed to the smoke-filled rooms of many who were.
Joe Geraci
After his diagnosis, surgeons removed 20 percent of Geraci’s lung; after that, he received months of chemotherapy. By the end of the year, he was cancer free.
That was 13 years ago, and today, after beating cancer, Geraci, now 70-years-old, lends his story and his voice to help other cancer patients. Advocating for palliative care is at the top of his list.
Palliative care came in to use by many hospitals in the 1980s and 90s, addressing patients’ needs beyond their diagnosed illness — treating patients for a range of symptoms that go hand in hand with a diagnosis and its treatment. The care focuses on providing relief from stress and symptoms that come with the diagnosis of a serious disease and is appropriate at any age and for any stage of disease.
For patients and families confronted with a serious illness, palliative care helps deal with the impact of the illness throughout treatment, improving quality of life for both patient and caregiver. It can decrease health-care costs without reducing patient services.
“It would be not so much for me, but for all the other people going through cancer,” says Geraci. “It would also help caregivers, as the patient transitions from the hospital, to give better care and know how to adjust.”
Geraci is a vocal advocate of Kentucky Senate Bill 108, which passed with a 37 – 0 vote in the Kentucky Senate on Tuesday, supports palliative care which provides a comprehensive approach to treatment for those affected by serious illnesses such as cancer. The bipartisan bill, which passed with a 37 – 0 vote in the Senate on Tuesday, and has now moved to the Kentucky House of Representatives, would establish the Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory Council within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Palliative Care Consumer and Professional Information and Education Program within the cabinet. The bill would permit health facilities to establish systems for identifying patients or residents who could benefit from palliative care and provide information. Other states, such as Indiana, have passed similar legislation.
“Palliative care can hopefully help with the mindset of how to adjust at home, and proper equipment,” says Geraci. “With palliative care people live longer than without it.”
For Geraci, cancer has been an unwelcome presence throughout the life of loved ones. His mother died from breast cancer when he was in seventh grade, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, and his sister died from breast cancer in 2003.
“I’m concerned about my children and grandchildren. I have two daughters and a son — all grown — and ten grandchildren, and I’m concerned about them,” he says.
Geraci, who lives in Edgewood, retired from a 32-year career with Cincinnati Bell — as public relations director — in 2002. He became committed to advancing cancer awareness after his battle with cancer. When he was diagnosed with cancer, Geraci was encouraged to call the American Cancer Society’s hotline. It was a move that prompted an ongoing commitment to the organization as a volunteer. He has participated in Relay for Life events in Northern Kentucky and Washington, D.C.Today, he encourages cancer patients to check their American Cancer Association website.
“I always tell people whenever they think they have cancer, or someone you know, check the American Cancer website,” he says. I called them and got so much information, and I was impressed that I became a volunteer.”
Each year, Geraci continues to have x-rays and he says the time between having the x-rays done and receiving the call with the results is “nerve-wracking.”
“I’ve got a lot of sympathy for anybody going through that,” says Geraci.
And he has a lot of appreciation for the health-care staff who work to embrace the tenets of palliative care.
“The hospitals are learning, and I have empathy with them and for all they do,” he says. “Every year, I go back with cookies and donuts.”
Geraci also committed to efforts to make Northern Kentucky tobacco-free working as a volunteer with citizens.
According to the Kentucky Cancer Registry, a population-based central cancer registry, based on data released in February 2017, there were 4,073 cases of invasive cancer incidents reported in Kenton County; 2,868 cases in Boone County; and 2,582 cases in Campbell County between 2010 and 2014.
“When I was growing up, I worked in a traditional Italian grocery store,” says Geraci. “My grandma was a product of the late 1800s and worked until her 80s. Whenever we heard of family or a customer going to the hospital, she said, ‘People go there to die.’ Now we know they cure people. The next step is to have patients and caregivers ready for adjustments when they get home.”
