Two Lake County breast cancer patients honored at Chicago Bears Crucial Catch Game

CHICAGO – Ten Advocate Health Care breast cancer patients, their family members and care teams from across Illinois were honored and celebrated Oct. 6 at the Chicago Bears Crucial Catch game at Soldier Field.

Patients took to the field before the game to watch warmups and Dr. Sandeep Chunduri, a hematologist oncologist at Advocate Health Care, unfurled the Bear Down flag. During halftime, a special bell-ringing ceremony was held for two survivors who recently completed their treatments.

Among those honored at the game were two patients from Lake County – Jeanne Hergert of Hawthorn Woods, who is receiving treatment at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, and Gio Krozel of Gurnee, who received treatment at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.

Hergert's journey started in March of this year when she found a lump in her breast. She had her scheduled mammogram in September 2023, so she didn't think it was anything serious but decided to schedule an appointment with her OBGYN in May to get it checked out. After her biopsy, she received a stage 2A cancer diagnosis.

Unfortunately, Hergert is no stranger to cancer. In her early 20s, Hergert was diagnosed with Hodgkins's lymphoma and needed 12 treatments of chemotherapy over nine months to reach cancer-free status.

At 48 years old, this time around with cancer was different for Hergert. She has a husband and two children, ages 3 and 5. For Hergert, DigniCap was a wonderful way to keep things as normal as possible for her kids.

"DigniCap was an unforeseen blessing," she said. "I only lost one-third of my hair and I think my daughter would have been very upset if I lost my hair."

Hergert recently finished chemotherapy and she's scheduled for a lumpectomy later this month. After surgery, she'll receive radiation therapy.

"I had an amazing experience at Advocate Good Shepherd for the birth of my two children and have been very happy with the care at the hospital. Everyone has been so fantastic and supportive throughout my journey with cancer," Hergert said. "I've never met another doctor like Dr. Rosen in terms of his level of care for his patients. The infusion center was fantastic. ... I was in my own room. It was like the Four Seasons of chemo care. The nurses were great, the attention to detail and care with every step of the process with DigniCap was fantastic, I even felt pampered a bit."

Krozel's battle with breast cancer began in August 2023 when she received a stage 1 diagnosis after a biopsy following a routine mammogram. Krozel, 48, lives a fast-paced life. She is a wife of 24 years, the chief of staff and strategic initiative lead at Takeda Pharmaceuticals and highly involved in several community organizations. Her cancer diagnosis forced her to slow down.

"Getting diagnosed with cancer was a chance for me to pause and think what I want to do with my life. What do I want to change?" Krozel said. "I also realized how much it impacted my emotions. At that time, my twin hadn't had her mammogram yet and that was the scariest part. That's why I chose to do therapy and focus on my mental and spiritual health."

A bright spot in Krozel's journey was the people who rallied around her, including her care team.

"The team at Advocate Condell Medical Center was fantastic," she said. "They really got to know me and they were very open to all my questions."

Krozel had radiation treatment from September through November last year and was declared cancer-free. She is on tamoxifen, which she'll need for several years, and has a diagnostic mammogram and doctor's appointment every six months.

Krozel chose to find the positive in her journey with breast cancer. The experience led to her twin sister getting a mammogram and finding out she is healthy. Krozel actively shares her story with family, friends and even her professional network to increase awareness about breast cancer and health screenings.

"If I can impact even one person to get more knowledge and be proactive about their health, that's worth it," Krozel said. "So far, at least 15 women have had their mammogram after I told them my story."

The game was a tribute to honor breast cancer survivors and fighters and raise awareness for the disease that develops in one in eight women during their lifetime.