For 11 years, New Hampshire high school teacher Michelle Cadorette has been undergoing weekly treatments for stage IV malignant thymoma at Mass General. Michelle and her loved ones regard all of her Mass General caregivers as extended family.
In 2009, when Michelle’s energy and red blood count dropped to an alarmingly low count, her Mass General family gained a new member — hematological oncologist Rachel Rosovsky, MD. Diagnosing Michelle with pure red cell aplasia, Dr. Rosovsky saw her through months of blood transfusions and related treatments.
While guiding Michelle’s medical regimen with vigilance and resourcefulness, Dr. Rosovsky has also provided Michelle with devoted personal care. She constantly communicates with her by phone and email offering encouragement, advice and news of tests and treatment options. On vacation in Israel, she read Michelle’s handwritten intentions aloud at the Wailing Wall before depositing them there.
Gay Longnecker, assistant principal at Michelle’s school, says, “Dr. Rosovsky takes good care of my friend Michelle. They manage this disease together. Dr. Rosovsky is steadfast, truthful and even humorous. She is ever-present in Michelle’s life and the benefit of that is immeasurable.”
