For Mark Segobiano, the hardest part of his prostate cancer journey came before treatment ever began.

It was hearing the word “cancer” again.

Mark had already battled acute promyelocytic leukemia years earlier, so when blood work and prostate testing revealed an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, the news brought back familiar fears. He and his wife, Cindy, had learned firsthand how quickly a health concern could become something much more serious.

The Bloomington, Illinois, home inspector had been experiencing more frequent urination, particularly at night. Rather than dismiss the changes, he and Cindy decided to have them checked.

The testing led to a prostate cancer diagnosis in October of 2021, and because of the location of the tumor, surgery was not an option. Mark and Cindy’s hearts fell upon hearing that news.

Cindy Segobiano, however, says it was so comforting that within days, Mark had a treatment plan.

“We got to Dr. Gomez who referred us to Dr. Stang, and we had a plan immediately,” she remembers. “That to me was such a blessing that we had immediate attention and an immediate plan. The staff was so confident.”

Under the treatment from Kyle Stang, MD, a radiation-oncologist with OSF HealthCare, Mark underwent treatment using the advanced form of radiation known as modern intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with image guidance (IGRT). It is designed to precisely target a tumor while limiting exposure to surrounding tissue.

“It was a gamechanger for us to be able to be treated in our own hometown. I just remember that day we had such a comfort zone knowing that hey, ‘we got this.’”

Mark underwent daily treatments for several weeks. The process required plenty of preparation, including drinking large amounts of water, but he says the care he received from the medical team at the OSF Cancer Center in Bloomington helped make an otherwise difficult experience more manageable.

“The staff over there was just unbelievable … so friendly, so warm and inviting. They made you feel very comfortable even though you were going through a process you really didn’t want to go through. I think that has a lot to do with your comfort zone as well – the staff around, and they were fantastic,” Mark recalls.

The treatment targeted the tumor without causing the kind of surrounding damage Mark had experienced with his earlier cancer treatment. When he was done with the targeted radiation, Mark returned for follow-up appointments and received encouraging results when in June of 2022, he was declared cancer-free.

His recovery was not without challenges. Fatigue was the biggest hurdle, and he took medication during the recovery period. But overall, he says the treatment itself was comfortable and his energy gradually returned.

On his final treatment day, the staff gathered to celebrate with him, ringing a bell and giving him a hat marking him as part of “Team Sego.”

For Mark, the experience reinforced the importance of paying attention to his health and encouraging other men to do the same.

His message to other men during this Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is straightforward: Don't assume you're invincible. It’s better to be proactive than reactive, especially when a simple blood test can provide preliminary results.

Don’t ignore symptoms

• Needing to pee more often or urgently, especially at night
• Trouble starting a urine stream or a weak and interrupted flow
• Feeling like the bladder is not completely empty
• Pain or burning during urination

Other signs

• Blood in the urine or semen
• Painful ejaculation or new or sudden erectile disfunction
• Deep pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips or pelvis that does not go away

Mark Segobiano acknowledges that men can sometimes be reluctant to seek medical care, particularly when symptoms seem minor or they otherwise feel healthy.

“Don’t be afraid to say, ‘Yeah, I need to go get checked out,’ whether it’s something small, because small things turn into big things and you don’t want them to get to that point,” says Mark. He adds, “I would highly suggest that if you're at a stage in your life, and we all know what stages those are, that you go ahead and get checked out.”

The experience has also changed Mark's perspective on everyday health. He is now more mindful of his body, medical appointments and the importance of staying proactive.

Most of all, he credits his family, his faith and the medical professionals who guided him through the diagnosis and treatment.

For Mark, cancer is not something that simply disappears from his thoughts after treatment ends. But neither is the gratitude he feels for having caught the disease, received treatment close to home and had his family beside him throughout the journey.

The OSF Cancer Center in Bloomington is part of the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute network.

Video clips with Mark and Cindy Segobiano

B-roll-OSF Cancer Center in Bloomington

OSF HealthCare Cardiovascular Institute is expanding its ability to treat complex heart valve conditions, becoming the first health care provider in Illinois outside of Chicago to offer EVOQUE transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement (TTVR) – a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a damaged tricuspid heart valve without open-heart surgery.

The first EVOQUE procedure at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria took place in late July. The patient was discharged after the procedure with excellent results.

TTVR gives physicians another minimally invasive option for people with severe tricuspid regurgitation, a condition in which the heart’s tricuspid valve does not close properly and allows blood to flow backward. This can lead to people experiencing fatigue, weakness and swelling, according to the American Heart Association.

“Beyond TAVR, MitraClip and TriClip, the addition of TTVR allows us to advance our program capabilities through a minimally invasive, catheter-based approach for the treatment of valvular disease,” says Sudhir Mungee, MD, director of the structural heart division at OSF Cardiovascular Institute.

Instead of making a large incision in the chest, a team of heart specialists guides a replacement valve to the heart through a vein in the groin using a thin tube called a catheter.

For some people with severe tricuspid regurgitation, traditional surgery may carry significant risks like heart failure, bleeding, infection and stroke. TTVR provides another option, particularly for people who are considered high risk for surgery.

The minimally invasive approach can also mean:

· A shorter hospital stay – often one to two days compared to five to seven or more days for open-heart surgery

· A faster recovery – often days instead of weeks

With the addition of EVOQUE TTVR, people with complex tricuspid valve disease now have access to another advanced treatment option at OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

At OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute in Peoria, people from across the state have access to one of Illinois’ few Level 4 Epilepsy Centers, offering the highest level of specialized epilepsy care available.

Designated by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC), the Level 4 accreditation recognizes the center's ability to provide advanced diagnostic testing, comprehensive medical management and complex surgical treatments for epilepsy. The designation also reflects a broader commitment to expanding access for expert epilepsy care for people throughout Illinois.

For Thandar Aung, MD, medical director of the epilepsy center at OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute, improving access to specialized epilepsy care was one of the primary reasons she joined OSF.

"In my past job, I was getting patients from all over the country, and even outside of the United States," Dr. Aung says. "The access to epileptologists, or rather the lack of access, really showed why there are limitations."

Having spent her career in large metropolitan academic medical centers, Dr. Aung saw firsthand how difficult it can be for people to find an epilepsy specialist.

Peoria stood out because of its ability to serve people across a large geographic region. OSF Illinois Neurological Institute regularly cares for people throughout Central and Western Illinois, including communities near the Iowa and Missouri borders. For many Illinois residents living near those state lines, receiving care in Illinois can also make a significant difference when navigating insurance coverage.

Epilepsy is a lifelong condition, so getting the right care as early as possible helps people live their lives to the fullest.

What Level 4 means for patients

The NAEC designates epilepsy centers based on the level of care they can provide. A Level 4 epilepsy center offers the most comprehensive services available, including advanced diagnostic testing, multidisciplinary care and complex surgical procedures for people whose seizures cannot be controlled with medication alone.

"Level 4 is where you're able to do the invasive epilepsy surgeries, including invasive pre-surgical evaluation such as depth electrodes also known as stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG),” Dr. Aung says. “You place them in the brain based on a hypothesis, using all the available data to determine where the seizures are coming from. Of course, this is very dependent on experience. If you place the SEEG electrodes in the wrong locations, you could localize the seizures to the wrong part of the brain, potentially leading to an unsuccessful surgery or harm to the patient.”

The Level 4 designation also reflects the collaborative approach patients receive. Physicians, including epileptologists and functional neurosurgeons, work alongside specialized nurses, neuropsychologists, neuroradiologists, social workers and other experts to create individualized treatment plans tailored to each person's needs.

Advancing epilepsy care

While medications successfully control seizures for many people with epilepsy, others have drug-resistant epilepsy and may benefit from surgery or newer technologies.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is one innovation Dr. Aung is particularly excited about. The technology measures the brain’s magnetic fields (instead of the electrical field used in an electroencephalogram (EEG)), to help identify where seizures originate.

"With an EEG, we try to read the brain and its electrical activity," Dr. Aung says. "There's another way you can read brain activity by using the magnetic field. Sometimes you cannot see the electrical activity, but you can see it with the magnetic activity."

Dr. Aung also hopes to expand access to epilepsy clinical trials, giving patients opportunities to receive promising therapies before they become widely available and helping researchers better understand which treatments work best for each person.

Recognizing the signs

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurring seizures, but not every seizure looks the same. While some involve full-body convulsions, others may appear as brief staring spells, confusion or other subtle changes.

Dr. Aung encourages anyone experiencing unexplained episodes or symptoms that continue to occur to seek medical evaluation as soon as possible.

Although seizures are commonly related to abnormal brain activity, she notes that some heart conditions can mimic seizures and may be life-threatening if left untreated.

As one of the few Level 4 epilepsy centers in Illinois, OSF HealthCare Illinois Neurological Institute is continuing to grow its capabilities with one goal in mind: ensuring more patients throughout the state have access to the advanced, comprehensive epilepsy care they need.

Video Interview Clips

“It’s terrifying,” says Jawad Javed, MD, professor of Clinical Pediatrics with University of Illinois College of Medicine-Peoria (UICOMP) and the Division Head/Medical Director of Neonatology with OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois.

Nearly 800 babies are admitted into the NICU at OSF Children’s Hospital in Peoria every year. The hospital receives families from the surrounding area, as well as up to more than an hour away.

Many families in these areas live in what’s referred to as a health care “desert,” especially when it comes to labor and delivery services.

"We are the largest neonatal center between Chicago and St. Louis. It is a critically important piece, because babies that are in Central Illinois, get to stay in Central Illinois. We cover about 30 counties surrounding our hospital facility," Dr. Javed says.

And when it comes to NICU babies, it takes a village to nurture them to full health.

OSF Children’s Hospital has 140 specialists who work around the clock taking care of these smallest patients, some weighing barely more than a soda can. This includes staff physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, neonatal dietitians, neonatal pharmacists, respiratory therapists, lactation and feeding consultants, speech and physical therapy specialists, plus case managers who help every step of the way.  

Having these resources in place is what has led OSF Children’s Hospital to receive Level IV NICU status. Level four is the highest level possible as designated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

"Essentially, a Level 4 NICU provides full, comprehensive medical and surgical care and services that an infant would need. We provide ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), we provide cardiac care, cardiac surgery care, general surgical care, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics…" Dr. Javed says. "In addition to that, we provide the broad spectrum of pediatric subspecialties."

Additional subspecialities available: 

· Home nasogastric (NG) feeding program

· Neonatal simulation and education programs

· Telemedicine support for regional hospitals

· Quality improvement initiatives

· Family-centered development follow-up programs

Dr. Javed says admission into the NICU is one of the most stressful times for families.

"That first hour is so critical for the health, maintenance and success that's going to set up the rest of that child's life," he emphasizes. "Going to a center that has qualified, specialized neonatologists or neonatal care, you know that if things don't go as planned, there is a team that is ready to address those issues head-on and help that child be successful. That's why the NICU is so important."

While Peoria is home to OSF Children's Hospital, OSF Mission Partners are trained, staffed and ready at hospitals across the OSF Ministry to provide the best care possible for parents and babies alike. 

"We have neonatologists and nurse practitioners that are positioned in Galesburg, Bloomington and Danville that help implement the oversight of that care," Dr. Javed says. Nurse practitioners across the Ministry also come to OSF Children's Hospital for specialized training, taking what they've learned back to their home hospitals. 

OSF Children's Hospital of Illinois is an academic medical center as well. There's a lot of research and quality improvement work that's done, putting OSF on par with big centers around the country. Dr. Javed helped establish the Neonatal Fellowship Program and served as its founding Program Director. The fellowship recently celebrated its third graduating class.

Research is a major component of the academic work. Dr. Javed says OSF is prioritizing things like virtual reality and simulation, creating 4D delivery rooms to help train future physicians. There is also ongoing work in using artificial intelligence tools to help identify infants at risk for complications and support clinical decision-making. There's currently a project looking at predictive models for premature infants who might have early eye condition that can affect vision.

Not only is OSF Children’s Hospital the top-ranked NICU center in Central Illinois, it’s also one of the most well-recognized institutions across the country.

"This past year, we joined the Children's Hospital Neonatal Consortium. This is a group of nearly 50 centers in the country that have very comprehensive level IV NICUs," Dr. Javed says. Additionally, the NICU at OSF Children’s Hospital has been part of the Vermont Oxford Network (VON), a global community of more than 1,400 neonatal centers, since 1992.

Dr. Javed summarized, "Every family that walks through our doors is experiencing one of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Our mission is to provide the highest level of care close to home, so families can focus on what matters most; helping their baby grow, heal and thrive."

To learn more about the NICU services available across the OSF Ministry, visit the OSF HealthCare website.

Video Interview Clips

NICU B-Roll

"I was a new neonatologist at that time and had only been in practice for a couple of years," says Dr. Javed, who now is the division head and medical director of Neonatology with OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois in Peoria, Illinois.

"Nothing can quite prepare you for having a premature baby. It didn’t matter how much I knew. My wife's a pediatrician; it didn't matter how much she knew. It's terrifying, and those first moments when the baby is born and they're rushing you off to the NICU; it is a blur."

Despite his medical training, Dr. Javed says he struggled to process information during those early days in the NICU, when his now 13-year-old son was born at 32 weeks.

He estimates he truly absorbed only about 10-15% of what was being communicated to him and his wife. The experience gave him a new perspective on what families are experiencing during some of the most emotional moments of their lives.

"Sometimes as a provider, you feel like you want to give everything. But sometimes families just need time to digest what just happened," Dr. Javed points out, saying his experience has changed his entire care model.

Now his son is an energetic, on-the-go teenager that Dr. Javed jokes is the “life of the party.” He credits the NICU team that cared for him as a big part of that.

"It was a blessing in disguise early in my career. It changed how I communicate with families," Dr. Javed adds. "Those conversations that we have with families might be some of the most important moments each day for them. For the provider, you might be seeing 20 patients, but that family is waiting to hear about the next plan and the next decision."

Today, Dr. Javed leads a team at OSF Children’s Hospital that provides the highest level of neonatal care available. 140 pediatric physicians are involved in caring for NICU patients, Dr. Javed says, providing expertise across a wide range of specialties.

The hospital has been designated a Level IV NICU by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the highest designation for neonatal intensive care.

Level IV NICUs provide the most comprehensive care for premature and critically ill newborns. At OSF Children’s Hospital, specialists routinely care for babies born as early as 22 weeks' gestation.

What elevates a Level 4 NICU above other facilities is the breadth of specialized services available around the clock. OSF Children's Hospital offers comprehensive surgical support, including emergency and trauma, neurosurgery, orthopedics, ophthalmology and pediatric cardiac surgery, which includes congenital heart conditions.

Unlike facilities that may rely on visiting specialists, these experts are available as part of the hospital's care team every day.

While several hospitals in Central Illinois provide Level III neonatal care, OSF Children's Hospital is the only Level IV NICU between Chicago and St. Louis.

For babies born at 22 weeks, every organ system is still developing, creating significant medical challenges.

Their skin has not fully developed its protective outer layer, increasing the risk of infection. Their blood vessels are extremely small, requiring highly specialized intravenous (IV) access and monitoring.

Their lungs are also underdeveloped. At 22 weeks' gestation, the lungs are in a very early stage of development, making respiratory support essential.

The blood vessels in the brain remain fragile and can be prone to bleeding. The digestive system is also immature, making nutrition a major focus of care.

To support growth and development, many infants receive specialized IV nutrition and donor breast milk. Speech therapists also play an important role by helping babies develop oral motor skills needed for feeding.

Even the NICU environment is carefully designed to support development. Lights are often dimmed to create a neurologically appropriate setting that more closely resembles conditions in the womb.

While many NICU patients need only short-term support after birth, others require months of intensive care.

The average NICU stay for most infants is about two to two-and-a-half weeks. Most are considered transitional infants requiring short-term care who need additional monitoring or treatment after birth before going home.

The hospital also cares for approximately 60 to 70 of its smallest and most premature patients at any given time. Babies born before 30 weeks' gestation often remain hospitalized for four-and-a-half to five months, depending on the complexity of their medical needs. Advances in neonatal care now allow many of these infants born so early to both survive and thrive.

Supporting families is another critical part of NICU care.

Many families travel one to two hours for treatment and must balance hospital visits with work and other responsibilities. Care teams use tools such as telemedicine to help keep families connected and informed.

Dr. Javed says that OSF HealthCare partners with the Family Home and Ronald McDonald House in Peoria to provide low-cost or no-cost lodging options for families while their children are receiving care.

To learn more about NICU services at OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois, visit here.

Video Interview Clips

NICU B-Roll