Two Lake County women, who are Advocate Health Care breast cancer patients, were honored and celebrated on the field at the Chicago Bears game on Sunday.
10 Advocate Health Care breast cancer patients, their family members and care teams from across Illinois were celebrated on Sunday at the Chicago Bears’ annual Crucial Catch game at Soldier Field.
Patients took the field before the game to watch warmups and Dr. Sandeep Chunduri, a hematologist oncologist at Advocate Health Care, unfurled the Bear Down flag.
A special bell-ringing ceremony was held during halftime for two survivors who recently completed their treatments.
The event was a tribute to honor breast cancer survivors and fighters and to help raise awareness for the disease, which develops in one in eight women during their lifetime.
Two patients from Lake County were among those honored at the game.
Jeanne Hergert, of Hawthorn Woods, 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 when she found a lump in her breast.
She had her scheduled mammogram last September so she did not think it was anything serious but decided to schedule an appointment with her OBGYN in May.
She received a stage 2A cancer diagnosis following the biopsy results.
Hergert is unfortunately no stranger to cancer. In her early 20s, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma and needed 12 treatments of chemotherapy over nine months to become cancer-free.
Cancer is different this time for Hergert, who is 48 and now has a husband and two children, ages three and five.
She recently finished her chemotherapy and is scheduled for a lumpectomy later this month. She will receive radiation therapy following surgery.
“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.”
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 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 do 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,” she said.
Krozel said a bright spot in her journey was all the people who rallied around her. “The team at Advocate Condell Medical Center was fantastic. They really got to know me, and they were very open to all my questions.”
Krozel had radiation treatment from September through November 2023 and was declared cancer-free.
She said she chose to find the positive in her journey with breast cancer. The experience led to her twin sister getting a mammogram and finding out that she was 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.”