When you first glance at Frank and Ellenora "Llen" Ryan, the word "fighter" likely isn't the top quality that pops into mind.
Between the two of them, they have defeated cancer twice, overcome debilitating spine pain and triumphed over a cardiology episode. Now, they’re fighting Parkinson’s disease with the same energy, confidence and heart.
Highlights: PeopleCare
Frank&LlenCare
Published on July 06, 2020
Last updated 04:07 PM August 21, 2020
Frank & Llen Ryan
The most rewarding part of what I do is making a difference in my patients’ lives. I can help catch medical issues early before they become bigger problems and develop treatment plans that work best with my patients’ lifestyles.
- Dr. Ryan Cantwell
Wellstar Family Medicine Physician
Frank & Llen Ryan
Taking charge of their health
The common thread? Wellstar. The physicians and staff throughout the health system have helped them navigate their health journeys through primary care and specialty services, as well as surgery and therapy. As the Ryans — happily married for 53 years — continue on their path to wellness, Wellstar provides them everything they need, every step of the way.
“At Wellstar, we work as a team to take care of our patients,” Dr. Ryan Cantwell explained. “I enjoy being my patients’ quarterback and coordinating their care with other physicians. Through our electronic health records system, the referral process and communication with other specialists is easy and accurate.”
“At one point, we thought I might have had throat cancer,” said Frank. “Within a week, I was referred to a gastroenterologist and had an upper endoscopy that showed I actually had a hiatal hernia, not throat cancer. But it was really impressive, how quickly I was referred and seen, and that’s down to Dr. Cantwell and the Wellstar referral system.”
Wellstar provided support to Llen after diagnosing her with diabetes nearly 20 years go. Type 2 diabetes runs in her family, she says, but her care team helped empower her to take better care of herself to turn the disease around.
“The most rewarding part of what I do is making a difference in my patients’ lives,” Dr. Cantwell said. “I can help catch medical issues early before they become bigger problems and develop treatment plans that work best with my patients’ lifestyles. In Llen’s case with her diabetes, we came up with a diet and exercise regimen that continues to be successful today.”
“When I got diagnosed, it was a scary thing. But I have since said it's one of the blessings in my life because I changed. I started walking, which I do practically every day now. I ate better and lost 65 pounds, which I’ve kept off for 10 years.”
Seamless specialty care
Through speedy diagnostic services, referrals and treatment, Wellstar has helped both Frank and Llen become warriors for their own wellness.
He first beat melanoma with the help of Dr. Sartaj Sanghera, Wellstar Oncology Surgeon. Frank also overcame prostate cancer with the guidance Wellstar Urologist Dr. Murphy Townsend.
It was at Wellstar where Frank managed his atrial fibrillation (AFib) heart condition with Wellstar Cardiologist Dr. Paul Simonoff, allowing him to continue an active lifestyle. Today, Wellstar Neurologist Dr. Marat Reyzelman keeps Frank in the ring fighting Parkinson’s Disease through medication and therapy at a non-combat boxing class at Wellstar Health Place.
Llen is no stranger to fighting for her health and independence, either. After dealing with debilitating back pain for years, Llen found relief through surgery by Wellstar Neurologist Dr. Franklin Lin. She once couldn’t bear to stand, but she now walks three miles every day around Kennesaw Mountain.
A wellness partnership
Today, Frank and Llen spend time at their cottage-style home on Church Street while chasing their dreams.
Frank keeps working on his jabs in boxing class with the same dedication he brings to his music at New Horizons, a local Kennesaw band he has been with for 10 years. Llen paints rocks with inspirational pictures and phrases which she distributes along her daily walks around Kennesaw Mountain. Additionally, Llen volunteers each Monday at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.
“One of my gifts is I'm a good listener. I like to be around people and I'm compassionate,” said Llen. “Volunteering has given those gifts purpose and it’s given me joy. It's made me look at life differently and helps me value my family, my husband and relationships. It's just pumped me up.”
The Ryans keep Wellstar near to their hearts and close to home, as they live a short walk from all their healthcare services. And from there, they continue the fight as a team.
“We are in collaboration with Wellstar. We work together. It's not just them alone,” Llen said. “It's a decision we make to stay healthy, to get up in the morning and ask yourself: ‘What drives me?’”
“I feel that my life is here because of Wellstar,” Frank said. “There’s no doubt about it. I wouldn’t have beaten prostate cancer and melanoma. I may have even had a heart attack because of my heart issues. Without Wellstar, I wouldn’t be here.”
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PeopleCare
KathyCare
Kathy DeJoseph delights in making and giving away thousands of soft and cheerful hats to Wellstar cancer patients through a nonprofit she founded called Happy Caps. It’s all in the name of bringing a little light and comfort to people during a hard time.
Where did the idea come from? It started with Kathy’s own lung cancer diagnosis.
A commitment to yearly lung cancer screening
A cancer survivor for more than a decade, Kathy said regular lung cancer screenings were the key to her survival. With a long history of smoking and growing up around relatives who smoked, she decided to join an early detection lung cancer study at Wellstar.
Even though she felt fine and had no symptoms, committing to the study meant having an annual low-dose CT scan every year. After several years of clean scans with no signs of lung cancer, Kathy told a nurse that she was going to quit. But the nurse persuaded her to come in for another screening.
“Thank goodness she did,” Kathy said. “I was diagnosed the very next day.”
Quick and efficient treatment at the STAT Clinic
Being a part of the study and getting screened early allowed Kathy to move immediately to Wellstar Lung Cancer STAT Clinic at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center.
STAT stands for Specialty Teams and Treatment, highlighting the collaboration of multiple cancer experts. Together, they come to a consensus on a treatment plan and meet with the patient on the same day. This puts the patients at the center of their care plan, allowing them and their families to get immediate answers to questions, make decisions and start treatment faster.
“The biggest benefit for me with the way the STAT Clinic works is that I didn’t have to worry about whether the doctors had actually talked to each other,” Kathy said. “They’d come in one after another and tell me what they thought from their expertise.”
Immediate communication and mutual agreement among medical experts mean treatment plans are established and started faster, which is proven to improve long-term survival. On average, it takes 60 to 90 days from the time of diagnosis to treatment in the U.S. With the STAT Clinic at Wellstar, patients go from diagnosis to treatment in 14 to 20 days.
Kathy’s treatment started quickly—she had a lung biopsy the day after her STAT Clinic appointment and started chemotherapy a week later.
“I wasn’t as terrified for as long as most people are because I had answers within a short period of time,” Kathy remembered.
She had surgery once she completed chemotherapy. Throughout the process, she had the support of an entire cancer team, including a medical oncologist, a lung cancer surgeon, a pulmonologist and a nurse navigator.
Highlights
Live to the Beat Powered by Wellstar: Celebrating a Year of Impact
What began as a bold idea—bringing cardiovascular health education into the heart of our communities—has now culminated in a joyful, music-filled celebration that honored the success of a powerful one-year pilot program of Live to the Beat at First Baptist Church East Point and Mount Olive Seventh Day Adventist Church. From inception to execution, this journey has been a testament to what can happen when community, clinical partners and courageous participants come together with one mission: to live longer, stronger, healthier lives—one beat at a time.
Final Class Check-In & Celebration
We opened our final sessions with a check-in, inviting participants to reflect on how they’ve been incorporating their support networks into daily life since our “A Family Affair” class. Their stories affirmed the power of connection and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who help you thrive.
After the check-in, we transitioned into a formal celebration that included:
- A brief agenda to thank everyone—from stakeholders and service line leaders to our participants and guest speakers
- A powerful recap of success metrics from each church
- A joyful closing moment that quite literally had everyone “living to the beat” with music, dancing and smiles all around!
Mount Olive: Setting the Bar High
With 18 dedicated members, Mount Olive consistently exceeded expectations:
- 90% average attendance
- 100% 5-star rating in both knowledge gained and overall satisfaction
- 82% reported positive behavior change in daily life
- 61% saw improvements in their average blood pressure readings
- Three participants shared that their clinicians reduced the dosage or number of their medications
- Two reported more regular visits to their doctors since joining the program
From their energy in the classroom to their commitment at home, Mount Olive’s cohort has become a model of what’s possible when knowledge meets action.
First Baptist: Stepping Boldly into Wellness
With 14 committed participants, First Baptist brought steady engagement and deep personal growth:
- 74% average attendance
- 80% reported positive behavior change
- 43% saw improvements in their average blood pressure readings
- Two participants reported a reduction in medication dosage or number
- Three reported more regular visits to their doctors since joining the program
- 4.69 rating in knowledge gained and overall rating of 4.77 out of 5
Their thoughtful conversations, openness to growth and willingness to step outside their comfort zones truly made this cohort shine. And yes—we danced our way into what’s next.
Looking Ahead: The Beat Continues with Art Pharmacy
While the classroom sessions have come to a close, our participants’ journey is far from over. As a next step, all graduates will now enter the next phase of Live to the Beat through our new partnership with Art Pharmacy—a social prescribing organization that connects individuals to arts and culture-based experiences to support long-term health and well-being.
Graduates will receive one “social prescription” per month for the next six months, focusing on connection, creativity and continued wellness. This phase was designed with intention—to ensure the momentum continues beyond the classroom and into real life.
We’ll also be conducting a 6-month follow-up to evaluate how behavior changes have been sustained over time, using lessons learned to inform the next cohort launching in September.
National Impact: CDC Foundation & LTTB Ambassadors
We were honored to have representatives from the CDC Foundation join our final celebrations to share how graduates can become Live to the Beat Ambassadors for the national campaign. Many participants expressed excitement about using their voice to inspire others to begin their heart health journeys too—a beautiful full-circle moment of community-led change.
One Chapter Ends, A Movement Continues
As we officially close out this year-long pilot, we stand in awe of what was accomplished—and energized for what’s ahead. To our participants: thank you for your courage and commitment. To our partners, service line leaders and supporters: thank you for believing in the vision.
Together, we proved that heart health isn’t just clinical—it’s cultural, communal and deeply personal. And as we prepare for the next chapter, one thing is certain: The beat goes on… and it’s only getting stronger.
PeopleCare
BillyCare
William “Billy” Gerace, a retired man in Mableton, found himself progressively restricted by severe emphysema. Dependent on oxygen, it was tough to find the breath and the energy to work in his garage. Then he found out about BLVR, a procedure that would change his lungs—and his life—for the better. Now he spends his days breathing new life into classic cars. Billy’s story highlights the power of expert care and leading-edge treatments at Wellstar, and our commitment to help people get back to doing what they love.
Slowed down by an oxygen tank
For Billy, the simplest of movements became Herculean tasks. The man who loved tinkering in his garage found himself slowed down by an oxygen tank and dependent on his wife, Patty, to help him move it from room to room.
“I couldn’t walk 20 feet without the hose on my nose,” Billy said. “I couldn’t go from the living room to the kitchen without oxygen. That’s how bad it was.”
Billy suffered from emphysema, a severe type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The inability to work in his garage on his collection of vehicles—including a '69 Corvette convertible—was heartbreaking.
“I’d have to do five minutes’ worth of work—then catch my breath,” he remembered. “It took me a very long time to do anything. A project that would normally take an hour took two days. I had to sit dormant most of the time.”
Billy had managed this condition for years with prescription medication and pulmonary rehabilitation, but in the final months leading to his procedure, he had the impression that his life was fading with every gasp of air.