Oncologist celebrating 55 years at Stroger Hospital, and her 87th birthday

CHICAGO (CBS) — Meet a doctor whose resume spans decades. Congress recently recognized Dr. Lily Hussein as the physician who has served the longest at one hospital and as one of the nation's longest-serving female physicians.

Hussein is a fifth-generation physician who will celebrate her 87th birthday on Friday. Many people say she's a legend, and then some.

Known affectionately as "Doc," she's an oncologist just completing her 55th year at Stroger Hospital of Cook County in Chicago.

What is it about her that makes her keep working at her age?

"What do you mean at my age? You are insulting me now," she said with a laugh.

Point taken. At 87 years young, "Doc" is still going strong.

"She's the biggest asset you could have," said Dr. Claudia Fegan, chief medical officer at Stroger Hospital. "In a field like oncology, where a lot of your patients don't make it, being able to get up every day and bring a positive light to be able to keep doing it is incredible."

What's the hardest part of Hussein's job?

"The hardest part for me is to tell them, to give them the bad news. That's the hardest part when they tell you, 'So you mean I can't be cured? You mean I'm dying?'" she said. "You can heal a dying patient. Yeah, you can make them comfortable, make them feel okay, make them accept their thing. That's part of the healing."

Hussein came to the U.S. in 1965, leaving behind turmoil in her native Iraq. She started at the hospital in 1972 when it was the original Cook County Hospital, a 1914 Beaux Arts building since converted into a hotel.

"When I came here, I fell in love with the place," she said. "They were the type of patient that you felt you were doing something for. You were helping somebody."

Stroger Hospital replaced Cook County Hospital in 2002, when it opened across the street from the original hospital.

Looking back at everything she's accomplished, what is she most proud of?

"My children," she said.

"We were raised to treat other people with respect and dignity no matter who they were," Dr. Nada Sherman said. 

Hussein and her husband, Jaafar, also a physician, raised two sons and three daughters, including Sherman, who is also an oncologist.

"I did end up following in her footsteps. Part of it, of course, was because I'd seen her passion for it," Sherman said.

What was the powerhouse of medicine like as a mom?

"Inspiring. Tough but fair. Set a high bar," said her son, Ferris Hussein.

"She always tried to push us to be the best we could be," said daughter, Dr. Tanya Drummond.

And her kindness.

"If she heard that the neighbor down the street's husband has cancer, she's making soup for him that night," said Hussein's daughter, Maha Engresser.

"She's raised five kids. She's come home after work, cooked, cleaned, made our clothes, worked with us on our homework," said Hussein's son, Dr. Rafid Hussein.

For patients like Mary Thompson, Hussein is a lifeline.

"I hope she never retires because she's just a sweetheart, and I don't think I'll ever find another doctor as passionate about her work as Dr. Hussein. She's my heart," Thompson said.

How does Hussein deal with the emotional connection she must establish with a lot of her patients?

"You know, you put yourself in their place," she said. "I always tell them, if I were in your place, I would do this."

Hussein said she doesn't consider herself a legend at Stroger Hospital, even though a lot of her colleagues do.

"No, I'm not a legend," she said. "That's funny. Legends, you think of the legends of Greek legends."

How would she describe herself?

"A doctor. I'm just a doctor," she said.

As for retirement, it's just not in Hussein's vocabulary. When asked whether she'll even slow down, she said it's just not something she aims for.

Among her patients were the famous and the infamous. As a medical resident, she delivered a child for singer Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary. She also treated serial killer John Wayne Gacy while he was a prisoner at Cook County Jail.

She's done it all, and CBS News Chicago wishes her a very happy 87th birthday.