Stories of Courage and Hope

Annotated by Tom Swartz

[Editor’s note: Every few days we encounter an inspirational story of a patient or a caregiver that tells of the strength that some are blessed with in dealing with sarcoma. They have cancer, but cancer does not have them. These stories of courage give us hope as we face our own disease or that of a loved one or friend. We would like to share with you some of the stories that we’ve recently encountered.]

Kent State Mourns Loss of Isaac Perkins

The Kent State University Athletics Department is mourning the loss of assistant compliance coordinator and former standout track and field athlete Isaac Perkins, who passed away on November 9^th. In August 2004, Perkins was diagnosed with primary sarcoma of the brain, one of only 20 people in the world known to have had the disease. He initially had a golf ball-sized tumor removed from his brain, but the tumor returned just months later in the same spot. Perkins then underwent six weeks of radiation treatment that lasted until December. By January, he tested cancer free, but by Easter, three new sarcomas had returned. While being operated on for a third time, doctors discovered a fourth tumor. From there he underwent chemotherapy treatment and ultimately returned to the hospital just days ago. Perkins spent the last three years working in the University’s compliance department. He was a graduate assistant for two years, then for the last year had served as an assistant compliance coordinator, overseeing the day-to-day operations in the department for compliance, financial aid and the academic progress rate. Prior to that, Perkins was a four-year letter winner for the Kent State track and field team, performing in the long jump and triple jump. He still ranks among Kent State's all-time top 10 in the outdoor triple jump with a mark of 49-3 in 2002. He served as captain of the squad his senior year and was instrumental in the 2000 MAC Outdoor Championship, the first conference title the team had won in 25 years. Perkins earned a bachelor's degree from Kent State in 2002, then earned his master's degree in sport administration in 2004. Through his entire ordeal, Perkins was strengthened and supported by his faith and the love of his wife, family and friends. While he was initially given just weeks to live, Perkins beat all odds and survived 15 months after diagnosis. All the while making statements like: "I don't care if research says I only have about a 10 percent chance of living, I have too much to accomplish." Bob Heller, Associate Athletic Director of Compliance, said of Isaac, "In the last year, Isaac demonstrated his purpose here on Earth. His belief in his faith and his trust in God were extraordinary. He tackled all the odds and beat every prediction, but all the while he fought with a smile and a trust in the Lord."

Concert Will Help to Fund Scholarships

Keisha Michelle Michael always had a song in her heart. Even when battling osteogenic sarcoma that would take her life in 1996, she continued to sing as a member of the North Carolina Central University choir. So it seemed fitting that to raise money for the scholarship they started in her name, Keisha's family members would hold a concert.  The event was planned for Nov. 19, three days after Keisha’s birthday, said her mother, Dianne Michael. "We always like to do something special after her birthday." The scholarship fund is administered by the Delaware Community Foundation. "This fund is such a wonderful way for them to carry on their daughter's memory and to help other young people," a spokesperson for the foundation said. "They've turned a tragedy into something positive, and I know they get great pleasure from helping others." Keisha Michelle Michael Scholarships will be given to students who plan to attend one of the country's historically black colleges. That recognizes Keisha Michael's decision to attend North Carolina Central, where she helped start a ministry for physically challenged students. The ministry was special to her, her family said. A former standout field hockey player, Keisha lost a leg to osteogenic sarcoma, the disease that would later claim her life. When she died, University officials announced that they would name both the ministry and a campus prayer hall after her. Sharon Moore was to be the featured singer at the concert performing inspirational songs. Among them will be "Amazing Grace" – which was Keisha's nickname at North Carolina Central.

Fresno State Softball Team Raises Money for Teammate Who is Battling Cancer

Saturday went something like this for Rachael Donaldson, the Fresno State softball player who is battling cancer: Take a few laps in a morning walk-a-thon that raised money to help cover her medical expenses. Root for her Bulldogs softball team from the Bulldog Diamond dugout in an afternoon exhibition against an alumni team. Then shag balls, throw and catch with teammates and generally help out during a late-afternoon practice. Rachael had the strength for all that a few days before she would undergo the fourth of six grueling chemotherapy treatments for stage 4 soft-tissue sarcoma. The 20-year-old junior outfielder's motto is "Meet It and Beat It," and she's determined to live life that way. "It wasn't the perfect timing, but I'm going to deal with it," said Rachael, a starter who missed the fall semester but will re-enroll for the spring. "I'll be done with treatments in December, then it's a matter of rebuilding strength and muscle, and getting out to practice. Yes, my plans are to play next season." Senior shortstop Christina Clark said the cancer hasn't changed Rachael Donaldson much. "Her personality is the same — stubborn and strong," Clark said. "To look at what she's going through, it makes us want to come out and work harder." Rachael played with the tumor, behind her left knee, all of last season. Not until a pitch hit it in the regional playoffs did she feel any discomfort. Soon, she began to feel numbness from the knee on down and the tumor appeared to grow. A biopsy was taken, and a week later the family learned that surgery and chemotherapy were necessary. The cancer had also spread to her lymph nodes and lungs. "We're dealing with this aggressively," Rachael’s mother said. "The good thing is that the tumor is shrinking. We're confident she's going to beat this." Rachael said the best therapy has been support from family, friends, the softball team and the community, which turned out Saturday for the walk-a-thon. "This whole thing shocked me at first. I never felt sick at any time," she said. "I've stayed positive and the support I've gotten has been amazing." Rachael, herself, has been an inspiration to others. "When people finally saw Rachael, everyone understood she's going to beat it," Bulldogs coach Margie Wright said. "She's out there every day with us. It has allowed us to see someone go through the toughest part of adversity with high spirits. Her positive attitude gives us inspiration." "Softball is the best medicine for her," her mother said. "Coach Wright and the trainers are taking wonderful care of her. And this is what Rachael wants. Since she was 12 she set her goals to go to college and play softball. To her, this is just a bump in the road." An additional story about Rachael can be found by clicking here.  

The Alliance Against Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma Honors David Eisenberg at Annual Gala

David Eisenberg, a Needham, Mass. investment manager and biking enthusiast, was honored at the annual gala dinner of The Alliance Against Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma, TAAASPS, in New York on Friday, Nov. 11. In 2003, Ynbal Landesman, a ninth-grade Boston classmate of one of David’s children was diagnosed with this rare cancer that afflicts nearly 100 people annually. First characterized in 1952, most ASPS cases occur in patients before the age of 30, very often as teenagers. ASPS is a soft tissue tumor that may exist for a long time before being diagnosed. While the cancer begins in soft muscle tissue, the most common organs attacked by ASPS tumors are the lungs and brain. David, together with sons Benji, 16, Adam, 18, and Ynbal’s sister, Hila, 18, decided to help by riding in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenges (PMC) to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for ASPS. In the past two years, their PMC team has collected over $75,000 while logging more than 6,000 cycling miles in preparation for the annual 189-mile ride. “The PMC has been our commitment to contribute to Ynbal’s treatment and help find a cure for ASPS,” David said. “The honor recognizes all the members of our team and the many members of the community who have contributed to our effort.”

Cancer Survivors Celebrate Hope

Musical performers sent messages of hope and courage to hundreds of cancer survivors, patients and families at a cancer survivorship celebration September 18^th at the W.D. Packard Music Hall in Warren, Ohio. More than 400 people attended the 16th Annual Cancer Survivorship Day sponsored by Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital's Cancer CareCenters and the Trumbull Memorial Hospital Foundation. "This is the day we recognize those diagnosed with cancer," Anna Marie Holt, an oncology nurse with Forum Health said. Performing at the celebration was the ROCcK Children's Choir created in 2002 by six-year cancer survivor Brenda Rider along with Paul Skowron and Janeen Williams. "When I started going through treatment, I picked up my guitar and started writing songs," said Rider. "The choir came about because I think songs sound better with kids performing," she said. Ages of children in the choir range from 4 to 17 including sick children as well as their siblings and friends. "This is cool because when kids are going through treatment, sometimes the well children are left out, left at home while sick children are getting treatment," Rider said. One family involved with ROCcK is the Cardenas family from New Castle, Pa. Brother John, 6, and sisters Christina, 4, and Viviana, 8, have sung with the ROCcK Children's Choir for about a year. Older sister Bonney, 17, is an instructor for the choir, while Viviana finished chemotherapy treatments for Ewing's sarcoma cancer one year ago. Rider also created A Way with Words Inc., a literary nonprofit organization that provides support to cancer survivors through projects, including the "There's Hope in What We Do" poetry publication, released in May. Cheryl Warfield, Warren native and New York Metropolitan Opera singer, performed two songs, "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "He's Got the World in his Hands." Warfield also read poetry from "There's Hope in What We Do." A Way With Words has already ordered a reprinting of "There's Hope in What We Do," and the next edition, which Rider said will be on sale at Barnes and Noble and Borders by Christmas. The event culminated with the release of hundreds of Painted Lady Monarch butterflies, which Holt said symbolized lives of cancer survivors.

Family Finds New Kind of Normal After Removal of 2-Pound Growth

Pete and Stef Haar were just getting into a normal schedule after the birth of their son Grant when Stef noticed a few things about Grant. She noticed that Grant wheezed when he breathed and his belly button was popping out. The worst they thought was an umbilical hernia. The doctor first told Stef there was nothing wrong with Grant, but when Stef mentioned his belly button popped-out, the doctor ordered x-rays and blood work. The blood work came back normal, but the x-ray found a large mass. Unsure if the mass was solid or fluids, the doctor ordered a CAT scan and five hours later the results of the scan came back - Grant had a massive abdominal tumor. The next day, Grant underwent a 7.5-hour surgery. The doctors removed the tumor along with the kidney it was growing on. His adrenal gland, multiple lymph nodes, and his appendix were also removed. The tumor was so large - two pounds - that people thought it must have been growing since he was born, said Stef. But it had been growing for only six to eight weeks. “It was the size of Grant's head,” said Stef. “We were shocked that lived in our little boy.” The good news was the tumor hadn't spread, said Stef. The cancer was a clear cell sarcoma of the kidney. Grant will need chemotherapy until March 2006. “He's doing good now,” said Stef. “He's a champ.” Grant is over the puking during the chemo, but it's still obvious when he gets the treatments, she said. He naps more and doesn't eat as much. Grant has a 10 percent chance of recurrent cancer in next four years and a 15 percent chance of having a secondary cancer later in life. She said their routine is normal now - a new kind of normal with the chemo and meds. There have been other changes too. The family has learned to do without many things because they used to be a two-income family. Now it is a necessity for Stef to stay with Grant because they can't put him with other children because they may be sick or have live vaccines - things he can't be around because his immune system is weak. They’ve also had to depend on their family to help keep an eye on Grant when they both need to be gone. And the small community they wanted to raise Grant in has become a big part of their story. Stef said they are so thankful that everyone has been so good to them. A church adopted them, she said, and more than 150 chickens were sold at one barbecue fund-raiser. “We do feel blessed being back here,” said Stef. “Everyone's been so good to us.”

They’re Still Kids, Despite Cancer

Derick Byrd didn’t want to be different. He didn’t want his friends to act as if he were fragile. He didn’t want his twin brother, Devin, to stop picking fights with him. Sure, having cancer was a pain, physically and mentally. But the bottom line was: Cancer or not, he was still Derick. For Derick, who is now 10, his trouble started two years ago with pain in his left leg. His doctor took X-rays, which showed a spot on his bone. Derick had osteosarcoma. Like many other school-age kids who have cancer, Derick had to miss a lot of time in class. During his cancer treatment, he was out of school about six months. While kids are in the hospital and staying home during treatment, they do their best to keep up with schoolwork. Children’s Hospital provides a teddy bear with a backpack that teachers can use to send homework. Also, friends and classmates often send home notes, cards and sometimes gifts. Any connection to friends at school helps, Derick said. Cancer treatment was rough for him. After the first dose of chemo, ‘‘52 times I got sick," he said. He also had to have a piece of his lung biopsied; fortunately, there was no cancer in Derick’s lung. Children’s Hospital workers helped explain Derick’s illness to the teachers and students at his school, Triad Elementary in North Lewisburg, Ohio. When a classmate gets cancer, the most common question from kids — and the one they’re most afraid to ask — is whether the person will die. Helpful teachers make a big difference. Derick said his teacher was ‘‘like my second mom" while he was home sick. She helped him keep up with his class work and was kind and encouraging while he went through treatment. Once kids are well enough to go back to school, they face new challenges, including classmates who don’t understand cancer or are nervous to talk to them. The best thing for kids to do is to treat their friend like they used to and try to understand if he or she is sometimes tired or can’t play the same sports. Although children who’ve had cancer don’t usually want to dwell on it once they are back to school, they might have to make some physical adjustments, depending on what kind of cancer and treatment they have had. Once the chemo had killed most of the cancer cells in Derick’s body, doctors removed his knee joint and 10 inches of the bone (called the tibia) in his lower leg. They replaced it with a new knee joint and a metal bar attached to the real bone at the bottom of his leg and above the knee. As Derick grows, his doctor puts Derick’s leg in an electromagnetic field that releases a spring inside the metal bar, making it longer. Derick can’t play sports that might injure his leg, including football and baseball, because his bones can easily break. There’s an increased chance of the bone near the implant breaking, and all of his bones were weakened by the cancer treatment. Last year, his thigh bone snapped in half just above the metal bar when he put his foot to the ground while playing on a swing. Derick had to miss four more months of school. ‘‘It slows me down," he said. Derick sits on the sidelines or in the dugout and cheers for Devin when he plays sports. During baseball season, Derick warms up the pitcher and helps out the team. ‘‘I’m the best catcher on the team." And he’s had fun playing golf, which isn’t risky. ‘‘I don’t like feeling bad for myself. I don’t want people to feel bad for me," Derick said.

Returning Hokie With Sarcoma

The ACC doesn't give an award for rookie team of the year. If it did, Virginia Tech would have received most of the votes last season. The Hokies surprised many in their first ACC season, going 8-8 to tie for fourth place and finishing 16-14 overall after reaching the second round of the NIT. It was their first postseason appearance in nine years. And Virginia Tech is looking forward to an even better season this year with many returning starters and upper classmen. One such player will be senior Allen Calloway.  However, Calloway learned in July that he has alveolar soft-part sarcoma. He'll try to practice with the team while undergoing treatment, but he has lost a lot of weight in the past month or so. Calloway is scheduled to graduate in May. But the entire team is behind Calloway. "His long-term welfare is the only consideration," Coach Seth Greenberg said. "He will continue to be a vital part of this program throughout his treatment. He will have the complete support of everyone in our program and athletics department."

Elizabethtown Senior is Running Free of Cancer

It was your basic, run-of-the-mill basketball practice. But it was a basketball practice Elizabethtown, PA senior Cole Barnes will never forget. It was the winter of 2002, and Barnes was in eighth grade. Then Barnes’ classmate A.J. Shippling made a crazy discovery. “He saw a lump on my neck,” Barnes said. “It didn’t seem that serious to me at the time. I didn’t think anything was going to happen to me.” The diagnosis? Barnes had a ping-pong sized tumor lodged between his right collarbone and his carotid artery. “When they removed the tumor, they told me it was pretty bad and that it was malignant. When my oncologist told me it was cancer, my mom and dad broke down. “I understood that I had cancer, but I also knew that I could battle through it.” It was primitive neuroectodermal tumor (P-NET). Seventy-five percent of patients diagnosed with a P-NET tumor are under 35 years of age. Barnes turned 18 on Oct. 10 and is now playing football and is the second-leading rusher on his team. That Barnes is even back playing football is a miracle. “I consider myself pretty lucky to have survived that,” he said. “But I’d also consider myself pretty unlucky because I missed a lot of things.” That is because Barnes spent 11 excruciating months receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Hershey Medical Center. “The treatment was brutal,” he said. Barnes was at Hershey Med for five days of treatments, then he went home for three weeks, then he went back for three days of treatments, then he went back home for three weeks. He repeated that sequence 12 more times and he willed himself through each and every one. “I’d get home and be sick for a week,” Barnes said. “Then I’d go to school for a week, then I’d go back to the hospital the next week.” He tried to play basketball and baseball, but he was too weak. When he lost his hair, everyone on the basketball team shaved their heads. “Probably 50 of my friends shaved their heads. It showed me the love my teammates and my friends have for each other.” “When I was diagnosed, I got so many questions about it,” Barnes said. “Not many of my friends understood it. When they heard the word cancer, they thought I didn’t have much time left to live.” It turns out that if Barnes’ classmate didn’t discover the lump that fateful day at basketball practice things might have turned out differently. “The tumor was only about four-to-six weeks old,” Barnes said. “If I would have waited a little longer to find it, my doctors told me I probably would have had about six months to live. Barnes now has not received a chemotherapy treatment in more than two years. He still gets checked out at Hershey Med every four months. And he’s been back twice to talk to young cancer patients about how he beat P-NET. “It has been in remission for more than two years,” Barnes said. “They said that if I could make it through two years, the chances of it coming back were very low. So I’m cancer-free now.” He is cancer-free and breaking away from defenders from his halfback spot, and looking forward to attending West Virginia University to study sports management and hopefully earning a tryout for the football team. Barnes says, “I don’t take much for granted. Everything that happens to me, I’m thankful for it. Every time I step on the football field or every time something good happens to me, it’s special, because I know I might not have been here.” Thanks to his classmate and his own sheer will to beat cancer Cole Barnes is here. And he’s loving every second of it.

Cancer Isn't a Deterrent for One UMaine Sophomore

At her 8:15 a.m. dance class at a studio classroom at the University of Maine student and cancer patient Lacy Greenlaw stands out with a yellow Livestrong bracelet wrapped around her wrist and a pink bandanna covering her head. And Lacy Greenlaw has more steps than Ellen DeGeneres when dancing and more to think about than four-day chemotherapy treatments. She's got school, dancing, cooking and friends on her mind. Greenlaw's cancer was diagnosed April 9, 2004, just days before her 19th birthday. Severe lower back pain led her to seek treatment. After two misdiagnoses, an MRI discovered a grapefruit-sized mass in her pelvis - Ewing’s sarcoma. In the first week of May 2004, Greenlaw began two chemotherapy regimens. Greenlaw is currently in cycle 12 of 14 scheduled chemo treatments. In September 2004, Greenlaw began radiation treatments while starting her second year at UMaine. In December 2004, radiation treatments ended, and the mass is currently about one inch in diameter. Greenlaw has a CT scan every two weeks to monitor the tumor. "I would have gone crazy if I stopped school," Greenlaw said. "Being in school and being with friends keeps me busy. It makes me feel like I'm not always in the hospital." Nevertheless, she said school is more difficult now. Greenlaw gets colds easily and misses many classes. She missed the end of the semester, including final exams. Doctor's notes and the completion of course work over the summer staved off academic probation. Between chemo and academics, Greenlaw gives herself a break by preparing a meal from one of the shows on the Food Network. "I love to cook," she said. Food is not an issue for Greenlaw, unlike many other chemotherapy patients; medication controls her nausea. Greenlaw says that she now gets cravings for French fries and mashed potatoes after treatment. "Surprisingly, the hospital French fries are pretty good," she said. An online introductory food science and nutrition course has prompted her to change her major to food science and nutrition. "I want to go to culinary school and open a specialty foods store," she said. Greenlaw wears her pink bandanna to class, to lunch and everywhere else she goes. "Losing my hair was the hardest part," Greenlaw said. "It made it so real." Greenlaw sometimes walks down store aisles smelling the different shampoos. "I can't wait to buy shampoo again," she said. "I thought about buying a wig, but they're expensive and uncomfortable. And it gives me more to look forward to when my own hair comes back. When I was losing my hair I didn't even want to look in the mirror. My mom would always tell me I was beautiful." Greenlaw's prognosis is good. Chemotherapy and radiation have suppressed the cancer cells. "I will be glad when it's over," she said. She said she looks forward to a big party when the end does arrive. "I used to be a pessimist," Greenlaw said. "Now I don't look on the down side of things." Greenlaw is optimistic. She began her junior year this fall and is already excited to get back to normal college life. "I'm very excited," she said. "It will be nice to come back to school and not worry about treatments, hopefully."

Warren Bailey – Staying in the Game

Warren Bailey won the Alaska state racquetball championship in April 2005 against men in all age brackets, despite numerous extensive surgeries to remove tissue from his upper right thigh. Bailey has leiomyosarcoma, a sarcoma that begins in smooth muscle. Competitive players normally have to move fast and jump high to return the racquetball or avoid being pummeled by it, says Bailey. “I can’t do all that,” he explains. “I have to be real smart about how I play the game.” A few months after winning the state championship, Bailey underwent an innovative procedure called video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to remove metastases in his lungs. It’s a procedure his doctors agreed to postpone so Bailey could compete in the national tournament in March and the international tournament in July, where he placed in the top 15 and top 20 respectively in his age category. At 59, Bailey has played racquetball for more than 15 years, and he is not about to give it up because he has cancer. In fact, he says, it’s part of what’s kept him alive. VATS allows doctors to perform chest surgery through a series of small incisions. A camera inserted through one incision guides their work. The procedure is much less invasive than traditional open-chest surgery, which requires cutting through or spreading open the rib cage and cutting extensively through muscle. Having done some research beforehand, Bailey says he knew VATS was “the best and least invasive, proven way to go.” “My type of cancer comes back many times, and the lighter procedure, if done right, actually gives a better chance of not seeding again for more tumor growth,” he explains. “Plus I can still play catch with my grandkids, hike, fish and, yes, God willing, [play] racquetball!” His doctors, well aware that Bailey likes to be so active, determined he was a good candidate for VATS. Bailey spent only three days in the hospital after the procedure. After traditional open-chest surgery, patients typically spend a week in the hospital and then four to six weeks recovering at home. Ten days after surgery, he and his wife, Kathy, were going on two-and-a-half miles walks.  “They told me I can play racquetball right now if I want to,” he said, just 12 days after surgery and one day after removal of the staples that secured his incisions. Just how important is racquetball to Bailey? Here’s what he said in a speech to the National Masters Racquetball Association at the end of the 2005 national tournament in Canoga Park, Calif.: “Racquetball has been so important for my recovery, both mentally and physically, that I can say outside of God, racquetball has been the main reason I’m alive today.” Actually, Bailey lists his family ahead of racquetball. Kathy, his wife of 40 years, has been a big support throughout treatment. So have his three children, who all live in Alaska. He finds support beyond his family, too. Since the fall of 2004, he has participated in the L-M-SARCOMA listserv, an online place for people to meet to talk about leiomyosarcoma. “I joined the group to see if it could help me understand my disease a little better and to have conversations with people with my same disease,” explains Bailey, who logs on daily. “Through them, I know the right questions to ask and what new treatments are out there.” The listserv is where he first heard about VATS. Bailey first suspected health trouble when he noticed a lump in his leg in the fall of 1999. He visited his local doctor in Anchorage, who misdiagnosed the lump as a lipoma, a fatty noncancerous mass, that needn’t cause concern. By the spring of 2001, the lump had grown noticeably and became discolored, so Bailey returned to the doctor. The doctor reiterated that it didn’t need to be removed, but that he could remove it quickly at his office if Bailey wanted. Bailey did. But the surgery was more intensive than planned taking several hours and getting only part of the lump. Pathology report came back with a diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma. In addition to confirming the leiomyosarcoma in Bailey’s leg, doctors discovered he had nodules in his lungs where the sarcoma had spread. Bailey had major surgery to remove cancerous tissue in his upper right thigh, the site where doctors believe his cancer began. Later doctors determined they had not gotten clear margins. So they knew some cancer remained in Bailey’s leg. To get at it, Bailey had another major surgery, followed by three months of radiation therapy. The wound from Bailey’s surgery refused to close and heal itself as expected. To promote healing in Bailey’s leg, doctors prescribed treatments in a hyperbaric chamber. Bailey attended 40 sessions – two-and-a-half hours per session, five days per week for eight weeks. The treatment involves staying inside a small, pressurized room with high levels of oxygen. The pressure was not only uncomfortable – “It was equal to being about 50 feet under the water,” says Bailey – but can also cause side effects. Bailey suffered damage to his eyes. His vision deteriorated, and he needed two cataract surgeries. The hyperbaric treatment did help heal his leg, Bailey says. But it was not completely successful, and in February 2003 he had another surgery to remove cancer as well as unhealed tissue. By September 2003, Bailey’s cancer was back in his leg. Also, one of the nodules in his lungs that hadn’t changed in years – a good sign – now appeared to be changing. More surgery would be needed. To shrink the leg tumor before surgery, doctors put Bailey on a chemotherapy regimen called AIM for short. It consists of the drugs adriamycin, ifosfamide and mesna. “It’s the hardest one you can have,” says Bailey. Usually doctors limit use of AIM to younger patients because it’s so taxing on the body. But they decided to try it with Bailey because of his fitness and strength, and because his vital signs were good. From October 2003 through January 2004, he went through six cycles of AIM, spending one week in the hospital then two weeks out of the hospital for each cycle. Though it was debilitating at the time, the treatment worked, shrinking not only the growth in his leg but also the active nodule in his lung. So in January 2004, doctors went to work to remove more leg tissue in yet another surgery. Bailey estimates that during his odyssey with cancer so far he has spent a total of one year in a wheel chair and one-and-a-half years on crutches. He’s also battled through three major infections, including two serious infections with Staphylococcus bacteria. About two weeks after his VATS procedure however, Bailey’s first order of business was to visit his children and grandchildren. Next was, of course, heading to the racquetball court to see how he could play.

V2N6 ESUN Copyright © 2005 Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative.