Bill's
Story - A Description of Cancer Progression  |
 DBY swim team champions 8 & under relay team. Billy 2nd from left. I am a 36-year-old male. Married, father of two a five year old and a 1-year-old. I am a non-smoker. I do not consume alcoholic beverages (at the most 1 beer a month). Up until recently, I was very athletic. I had been in numerous bike and running marathons, and participated in volleyball and basketball leagues. When
in high school and college I was a lifeguard in Daytona Beach, Florida. This was
in the late 70’s and early 80’s when not much emphasis was placed on
sunscreen. In
Jan. 1995 I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, Clark Level IV. The lesion
was on my left shoulder measuring Breslow’s thickness 2.4mm. In
Jan 1995 lesion was excised wide area excision with flap. Dr. Jennings in Denver
was the surgeon. In March 1995 I began immunotherapy at John Wayne Cancer Institute at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica, Ca. Monthly injections were administered until March 1996. (Dr. Leland Foshag my physician there). March 1996 immunotherapy injections decreased to every 3 months. February
1997 lesion detected on lingular left lobe of lung, measuring 8mm on CT scan. At
this time the brain was MRI’d with no lesions detected. February
1997 through July 1997 monthly immunotherapy injections, monthly chest x rays
and hi-monthly CT scans of lung to monitor lesion. July
1997 CT scan of lung showed lesion increased to 1 cm. July
28, 1997 excision of lesion (malignant melanoma) on left lung by Dr. Leland
Foshag at John Wayne Cancer Inst. Measuring 1.4cm. Nov.
2, 1997 had onset of very painful headache. Relentless. Over-the-counter pain
meds not helping. Finally, during night, headache subsided. Nov.
3. 1997 awoke, feeling groggy. Not able to think clearly. Unable to read. Nov.
6, 1997 back to John Wayne Cancer Institute for monthly immunotherapy
injections. Reported to Dr. Foshag of the headache and confusion of thoughts and
difficulty reading. Dr. Foshag requested I receive an MRI of brain on my return
to CO. Nov. 12, 1997 MRI of brain in Ft. Collins, CO at Poudre Valley Hospital. Nov. 14, 1997 Dr. Merrill (oncologist) in Ft. Collins informed me of a 4 cm. Tumor on my left brain with 3 small tumors scattered deep within the brain. Nov.
20, 1997 Dr. Kindt of the University of Colorado at Denver removed 4 cm. Tumor
(the melanoma had ruptured causing the tumor to be 4 cm). Nov.
21, 1997 Full body scan at University of Colorado at Denver. Possibility of
adrenal gland and lung lesions noted. Nov.
25, 1997 Dr. Breeze of the University of Colorado at Denver performed the Gamma
Knife stereo tactic procedure on the three smaller tumors. Fourth tumor noted,
but outside the range of helmet. Decided to re-scan in six weeks and take care
of any new ones then as well. Jan.
12, 1998 Dr. Breeze of the University of Colorado at Denver performed the Gamma
Knife stereo tactic procedure on the fourth tumor from above and two new tumors. Jan.
15, 1998, chest and abdomen CT at St. John Hospital in Santa Monica, CA
showed slight growth (from 2.0cm to 2.4cm) in tumor on adrenal gland, and suspicious
spot on liver noted. No change in lung lesions -suspect post-operative sites. Jan.
21, 1998 started low-dose interferon (3 mil units) injections, 3 times per week. March
10, 1998, brain MRI at University of Denver showed two new tumors on right side
of brain. March
12, 1998, chest and abdomen CT at St. John Hospital in Santa Monica, CA showed
slight growth (from 2.4cm to 3.0cm) in tumor on adrenal gland, and suspicious
spot on liver confirmed as tumor. Still no change in lung lesions. April
6, 1998 gamma knife on the two new tumors. Also, six more small brain lesions
were seen. Five of them were treated with the gamma knife - the sixth one was
outside the helmet’s position. April
20, 1998 had MRI of brain - no significant changes. April
29, 1998 started a three week treatment of a monoclonal antibody in
Philadelphia, administered by Dr. Luther Brady and Dr. Curtis Miyamoto. Finished
treatment on May 13, 1998. May
24, 1998 CT of chest, abdomen and pelvis showed growth in the adrenal gland to
6.0cm. Several small, suspicious nodules appeared in the kidneys along with a
larger spot on the pancreas. Also, there were suspicious looking lymph nodes in
the lungs. June
6, 1998 MRI of brain showed growth in lesion in left occipital region. June
11, 1998, started whole brain radiation. Started at a lower dose (200 rads per
treatment), and finished on June 26, 1998. On June 14, started treatment doses
of 300 rads after vision symptoms worsened (blind spot became larger - to the
point of affecting my reading). Total rads after completing full treatment was
approximately 3,000. June
23, 1998, entered Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach, FL after the largest of the
two occipital tumors, hemorrhaged. Remained in hospital for 9 days while brain
was being monitored with regular CT scans and MRI. These showed stable progression.
On July 3 released from hospital. Have since been making steady improvement.
Vision has improved but not yet normal. August
15, 1998, started thalidomide treatment at New York Medical Center with Dr.
Gruber. This involves taking 200mg of the drug once a day in the evening. On
September 25, 1998, scans of abdomen and a MRI of brain each showed they were
stable, so it was decided to stay with the thalidomide treatment. (This was
Bill’s last entry He died November 18, 1998.) |