This article was written one year ago. How is he doing today? Well, he's gearing up to walk the Purple Stride in New York and would love your donation here!
In South Nyack, a Triumph Over Cancer Against Odds
John Whitley sounds off on combating cancer and supporting others in need
I hope that nobody reading this ever has to hear their doctor say, "I'm sorry, you probably have about 12 months."
Originally from Yorkshire in the North of England, I have been living in South Nyack since 1988, and, until the age of 56, had been reasonably lucky health-wise until my roller-coaster ride of 2011.
In January, pancreatitis put me briefly in Nyack Hospital. That was followed by surgery to remove my gall bladder in March, and then a referral to specialists at New York Presbyterian who initially diagnosed me with bile duct cancer and recommended the Whipple Procedure—a five-hour surgery which removed part of my pancreas, part of my liver and part of my intestine. (Then the magic hands of Dr. John Allendorf put everything back together again.)
Two weeks later, I went back for my first post-surgery appointment. It had taken the operation to reveal the fact that I did not in fact have bile duct cancer, but pancreatic cancer. However, the surgery had removed 100 percent of the growth and I was introduced to Dr. Saif, a cheerful Indian oncology specialist who, at our first meeting, explained that I was not only now his patient, but "his buddy."
Any preventative chemotherapy had to be put on hold for several weeks for me to recover from the surgery, and it allowed plenty of time for all the necessary tests prior to the planned treatment.
On July 12, I went back for my final pre-chemo appointment and was led into a room where Dr. Saif, two interns and my case manager were waiting. He gently broke the news that the previous day's scan had shown that I now had a 1.8 cm tumor in my liver—the cancer had metastasized, and I was now classified as stage four. I asked what the worst case scenario would be, and he said, "I'm sorry my buddy, probably around 12 months."
You know those rides at Disney where the floor drops out from under you? That's exactly what I felt at that point.
Well, after that, things happened pretty quickly—the following day I went back to NYP for surgery to install an intravenous port just below my collar bone, and the following week, chemotherapy and participation in a clinical trial started. From day one I decided there was only one course of action: to fight, fight, fight.
The staff on the 14th floor of the Herbert Irving Building at NYP came to know me as the guy with the English accent and the constant smile of optimism on his face.
Some people remember dates of weddings, births, other special occasions; I remember September 16,2011 at 10:16 a.m. Dr. Saif called, explained that although he knew I would be at the hospital the following Tuesday, I had to know the news straight away. I could hear the excitement in his voice.
"My buddy, the scan you had yesterday showed that the tumor in your liver has disappeared to the extent where it cannot be detected—you truly are one of the lucky ones."
It wasn’t until my appointment the following week that I truly understood the significance of the news—no more pancreatic tumor, no more liver tumor, no tumors period.
I was diagnosed as HEPATITIS B carrier in 2013 with fibrosis of the
ReplyDeleteliver already present. I started on antiviral medications which
reduced the viral load initially. After a couple of years the virus
became resistant. I started on HEPATITIS B Herbal treatment from
ULTIMATE LIFE CLINIC (www.ultimatelifeclinic.com) in March, 2020. Their
treatment totally reversed the virus. I did another blood test after
the 6 months long treatment and tested negative to the virus. Amazing
treatment! This treatment is a breakthrough for all HBV carriers.