“Stay out of trouble”

“Nice to meet you Dr. Mayhem” he said mispronouncing my last name, but he had me smiling. “A pleasure to meet you too” I replied to my newly formed friend. In the background of the clinic, the laughter this word created reaches out to my depths and pulls out something I have longed to share. If you have seen me in clinic many times, my closing statement to each of my patient is “stay out of trouble.” It’s like my signature. I want to blog about what that actually means and why I say it.

I will start by asking “the” difficult question. One you all know but maybe have never dared to ask. When a patient first gets diagnosed with cancer, be it melanoma or sarcoma or any other type, where do you think their mind goes? In my practice I have watched as my patients go to thoughts of death first. This is exceptionally vivid when I am the one who introduces this particular thought to them.  There is an awkward silence that usually follows. It is not awkward for me as I am the one being silent. This is broken on many occasions by a deep sadness, an overwhelming emotion that fills tears in everyone’s eyes who are watching. I create the space in time to accommodate and acknowledge this feeling. Silence has an end, it is not never-ending. My patients get into “trouble” trying to understand their cancer, their disease, their plan and how it is to be executed.  They are never left to do this alone. I will admit that initially they are lead to believe they are.

Truth has a responsibility of being clear, sharp and honest. Telling a patient that they have a terminal cancer is no easy task. Yet I do that daily, begging the question from the observers of “how do you do this?”  To answer this statement of “stay out of trouble”, when asked to do the same, I end up saying “no I will not” because I am at the heart of it.  I have marveled at the psychology of the irrational fear of death that drives us towards a helplessness that cripples us to give up. I journey deep into these “hot waters” pulling my patients out of an irreversible outcome. No one does it better than the person on this journey and I end up learning so much from each of my friends as they face this certainty. So I walk beside them and find myself saying simply “stay out of trouble”.

I usually say it as I leave the room; I point and stare deep into my friend’s eyes as I say it. I mean it; it is a real, reflex almost. I fought hard to get them out of the tribulation that they are being faced with. I want them to live fully and embrace what moments they have left. As important, I also point at those around them reminding them of the diamond that sits amongst them, that soon they may be forced to part with.

Stay out of trouble my friends.

Mo

 

 

7 Days of Jim

It was my first day to meet Jim. He walked in and sat down, a well-appearing middle-aged man. I introduced myself and said I was just going to look at his scan and I would be back to discuss what I saw. In the back room, where patients sometimes wonder what we do I examined his CT-scan. His tumor had wrapped itself around his windpipes. I made a few calls and then walked back into the room and sat in front of Jim. He barely knew me. I had a solemn stare as I walked him through the scan and my fears that this might occlude his breathing pipe soon. I explained in detail that I would like a specialist to perform a procedure to look down his pipe to see if they could give me a better assessment. I also shared that they could do this today. With a trusting tone he agreed to have the procedure done on the same day. Until today I wonder why?

To do this procedure, he had to be placed on a ventilator –a breathing machine. I got a strange call from my specialist. “The procedure went well”, but he explained to me that they could “not remove Jim from the breathing tube”. They were worried if they did this that his lung may collapse, and he was being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) on a ventilator. I confess this is not the outcome I wanted. This patient came in walking and now was on a breathing machine in the ICU. I finished my clinic and made my way up to the unit to see how he was doing and to think up a plan. This is when I was met with all his family. “Get out of this one” my mind said. It was surreal. Many eyes were staring, asking me questions, wondering who I was and trying to understand why their loved one got instantly sicker after he had met with a doctor for the first time in the clinic.

I was going nowhere; I pulled up a chair, and sat down. I talked to Jim’s family, honestly and with great care and empathy I chose my words. Jim stayed in the ICU for 7 days. During these 7 days, I watched his family’s emotions, their courage, their faith, and their gratitude. As he lay there sedated and intubated, his family made difficult choices for him. Through this tumultuous period we bonded. With their help the tumor shrank with the treatment I had thought would be best. When Jim woke up, he could not remember any of it. His voice was hoarse, he did not know me, did not recall a thing that he went through, could not understand the days that had gone. It was ironic how the diagnosis, the ICU, the procedure and the waiting was an affair of his family and not him.

I have seen many things in my life, but the miracle of a family is something I appreciated that day.  I believe the days that Jim could not remember were long and memorable by those who are alive today. To Jim it was a mirage that we could only tell him about never felt or seen, for the family and I it was how we got to know each other.

Mo

 

 

 

Joy

Three years ago this week, my brother, sister and I lost our Dad, Jim White. My Mom lost the love of her life. My boys and my sister’s kids lost their grandpa, my uncle lost his little brother…former ball players lost their favorite ex-coach, and a community lost a friend and local business man. He was taken from us by melanoma.

I do not pretend to understand what it is like to fight cancer. I have nothing but admiration for those that fight cancer so bravely all with passionate determination and hope in their hearts.

My family experienced what seemingly so many have experienced or are experiencing this very moment, losing a loved one to cancer. It sucks. It is hard. At times I become selfish, and personally feel that memories that had yet to be created were taken from me and my family. My faith and heart know that he is in a better place, yet it is hard for those left behind when amazing people leave us to soon.

Rather than dwelling on the moments that he is missing, it seems to be better to channel that energy into passion.  That passion to pick up the fight where he and so many others left off.

I feel I can speak for my Dad’s family and close friends when I say there were so many lessons we all learned being there with him as he battled melanoma. I feel compelled to share them in hope that other families might also look for all the positive moments, even when there are days where they do not necessarily shine through.

Here are three that stand out with a clarity that is still as sharp as it was 4 years ago when his battle began:

Live in the Moment – As hard as it was spending so much time in ICU, the hospital stays, and towards the end, at Jim’s home under the care of Hospice…those times gave us amazing memories, due to us being together as a family. Uncles, Aunts, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces,  mother-in-laws, father-in-laws, close friends…we all were focused not on the daily tasks of work, challenges that we face day to day, or outside conflicts, but rather on LIFE. His LIFE. Our LIFE as ONE Family, and ONE community, all supporting my Dad’s one goal. To LIVE. And living only in that moment, striving to help him achieve that ONE goal, was fulfilling and beautiful. Life matters most when you are fighting for just 1 extra week, day, or minute. The Future literally becomes the Present, and the Past is a gift.

Faith – Faith in God. Faith in the human spirit, Faith in Dr. Mo, and his team. Faith that all this suffering has meaning. Faith in each other and Faith in what it means to fight one’s final battle with dignity and integrity.

And lastly:

JOY – That is a word I honestly, never gave much thought to prior to 2010 when my Dad was diagnosed with Recurrent Melanoma. But the word has not escaped me since he passed in 2011.

Almost 600 people attended my father’s visitation. I bet 500 of them used the word Joy or Joyful, when describing my father. And as hard as it was, we listened intently to each one of them, absorbing the power of that word that described how my Father’s Joy made a difference in so many people’s life.

As human beings we have great days, rough days, and everything in between. But I saw Joy in my Dad as he fought this terrible disease for a year. He honestly never complained. And I saw Joy in others at the Holden Cancer Center at the U of I as they fought their own battles. Whether they were 63 years of age like my Dad or 5 years old as some of those kids were when I walked through the Children’s Cancer wing.  The Joy shinned through them.

Do not overlook the power and difference you can make by extending Joy to others as we reside on this planet.

I am honored to be able to share in this time slot that is typically filled by such an eloquent writer and amazing person such as Dr. Mo. Wednesday is the day that my Dad would write his own blog through Care Pages, sharing his Joy of life to hundreds, giving them a little extra inspiration for their week. Now that same WED is the day I look forward to reading the brilliant and intimate words of a man who genuinely cares about the human spirit and his patients. Those whose battles have ended and those still fighting seem to feed him energy to press forward and keep fighting the good fight. With JOY in his heart.

I would like to end on an excerpt from one of Jim’s Care Page entries:

“Looking back to March 28^th when I was released from UI Hospital after a 13 day stay (7 in ICU) I remember making some short term/intermediate goals…*attend Easter Mass w/ my family *celebrate grand-daughter Hailey’s birth *participate in grandson’s (Jaden, Tyler, and Dylan) birthdays in April, May and June *traditional Father’s Day golf outing and cookout *4^th of July (special to me)…except for the birth of Hailey these occasions are nothing new, but they’ve never meant more to me. Guess what I’m trying to say is this month I’ll be 63 yrs old, but I’ve learned how to live, enjoy and appreciate life to its fullest just in the last 6 months.”

Thanks for taking the time to peak into a bit of Jim and his family’s story. Writing it was somewhat therapeutic for me. If you have lost a loved one to cancer, keep telling their stories. As cancer is just a small chapter in their amazing book of how to live life to the fullest.

-Jay White

Follow The Jim White Foundation on Facebook.

 

Tad

He was very young and it had recurred in his brain. Tad was playing on his computer when I walked into the room. He looked healthy, his eyes bright and beaming with intelligence. I sat across from him in the old cancer center and he asked me question after question. I connected with him instantly and we talked. He always came alone, never accompanied by anyone. I respected his independence. He looked things up on the internet brought them to my attention. My melanoma program was young then and new therapies were still not available. It was hard to tell him about death, to share with him the lack of treatments available and to tell about how clinical trials work. He took it all in and shared with me that he would like to try something. He participated in a trial only offered here in Iowa. He became an instant hero. I shared with him the limitations of research, the problems we faced and how science alone is the best way to fight cancers that have no good treatments.  We discussed many thoughts and theories and he engaged with me as he went through his treatments. His tumors grew despite the treatment in his brain. I look back at the day I told him the news and he was wheeled off to surgery to have the tumors removed.

It had been 2 years without a word. I knew he was out there. He had not come back to see me nor visited. I thought about him a lot and what he was up to. I heard small snippets of his life. Tad did not want to get any more treatment and was living it up. I missed him and thought about his bravery and how his disease was just an obstacle that had crippled his life. I formed my own convictions about what and how he was living. Suddenly out of nowhere he came to see me. He was not the same, he lay there. He was crippled with his disease, his speech slurred, and he had a hard time articulating his words. I walked into the room, dazed that this man had made the journey after such a long time of silence to say goodbye. I sat down next to him, held his hand and began to cry. It is a rare moment for me to cry with my patients. He wanted me to know that he was content with everything, that he was comfortable and had lived his life fully. I was stunned at his outgoing attitude despite all the difficulties this disease had placed in front of him. He told me its ok, and he just wanted to say goodbye. I cannot find the words to express to you how that made me feel and I write this blog with words that cannot describe my sentiment around him that day.

Tad’s impact went further than anything I could imagine. One month after he passed, friends of his gathered at a bar and collected donations to help my growing program. His parents whom I had met on his last visit came to see me to share with me the event that took place. I am humbled by the efforts of all those who have helped create snowballs that become avalanches that remove uncertainty from the knowledge of this cancer. Helping us find ways to wipe it out. Tad resonates deeply in my heart and he showed me that “Every man dies, but not every man lives” his most famous quote from William Wallace. Tad died, but he lives in the Iowa Melanoma program, moving the science forward in ways I hope he would be proud of. Each year dedicated friends and family gather round and make sure that Tad’s legacy remains that he was a man who decided to live his life despite all the odds.

Tad, I bow deep and honor your courage. You are one of my true heroes. Thank you.

Mo

On Monday, March 3rd, I was a guest on the Paula Sands Live show in the Quad Cities, talking about Tips for Tad. Watch here: http://bit.ly/NUlU5P

 

Readers Asked.

Instead of doing my usual blog post this week, I thought I’d change things up by answering some reader questions that have come through Melanoma Iowa (Facebook), Sarcoma Iowa (Facebook), @MelanomaIowa, @SarcomaIowa and my LinkedIn page. A new page will be added to my blog called “Readers Asked” that will include your questions and my answers. Here’s the first of many more “Readers Asked” blog posts.

Readers Asked:

How did you become interested in treating cancers, specifically melanoma and sarcoma? Why the focus on these two cancers?

I decided to be a doctor at the age of 12. It was a personal experience for me that started after I had gotten stitches from falling down. During my medical schooling I was inspired by hematology the study of blood disorders and became fascinated with the cellular make up of this viscous substance. My curiosity of blood drove me to a career in cancer. During my 3-years of lab work I was asked to do sarcoma as it was the clinic that people feared. It opened my eyes to a whole new world that I found mirrored what I was seeing in the laboratory. Blood and sarcomas came from the same stem cell: mesenchymal stem cells. I would say sarcoma became more attractive as it encompassed such a variety of different types (150+ subtypes).

Why melanoma? The science behind it is riveting, it is smart and relentless; it grew on me and has made me very motivated to “figure it out”.

How do you have the energy to keep up with the emotions and science that an oncologist has to endure?

I think I am very passionate about what I see in cancer and its abilities scientifically. It’s the first cell to cheat death. The science is maddening and absolutely beautiful. My patients make me “bounce” and because of that I have grown more compassionate and it helps me endure.

Have you ever wanted to give up your job and find a more peaceful life without the stress of being a doctor that deals with cancer and all of the terrible outcomes that come with it?

Absolutely. Many times. My wife would say I am “attention-seeking” when I tell her I wish I was a garbage man, I really do. It’s a noble job that helps humanity clean up its mess but a shower fixes everything at the end of the day and I do not carry so much in my heart. What has transpired is I have discovered that because of what I know now I have a responsibility to help those around me, it is hard for me to turn my back on all the knowledge I have acquired and my ability to deliver excellent care.

How do you find work-life balance? What’s a day in your life?

Ah yes, this one perhaps I will blog about – thanks for asking this. Not easy. I do thank my wife for being ground zero to come home to. It’s why perhaps I married a psychiatrist. 

Can you give any ideas or suggestions on how the families of those with Melanoma can help support and say the right things to their loved ones fighting this disease?

I have learned that the best ideas come from you. Those in the battle, if only doctors would take the time to listen to their patients’ struggles. You are in the best position to offer the advice for other families who can learn from what your own experience has taught you. I often connect patients together to let them talk to each other. I really do not know what chemotherapy feels like or what a side-effect is. I counsel then connect. Tell me of your experience; it likely was the right one for the person you helped in their battle against this disease.

Do you have something you want to ask me? Email my assistant at julianna-kennedy@uiowa.edu with your question and I’ll add it to my next “Readers Asked” blog post.