143: Rick Upchurch survived chronic myelogenous leukemia | oral chemotherapy | blood cancer | tasigna | nilotinib
Release Date: 04/19/2025
157: genetic testing helped stacy martin survive gastric cancer | prophylactic total gastrectomy
Cancer Interviews
Stacy Martin says genetic testing saved her life. The testing indicated she had the CDH1 mutation. The mutation gave her an 80 percent chance of getting gastric cancer and a 60 percent chance of breast cancer. She opted for a prophylactic total gastrectomy to remove her stomach and addressed the possibility of breast cancer with a bilateral mastectomy. Without a stomach, Stacy has had to change the way she eats, requiring food every two hours, and having to completely chew everything she eats. Despite this live-changing surgery, Stacy is leading a healthy...
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156: Jonathan Gegerson survived head and neck cancer | salivary duct carcinoma | taxol | herceptin
Cancer Interviews
In 2019, Jonathan Gegerson sought medical attention went he felt a lump on the right side of his neck. After a couple of scans and a biopsy, he was diagnosed with salivary duct carcinoma, a rare form of head and neck cancer. Jonathan survived, but not before enduring 67 sessions of radiation, 12 cycles of chemotherapy (carboplatin, taxol, herceptin) and seven surgeries. He still undergoes a targeted therapy on a monthly basis, and the surgery has affected his speech and his diet, but Jonathan has resumed an active lifestyle that includes skiing and hiking. Jonathan...
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155: Luke Mutter survived cholangiocarcinoma | systemic chemotherapy | oxaliplatin | folfirinox | trastuzumab
Cancer Interviews
It took two chemotherapy regimens, but Luke Mutter survived a rare form of bile duct cancer. A CT scan found a 14cm tumor in his liver. At that time, his care team told him he had cancer, but it could not identify the type of cancer. He was put on a systemic chemotherapy cocktail of folfirinox and oxaplatin, which attempt to kill the tumor. When that didn’t work, Luke learned he was a candidate for a hepatic artery infusion, which included chemo far stronger than his first regimen. Luke has achieved survivorship and is very thankful to be to lead a healthy...
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154: Linda Trummer survived mantle cell lymphoma | blastoid variant | doxorubicin | vincristine | cytarabine
Cancer Interviews
It was a stressful journey, but Linda Trummer survived Stage IV mantle cell lymphoma. In 2015, she went to her primary care physician after discovering a lump on her jaw line. That led to a diagnosis of a slow-moving blood cancer, MALtoma. However, further tests revealed a lump under her left arm and the diagnosis was upgraded to Stage IV mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer. She underwent R-Hyper-CVAD, a multi-faceted chemotherapy regimen and just two months later was declared to have No Evidence of Disease. Linda still suffers from the many side...
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153: Ty Cedars survived stage two testicular cancer | BEP | cisplatin | beleomycin | etopicide | neuropathy
Cancer Interviews
In 2021, one day away from his fortieth birthday, Ty Cedars felt pain in one of his testicles and noticed it was enlarged. He contacted his physician, asking to be seen. The following day, en route to a birthday celebration, Ty received a call from his doctor, requesting that Ty come right away. The Alexandria, Louisiana-based schoolteacher soon underwent an ultrasound, then was directed to a urologist, who told Ty that he had testicular cancer. He took the news calmly and was told by the doctor that this was a very treatable cancer, but that he would have to go on a...
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152: erin bloodworth exercise oncologist | fitness assessment | individualized exercise program | lymphedema | neuropathy
Cancer Interviews
A clinical exercise physiologist by trade, Erin Bloodworth sought a career change and became an exercise oncologist. This enabled her to take her expertise and apply it to helping cancer patients, which she does through Northwestern Medicine Living Well. Erin says whether a patient is going through cancer treatment or is post-treatment, she puts the patient through an individualized exercise program. She assesses the patient's health with tests tied to their ability to grip objects and go from a sitting position to a standing position and...
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151: Stewart Greenfield survived stage IV bladder cancer | cisplatin | gemcidibine | novolumab | immunotherapy
Cancer Interviews
For Stewart Greenfield, the third time was the charm. After checking pictures of his bladder in 2016, two doctors told him he didn’t have long to live; a third doctor told him he had Stage IV metastatic bladder cancer, but insisted he needed to be treated. The cancer had burned a hole in his bladder and attacked lymph nodes from his groin to his neck. Treatment included a chemotherapy cocktail of cisplatin and gemcidibine, plus qualifying for an immunotherapy, novolumab. It was a smashing success. Stewart says his urinary function is normal and he is able to...
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150: Noelle Gatlin survived Stage II pancreatic cancer | Whipple procedure | pancreatic duodenectomy
Cancer Interviews
Noelle Gatlin had to endure a lengthy, multi-step process, but she survived Stage II pancreatic cancer. A visit to an emergency department revealed a mass near her pancreas. She was transferred to a hospital, where a second CT scan resulted in her diagnosis. Her care team placed a duodenal stent in Noelle, then a bile duct stent. She next underwent a 12-infusion chemotherapy regimen with folfirinox. Then she was ready for a Whipple procedure, a pancreatic duodenectomy, which was a success. Noelle says because she took care of herself before,...
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149: Laurie Adami survived follicular non-Hodgkin Lymphoma | Yescarta CAR-T Therapy | Bexxar | Gazvya
Cancer Interviews
Laurie Adami seemed to have it all. She was the president of her company, at age 40, she had just had a son and still found time to lead an active lifestyle. However, in 2003, her health took a turn for the worse. She felt a lump in her abdomen, experienced frequent, lengthy sinus infections and chronic fatigue. All this led to a diagnosis of Stage IV Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. After six unsuccessful treatment regimens, she achieved complete remission on the seventh try, completing a battle that ran twelve years. When Laurie initially brought her...
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148: Nicole Scott Is A Kidney Cancer Caregiver | Partial Nephrectomy | Caregiver Burnout | Hernia
Cancer Interviews
Nicole Scott and her husband, Keith, worked at the same Ohio hospital. When Keith noticed abdominal pain in his left side, he thought it was muscle-related because of the physical nature of his job. The pain radiated to his groin, then what had been random occurrences of the pain became more frequent. Nicole urged Keith to seek urgent care. An emergency room doctor called for a CT scan, thinking Keith had at worst, a hernia. However, the CT scan revealed a mass on Keith’s kidney. An MRI and partial nephrectomy resulted in a diagnosis of papillary renal...
info_outlineFormer NFL star Rick Upchurch seemed to be in good health, but in 2010, he began to experience night sweats, fatigue and aches and pains. He saw his doctor, who ordered blood work. The test results revealed his white blood cell count was very high, and his general practitioner gave him the address of another doctor to see.
Rick and his wife were shocked to learn the doctor they had been told to see was an oncologist. That doctor called for a bone marrow biopsy, which confirmed Rick had chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare form of blood cancer that is tied to a genetic mutation called Philadelphia chromosome.
The onocologist prescribed a chemotherapy regimen for Rick, but to some degree he was relieved to learn that it would be a regimen of oral chemotherapy. The medication was known as tasigna, which also goes by the name of nilotinib. Rick had to take these pills three times a day, which he still has to do, and will have to do for the rest of his life.
Rick Upchurch’s chemotherapy regimen led to survivorship, but again, he has to take the tasigna three times a day, something he will need to do for the rest of his life. He has his good days and bad days.
On the bad days, he still experiences the fatigue, night sweats, achy muscles and joints; and he sometimes has diarrhea, as his body has a tough time processing the tasigna. However, he is grateful to be alive and grateful for the good days, in which he can lift weights, get on the elliptical and go for walks.
Rick and his wife, Donna, also engage in a number of activities that support children with cancer.