Cancer Interviews Jim Foster

Chest pains and severe fatigue drove Valerie David to seek medical attention, which led to a diagnosis of Stage 3B Cell Diffuse Large Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  A chemotherapy regimen helped her achieve survivorship.  However, years later, she discovered a lump under her armpit.  After getting it checked out, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, a form of breast cancer. Again, aided by a chemotherapy regimen, Valerie survived this diagnosis, but not long after that, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.  Despite the staging, Valerie was prescribed a less aggressive form of chemotherapy, and survived.  Inspired by her cancer journey, she written and starred in an award-winning one-woman play, “The Pink Hulk,” seen through the United States and in Europe.

In today’s Cancer Interview podcast, Joe Bullock shares his story with host Bruce Morton, about how he survived Stage 3b colorectal cancer, a form of colon cancer, after first undergoing a colonoscopy due to irritable bowel syndrome which led to his
diagnosis, followed by chemotherapy treatments including Oxyplatin and Xeloda. Joe now works with the Man Up to Cancer support group for men facing a cancer diagnosis.

Joe Bullock had experienced symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in the past. As unpleasant as it was, he was familiar with having blood in his stool and addressed it with
over-the-counter remedies. However, while dealing with the death of his parents and his reliance on over-the-counter medications, he was slow to seek medical attention. When
he did, his doctor thought the problem was due to hemorrhoids. Because he was not yet 50 years old, he never thought he might have colon cancer; but when he turned 50, Joe’s doctor said it was time for a colonoscopy, as did his wife, who is a registered nurse.

A colonoscopy revealed an 8cm tumor in his colon. Joe was relieved to learn the location of his tumor was such that the tumor could be removed without his needing a ostomy
bag. Joe needed a procedure in which the tumor would be removed and the colon reattached. However, when that surgery took place, 40 lymph nodes were removed, and
three of them were cancerous. That’s when Joe Bullock was diagnosed with Stage 3B colorectal cancer, and he was told he require a chemotherapy regimen. The regimen
would include two medications, oxyplatin and xeloda.

Joe Bullock’s wife, thanks to her expertise, was an outstanding source of support on the clinical side; but she had a tough time supporting the emotional side of Joe’s battle, Her challenges and his challenges dealing with chemotherapy made Joe depressed, but he soldiered on, following instructions and doing what he needed to do regarding the regimen. Nonetheless, at the recommendation of his oncologist, Joe started seeing a
therapist.

Joe says the toughest part of his oxyplatin regimen took place in the first ten days after his oxyplatin dosage. He felt was like pins and needles in throat, which limited what he could eat. In terms of beverages, he could not drink anything cold or anything that wasroom temperature. It had to be warm coffee or warm tea. Joe said oxyplatin “ruined my tastebuds.”

As for the xeloda, it was ingested in pill form. Joe said it resulted in severe fatigue and cognitive issues, both commonly associated with chemotherapy.

Eventually, Joe was thrilled to learn he had been declared “NED,” or No Evidence of Disease. With this news, Joe said he and his wife to removed doctor visits and chemo from their day-to-day lives and that for the first time in years, they could plan a vacation.

However, did have to make periodic follow up visits, and he was surprised to find he missed the treatment regimen. He says when undergoing treatment, he felt like he was
being proactive about his cancer; but without treatment, he worried about a reoccurance of cancer and was doing nothing about it.

Joe is still NED, but there are aspects of his health he has learned to live with. He still has frozen foot syndrome and feels tingling in his fingers. Joe used to run, but cannot do that anymore.

Joe Bullock is from Durham, North Carolina. He enjoys grilling and owning three pit bulls. In terms of work, he is the Chief Operating Officer of Man Up To Cancer, a support group that stays away from the clinical side, but prioritizes helping men with the often-overlooked mental health of a cancer journey. ‘Man Up’ has support groups that meet in-person and virtually, it has men’s retreats and offers numerous other services via its website, https://www.manuptocancer.org . Joe Bullock says a man diagnosed with cancer needs to be mentally tough, and Man Up To Cancer can help a man do that.

Additional Reso

Thanks to a misdiagnosis, for two months Amanda Ferraro was walking around with acute myeloid leukemia and didn’t know it.  But after a return to the doctor’s office and subsequent bone marrow biopsy, Amanda was diagnosed.  After an aggressive regimen of induction chemotherapy, she went into remission; but six months later, the cancer returned.  Amanda underwent another bone marrow biopsy and was put on another chemo regimen.  She was told the only thing that could save her would be a stem cell transplant.  Miraculously, a donor was found, and the transplant was performed.  These days Amanda is a patient advocate and pushes for laws in the New Jersey Legislature that come to the aid of those diagnosed with cancer.

In 2018, Beth Brubaker was clobbered by a double whammy.  First, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, then four days later, she learned she was pregnant.  Her initial diagnosis was Stage Zero Ductal Carcinoma In Situ; however, after a lumpectomy, further tests revealed Beth had HER2+ Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, presenting as Paget’s Disease.  This required an immediate mastectomy to get rid of the cancer in her left breast, following by an aggressive chemotherapy regimen.  While she was carrying a child and dealing with chemotherapy, Beth continued working as a schoolteacher.  Through all this, she achieved survivorship, and had the blissfully uneventful birth of a daughter, Harper.  

For Kevin Jerge, what began as a sore throat in 2013, led to the removal of his tonsils, and that led to a diagnosis of Stage IV head and neck cancer.  Kevin’s oncologist said Kevin didn’t have to undergo chemotherapy but did require radiation treatment to attack cancerous lymph nodes.  He said the regimen made his throat feel like sunburn, pain which lingered months after the conclusion of his treatment.  He also lost his ability to taste.  However, Kevin survived, can once again taste food and beverage and seeks to help others with his book, “Go To Your Happy Place.”

After Mandy Basson’s teenager passed away from Ewing’s Sarcoma, she was inspired to establish a support group for a rare cancer that has at least 175 variations.  This is her story.