Anthony Rizzo, #44
Chicago First Baseman
As a child, Anthony Rizzo dreamed of playing baseball. At age 18, on his way to living out his dream, his aspirations came to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. After six months of chemotherapy, he went into remission. Remembering that the fight against cancer was not just for him but also for his family, he founded the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation
in 2012.
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A quest to cure cancer
in our lifetime
“Everything is a new normal, but my new normal is good.”
Jessica
Blackford-Cleeton
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“I had a sense that I could do this.”
Rachael Elliott
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“I went in there as a warrior.”
Sandro Miller
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“I plan to make every day count.”
Ivy Elkins
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Team Bendy — his parents, six sisters and a brother — is steadfast by his side.
Anthony Bendy
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Hope and Healing
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Bendy is now receiving more chemotherapy along with a new immunotherapy that directly targets Hodgkin lymphoma cells. His medical team is optimistic that he will be cured. He looks at this second round of therapy as another battle to prepare for and get through as quickly as he can.
“I feel like I just want to finish school and live a good life,” Bendy says. “Wherever life takes me, it will take me and I’ll make sure to be happy.”
Team Bendy — Mom, Dad, six sisters and a brother — is steadfast by
his side.
The cancer diagnosis and the months spent in treatment “ripped our hearts out,” says his mom. "But it brought us closer, a lot tighter. A diagnosis of cancer affects the entire family, as both Bendy and Rizzo know. And as cancer experts know, support from loved ones combined with leading-edge research, treatment and care strengthens a patient’s ability to successfully fight cancer.
“Cancer can’t compete with a strong family and a strong patient who is ready to fight the battle.”
Today, Anthony, the baseball star, and Anthony, the cancer patient, are teaming up with UChicago Medicine, the Rizzo Family Foundation, the Chicago Tribune and Mariano’s in
a campaign to support cancer research and to help families battling the disease.
“That was the first smile I had gotten out of Anthony since the day we found out he had cancer.”
While a college freshman, Bendy often called his family complaining of fatigue and upper respiratory symptoms. But it wasn’t until he returned to his New Lenox, Illinois, home following final exams that his parents became alarmed.
After noticing a large lump on Anthony’s neck, Jennifer and Jeffrey Bendy took their son to a specialist who admitted him to the hospital, where a biopsy revealed Hodgkin lymphoma.
“The doctor takes you in a little room to tell you what’s going on,” Jennifer says. “I went back up to the patient floor and I’m just crying and shaking. How do I tell my son he has cancer?”
UChicago Medicine oncologists at Silver Cross Hospital reassured the family and referred them to the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) oncology program based at Comer Children’s on UChicago Medicine’s Hyde Park campus.
“And that’s how we met Dr. McNeer,” says Jennifer. “She has been amazing. She saved Anthony’s life. Twice.” Jennifer McNeer, MD, pediatric hematologist/oncologist, is an expert in childhood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma.
“I told Anthony and his family that the cancer was a pause in his life to get through and then life would continue on,” McNeer says.
But the pause took longer than Bendy, his family and his care team had hoped. Although the cancer went into remission after five cycles of chemotherapy, a routine scan and biopsy one year later revealed it had returned.
The next course of treatment, which began in March 2018, included chemotherapy to get him back into remission, followed by a stem cell transplant.
Fear strikes out as ‘Team Bendy’ throws cancer a curve
It hasn’t always been easy to be a Cubs fan. From the time Anthony Bendy was little, the Chicago Cubs were his team — even though his parents and seven siblings cheered for the White Sox.
Bendy admits he’s always been a big fan of underdogs. “Now, I’m really happy I’m a Cubs fan.”
It’s not just because the Cubs won the World Series in 2016. Just a few months earlier, on the day then-19-year-old Bendy began treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, he received a personal message from Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who also was diagnosed in his teens with the same type of cancer.
Bendy’s mother, Jennifer, had heard about the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation’s work on behalf of cancer patients. To lift her son’s spirits the night before his first chemotherapy session, she wrote the Foundation: “My son hasn’t smiled in weeks. He’s always been a happy kid. Could you just send a get well card and put a smile back on his face?”
The next day, after the family arrived at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, a photo of Rizzo holding a big poster with the words “Stay Strong Anthony” arrived by email.
“It was awesome,” says Bendy, now 21. He felt a special connection with the baseball player who not only shares the same first name, but who is a survivor for the same type of cancer. “It probably got me through the first round of chemotherapy because I had something else to think about.”
His mom choked back tears as she recalled,
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When diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at age 19, lifelong Cubs fan Anthony Bendy learned that cancer can hit anyone at any time. Bendy was just a college freshman when he started complaining to his parents about fatigue and upper respiratory problems.
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Anthony Bendy
Hodgkin lymphoma
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conferences and supports those fighting lung cancer. She is making every day count for herself, her family and other patients.
—Gretchen Rubin, for the University of Chicago Medicine
She thought she’d live only a few months, but now she’s active — and an advocate
Back in 2013, Ivy Elkins feared she’d only live a short time. Today, however, Elkins is on top of the world — and even climbed to the top of a waterfall in Iceland last summer.
"My prognosis seemed dismal,” Elkins said. Doctors told her she had lung cancer and that it had already spread to her bones and brain. All those family tomorrows — wedding anniversaries, her sons’ birthdays, vacations — seemed to evaporate.
New therapies at UChicago Medicine gave her optimism and hope. “Our understanding of lung cancer genetics has opened new opportunities to personalize therapy for each patient,” says oncologist Jyoti Patel, MD.
Testing revealed Elkins had non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), triggered by a mutation in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene. The mutation causes cancer cells to multiply rapidly — and is more likely to affect women and nonsmokers.
Within a week of starting a newly approved medication that disrupts cancer at the molecular level, Elkins improved. Her lung tumor shrank, her brain lesions disappeared and her bones began healing. There were few side effects.
Cancer can adapt to treatments, however, and three years later the EGFR gene mutated and the disease seemed poised to stage a comeback.
Fortunately, Patel zeroed in on the new mutation before symptoms appeared and began treating Elkins with another targeted medication. Today, she has minimal evidence of lung cancer.
Elkins now is an advocate for lung cancer research, speaks at
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Patient-turned-advocate Ivy Elkins was anything but certain about overcoming a daunting diagnosis of lung cancer. Doctors at University of Chicago Medicine provided her hope.
Ivy Elkins
Lung cancer
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Sandro Miller's story >
A cancer diagnosis affects the
entire family. Sandro and Claude reflect on how their lives have permanently changed.
“You learn to make every minute count, every bit of time with your wife, your children, your grandchildren,” Sandro said. “I wake up every day and I feel blessed. I’m living every day to the fullest, loving as deeply as I can and just really having a great, great, great life.”
After cancer, photographer focuses on his work and family
Partners in life and in business, award-winning photographer Sandro Miller and his wife, Claude-Aline Nazaire Miller, do everything together.
They never expected that to include facing cancer.
Six years ago, Sandro was at the height of his career, in his early 50s and still young enough to feel “a bit indestructible.” A diagnosis of stage 4 throat cancer turned his life, and Claude’s, upside down.
Sandro, now 59, was determined to “go in and fight it with everything I’ve got.”
Claude would become his caregiver, at his side throughout the long and difficult treatment. “So I had to become stronger,” she said.
As cancer experts know, support from loved ones combined with leading-edge research, treatment and care strengthens a patient’s ability to successfully fight cancer. Sandro chose University of Chicago Medicine oncologist Everett Vokes, MD, for
his care.
As a photographer, Sandro is based in Chicago but known throughout the world for his expressive portraits of actors, athletes, artists and everyday people. His photos have been featured in shows, books and award-winning advertising campaigns for commercial, community-based and charitable organizations.
“I remember while lying in my bed, I came up with a couple of really wonderful projects for me to do, if I was to get well,” Sandro said. He did, and completed both — “Eyes of Morocco,” a series of 400 portraits of people across the African nation, and “Homage to the Masters,” a tribute to the great photographers who had influenced and inspired him throughout his career.
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A Stage 4 throat cancer diagnosis turned photographer Sandro Miller’s life upside down. After searching for the best available treatment, he and his wife found it close to home. Now, Sandro uses his talent to tell the stories of other cancer patients.
Sandro Miller
Throat cancer
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Rachael Elliott's story >
“I wanted to get on with my life, but needed to rest and recover first,” she said. “Cancer can’t compete with the strength we find inside of us. It’s incredible how sick I was and how much better I got.”
Five years after starting treatment, McNeer considers Rachael cured of leukemia. Rachael graduated from college and recently took a two-year position teaching middle school English in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Understandably, her parents are concerned about their daughter going so far from home.
But they know it’s time for Rachael to put cancer behind her and spread her wings.
Spreading her wings after leukemia
In 2012, Rachael Elliott of Leaf River, Illinois, had plans to finish college and pursue a teaching career. But then cancer nearly grounded the
18-year-old.
While working at a store during the Christmas season, Rachael passed out. She attributed her dizziness and fatigue to holiday and school stress.When she nearly fainted a few days later, she was brought to a nearby hospital. The diagnosis: acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Rachael was referred to pediatric oncologist Jennifer McNeer, MD, and the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Program at the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital. AYA programs recognize the unique medical, emotional and psychosocial needs of teens and young adults facing a cancer diagnosis.
Rachael’s mother, Michele, will never forget when she learned her daughter had cancer and that they would be traveling two hours to Chicago for care.
“I knew our whole lives would be changed,” Michele said. “Everyone did what they had to do to get Rachael her treatment and the rest of us through.”
Rachael’s younger sister, Sarah, cooked meals and kept the house clean, so that their dad, James, could go to work and Michele could focus on Rachael.
“My parents, brothers and sister were always there for me,” Rachael recalled. “Some days I felt really good, and other days I was very needy.”
Although the leukemia went into remission, the side effects of treatment led to several hospitalizations. The physical and emotional effects of cancer also took their toll on Rachael.
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But then she was diagnosed
with leukemia. Throughout her treatment, Elliott held on to the hope that she would be able to reach her goal of becoming an English teacher.
At 18, Rachael Elliott was working her way through college and planning for a bright future.
Rachael Elliott
Blood cancer
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Cedric Elery
“Cancer can’t compete with
CAR T-cell therapy. I think that it’s going to really help people.”
watch her story
Jessica Blackford-Cleeton
“Cancer can’t compete with the human spirit.”
watch his story
Charlie Betzold
Charlie's doctor: "We are going to keep working hard until we cure every child.”
watch his story
Edward Harley
The chaos that is cancer was not going to prevent me from laughing, from loving and from loving life.
Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Cedric Elery
“I was scared,” admits 15-year-old Cedric Elery. But his family and the physicians and nurses at Comer Children’s Hospital had his back. Cedric successfully underwent a leading-edge treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is in remission.
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Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common childhood cancer. But being common doesn’t necessarily make the blood cancer easy to conquer — which 15-year-old Cedric Elery learned firsthand over several tough years.
“I was in school in the gym room and started to get tired and pass out,” says Cedric, a native of Chicago’s West Side. “It made me feel shocked because I never got sick before. And I didn’t know what was going on, because it kept happening over and over again. I was scared.”
Cedric’s mom, Tomika Nelson, noticed his fatigue as well; physicians identified his disease and referred him to Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine.
Cedric was told he had to start chemotherapy.
“I was going to the doctor at least three times a week for chemo,” Cedric says.
The family was hopeful the chemo would be the cure, but Cedric’s disease relapsed. He then received an allogeneic stem cell transplant, which involves a matching donor’s cells being transplanted into his bone marrow, with the goal of restoring his immune system.
Cedric stayed in the hospital for more than four months, eventually having a nurse by his side around the clock to help monitor the mental and emotional challenges he faced as a result of dealing with his illness and the side effects of treatment.
The family rallied around the teen, providing the kind of support that cancer experts say is crucial to a patient’s ability to successfully
fight cancer.
Teen overcomes blood cancer, thanks to CAR T-cell therapy
“A lot of my family members took turns coming every day,” Cedric says. “My grandma, my sisters, uncles … everyone took turns coming and did whatever I needed.”
For a while, it looked as though the stem cell transplant had been successful. But the cancer persisted, and Cedric began to lose hope. He had lost weight, lost his hair, and missed out on school and social activities for months on end, cooped up in a hospital bed.
“He had a really aggressive disease,” says Michele Nassin, MD, one of Cedric’s doctors who specializes in pediatric blood cancers and stem cell transplantation. “So, he came back to us, and we gave him a new type of therapy called CAR T-cell therapy, which is a way that we take the patient’s own T-cells and rev them up so they can fight cancer.”
Little did Cedric know at the time
that he soon would be linked to a lot of “firsts.”
Cedric benefitted from UChicago Medicine becoming one of the first sites certified to offer CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy for pediatric ALL cases after the FDA approved the treatment in 2017. In fact, the academic health system was the first in the country to offer the groundbreaking therapy for both adult and pediatric patients.
Cedric also became Comer Children’s first pediatric patient to receive CAR T-cell therapy — which reprograms a patient’s own disease-fighting white blood cells (T cells) to recognize and attack cancer cells without harming healthy cells.
A team at Comer Children’s stood ready to help Cedric fight his disease. That included pediatric cancer physicians Gabrielle Lapping-Carr, James LaBelle and John Cunningham, as well as nurses like Gracie Foote.
On the day of his infusion, his supercharged T-cells were brought in a small packet and hooked up to his IV.
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For an added stroke of luck, Nassin and Cedric both wore the same brand of casual shoes that day — Cedric’s favorite.
His care team worked to make Cedric smile and look forward, knowing
he’d face severe side effects and
that his illness might persist. They asked to see photos of his prom outfit, a sequined blue suit with matching shoes.
About one week after the infusion, Cedric felt normal. Several weeks later, his blood showed no signs of the disease. That was in the spring, and he’s been in remission ever since.
Cedric was able to attend his school’s prom and take trips to Hawaii and Florida. He plans to take more trips and will start his sophomore year of high school.
“Cancer can’t compete with CAR T-cell therapy,” Cedric says. “I think that it’s going to really help people.”
Read more about cancer research and treatments >
Burkitt lymphoma
Edward Harley
Medical team, his family and loving fiancée helps Illinois college student
student summon the strength to beat lymphoma.
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In March 2017, Edward Harley and Cassandra Hensley flew home to celebrate their engagement with their families in Harvey, Illinois. The young couple was on cloud nine.
When Harley’s mom, Victoria Edwards, hugged her son, she immediately knew something was wrong. “He had lost so much weight,” she said. “I felt like I was hugging bones.”
Harley had been experiencing stomach problems while away at college in Florida. “I had persistent dull pain,” he said. “I blamed it on too much fast food and typical college life.”
At home, the 21-year-old continued to get sicker and soon went to the emergency department at Ingalls Memorial Hospital.
A series of abdominal scans and a biopsy led to a diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and highly aggressive blood cancer.
“Cancer had hit us at our happiest moment,” Hensley said.
Burkitt lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, starts in the B cells of a person’s immune system. While the rapidly growing tumor can be fatal if untreated, intensive chemotherapy can bring long-term survival.
Kimberly Kruczek, D.O., an oncologist on Ingalls’ medical staff, consulted with Kenneth Cohen, M.D., a lymphoma expert at the University of Chicago Medicine. Ingalls and UChicago Medicine recently had merged, creating a partnership that integrates convenient, high-quality community-based health care with world-class academic medicine.
Love helps to overcome rare lymphoma, an aggressive blood cancer
Given the rarity and complexity of Harley’s condition, Kruczek and Cohen recommended that he transfer his care to the UChicago Medicine.
Harley was taken by ambulance that night. Cohen explained that the treatment required inpatient chemotherapy, with the goal of initially shrinking the tumor and then ultimately curing the lymphoma.
“The treatment for Burkitt lymphoma has tough side effects,” Cohen said. “But for patients who are young and can tolerate the intensive therapy, most can be cured of the cancer. Still, there’s a lot of concern, angst and uncertainty on the part of the patient and the family.”
Harley experienced many ups and downs as he went though chemotherapy, sometimes feeling like he was holding on by a thread. He tried to focus on the positive.
“Cassandra and my family were with me every step of the way,” Harley said. “If I didn’t have my support system, I’m not sure I would have made it. As hard as it was on me, I think they got the shorter end of the stick.”
He calls Hensley his rock. “Cassandra wanted to make sure my life did not end,” he said. “She showed me truly how strong a person she is.”
In turn, Hensley admires her fiancé for his strength. “It was all so incredibly painful,” she said. “But Eddie took something that seemed tragic and made himself a better person.”
Harley has now been in remission for more than a year. He returned to college and is working on a degree in computer science. He and Hensley are planning their destination wedding in Mexico next year. Fifty of their friends and family who supported Harley throughout his ordeal will all be there to celebrate“
“The chaos that is cancer was not going to prevent me from laughing, from loving and from loving life,” Harley said.
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Mesothelioma cancer
Jessica Blackford-Cleeton
Jessica Blackford-Cleeton had “hundreds of tumors” that are now gone, thanks to innovative treatment at UChicago Medicine’s cancer center.
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One year into their marriage, Jessica Blackford-Cleeton and her husband, Brandon Cleeton, were busy planning a future together. That included building their careers, having children and raising a family in Springfield, Illinois.
Cancer had a different plan for the couple.
It started with pain in Jessica’s lower abdomen — sometimes so severe
that she twice landed in the emergency room.
A CT scan showed a small spot on her abdomen. The subsequent biopsy revealed cancer, “and it was everywhere,” Blackford-Cleeton says.
She was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer that affects the linings of organs. Mesothelioma most often affects the lungs, where it is linked to asbestos exposure. Only about 3,000 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States each year; peritoneal mesothelioma is even rarer, with just 500 to 800 cases a year.
Her cancer was in the lining of her abdomen (peritoneal mesothelioma).
“I was so scared,” Blackford-Cleeton remembers. “When I did research on the internet, it was all grim and bad. I had very little hope.”
Also looking grim were the couple’s chances of having children, which they were trying to do at the time of her diagnosis.
“We thought, ‘Of course it isn’t going to happen,’ because the cancer was all over my ovaries,” Blackford-Cleeton says.
Her oncologist in Springfield referred her to the University of Chicago Medicine,
Following rare cancer diagnosis, couple now faces future with hope
For three years, her test results have shown no evidence of tumors.
“It is a testament to how much the body can endure,” Turaga says, calling Jessica’s story “remarkable.” “She reminds us every day of how vital she is, of how her spirit is so strong. Cancer can’t compete with the human spirit.”
Blackford-Cleeton finds strength from her support group, including her parents, who cared for her full-time while Brandon worked and often made the six-hour round-trip drive between Springfield and Chicago for her follow-up appointments. She also connected with new friends and resources through the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.
Above all, she is grateful to Brandon for helping her navigate “a new normal” and taking on extra responsibilities.
“We had to switch roles from husband and wife to patient-caregiver, where he did 99 percent of the work just because I couldn’t,” Blackford-Cleeton says. “It’s definitely a team effort, with him being the captain and the player.”
Meanwhile, Cleeton finds his motivation in his growing family: “That little boy’s smile certainly makes me want to jump up and go that extra mile,” he says. “If I feel like I don’t have a drop of energy left in me, he’s my motivator — and so is Jessica.”
“We took the vows for better or worse, in sickness and in health,” he adds. “I feel like we just step up to the plate every day, make the best of it, and appreciate everything we have.”
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Medicine, where specialists at the Comprehensive Cancer Center have been dedicated to mesothelioma research and care for more than
25 years. Her care team included gastrointestinal oncologist and mesothelioma expert Hedy Kindler, MD, and surgical oncologist
Kiran Turaga, MD.
“When we met with Dr. Turaga, we had so much more hope about the disease and how to move forward,” Blackford-Cleeton says. “We knew we would have a future at that point.”
Her treatment included surgery to remove the cancer, followed by a procedure called HIPEC (hyperthermic, or heated, intraperitoneal chemoperfusion), which targets and kills cancer cells that remain after surgery. HIPEC has fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy because the medication targets specific areas rather than circulating throughout the whole body. Also, the heat expands blood vessels, allowing the chemotherapy to penetrate deeper and more effectively.
Cleeton remembered his wife’s 14-hour procedure as being “one of the longest days of my life and probably the most terrifying.”
The surgical team successfully removed hundreds of tumors from Blackford-Cleeton's body. They also removed the appendix, parts of her intestines and diaphragm, and an ovary. One ovary.
Going into surgery, Blackford-Cleeton and Turaga discussed the procedure’s potential impact on her fertility. “We talked about the fact that when we put heated chemotherapy inside her belly, it could change her life forever — especially her ability to have kids,” says Turaga.
She begged Turaga to save at least one ovary so she and her husband would have a chance to have a baby in the future.
“He found a way,” Blackford-Cleeton says.
One year after surgery, she was cleared to begin in vitro fertilization. In July 2017, the couple welcomed their son, Avery. Or, as the couple jokes, “Brandon’s mini-me.”
Neuroblastoma
Charlie Betzold
A clinical trial of a medication piggybacked with radioactive iodine plus traditional treatments helped this Jefferson Park boy overcome high-risk childhood cancer.
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Charlie Betzold loves playing with his collection of toy animals. He’s happy to tell you his list of favorites: elephants, giraffes, zebras, gorillas, monkeys and sloths.
Having so many favorites would keep any child busy. But back in the fall of 2014, Regina Wan and Eric Betzold became concerned when their young son stopped being active. “He started getting really sleepy, not really eating and not playing like a toddler is supposed to,” Wan says.
When Charlie didn’t get better, the Jefferson Park couple took him to a nearby emergency room.
There, they got a heart-wrenching diagnosis. Charlie had a rare pediatric cancer called neuroblastoma. He was transferred by ambulance to Comer Children’s Hospital at the University of Chicago Medicine.
“And then our lives went into a whirlwind,” Betzold says. “All of a sudden we were living at the hospital. Charlie had lost a lot of weight and looked very sick.”
Pediatric oncologist Susan Cohn, MD, an authority on neuroblastoma, met with the family soon after they arrived at Comer Children’s. The news became even harder to bear. The cancer, which had started in his abdomen, already had spread. The treatment for the high-risk tumor would be complicated.
"High-risk neuroblastoma is particularly hard to treat,” Cohn says, noting that only 50 to 60 percent of children with the disease achieve long-term survival. “We’re always looking for new and better treatments.”
Young boy goes on tough journey to battle neuroblastoma, a rare cancer
Charlie’s parents remember Cohn’s team walking them through a rigorous care plan that included a clinical trial of a new combination therapy.“ They didn’t make it sound easy, but they gave us the knowledge to make decisions every step of the way,” Betzold says. “And they put us at ease.”
Cohn told Charlie’s parents about the clinical trial testing the effectiveness of adding a medication called MIBG to the standard therapy for treating high-risk neuroblastoma, which can include chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, surgery, radiation and immunotherapy.
MIBG, or metaiodobenzylguanidine, is a compound that is actively absorbed by neuroblastoma cells. For the therapy, radioactive iodine is attached to MIBG and then given to patients through an IV. As the cancer cells absorb MIBG, the iodine delivers cancer-killing radiation to the tumor. Comer Children’s is the only hospital in Illinois offering the treatment.
“We’ve been using MIBG therapy for children with relapsed disease for more than two decades and have seen good responses,” Cohn says. “This is one of the most active agents available to treat relapsed neuroblastoma. We next wanted to evaluate if MIBG therapy will improve survival rates for children with newly diagnosed neuroblastoma.”
In March 2015, after five cycles of chemotherapy and surgery, Charlie received the MIBG treatment. A few weeks later, he underwent high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell transplant and radiation. He then received an additional six months of treatment with immunotherapy.
“The whole treatment was hard for a little person to handle,” Wan recalls of her little boy’s journey.“
We knew it was going to be intense,” Betzold adds. “Charlie was young and won’t remember, but the experience is seared in our minds.“
Through it all, the couple tried to stay strong for Charlie and keep his life as normal as possible. They leaned on
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Sandro Miller's story >
their families, an online neuroblastoma support group and the care team at Comer Children’s — a potent combination in helping Charlie.“ Neuroblastoma can lead
to significant side effects and long hospitalizations,” Cohn says. ““The experience is tough on the patient but also very stressful for the entire family. Even when Charlie wasn’t feeling well, he and his parents managed to stay positive. They
were remarkable.”
Today, the 5-year-old is happy, healthy and full of energy and life.“
Cancer can’t compete with the amazing research that’s taken place over the years,” says Betzold “It’s all coming together to give kids like Charlie a better chance to beat neuroblastoma and other childhood cancers.”And that’s the ultimate goal: “We are going to keep working hard until we cure every child,” Cohn says.
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Breast cancer
Kristen Vitale
Shock, fear gradually displaced by informed care and hugs as needed.
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Kristen Vitale discovered a lump in her breast in late 2015. She felt some random pain and noticed something odd near her chest wall. Vitale didn't think it was cancer, but she knew it wasn't normal and that she should get it checked.
A mammogram at a nearby west suburban hospital revealed breast cancer. Like many women, her first response was, as she put it, “shock, awe, fear — all those things.”
She was 44.
“I’m married. I have two children. I work full time, and I’m pretty active,” she said. “So, one of my first thoughts was, ‘I don’t have time for this.’”
The tumor was aggressive.
Fortunately, it was caught early. Nora Jaskowiak, MD, surgical head of the University of Chicago Breast Center, deftly removed the tumor. She also recommended a medical oncologist to help Vitale battle the disease. Funmi Olopade, MD, is a breast cancer specialist at UChicago Medicine and a leading authority on cancer risk assessment and individualized treatments.
Vitale’s first appointment with Olopade was on New Year’s Eve 2015. They instantly connected.
“Dr. Olopade was a wonderful spirit from our first meeting to the end of treatment,” Vitale said. “She explained the risks and benefits, plus any potential side effects of treatment, which can be quite serious. She knew how to help me choose a treatment path and explained what I would ultimately go through.”
Family, friends and even her job help mom through breast cancer
Thanks to Olopade and her team, Vitale’s treatment went smoothly.
Outside of the hospital, however, she needed help from those who cared about her. Vitale found a lot of strength in her family, which is crucial to a patient’s ability to fight the disease.
“It’s really important to have a support network,” she said. “My husband came to treatments with me. He helped with the kids and did chores around the house. And my kids, 9 and 11 at the time, were very positive throughout the whole adventure.”
Friends also came to her rescue.
“When your family, including the kids, are expected to do a lot more — chores around the house and hugging me a little more than they did before — they need some relief, too. Cancer has a huge impact on your family. Just having friends around, asking me how they can help, or sometimes just listening can make a difference.”
Even work helped. In fact, it became a pleasant distraction for the banker.
“I took work to clinic visits,” Vitale said. “There’s a lot of downtime during treatment, so I could work undisturbed, more so than in the office. I learned better time management. Things were getting done, and it encouraged me. I knew I would be ready and happy in the work I was coming back to.”
Vitale was treated with chemotherapy and a drug that blocked the estrogen that was fueling her cancer.
“It worked. Kristen is cancer-free, healthy, back at work,” Olopade said. “She beat cancer, and her life goes on.”
Meanwhile, Olopade and her colleagues keep looking for better drugs to make cancer treatment more precise.
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That’s one of the reasons she founded UChicago Medicine’s Cancer Risk Clinic in 1992 — one of the first efforts in the country to combine the new science of genetic testing with clinical cancer care.
“We can’t cure every cancer, but we have come a long way,” she said. “We are making it a more treatable disease, and our patients have been a huge part of any successes.
“One day we are going to find a cure for breast cancer. I want that day to come very soon.”
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kRISTEN vITALE
“I don’t have time for this.”
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Dave Hicks
“It feels good to build my body back up from the cancer treatments and to give something back."
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Lincoln Maxberry
Toddler’s boundless optimism
on road to remission inspires parents, doctors.
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Jennifer Zinga
“We didn’t have to handle this on our own.”
Prostate cancer
Dave Hicks
“Training and fundraising help me find some good in my cancer condition,” Dave Hicks says. “Maybe I can be an inspiration to other charity runners and cancer patients.”
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Dave Hicks knows how to pace himself during competitions. The 66-year-old runner has been doing just that since his first race in 2001, when he was 49.
So, in February 2013, when diagnosed with localized stage 4 prostate cancer, Hicks leaned on his years of training to endure a marathon of treatment — while still preparing to run 26.2 miles.
He had surgery to remove his prostate in April and ran the Chicago Marathon that October. He used the race to raise funds for the American Cancer Society’s “Making a Difference” campaign and persuaded his daughter, Stephanie, then 35, to run with him. They crossed the finish line together and collected more than $12,000 in donations.
Then, in April 2015, he had a recurrence.
Hicks went through hormonal therapy followed by eight weeks of highly focused radiation therapy to the prostate bed and pelvis. This typically causes fatigue, as well as other side effects.
But it did not dissuade Hicks, 63 at the time, from entering the race and training all summer for the 2015 Chicago Marathon.
“Training and fundraising help me
find some good in my cancer condition,” he said. “Maybe I can be an inspiration to other charity runners and cancer patients.”
In the long run, radiation therapy
His medical team at the University of Chicago Medicine could not recall another patient training for a marathon during hormonal therapy and radiation. But they were supportive of Hicks, who made his daily 18-mile round trips for treatment on his bike. On a good day, he could do the distance in an hour.
Runner outpaces prostate cancer, treatments
“I felt strong at the end, finished strong, not too dehydrated,” he said. “I wasn’t even sore the next day.”
Hicks, who has been retired since 2014, doesn’t plan to slow down. He’s been in remission for more than three years.
“I enjoy traveling, training and raising money for cancer research,” he said. “It feels good to build my body back up from the cancer treatments and to give something back. Besides, Julie and I put in 18 to 20 hours a week training.
“Consequently,” he said, “I’m busy every day and never bored. I’m already working on how I can be more competitive in my Ironman-70.3 age group for next year.”
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“His overall fitness and consistent activity level made a difference,” said radiation oncologist Stanley Liauw, MD, a triathlete himself. “Exercise helped mitigate treatment-related fatigue and was great for his attitude. He’s an inspiration, for me and for other patients.”
Hicks received his last radiation treatment on Oct. 1, 2015. He began to taper off and fuel up. On Oct. 11, race day, it was hot and humid, but Hicks pushed through it with a time of five hours, 35 minutes and 54 seconds. He crossed the finish line with his son, Tom, who, along with Stephanie and her husband, Geoff Feinblatt, raised over $21,000 for the cancer society as “Team Hicks.”
Going farther still
With marathons under his belt, Hicks turned his attention to triathlons.
“Last fall, I decided I was within striking distance to finish an Ironman 70.3 triathlon,” he said. “If I put my time and attention to it — and Dr. Liauw has been very supportive — I felt I could handle that seven- to eight-hour race. I didn’t have to be competitive. I just wanted to finish.”
He and his wife, Julie, began training in earnest in January 2018. They completed two shorter Olympic distance triathlons (0.9-mile swim, 28-mile bike ride, 6.1-mile run) in June.
In July, he finished an unofficial Half Ironman, a distance of 70.3 miles.
“That went well,” Hicks said. “So, I felt hopeful going into my first official Ironman 70.3 race in August in Benton Harbor, Michigan.”
He had a rough start. It was a hot day, with 80s in the morning, then low 90s. Because of the heat, he couldn’t swim in a wetsuit, which would have helped his buoyancy and speed. No wetsuit plus Lake Michigan waves made the swim, as he described it, “miserable.”
He finished the 1.2-mile swim in 74 minutes — last in his age group. But he gained it back on the bike. He pedaled 56 miles in 3 hours, 20 minutes, then ran half of a marathon, 13.1 miles, just under 2 hours, 50 minutes.
Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Lincoln Maxberry
Lincoln has remained upbeat throughout treatment. The toddler’s attitude and energy have even lifted the spirits of his Comer Children’s care team.
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From the day he was born in December 2016, Lincoln Maxberry could melt anyone’s heart with his exuberance, twinkling eyes and dimpled laughter.
His energy matched his personality, so a bruise or two didn’t seem too concerning. But when the bruising came too easily, and the nosebleeds started, Anthony and Angela Maxberry took their son to the pediatrician.
Soon, they received a frightening call: Lincoln’s white blood cell count was incredibly high, most likely due to leukemia. The couple brought him to Comer Children’s Hospital emergency department at the University of Chicago Medicine that night, and he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit. By the next morning, the diagnosis was confirmed.
Their son, a year old at the time, had high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL, the most common type of childhood cancer, is a cancer of the blood cells, which are made in the bone marrow. The leukemia cells crowd out healthy blood cells, leading to bleeding, bruising, anemia and infections.
“Anthony had a very emotional response to the diagnosis — a lot of tears,” said Angela. “I felt very numb, so there were no tears.”
Pediatric oncologist Jennifer McNeer, MD, reassured them. Because young boys with ALL are at higher risk of relapse than girls, the standard treatment is three years of chemotherapy. McNeer was optimistic Lincoln would be cured.
Still, watching their son go through cancer treatment has been “excruciating at times” for the family.
Baby’s personality helps him battle cancer in big and little ways
“I can’t imagine what Lincoln must feel every day with chemotherapy and not being himself,” his mom said. “And I’m sure he’s nauseated all the time, but he can’t tell us. We feel somewhat helpless.”
But true to form, Lincoln has remained upbeat throughout treatment. His attitude and energy have even lifted the spirits of his Comer Children’s care team.
“Lincoln flirts with everybody he meets,” McNeer said with a smile. “Needing to keep him in his room
for chemotherapy has been a challenge because he wants to be on the move. He wants to be out and about socializing.”
Lincoln’s diagnosis has brought the Maxberry family closer, with his sister, Miah, and brother, Gage, stepping up to help with his care and the chores. And their parents couldn’t be prouder of them and their selflessness.
“You’re spread very thin as a parent because they’re no less important than he is,” Angela said. “They
are the best big siblings, and I’m
very thankful for the two of them. They’re very understanding and
very compassionate.”
Now almost 2, Lincoln is in remission — with no evidence of leukemia. Between his family and his care team, he has the support needed to overcome cancer. “And with his spirit,” McNeer added, “he’s up for the challenge.”
Meanwhile, the Maxberry family
has developed a strong bond with the nurses and doctors who care
for Lincoln.
“We know each other very well,” said Angela. “The Comer Children’s staff is like family now.”
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Cervical cancer
Jennifer Zinga
They wanted a third child — and then came the diagnosis of cervical cancer. “My husband, Tim, and I were devastated by the news,” Jennifer Zinga says. “But we weren’t ready to give up.”
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From the time she was a young girl, Jennifer Zinga knew she wanted three children. By age 31, she and her husband had two boys — and she was well on the way to achieving her dream family.
Then, just six months after the birth of her second son, Jennifer was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer. Her doctor recommended a hysterectomy, which would have ended her hopes of conceiving a third child.
“I remember hearing ‘cancer’ and ‘hysterectomy,’ and everything else was muffled like I was underwater,” Jennifer said. “My husband, Tim, and I were devastated by the news. But we weren’t ready to give up.”
The couple met with University of Chicago Medicine gynecologic oncologist Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, one of just a few physicians in the U.S. who performs a technically challenging surgery called trachelectomy. The innovative procedure involves removal of the cervix while leaving most of the uterus intact.
“A trachelectomy allows us to balance treating the cancer with a patient’s desire to preserve fertility and carry a baby,” Lengyel said. “Fortunately, because the cervical cancer was at an early stage, Jennifer met the criteria for this procedure.”
The couple felt both comforted and excited.
“Dr. Lengyel and his staff were reassuring and positive,” Tim said. “And we had a glimpse of hope that Jen would be OK and that we could also have a third child.”
Jennifer had the procedure in June 2012.
“I remember waking up after surgery and asking Dr. Lengyel if all was OK and if we could have another baby,” she said. “He smiled and told me, ‘You are good to go.’”
Rare surgical technique enables healthy pregnancy after cervical cancer
As she recovered from surgery, family and friends were there to help.
“We had a huge support group around us,” Tim said. “We didn’t have to handle this on our own.”
A year after surgery, Jennifer was pregnant. She delivered a healthy boy by cesarean section on April 7, 2014.
The first time Lengyel met the new baby was an emotional moment for all.
“We talk about the potential for success,” Lengyel said, “but to see and hold the success in my arms is a big difference. I’m happy that we delivered what we promised her.”
Today, Lengyel continues to monitor Jennifer to be sure the cancer has not returned. It’s been more than six years since the surgery, and she happily reports that she is cancer-free.
“Dr. Lengyel is the only reason we have Rocco, our miracle baby,” said Jennifer, who is now 37. “Along with our sons Giovani and Dominic, our family is now complete. We feel lucky, very lucky.”
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