My name is Jeffery Runyan and here is a true story of my experience with Burkitt’s lymphoma, the most aggressive human tumor.

I am Army veteran, Father of two; I’ll begin with a brief summary of my life prior to Dec. 30th 2008;

I grew up in Lakewood Washington just outside of Tacoma; I joined the Military when I was 17. Started off as a Private and worked my way up to Staff Sergeant.  I served for 13 years, half of which was spent as a Platoon Sergeant. During my tenure I received several awards and decorations, Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, 4 Good Conduct Medals, Humanitarian Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and several others badges and citations including  the coveted Air Assault Badge. I also received The honor of being designated Top All Around Graduate of my Advanced Non Commissioned Officer Course, Better known as ANCOC I served in many units and places from 1979 to 1992.

After the Gulf War there was no need for such a massive well trained Army and the powers in charge started the great Military Draw Down of the 90’s, closing bases and reducing the force. One day I received a letter that my job was over strength and I would need to reclassify into a new job or look at getting out. Well the new Job offer was I could be even more than I could be, a Special Forces Special Weapons Sergeant. Sounds cool, but not exactly what I was looking for after 13 years. I took the other option Severance Check, Disability and some benefits and left. By this time I had been married for just a couple months and already had one child and another on the way and I was now 30 years old.

My first Job as a civilian was at Akutan Alaska, working as an Engineer at a Fish Processing Plant. I saw it on the T.V. show Deadliest Catch recently. While I was working there I applied for a job as a Maintenance Mechanic at Olympia Cheese Company in Lacey Washington, I found that my skills were not that valued in the private sector and getting a job close to home was not as easy as it might sound. At first I didn’t get the job, came in second place, but the first guy didn’t show and I was in. I worked there for 5 years, I loved that place, and I worked my way up to Maintenance Supervisor and enjoyed every minute that I worked there.

After 5 years a Company Called Simplot bought the place and I didn’t feel I fit in very well with Simplot, and they closed the old cheese factory down shortly after they bought it, but I had already left. I was so disappointed, because that was such a great place to work. After the Cheese Factory the original Owner of Olympia Cheese called me up and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, a new Job in Spencer Iowa, a complete plant Start up from scratch. So, I picked up and moved to Iowa. Well we got most of the plant off the ground, but when it came to the big deal it never left the chalk board, because of some complicated politics, so I went off on yet another adventure.  So after two years I picked up and moved my family to Florida.

I started contracting immediately upon arrival in Florida, building, installing and programming automated control systems for various factories, mainly pharmaceutical, dairy, and a few others. I was on a great adventure, but at a high price. After traveling constantly for seven years to places like Brazil, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Canada, and everywhere in the US I got burnt out, I was never home, I also missed half my kid’s child hood and never saw my wife. We decided enough was enough, so we embarked on yet one more adventure; we sold everything and moved back to my wife’s home town Missoula MT.

I fell in love with Montana and decided to end the contracting business and settle down; I landed a Job within a few weeks of searching with Stimson Lumber Company in Bonner Montana, The longest continuous operating Lumber Mill in the world. What a great Job! I loved working in the stud mill; I liked all the people, and the heavy duty machines. I worked there for a little over a year when one morning we had a meeting in the planer building; Jeff Weber (Corporate guy) told us the mill would be shutting down forever in 60 days. I stayed to the last day, it was a sad day and a couldn’t help but choke up a little when I walked out the gate, but I was lucky enough to land a great job at Smurfit-Stone a pulp and paper mill just across town just two weeks later. I think it may have helped that I made the front page of the Sunday Newspaper the week that Stimson shut down. My new job is an instrument technician. Instrument technicians work on various electronic sensors and transducers for temperature, density, flow, and other measurements plus a bunch of other stuff. What a great job! I started that June and managed to get almost 1500 hrs in just 7-8 months.  Here is a link to the Story that was run by the Missoulian. Jeff Runyan Missoulian

On December 30th 2008, I was at work and suddenly felt something strange in my groin area, but didn’t stop to look, because the end of the day was near. When I got home that night I had a look see and had noticed that one of my testes had swollen to twice the size of normal.  The very first thing that crossed my mind was my god I have cancer, having heard of Lance Armstrong’s battle with testicular cancer I was in a panic. I got on the internet and confirmed my belief and I went straight to the doctor at now care at our local mall. The PA at now care gave me an examination and sent me straight to the ER at St. Patrick’s Hospital, although panic had set in I was remaining calm, because she had told me that it may be an infection or a testicular torsion. After I arrived at the ER they decided to give me an Ultrasound and after it was looked at the ER the doctor told me it was not cancer or a torsion and said it must be an infection and he proceeded to give me a prescription for Cipro and told me to follow up with an urologist, man I was glad it wasn’t cancer.

The next morning I was on the phone and to my surprise I got an appointment and went in to see the urologist. He had a look and told me that it was probably an infection and told me to make another appointment for mid February a whole month and a half away. He made this decision without looking at the ultrasound, taking any blood work or even a urinalysis. I asked if he was happy with that decision and he said yes. I couldn’t troubleshoot that poorly at work and expect to get paid and I was very mad as I stormed out.

The day after when I got up I called around looking for another Urologist, The only referral I could get was to Dr. xxxxxx2 at the same clinic that I stormed out of and when I called they practically insisted that I see Dr. xxxx1, because he was my assigned doctor, they also said I couldn’t get in for two weeks.  I insisted on seeing Dr. xxxxxx2 and I wasn’t going to wait a week. (Living in a small town has disadvantages).  While I was waiting I continued to work and to take the Cipro, and despite the swelling which had continued to increase I needed a pay check.

When the day of the appointment finally arrived I took my wife with me so that she could witness and help guide me with the Doctor.  We went to the appointment and saw the Doctor, he looked at the testicle and told me that he thought it might be Orchitis, I asked about an aspiration and he said that he didn’t think that was a very good Idea, because it itself could cause an infection given the area of the swelling.  He did give me a urinalysis test and changed my prescription to levaquin and also told me to take ibuprofen for the swelling and to get some support for myself as in a Jock strap and he sent me on my way.

We went and filled the prescription and bought a large bottle of ibuprofen and the strap.  When I took the antibiotic I felt my nerves in my back and arms tingle, I guess not just tingle, but the same feeling you get when your leg had fallen a sleep and about mid way back to when it’s normal again.  This only lasted a few minutes and I thought this was not right and I felt that I may be having an allergic reaction to the antibiotic, because it was in the side effects list.  But I had to go back to work and just kept it in mind.  Later that day I tried the ibuprofen and an hour or so after I took it my stomach began to feel like it was on fire.  I have always had a problem with anti inflammatory drugs, but thought if it would help the swelling so I would give it a try.

The next day when I woke up to go to work to my astonishment my right testicle had swollen up so now both are swollen, so  I got on the phone and called Doctor xxxxxx2 and of course you can’t ever talk to a doctor on the phone, but I insisted that he call me.  When he did call me I told him that now both my testicles have swollen and asked if that was normal after being on antibiotics, he said it was not normal for it to spread while on antibiotics, but to keep taking the antibiotics and to call and set up another appointment in about three weeks.  That evening I took another Levaquin and felt the same sensation and now was getting very worried so I made another trip to the ER. When I was booked into the ER they gave me another ultrasound and again they said I didn’t have cancer, but despite my complaints about the antibiotics they gave me a mass dose of it in an IV in hopes of killing off the infection, but when they gave it to me I had the same feeling as before and now it was starting to spread and I had severe stomach pain which I thought was related to the ibuprofen.  After all this I was sent home.

A couple days past and nothing changed, I was getting worse and was now having blood sugar issues, severe stomach pain and losing weight.  So again I went to see yet another Doctor, who took me off the levaquin and gave me a different antibiotic, but this time injected it, they also gave me what they call a GI cocktail for my stomach. Guess what? None of this helped and I was sent along my way again.

I have now lost track of time, days are merging, the pain is horrible and I can’t sleep yet, no bed rest, but work instead.

After another day or two, nothing changed and I was still getting worse, my testicles looked and felt as if they would burst.  I had stopped the ibuprofen and my stomach was getting worse. Again I went to the ER, but this time they just gave me a GI cocktail for my stomach and sent me home and someone told me to take the levaquin.  The weekend came and I thought that maybe if I rested, that maybe the swelling would start to go away, but it never did.  On Monday I called and scheduled an appointment with another Doctor, I think I went and saw him on Thursday, but now time is a blur and I still have the same issues and am still dragging myself to work.  When it was time for the doctor visit I again took April with me to witness what the doctor said and did.

When we finally got into see the doctor I explained to Doctor Dr. Xx3 what was going on, and what my concerns were about the levaquin which I was now back on, I told him I had a pain in my back and he touched where I pointed.  I said yes that’s the spot, and he punched in that area, not hard, but not lightly either as some sort of a joke.  I asked him about the testicles and aspiration and he also advised against it, but joked and said “you should take a picture of those testicles and send them out in Christmas cards to your buddies next year”, and to keep taking the levaquin.  I was in shock, I was appalled, but by this time I was getting so weak and so frustrated that I just left to go home with my wife as we pondered what just happened. The weekend came and on Saturday I called every pharmacist in town and asked about the levaquin and each one told me to stop taking it.  Within the next day or two, after work, I was in so much pain and telling everyone that would listen. I was determined to get help. Instead of going home I went to now care at the mall again.

We are now close to the end of January and I am at my wits end.  When I got to the counter the gal said we are not taking anymore patients. I told her that if they did not see me and if I died my wife would have a lawyer suing them.  She went back and got the doctor who came out and recognized me from a previous visit I had made a few days before at another clinic (the doctors rotate between clinics in this town).  He said come on back, I sat down and explained to him the events of the last month, how things were getting worse and not better and when I was done telling him I demanded a chest x-ray which he agreed to so I could see what was wrong with my back, because by now my arms and hands were tingling and going numb and my back was so painful.  He agreed to the X-ray and it was done. When he came back from reviewing the film he said “there is something horribly wrong”.  He wasn’t sure what it was, but it appeared I had a grapefruit size tumor behind my breast bone and he wanted me to have a CAT scan the next day.  The first week of February 2009, a month or more since my first visit to the ER where I was told I did not have cancer.

So I am still not sure what is wrong the Doctors had taken a toll on me by convincing me that I had an infection, but in the back of my mine I was tossing things back and forth in a struggle to decipher all that had taken place.  This wasn’t cancer, because time and time again I was told it was not.  Maybe it was a side effect from the antibiotics or maybe just some horrible infection or some other disease, from some exotic place I have been, like Brazil, Korea, or Serbia.  I wasn’t sure anymore, I felt as if I had been pushed up against a wall by the medical establishment or some chain of unfortunate events had taken place.  I went and had the CT scan and despite all that had transpired I still went to work the following day.

One of the doctors I had been seeing worked at the mill one day a week and was there that day.  After I did my morning routine and came back to the shop area I was given a message that the Doctor was looking for me.  I went down to see the doctor and as soon as I saw him he said “I don’t want to take away from Dr. Xx3 thunder (Dr. Xx3 was my primary physician), but you have Lymphoma.  I said lymphoma how do you know that?  He said that was from the CAT scan results, they believe you have Lymphoma.  I turned around and left in shock.

I was already emotionally distraught now; I have been through a month of a living nightmare trying to find out what was wrong and now was just told at work that I had Lymphoma the same disease that had killed my brother a few years before. I had originally told them that the very first time I went to the ER and where they told me I didn’t have cancer. I wasn’t sure what to do.  I went to my Foreman’s office and told him I had Lymphoma and that I was leaving.  I didn’t even lock my locker I just grabbed my jacket and hat and left.

As I was driving home I called my wife and told her what had transpired.  I told her that I was on my way home and that I needed to go to the hospital and that I couldn’t believe that I was told I had Lymphoma at work.  April had just started a new job and couldn’t leave so I went alone.  I went straight to Dr. xX3’s office without an appointment and demanded that he see me.  By now I have lost 20 pounds, my back was painful and I was starting to feel that I would fall over dead at any moment.  When I saw Dr. xX3’s he told me that he wasn’t completely sure that I had Lymphoma as I was a complicated case and that he wanted me to go see another doctor that was a specialist.  So I went and met up with the other doctor whom I had never met before and he said that I had a grapefruit size tumor on my thymus gland, and some lesions in my lungs that didn’t concern him, because they were small, and some fluid in the lining on the lung as well as signs of some very small lesions on some other organs that didn’t concern him.  He wanted me to have a Biopsy of the mass behind my chest and that Dr. Surgeon was available to do the procedure the next day.

I went down to see Dr. Xx4 and he told me what they would do.  They would slice open my neck and run a tube down behind my breast bone, take some samples and in turn send them to the lab.  The following day April still could not leave her job, she was still on her probation period and the only person I had available to go with me was my 16 year old son.  We left early and I drove down to the hospital.  They put me under and performed the Biopsy.  When I woke up they were looking at me and told me you gave us quite a scare, you had stopped breathing during the operation.  I asked if it was lymphoma and was told that we would have to wait for the lab results.  I didn’t know at that time that they had already told my son that I had lymphoma.  I went home and waited for the results.

A few days went by and I hadn’t heard anything; but I had finally stopped going to work, the pains in my body had spread to my legs, arms, hands and just about everywhere.  I couldn’t sleep and could barely eat. I have yet to see an oncologist, because they were waiting for the results of my biopsy.  I finally called and was told that the samples had to be sent to Mayo clinic, because the local pathology lab wanted to be sure what exactly it was that I had and needed clarification.  I asked how long we were looking at and was told 2-3 weeks.  My god I just couldn’t believe it, I told them I didn’t have that long and I couldn’t wait.  The nurse told me she would call everyday, but I had no choice, but to wait.

I got so sick around the 5th of February and had my wife take me to the ER again.  They started me on morphine and finally told me to stop taking the antibiotics.  They took blood, urine and started an IV.  They decided to give me another scan and when they came back from reviewing the evaluation of the scan the young doctor that looked to be in his early twenties told me that they couldn’t believe what they saw.  The small lesions from just a few days before had turned into massive tumors, my colon was blocked, my kidney, my chest, my right lung, my abdomen were infested with massive tumors and the lining of my lung was filled with a lot of fluid, my tumor in my chest was now pressing against my spine and they found a football size tumor in my stomach and small lesions were showing in all other organs. As the young doctor explained he started to cry, he said I went to medical school for many years, but there is just nothing I can do for you.

I winced in pain and told him not to feel bad; “you just can’t fix everything,” a line that my dying brother had told me once when he was so sick, I was now using myself.  I asked what he thought my outlook was, I asked if I could make it home. He said I don’t know if you can even make it to your car, but he did have a plan that he said may keep me going.  He prescribed Morphine and massive amounts of steroids and told me that he would refer me to the Cancer Center.  I was scheduled to see them the following Wednesday a whole 6 days or so away.  I finally realized I was dying, I didn’t know if I would live long enough to make it to the cancer center and I was still waiting for the pathology report.  I called my family to come join me in my last days.

I put my will together and had wife gather some friends to come over to witness it. I didn’t want to come out of the bedroom when they arrived, because I know I looked really sick and was embarrassed by it.  I explained to them that I had cancer, that the law required that they read my will before they witnessed it and I didn’t know if I was going to die or not, but just wanted to make sure I had the will.  I didn’t say much after that, I just wanted to get rid of the pain I was having, everything was swollen, my stomach stuck out and I couldn’t walk well at all.  The only relief I would have was soaking in hot water, it somehow soothed me and I spent the better part of the weekend in the tub.

My family arrived and had to deal with my agony, I was in so much pain that I could not sit for long, but would pace back and forth like my dog did before he died several years ago, but somehow I made it through the weekend and finally to the appointment to see Doctor Oncologist. Dr. Oncologist wanted lab work and to schedule a PET scan, the first of some new terminology that I never heard before, but the machine wasn’t readily available. It was a mobile unit and wasn’t in town.  I told him, please can’t you do something? I am falling off the edge of the world.  He looked flustered, but jumped up and went out of the room and called somebody, after he returned he said “the best we can do is a couple of days,” he added “it looked like I had diffused large B-Cell Lymphoma.” He wanted to see me right after the PET scan.  Dr. Oncologist also said, whoever put you on those steroids knew what they were doing. I now have a name to put on the tumors which are estimated to be about 20 pounds worth, but we still had to wait on Mayo clinic.

Since the PET scan wasn’t available for a couple days I went home to sweat it out and to my surprise I made it to the PET scan appointment, it was similar to the CAT scan, but they have me drink glucose syrup and injected me with a radioactive material, I had to wait for an hour then they performed the scan that took about 30 minutes.  It didn’t take long for Doctor Oncologist to have the results and my wife and I went to see him.

Dr. Oncologist said the PET scan lit up like a Christmas tree, that I had cancer every where.  He wanted a bone marrow biopsy right away.  I will never forget that procedure; they take a long heavy gauge needle and press it into the bone.  You are not given anything, but a little Novocain so you just grin and bare it.  He had to press extremely hard and said “you have very strong bones,” as he tried to force the needle through my hip bone.    I was very relieved once it popped through and could feel the suction as he sucked the sample out. (That was one of the strangest things I have ever felt).  He then said “we need a piece of your bone” and knocked a piece off and sucked it out.  He was concerned that I wouldn’t survive much longer; he said that we can’t wait on the Mayo Clinic any more; we had to do something right away, I remember the last question I had for him, what about my testicles, he said I am going to fix those. I originally wrote a list that I got off the internet of about 20 things to ask him, but I didn’t ask but the two questions.  Finally after almost a month and a half I was to have chemo, but first had to have a port installed which I had done right away.  This whole time period was a blur then and is still blurry and I have to refer to my notes to get it right; the next day I went in and had my first round of RCHOP.  I was so ready for anything at this point, after they accessed my port I could feel it moving through my veins and to my surprise when they got to the Rituxin and it started pumping through I could see the tumors melting away and I could feel the inside of my chest collapse, which caused me to collapse with it and I couldn’t finish the bag, so I had to return the next day.  But when I got home I was so relieved that finally the swelling in my groin area had melted away, this was a miracle.  But we still didn’t know what type of Lymphoma I had; I was just relieved that some of the pain had diminished and was sent home to rest.  The next day I went in and finished off the Rituxin and the other chemicals in my round of RCHOP and was sent home, but this was just the beginning.

Two days after receiving the RCHOP chemotherapy round Dr. Oncologist had me come into his office and told me that they received the answer from Mayo Clinic.  He told me that I had Burkitt’s lymphoma and that is why the tumors spread so fast, because the cells double in size every 24 hours or less and RCHOP was not enough to stop the cancer.  He said as soon as we can we need to give you a different kind of a treatment protocol and we have to be very aggressive about it, he handed me a copy of the protocol he would use, CODOX-M-IVAC-R (Magrath protocol) we can’t have any delays and you will have to have the highest doses that I can administer to you and as quickly as I can administer it, he wanted me to have a heart study done to see how much my heart could handle.  He told me that it would not be anything like the RCHOP and the main goal was to kill every fast growing cell in my body, recover enough to do it again and again and again and that is how you take on Burkitt’s. Dr. Oncologist is a very direct man, his is a PHD and after looking at his resume that I found on line, I realized why they waited for me to see this man.  He was the right guy for the job.  He wanted me to come to the Cancer Center everyday for blood work so he could see what was going on a daily basis.  He told me that you will not have an immune system for most of this time period and hospital stays would be a must, but he wanted me to stay home as much as possible, because hospitals are no place for a sick person. I was floored, I never heard of this cancer, I knew nothing about it, but I had only two questions for Dr. Oncologist, what were my chances of beating this? He looked at me and said very bluntly 50/50. I also asked how long have I had this cancer he told me about 30 days before the first symptom. While my brother and mother were in town, my brother installed a door on the basement; April sanitized the entire basement, set up a bed and TV for me down there and bought air purifiers.  We were getting ready for a long run of dodging infections and a restful place for.  I had a few days before I would recover enough from the RCHOP round and we were preparing for the battle.  My brother bought groceries and a lot of ensure. My dad stayed after my brother and mother left to shuffle me back and forth to the hospital while April tried to maintain her job and my kids went about their daily routines.  As I reflect back I don’t know why we did all these things, because there is no book to explain what a family should do to prepare for a battle with Burkitt’s.  I for some reason thought this would all be over in a few weeks one way or the other.  At the time I just didn’t know what was to come, I searched for answers on the internet, but only found a lot of information that was hard to find and confusing.  I was confused; the steroids had taken me places in my mind I had never ventured into before.  My emotions were now a roller coaster.  I wanted to get back to work so I could continue to provide for my family, but that would not come so easy.

Now the treatment process begins.  Bone marrow biopsies, eight chemotherapy Intrathecal Injections, 350 plus bags of antibiotic’s, fluid’s, nutrients and chemo, 8 blood transfusions, many platelet transfusions, more prescriptions than I can remember. I was treated with 4 rounds of the Magrath (CODOX-MIVAC-R) Protocol and spent about 70 days in a hospital bed off and on and I lost nearly 55 pounds. Following this I was treated with 17 rounds of radiation, which wasn’t as easy as it sounds or I was told it would be. I have had many side effects from these treatments, including getting neuropathy so bad I couldn’t feel anything from the knees or elbows down, but some of this may have resulted from the cancer pressing against my spine. Somehow I survived all of this.

Getting ready for work

After returning to work two weeks out of chemotherapy and still going through radiation, to my surprise my company didn’t really want me there

After 4th round and radiation

unless I could work 12 hour shifts. This in it self is a long story and eventually I ended up getting help from the HRB. The company sent in there side of the story, but I can’t share that, but here is  my rebuttal to there letter.

Some of this may sound trivial, but this is just what I had to defend myself with. I wish I could publish their letter. The only purpose of their letter was to get may complaint thrown out.

12/10/2009

XXXXXXXX

Investigator

Montana Human Right’s Bureau

P.O Box 1728

Helena, MT 59624-1728

Re:  Rebuttal Jeffery Runyan v. XXXXXXXXXXXX

HRB Case No. XXXXXXXX

EEOC Case No. XXXXXXXX

In response to the Statements Submitted by my Employer XXXX_XXXXX Corporation in both their letters, I submit the following in rebuttal.

XXXXXXX letter:  It is correct that the statement that I was hired in June 2008 is correct and 2007 was a typo in the original complaint that I did not catch.

It is also true that after obtaining permission I did make a visit to the mill on March 31st at about 9: AM when I was between chemo-therapy treatments, during the visit many of the employees asked questions about my treatment in which I openly explained what I had been going through.  Originally I was told at work that I had Cancer by the Doctor that was at the facility that day, I was not prepared for this and had an emotional break down, told my Supervisor and left. I did have a password protected website that discussed my condition that subsequently got posted on the company bulletin board by one of the Supervisors’ I had given the password too, again that was before all this happened but when this was discovered the password was promptly changed. I did not give permission for the Company to pass out any of my Limitations at this time and I did not know what they would be. I am disheartened that they feel this is a reason to give out my accommodations to my fellow co-workers after this visit in March 2009 and the fact is I didn’t return to work until June 1st 2009.  But to be sure everyone at the Management Level was aware that I was being treated for a very aggressive Cancer.

It is true that I returned expecting to be able to work full-time while working through my radiation treatments and had turned in a Doctors note stating that, and also explaining that I was going through radiation treatment for aggressive wide spread Burkitt’s Lymphoma.  This note was dated May 27th 2009 yet the Company doesn’t acknowledge this was turned in. This note clearly explains I was being treated for Aggressive Wide Spread Lymphoma (Cancer). I had also turned in a note dated 5/28/09 from Montana Cancer Specialists. Stating I was to be on half days June 1-June 5th and on light duty June 8 on going full days.

(Please see Exhibit A and B.)

The Company did allow me to work during Radiation treatments and I was working an 8 hour schedule because I had to be at the Cancer Center shortly after 4 PM to receive treatment.

Upon my return to work on the 1st of June the Company did allow me to work half days but not on a special light duty schedule.  I worked a normal work routine and on the first day back was assigned Steam and Sewer Conductivity Maintenance.  The Conductivity Maintenance involved working with sewer and steam conductivity probes and repair as required. I was never given a different than normal schedule as stated other then half days and this can be verified by the maintenance scheduling for that week.

(Exhibit C.)

Following my radiation treatment I received another Doctor’s note and promptly turned it in. It stated I was to work light duty limited to eight hour days for the week on June 22.

June 22, 2009 I was allowed to work 8 hour days but again not on any sort of special schedule rather then a normal maintenance schedule which can be verified by the maintenance scheduling.

On June 29th the Company scheduled me for four 12 hour work days.  I attempted to work the 12 hour days but found that because of my treatments from Radiation and Chemo-Therapy I could not and I complained to XXX  XXXXX about the Burn’s that I had received from the radiation, XXX  XXXXX is a E & I  Forman that I frequently work for. The Cancer treatments were causing me great distress as I explained to XXX.  I had also complained to a Union Shop Steward that 12 hour shifts were kicking my butt and he said that it’s hard on a well individual to do. I complained to many people yet was still forced to do the 12 hour shifts, I further informed my E&I Supervisor XXX  XXXXX on July 2nd that I couldn’t do the 12 hour’s but he did nothing, so I told him I would have to see a Doctor on my day off.  Because of the 12 hour shifts I did not have adequate time to reach my primary Physician.  I did call several times and he did write a note but I never had time to go retrieve it.  I ended up working more than 50 hours that week in four days. Because I did complain a senior Union member complained to HR about my complaining about working the 12 hour shift and this is confirmed in the My Employers letter as described below.

(Exhibit D)

On or about the July 3rd  

On my day off I obtained from Now Care Downtown a note that states “Patient should not work more then 8 hours a day until further notice from healthcare provider. Any questions or concerns please call.” Signed by XXX  XXXXX, DO.  The Cancer Center was closed and I could not pick up the note that Dr. XXX  XXXXX had written me.  I emailed the note that I received from Now Care Downtown to XXX  XXXXX  and XXX  XXXXX at their mill email addresses after I had spoken with XXX  XXXXX on the phone, XXXXX is an acting Forman and was my Supervisor that week because I was on shift I was working under his Supervision,  XXX was my regular Supervisor. I needed the Company to know that I couldn’t work the 12 hour shifts and that they could have time to schedule someone else the following week. In the Company’s letter they state on page 2 of their letter I turned in a note on July 3rd that limited me to 8 hours work to be re-evaluated in one month.  This statement is false and that I emailed the note that I received from Doctor XXXXX to XXXXX.  They could not have received the Mill’s Physician assistant note dated July 3rd 2009 on the 3rd because I was not at the Mill on July 3rd and XXXXX XXXXX the Mill Physician assistant (whom I believed to be a Nurse Practitioner) only comes on Tuesday’s. This is easily verified as I still have the email.

(Please see exhibit E, F)

The Company letter states on page 7 that my Supervisor XXXX  XXXX did talk to the Nurse Practitioner about needing a time frame on my restrictions in order to accommodate me.  I never gave XXXX permission to talk to any of my physicians nor did I sign a written release for him to do so, and I did not give the Nurse Practitioner permission to talk to XXXX about my condition nor did I give her written permission to do so.  XXXX did obtain a modified note from the Nurse Practitioner and it was back dated to the 3rd of July 2009 my day off and time stamped 9:26 AM more than 2 hours before the note I received from Dr. XXXXXX on the 3rd of July.   I was not afforded the opportunity to obtain a note from my Oncologist. The note from Dr. XXXXXX was obtained because I could not obtain the note from my Oncologist because the cancer center was closed and Dr. XXXXXX was available.  Later that week I did finally receive a note from Dr. XXXXXX my oncologist.

If you look at the note signed by XXXXXX you will see that it was dated July 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 AM.  I never saw XXXXXX on the 3rd of July and was off that day.  They back dated the note from the 7th and gave it to XXXXXX and he turned it into HR.  This I consider a form of discrimination, when I reported this action to the HR they took no action and don’t even include the meeting we had in their statement.

(Exhibit G)

On or about July 7th 2009

I was called into XXXXXX office without a shop Steward and my notes of this meeting are attached.  This meeting was not mentioned in their statement.

(Exhibit H)

On or about July 9th

We had a meeting attended by me, HR Manager and my Supervisor. My notes on that meeting are attached.  Again this meeting was not mentioned in there statement.

(Exhibit I)

On or about Aug 12th 2009

We did have a meeting and for the most part their statement is true however they called me in without union representation.  I did not recall the statement said by my co-worker but did recall saying to people that shift was kicking my butt, including XXXXXX and that I would seek to get a Doctor’s exemption from it because of the Burns and Neuropathy I developed, I was in so much pain I could barely walk and the only way the Company would let me out of it was with a Doctors note.  I did go on to say that had I even made that statement it would have been true because I hated the shift because it was making my medical condition worse.  Further they state that this was said most likely in July. But yet he waits until august to bring this up.

On or about Aug 31st 2009 at 15:52PM

XXXXXX called me into XXXXXX office and told me that I needed a new Doctors note, and told me to give it to HR but this time they want a specific time and date as to when I would be better.  So they can meet it head on and take it to the standing committee if need be.  Afterwards I did obtain a new note and turned it in.

(Exhibit J)

On or about September 10, 2009

The Company did call me in again without union representation.

We did discuss my new Doctor’s note that XXXXXX wanted me to get to which I did and turned it in.  They said I was opposed to providing any information to the union in their statement. What I did oppose was providing information to my co-workers. And I turned in a letter stating that I wanted them to follow the law with regards to my Doctor’s notes and letters. They did give me a copy of the Companies substance abuse program because they noticed I was visiting a pain management Clinic that was on the heading of my doctor’s note.  They Highlighted the Portion that States that it was required to turn in my prescriptions should they cause me to not work safely and put a tab on it. HR told me they would give me a urinalysis test if there was a certain trigger and that I needed to turn in a list of prescriptions to the nurse.  I told them that my doctor would not have allowed me to work or provide the note with my limitations if he thought I couldn’t work with these prescriptions.  However I did obtain a list of these prescriptions in a letter from my doctor that did explain that they would not affect my performance or my ability to work safely and promptly turned it in to the nurse.  I felt this to be harassing as well.

I would like to see how many other individuals in similar circumstances had to turn in their prescriptions.

(Exhibit K, L, M)

October 23rd 2009   

Had a meeting with HR Rep, and my union representative and I, however the Company fails to mention we ever had this meeting.  On or about the 23rd of October 2009 at approximately 8AM the above named people had a meeting.  I told grace that my doctor Dr. XXXXXX D.O would like me to work reduced hours or part time because he is concerned that I am not meeting my medical obligations and medical goals.  I asked Grace if the Company could accommodate me with a reduced schedule or less hours or be more flexible.  She said not without a doctor’s note, but even then it would be the Companies view that the Doctor would have to come up with 2 or maybe 3 plans.  I said I had a note and I let HR read page 2 where it stated the facts that I have mentioned above.  HR said she would need more specifics as she already stated with 2 to 3 plans.  I then asked HR if she meant that if I asked for an afternoon off a week that the company wouldn’t do it.  She said it would look like we were giving you special treatment.  I then asked if I could be assigned a buggy or golf cart for the paper machine area.  She said it would require a Doctor’s note, stating I required a motorized transportation.  I told HR that I had already turned one in.  She said you did?   And I said yes.  (We had already discussed this on September 10th 2009 as the company states in their letter).  She said she would have to talk to my supervisor XXXXXX.  I then asked if I could come in at 7 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have physical therapy on these days at 4 PM.  She asked if it would affect anyone and I said no.  HR then said I would have to bring in a note to verify the schedule.  Which I did as explained below.

 On October 27th

I turned in two notes a letter from my doctor and a letter from my physical therapist.  I told a Senior Union member that I was turning in these two notes, but the Company only includes the one note from my Physical Therapist.  And they did not schedule me at 7AM to 3:30PM and didn’t advise that I could come in early until the very last day of the program.  This can be easily verified by checking the company scheduling.

Copies of these two notes are attached.

(Exhibit N, O)

On or about November 9th 2009

Turned in Doctor’s note from Doctor XXXXX, although I explained what the HR department wanted, Doctor XXXXX wrote what he wanted.

(Exhibit P)

On or about December 2nd, 2009

XXXXXX, HR, my union representative and I did have a meeting and for the most part what they have written is true except they didn’t include the statement that I said I have not been able to use the buggy because I could not find it.  My Union representative later told me that he spoke to XXXXXX about the Buggy and the reason I couldn’t find it was because my fellow co-workers had been parking it in places where I wouldn’t be able to find it. Although it was requested that I have a go-cart (Golf Cart) for distances for more than 100 yards in a doctors note and personal requests I turned in back in September I generally had not been afforded the opportunity to use it. But I am grateful that Louis Presta gave up his buggy (Golf Cart) for me to use shortly after this meeting.  They also did finally grant the accommodation that my doctor required that I work less than 5 days a week that I requested in October.

The buggy issue came about when a fellow co-worker yelled at me one day in front of another co-worker for using the buggy so I had to turn in a request in writing back in September but still never was able to use one until now, even after Doctor’s request that I be able to use one.  The Mill has many of these Buggies (Golf Carts) because of the long distance between work sites.

(Exhibit Q)

Summary of the facts

The Company has acknowledged and substantiated my charge of discrimination.

In the fact that XXXXXX spoke to our Physician Assistant about modifying my restrictions and this happened on or about the 7th of July 2009.  I did believe XXXX XXXX to be a Nurse Practitioner.

Mr. XXXXXX did speak to the mills physician assistant about needing a timeframe on the Complainant’s restrictions in order to accommodate the Complainant. Mr. XXXXXX believed this was necessary because the Complainant had a doctor’s note with restriction of only working eight hours per day, but there was no timeframe or ending date on this note.  Mr. XXXXXX knew that an indefinite timeframe on only working eight hours per day was generally not acceptable to the Company, so he asked Mr. Runyan to have the mill’s medical provider indicate a timeframe as a point of reference.

 The underlined statement above is false; my supervisor had already obtained the note by the time I arrived in the Nurses office.  And never did I give XXXXXX written permission to talk to any Medical provider.  If I had turned this note in on the 3rd as they state in their letter then why did this note change happen on the 7th of July 2009. They forced me under duress to agree to these modifications only after it was done and this is what I recall with the best of my knowledge.  This could be verified by asking the individuals who were there.

The Company has acknowledged in their letter that my charge of discrimination is substantiated in the fact that HR did disclose to the Union Representative who told my fellow co-workers I was receiving an accommodation.  I never gave permission to disclose to my co-workers that I was receiving an accommodation.  And they confirm in the letter I was opposed to it and did it anyways.

 Page 7 of the Company letter;

“The effected co-workers accepted the situation when they understood an accommodation was granted and no grievance was filed.  Also, the complainant discussed his personal medical condition with several co-workers before he returned from a leave of absence on June 1, 2009. 

 Questions and Answers about Cancer in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA Chapter 9.

The ADA prohibits an employer from telling co-workers that an employee is receiving an accommodation and this amounts to disclosure of the employee’s disability.  Rather than disclosing that an employee is receiving a reasonable accommodation, the employer should focus on the importance of maintaining the privacy of all employees and emphasize that its policy is to refrain from discussing the work situation of an employee with co-workers.  Employers may be able to avoid many kinds of questions by training all employees on the requirements of the EEO laws, including the ADA

As they state I did discuss my medical condition before returning to work but that was in March 2009 more than two months before I returned to work, and at that time did not know what accommodation I would need and I never discussed that with affected employees after my return, nor did I show them my doctors notes. This can easily be verified by interviewing the people that were at the visit in March.  Plus I did not receive my first doctor’s note until May 27th 2009. This is not giving the Company permission to pass out my accommodations.  This statement alone verifies my complaint that the company and a Union Representative told my fellow co-workers that I was receiving an accommodation and had medical restrictions.

 Had I disclosed this myself then why did they need to do so?  And my conditions are results of side effects that are developing as time goes by and I do not know when they will subside.

The Company has also included in their letter statements from my fellow employees that substantiate my charge of harassment, but I would like to state that this was a one sided investigation.

For example Lead Electrician XXXXXX acknowledges that he said I walk like a Duck, but states that we were talking about hunting.   XXXXXX actually said I see you still walk like a Duck. This was not a kidding exchange by co-workers. I don’t believe that Mr. XXXXXX has any specialized training in body language or hand movement or has the ability to read minds to see if I was upset.  Further XXXXXX has been on occasion assigned as my Supervisor and quite frankly I was very upset and emotionally traumatized by the remark.  Further Mr. XXXXXX said this in front of my Supervisor XXXXXX yet XXXXXX apparently did nothing or said anything to XXXX or perhaps didn’t even hear it but I thought he had.  XXXXXX did say that I walk like I was wearing clown shoes and when I confronted him with the remark he did say “so sue me”.  He said this while I was working in the New Wash building in front of the operator’s that day.  Perhaps John simply doesn’t remember the remark.  Perhaps if investigated the operator’s that day may remember this conversation.  That was on or about June 19th 2009.

The company says I didn’t report this to my Supervisor, XXXXXX is a supervisor at times and said the one comment in front of my Supervisor.  I was afraid of retaliation and feared for my job.

The Company also states in their letter that the first step is to try to make the harassment stop by confronting the individual, I did confront the individual and I thought that the harassment would curtail.

As far as XXXXXX and his harassing comments. Mr. XXXXXX harassed me in front of the entire E&I staff at a Tuesday Safety meeting. Based on the Companies investigation my charge is substantiated that Mr. XXXXXX confirms that he said the eyebrow comment.  However what was actually said on or about June 1st at 7:26 AM by Mr. XXXXXX is that Jeff, did you know you don’t have any eyebrows, and that is all that was said and he promptly walked away.  It was my first day back and I was quite upset, and shortly after looked in the mirror to confirm that I indeed did not have any eyebrows. I also would like to see Mr. XXXXXX’s training in body and hand movement and his ability to read minds to see if I was distressed or not. The Company letter states that I never reported harassment or these comments to management.  Then why does their letter state that I did report harassment to management and I did follow the procedures but still it did not stop. Although Mr. XXXXXX and I disagree as to the nature of the conversation he still admits the comment was said.

Further the Company states that when these statements are put in proper context they consider them “immature and boring”; does this statement not prove the fact that the company considers harassment “immature and boring”.

The harassment policy states that harassment is: Verbal conduct such as gender-based epithets, derogatory comments, slurs or unwanted sexual advances, invitations, or comments.  Yet they consider these derogatory comments that attack my physical capabilities and physical appearance as “immature and boring”

Yet they are not the ones that have Cancer, or have been subject to high dose chemo, radiation and surgeries and dealing with the side effects of this treatment that apparently make me walk like a Duck and have no Eyebrows.

(Exhibit R)

This is only a portion of the harassment that I received when I returned to work.  I did try to correct the situation by keeping Management informed; ignoring it or confronting the individual but still the harassment did not stop. I am and was in such a weakened state, from fatigue, stress and fear that I felt my only course of action was to ask for assistance from the EEOC.

I spoke to my Primary Physician about the Doctor Notes my company required and the stress I was under and he stated that “they are trying to make you quit” my spouse was with me at the time and can verify my duress.  I had another physician ask me if the Company was harassing me by the many notes they were requiring me to turn in.  And I can easily verify this.

I have filed an additional charge through the EEOC and that charge is pending further action on my part. The Case that is currently in question was transferred to the Human Rights Bureau because of the Work Sharing Program and perhaps a faster resolution and was amended to include state laws.  The Company asks why?  My only statement I have is Cancer in the Workplace.

The Company has provided many statements that include Union Contract language that they say is the most scrutinized.  Perhaps the least scrutinized but most important is Section 43.

Section 43 of the Union Contract:  NON-DISCRIMINATION

 43.1 The Company and the Union agree there shall be no discrimination against any employees or applicant because of race, religion, sex, national origin, or disability as provided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Americans with Disability Act and so on.

This section of the contract was put in for a reason, the reason and intent is to protect and abide by the provisions of the acts and to protect individuals in my situation.

(Exhibit S)

I did not follow the Grievance Policy because of the following reasons. I could not meet the 5 day time line. XXX XXXXX the Union Rep was in disagreement with me, and the Company was in disagreement with me, and it is my right to report what I feel to be violations of the ADA.

My closing statement.

I read all the case laws and opinions and things greater then my charge that have already been determined.  I simply would like to know if my rights have been violated.

And I believe that section 43 of the Union contract is very important and pertains in this case and out ways the Sections that the Company has noted.

I do recognize that the Company has made efforts and did eventually make the reasonable accommodations that my doctor’s requested. Although slow and long waiting periods which caused me pain and stress that otherwise could have been avoided with greater speed and efficiency.

I feel that the only protection I have is the ADA and feel that my only course of action was to be protected by this law. I believe that this charge should not be dismissed, but investigated to see if the Company has violated my Rights and I believe that the rebuttal I have submitted shows a different side to the situation in a perspective of a person trying to survive cancer while trying to maintain a somewhat normal life style and not join the ranks of those on Disability or public assistance unless absolutely necessary.  With this said I am still willing to mediate this situation should the Company chose to do so.

Sincerely,

Jeffery Runyan

List of Exhibit’s;

A:   Letter from Doctor XXXXXX Dated May 27th 2009 turned in the same time as the below note..

 B:  Return to work restrictions from Montana Cancer Specialists. Dated 5/28/09

 C:   Work Schedule Dated the 1st of June 2009 my first day back.

 D:   Work restrictions Dated July 3rd from Montana Cancer Specialists.

 E:   E-mail sent to my Supervisor XXXX and XXXXX on the 3rd.

 F:   Attachment that was sent to XXXXX and XXXXX on July 3rd, 2009.

 G:   Note that My Supervisor turned in to HR on July 7th from XXXXXXX July 3rd 2009.

 H:    My notes from the meeting on or about July 7th 2009.

  I:     My notes for the meeting on or about July 9th 2009.

  J:    Note I received from the Pain management Center that XXXX requested.

  K:  Attached is the original substance abuse program page with the high light and tab that the Company gave me. 

  L:  The note that I received from Dr. XXXXX pertaining to my prescriptions that I received following the Company meeting with I the HR department and XXXX XXXX that I turned in to the Nurse.

  M:  Letter that I turned in requesting the Company follow the law in regards to my Doctors notes.

  N:  Letter from my Physical therapist that I turned in with O below.

 O:  Letter that I let XXXX read at our meeting on or about the 23rd of October.

  P:  Letter that I turned in from Doctor XXXXX.

  Q:  Letter requesting that I be able to use the Buggy.

   R:  Company Harassment Policy

   S:  Section 43 of the Union Contact.  NON DISCRIMINATION.

After my condition deteriorated from all the treatments and physical changes around Dec. 2009 almost exactly one year from the date of my first symptom Smurfit-Stone announced they were going to be shuttering the Mill. Smurfit Stone Mill closing.

So all that they did to me was for no rhyme or reason other than to make a cancer patient as miserable as possible. In the end the Human Rights Bureau found in my favor.

The toll was horrendous, the radiation, the chemotherapy the stress and the side effects were more than I could bare and my Doctors decided I could no longer work and finally said that awful word “Disabled”.

Fighting Back

In March 2010, I was asked if I wanted to participate in a challenge, to swim a mile as one leg of a triathlon. So, I trained and I worked hard with Physical therapy and after all was said and done, I swam the mile, numb hands and legs and all, I was dead last and ran out of time, so the time keeper was yelling for me to get out of the pool, I thought I might drown, but the cheers of my friends and family yelling for me to keep going drowned him out and I made it and I never touched the bottom, but this was one good day out of many bad days.

 Choosing Action Cancer meets its match.

November 2011. After every scan came back clear for two years my scan on Nov. 2nd 2011 came back positive. There was an area around my only tonsil that lit up the PET scan. My ONC referred me to an ENT and he suggested surgery. He said that is the only good way to biopsy that part of your mouth. So I had surgery and they cut a pretty good portion of my mouth and throat out including the tonsil. They tested the tissue and it wasn’t cancer. The thing about PET scans is they can detect Burkitt’s really well, but at the same time any areas that are producing energy or showing any Hyper-metabolic activity can show positive on a PET scan since PET scans measure Metabolism. Hyper-metabolic just means those cells are metabolizing more sugar then normally. Burkitt’s cells have a much higher metabolic rate then healthy cells. That is why a PET scan is really good at finding Burkitt’s. Places in the body that might be fighting an infection also can have a high metabolic rate as well as areas with disease, basically any inflammation can show increased up take. The way I understand up take is the amount of absorption of the Radioactive glucose they gave you an hour before the scan. Burkitt’s cells have a very, very high up take. I’m not a radiologist or even in the medical field; this is just what I think I know from going through about a dozen scans after getting sick from Burkitt’s. See how much I have learned in two years?

Watch a video on my biopsy healing process by clicking here.

Some Oncologists say that follow up scans are a waste of time and money, because you can come down with Burkitt’s between scans, some don’t share this view. I agree with the ones that think routine Burkitt’s screening is good to do. I know someone that had a routine scan that came back positive after being in remission for more than two years. It turned out to be Burkitt’s and they were treated with a Stem Cell Transplant and are doing fine today. Had they not had the routine scan this may of had a different outcome. In my case the tissue was not cancer, but what if it was in some stage of morphing into something serious? I think if there is a chance of catching a Burkitt’s lymphoma relapse early on it is a good thing, time is limited when your only option is a transplant.

The Burkitts Lymphoma Society

The Burkitts Lymphoma Society started while I was in the hospital, I couldn’t find people that had the same disease. I only had use of my index fingers at the time because of neuropathy and started typing and made a on line chat and called it the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Society. Here is a short story of how it came about that our local paper did. I can’t take any of the credit for myself. I have made little contribution. It wouldn’t be here if people were not willing to share. Click the link to go to the story.

How the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Society came about.

Here is an example of how it has made an impact.
Click the link and read the story.

Heath Consultations Via. Tweets

On Nov. 30th 2012,  I was told by my Oncologist that my latest PET scan was clear and there would be no need to come back unless I thought I was having a relapse. He said that the possibility of relapse at this point was very remote. After the appointment it took me awhile to digest this.  About 4 hours later it finally sunk in, after 3 years and 4 months to the day, I graduated from the cancer center.

Aug. 23, 2013.

I am moving on from cancer.

I can tell you it is emotionally devastating to have cancer, and then the side effects then to find out you are financially ruined and have to start completely over from scratch at the age of 51. We did manage to save the house and my old truck with over 200K on it and bought a used old car with some of the money we got from the car we sold. It takes a lot to muster to do the paperwork and ground work, thank goodness my wife was able to do that.

I just was able to start working again in Feb. this year after a failed attempt when I first finished chemotherapy with my ex-employer. And another failed attempt in 2011 from the PET scans Surgery and infections. I had to start my own business, because I couldn’t get anyone to look at hiring me for work I might be able to do with my limitations. Even then it has been harder than I ever imagined. My feet are deformed, mainly my right foot, my back and legs still have severe pain, but epidural injections seem to be helping that, thank goodness, and my hands and legs are still numb and tingle, cramp and twitch and hurt. I can’t take a step without pain and that is only the half of it. The radiation treatments seem to have left me with some unique issues where I have to plan my travel around restrooms and to top it off I have this constant ringing in my head. But despite how bad that all sounds it is better than before and thanks to some old friends they are finding work for me where I can do what I can and set my own hours at my own pace.

I got sick at 46, it has been nearly 5 years and one rough road with lots of ups and downs and stress. The one thing that has helped me the most is the Burkitt’s Lymphoma Society Support group on Facebook and all the people I have met there, it has been so therapeutic and so uniquely helpful to my well being that I will never be able to explain just how it has affected me and made me want to keep pushing forward.

Keep faith, when it looks bad dig your heals in and push forward, it is all anyone can do.

In 2020 Jeff was diagnosed with stage IV Anal Plastic Large Cell Lymphoma, more to come in this story.

Jeff_R_@live.com

I

Initial results from clinical trials show new drug therapies are effective against lymphomas and other cancers connected to the Epstein-Barr virus.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/new-treatment-in-works-for-cancers-linked-to-epstein-barr-virus

Submitted by:

Jamie Reno

Hi,
I am Anna Rita from Italy. The Burkitt Lymphoma hit me hard last January. No one knew what was wrong with me and living in a small village didn’t help.
I first developed breast nots in the middle of December, very big one on both breasts. Then I started sweating at night quite heavily and over all I was feeling always tired. Diarrea appeared and lost of appetite, follow by intense stomach pain and sleepless nights. The situation got worse in the middle of January when I could not breathe properly, my stomach had started swallowing and other nots could be felt with bare hands. I was taken to emergency and when the doctors saw me they went into panic, I had nots all over, the liver was double in size and was pushing my chest, my stomach was like a 9 months pregnant lady all tense and hard. They put me on pain killer and left me there thinking that there was nothing to do with me. I was desperate, frighten, fragile, I was lost..I really thought it was my end. After 8 days of nothing we decided to move fast and take action I could no longer wait. We took and ambulance and moved to Germany, where immediately they assessed my problem. I was put under very heavy chemio therapy to stop the growth of all the lymphomas, by then I was a wreck. I felt a few time I was going to pass away and if it hadn’t been for the love and caring of my husband and children I don’t know how I would have coped.
I am back in Italy now under the cure of very caring doctors, I have just concluded my third cycle of chemio, I will have three more to go. Things have moved very much and all the nots have gone a part from some stains on the liver. The battle is not over yet, but I feel I have been given a second chance in live and I am so grateful to everyone for supporting me. Do not loose your hope fight again it with all your little strength you may have, I’ve never give up, even when I was at my worse. My love for life has kept me alive, because I wanted to live it was too early to go..The research and medicines have done miracle for me, the love and support of my love ones has kept the spark alive.
I hope to be back to normal one day, cannot wait to feel free of cancer. This terrible experience has changed me for life, maybe in better…

Logan, my 13 year old son, went in to have a tonsillectomy on November 1, 2017. I will never forget the look on the surgeons face when he came out and the words he said to me, “Logan is resting, we found a tumor in his tonsil, we sent it to pathology and they just called back. Logan has lymphoma.” And those words have sent us a journey we didn’t ask to go on. Within 48 hours of surgery we were sitting with the pediatric oncologist over an hour away from home who is telling us that his type of lymphoma is extremely aggressive, he has to start chemo right away. So here we are exactly 2 weeks later having already had a bone marrow biopsy, 2 spinal taps, a mediport inserted, finished the prephase chemo and started the 1st full round yesterday. Thankfully it was localized and did not spread past the lymph node near his tonsil, for that I will be forever grateful. Our lives have been forever altered in a way we never expected and while I know the next few months will be very difficult, we will get through them and stand on the other side of this horrible disease looking back at the whirlwind that is currently our reality, wondering what just happened.

A Testimony of Miracles through Faith as told by a Cancer Survivor

By Rian Short

Diagnosed: Burkitts Lymphoma, Stage IV on Aug 2^nd,        2015                                              

Cancer Free: Sept 25^th, 2015

Please share with all who would listen

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:12, 13

I expect front row parking no matter where I go, any time, day or night. It does not matter to me if it is black Friday, Christmas, or the state fair. I will always expect front row parking. And just to be clear, when I say “front row parking” I mean directly at the front door or entrance to the event. In fact my expectations are so high that I will have a front row parking spot waiting on me whenever I get to my destination, I am completely shocked if it is not there waiting on me.

I fully understand that this sounds crazy. I am expecting to receive something to happen in my favor 100% of the time in a situation that I have 100% no control over. I have absolutely no control over whether a front row parking space will be available or not when I arrive at my destination. This is not reserved parking I’m talking about. I don’t call ahead, have parking spots with my name on them at every location in the United States, or park illegally in the handicapped parking spots. I simply drive to the location expecting there to be a front row parking spot waiting on me and in all honesty I can say that this occurs 98% of the time. The other 2% of the time I will be within the front 4 spaces.

Many of my friends and family have experienced this with me. At first they called it luck, but then as they noticed it would happen almost every single time they went somewhere with me, they began to use words like….odd…weird…some even said I must have paranormal powers.

I am here to tell you that I DO have paranormal powers. In fact I have many paranormal powers. One of the greatest of these powers is what most people would call faith. It was a gift given to me from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In fact all of my “paranormal powers” are simply gifts that I have asked the Lord to give me throughout my life. I have received every one of the gifts I have asked for, no questions asked. But keep in mind there will always be times when those gifts are tested. “Because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:3

I know that it sounds extremely trivial that I believe the Lord provides a front row parking spot for me on a consistent basis, as though the Lord was my personal valet service. But in fact, the Lord commands us to use our faith in all things and through all aspects of our life regardless of the size and scope of the situation. Mathew 17:20 states “because you have so little faith, truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Many of us in life have had our own mustard seed moment. That moment in time where we bring to bare all the faith we have in our mind, body and soul in order to bring us through a situation in life that seems to be unbearable.  My mustard seed moment came on August 2nd 2015, when an Emergency Room doctor did a CAT scan of my abdomen only to let me know I had cancer from my belt line to the bottom of my chin, basically everywhere he could see on the scan. I was taken immediately to St. Johns, downtown Tulsa, Oncology and received a diagnosis of Stage IV Burkitts Lymphoma. If I ever needed a front row parking spot I needed it now.

Jesus went through a battle of faith more than once. Immediately after Jesus was baptized he was taken into the desert to have his faith tested. Jesus was there fasting 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of 40 days and 40 nights when his body, soul and mind had to be at their weakest. Satan came to him and said “If you are the son, tell these stones to become bread”. Jesus responded “It is written, man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Satan also tempted Jesus to throw himself from a mountain top to prove he could be saved by angels and by showing Jesus the whole world and telling Jesus that if he would just bow and worship him he would give Jesus the whole world and all that was in it.

Here is what I find most fascinating about this whole story. Jesus who was at his weakest in his life was battling Satan who I’m sure had not missed a meal or an hour of sleep. Jesus was going up against the master liar and manipulator at his weakest moment. Imagine yourself being thrown into the arena with a Gladiator. After you have been starved of water and food for 40 days. What do you think your odds are? What would you do? How would you defeat this huge destructive force? The amazing part of this story is that what Jesus used to battle the most evil force in the universe was the beautiful and simple Word of God. Three times Satan tested Jesus and all three times Jesus won the battle by using the Word of God. “It is Written:” Matthew 4:1-11

Jesus exercised his faith through saying out loud the word of God and the promises that God has made to all mankind in his word. So believe it or not, my belief is that we are to do the same. Speak the word of God and it shall manifest in your life. God keeps his promises in the big things and in the little things alike. We should always exercise our faith in the small matters of our life; front row parking spots, so we are prepared to exercise it in the huge situations in our life; cancer.

My faith in my front row parking spots just took center stage. I knew I had faith, I had used it many times before, but mostly for the simple and mundane battles and trials of life. The question that kept spiraling through my thoughts now was ‘Do I have the faith it’s going to take for this battle? This was not about a front row parking spot. This was about me living or dying.

 

 

DIAGNOSIS

Cancer does not discriminate. Cancer does not care about your age, gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. Once it decides its coming for you then the fight is on. Part of the fight is that there are all types of cancers. And of all the types of cancers there are an unlimited amount of locations in the human body for cancer to rear its ugly head. Oncologists fight this battle every day on determining what type of cancer it is and the best course of treatment. This makes cancer a formidable opponent from diagnosis to what I am calling end of journey. End of journey either means you are in remission or you have passed away.

An accurate Diagnosis is critical to how your journey is going to end. If the Doctor gets that step wrong then nothing will matter after that point because the treatment will be ineffective. Some cancers are loud and boisterous saying “Here I am, bring it on.” These loud fellows you can normally see outward signs of, possibly followed with pain in the area. Other cancers are more covert. They like to sneak up on you and catch you off guard. And it is normally by accident or a routine doctor’s visit that these cancers are located.

My cancer was the loud in your face cancer. I had left my home for two weeks and traveled to California for a military assignment. I noticed while there I was having trouble catching my breath, going to the bathroom and sleeping. I also noticed a severe tightness in my abdomen and chest area. However, I rocked on and did my duty for the 14 days I was there. It wasn’t until the last day that I knew something was wrong when I went to button up my jacket and the buttons were tight against my body. I began to believe I was severely constipated and just decided since it was the last day, I would grin and bare it till I got home and could go see the doctor. I flew back to Oklahoma and by the next morning I looked like I was eight months pregnant. I went directly to the Urgent Care facility by my house. The doctor who saw me pushed on my belly, sent me for an x-ray and then came back in the room to let me know it was constipation and he would assign a prescription to help get me moving again. Elaina got the prescriptions and we headed to the house. All is well, right? I took my meds and went to bed expecting any moment to rush to the bathroom and empty two weeks of food waste quickly. When I woke up the next morning and that had not happened I became nervous. Elaina and my mother were talking in the living room when I came out. They had decided something was definitely wrong and I needed to go to the ER. So I threw on my shoes and we all headed to the emergency room at St John in Broken Arrow. Dr. Noe was my physician. He looked at my stomach, pushed around a little and then stated that he wanted to send me for a CAT scan. I asked if he thought I was just constipated, and his reply was an unequivocal “no”. “What I am seeing here is not really consistent with constipation unless it is a major blockage, but you say you are just feeling pressure and no pain, is that right?” I thought for a second and then realized he was correct. An then I guess that is when it set in with me that I had not been feeling pain through this whole thing……just pressure. So we waited for the results. Dr. Noe came back into the room and had a seat in front of me and asked “Is it ok if I talk to you in front of your wife and mother.” I knew then whatever was getting ready to come out of his mouth next would not be good news. I told him that would be fine and Elaina and mom shook their heads in agreement. He said “I am sorry to have to tell you this but you have cancer. “ He went on to tell me I had a small mass in my lower intestine and that the cancer was caking on the omentum of my entire abdomen area from my chin to my belt area. Basically everywhere you could see on the scan. Needless to say this upset my mother and Elaina immediately. Elaina stepped out of the room and my mother set in the chair in shock. I have to tell you at this moment that it would have been a very good time for me to break down, go into to shock, get angry, demand a second CAT scan, scream, cry, throw things around the room, or simply just zone out. At the very moment the words left his mouth that I had cancer I felt a calm come over me that I have never felt in my life. The Lord was in the room, I could feel his presence, I could feel his warmth, and more than anything I felt his reassurance that I was going to be ok. Regardless of what lay ahead, the Lord was clear that he was going to bring me through it 100%. He also made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was going to be right beside me all the way. The Lord said “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you”. Heb 13:5. At first, like most Christians, you try to rationalize away what you are seeing or hearing. However, later my wife and my mother said that they felt the same sense of calm at the exact same time. So my family and I were just told the worst news of our lives, and all we could feel is the loving embrace and calmness of Lord Jesus Christ.   Eph 2:14 “For he himself is our peace”

 

MIRACLE ALERT: Once someone is told they have cancer, they typically will start the same psychological path one takes when dealing with the death of a close family member. Those being denial, isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and then acceptance. I was familiar with these stages through my time in college and my studies in psychology. I knew this could be coming. No sooner did this thought go through my head that I felt the warmest, most comforting spirit fall over me. It was like a warm heavy quilt. The Lord told me right then that I was going to be ok. He stated that I would have to go through this trial but that he would be there the whole time. The entire room felt warm and bright. Later, after asking my Mom and Elaina what they felt at the time they both stated they had an overwhelming feeling that I was going to be just fine. This is not a typical response to finding out you have cancer. I never experienced any of the typical responses to finding out you have cancer. Did I ever have fear? Yes. Did I ever get depressed? Yes. However, my fear was not having enough faith and my depression was from wondering why God’s amazing grace would choose to save a sinner like me. As far as me wondering if God was going to do what he said he was going to do……I never doubted that.

WHAT KIND OF CANCER ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

I was transported to St John Tulsa the same night as we got the news. Like I said in the introduction, my feet never touched the ground from that point forward. We arrived at the hospital and I was taken straight to a room. I was hooked up with IVs and told by the nurses we would be seeing the DRs first thing in the morning. The next morning as scheduled I was greeted by DR Pisc’s P.A. and the fight began. We were told there would be a biopsy to determine the type of cancer we would be dealing with and then would need to seek a course of action. I went through a lot of tests that day, had what seemed like gallons of blood drawn, 1000 needle pokes, and stuck into one machine after the other. I had the biopsy and on and on we went. Of course I am exaggerating here, but when you are going through it everything seems out of proportion.

Dr. Pisc came in to see me before the biopsy or any of the test results had come back. I asked her what she believed, based on her experience, what it is we were looking at?  Dr Pisc told me that she could not be 100% for sure what type of cancer it was but what she could tell us is that we needed to pray it was not a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma but that it was a Non-Hodgkins. The outcome is night and day as far as the two prognosis would be concerned. She said that as soon as she heard something she would let me know. Basically what she had just told us was that depending on what type of cancer you have, determines how long till you see the bottom side of a casket lid. She could give no reassurances. She was a doctor and she was not going to guess or hint one way or the other, and I don’t blame her. It is serious business mixed with huge emotions. This would be an answer you wanted to be 100% on target with data to back it up.

After the doctors left it was quiet. It was a quiet that you could actually feel laying over your body like a blanket. Elaina, Mom and I were in the room. There are those Christians out there reading this and asking me why I just didn’t ask for complete healing in my body from head to toe right then and get up and walk out of that hospital. As a Christian I can tell you that I have seen in the past where what I call, immediate miracle responses, have happened. I have witnessed them with my own eyes. There are the folks that are healed 100%, immediately, without medication or any outside healthcare. To be honest my faith at that time was not strong enough to see something like that happening. I knew right there laying in that bed that I would not be able to raise my faith to the level necessary to ask and know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Lord had healed me 100%. That brought me to the sobering reality to question where exactly my faith was with the Lord. Of everything I had been told about my cancer, the waiting for the biopsy to come back, the blood tests, the CAT scans, none of it came even close to raising the level of concern I now had for where my faith might be in the Lord. This genuinely scared me. Being in the situation I was in I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was to ask the Lord where my faith was. So I prayed and I asked the Lord where my faith was with him. With all humility I wanted to know if my faith was going to be strong enough to get me through this journey and through the valley of the shadow of death I was now walking through. Jesus answered me immediately and without hesitation as I prayed. The answer he gave was simple and beautiful. To this day I have never had such few words make such a tremendous impact on my life, Jesus said “Do not Fear, I will meet you where you are.”  Isa 41:10 “So do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God”.

After I had heard these words the Holy Spirit showed me what to do and how to pray. See, faith is a very powerful force. It can move mountains. But what most don’t realize is that it is the faith of the person in question that will determine the outcome of any spiritual event, including healing. In the hospital room waiting on our diagnosis, I asked my Wife and Mom to pray with me. I asked if we could all agree that my diagnosis would come back Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Elaina and my Mom both said they could, so that is what we prayed for. I prayed that the disease be one that was non terminal and was not a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

My Wife and Mom have been Christians long enough to know that if you have a group of Christians praying for something, small or great, and the group is not in agreement on what is being prayed, you will not get results. Mat 18:19 “Again, truly I tell you if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my father In heaven.”   So when I asked them if that was something they could agree with me on they knew exactly what I was asking. The moment we went to prayer with this request we would be standing in front of God the Father and agreement on a prayer is important.

For those of you who are not familiar with the principle of agreement, it would be like having 3 people go in front of the board of a company to ask for a specific request. Once inside the spokes’ person for the group of three lays out to the board members exactly what they are there to request. Now imagine that the whole time the first person is laying out the request, the other two, or even just one of the other three is shaking his head side to side in full view of the board. Chances are the board members are going to immediately notice that the group of 3 are not in agreement and nothing will be granted. My Wife, Me, and my Mother, when we prayed, were in agreement and by being in agreement we were able to go before the “board”, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with the full confidence that we would receive what we had requested in all humility.   Our humble prayer was that the Lord send his healing Angels, that I might be diagnosed with the least deadly form of the disease. Then we began to Thank Him for the good news that we would be receiving very soon. We Thanked Him for that which had not yet been received as though it was already manifest in my life. 2 Cor 5:7 “For we live by faith, not by sight”

MIRACLE ALERT: The next morning I was up early and decided to take a walk. Elaina and Mom were already up and talking. I maneuvered my way out of the hospital bed and headed for the door. Normally one of them would be right beside me but for some reason this was not the case on this particular morning. As I rounded the corner by the nurse’s station I saw Dr. Pisc and made it a point to say hi to her. She looked and me and said, “Oh yes, I have good news for you.” I asked her what that was and she said that it was Non-Hodgkins. I asked her to hold her comments and follow me back to the room where my Wife and Mom could also hear what needed to be said. Dr. Pisc told my Mom and Elaina that she had great news. She began to tell us that from the biopsy I was revealed that I had Burkitts lymphoma. She explained that it was a very aggressive cancer and that I was already at stage 4. I know for a fact everyone of us in the room at this point, except for the doctor, was wondering what the great news was. She then went on to explain that Burkitts was a cancer that was 100% curable in about 80% of the cases. She also stated that even though my Burkitts was in stage 4 that it would be responsive to chemo therapy. She stated my prognosis was very good. We were all smiling at that point. I guess the smile I couldn’t get off of my face just kept growing around the room. The night before we had prayed to the Lord that I would be diagnosed with the least deadly form of the disease. Not only did my diagnosis come back as being one of the least deadly, it came back as being 100% curable. Glory be to God the Father.   My chances of having a 100% curable cancer out of 200 total cancers and 7 billion people in the world was .000000071% chance. Again, these are not odds that anyone would bet on. (Feel free to check any of my math, I could be off a bit, but it close. I’ m not a mathematician but tried my best))

SHOCK OF IT ALL

I was now in shock. Not because of the thought of having an extremely aggressive cancer, but by the fact that I had just been diagnosed with a curable cancer. I never knew those two words could ever go together. To the normal person that sounds insane. I know there are folks out there who will say the Dr. was just telling me something that was already there and God had nothing to do with the diagnosis. What I would simply say to you is that the doctor read the CAT scan and could not determine what it was which led to the biopsy. Until the biopsy came back, no one on this earth had any idea what type of cancer was going to be diagnosed. The simple point of the matter is that I, Elaina, and my Mom in full agreement went before the Lord in faithful prayer, full of expectations, and asked that my cancer be the less lethal of the two. What we received was not only a less lethal cancer but one that is 100% curable 80% of the time. My family and I prayed and believed before we knew any outcome. We prayed with the full expectation of deliverance based on what we had agreed upon together. We agreed, we prayed, we enthusiastically expected, and we received what we had prayed for. Then we spent some time praying and Thanking the Lord for that answered prayer. My eyes had been opened. My mustard seed of faith was continuing to grow. Jesus told me that he would meet me where I was at. He delivered on that promise. The entire front row of heavenly parking spaces had been open to me. The veil had dropped from my eyes and I now saw that I could ask the Lord for 100% healing from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. I could see that nothing was too big for him or too small. Each decision from this point forward would be taken to in prayer. And from this point forward we would begin Thanking God for the healing I had received. From that point forward we would give thanks and pray as though I was already healed 100%. We all knew that more decisions had to be made moving forward but those decisions would be weighed in the hands of the Lord. Our next big decision came quickly. We were asked if we wanted to go to MD Anderson or OU Medical for my chemotherapy? We would need to get headed that way the same day so that I could get started on my treatments as soon as possible.

 

WHERE TO GO, MD Anderson or OU Medical

Burkitts Lymphoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the world as well as one of the rarest. So in my case I went from not having cancer at all to Stage IV in about 6 to 8 weeks. The fact that I was already at Stage IV created a high sense of urgency in my doctors in Tulsa to get me to a good cancer hospital immediately. Dr Pisc recommended MD Anderson in Houston Texas or OU Medical in Oklahoma City Oklahoma. We could feel the pressure from them to make a decision and to make it quickly. I remember feeling like I had just been in a serious car wreck and just wheeled into the emergency room. Doctors, nurses and family members rushing around, trying to make split second lifesaving decisions for me in which I had no control. That is the worst of it all. Once you are diagnosed with cancer, any shred of control you thought you had is gone. At that very moment you have to give total trust to the doctors and nurses who are there to help you. You have to rely on their expertise. I have to say the cancer patients who seemed to have the most trouble throughout their treatment were those individuals who wanted to argue with the doctors, change medications, not take medications at all, argue with the nurses and try to tell the nurses what they needed and when. It never ended well for them. My family decided to give Jesus the wheel to my situation immediately. I had no idea where the Lord would take us. Then I heard my Mom say “We will give it to the Lord. We will ask Him to open up a bed at the hospital you need to be at.” Once again Elaina, my Mom my brother and sister-in-law and I went before the Lord. We prayed for a quick response telling Jesus that we would trust in his judgement, in that whatever hospital called first with an open bed is the hospital we would go to. Jesus Christ answers prayers on his time. I have always heard that from preachers. God will do it in his time…….be patient and wait on the Lord. Realistically we did not have time to wait. The rate at which the cancer was spreading was exceptional and not getting hooked up to chemo as soon as possible could mean the difference between life and death. It seems I should have been focused on the cancer that was eating my body at a Piranha rate of speed, but I still had a calming peace. I can’t tell you the feeling of peace I had. The Devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy and that includes your peace of mind. Visions of the disease eating me from the inside out would begin to pour into my mind. The devil reminding me that I had the most aggressive and rarest cancers in the world. The devil asking me what the chances would be of even finding a doctor who would know anything about such a rare cancer, and with that, there would be no way they would have any idea how to fight it. The Devil is a master liar. Knowing this, I went to the Lord in prayer once again Thanking Him for not allowing any hand brought against me to prosper, not even satan’s. I knew the Lord was already at work, knowing beforehand what I needed. And if there was anyone in the universe who knew exactly how urgent the situation was it was my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just 45 minutes later Dr. Pisc came back into the room to let me know that OU Medical Center called with an open bed and that there was an ambulance standing by to take me there. We all smiled, praised God and Thanked Him with tears of joy.

As it came time for me to leave Tulsa and head to Oklahoma City I couldn’t help but wonder, why OU Medical Center. Why not MD Anderson. I mean MD Anderson was supposedly at the top when it came to putting cancer patients into remission. They are known throughout the United Stated if not the world as the hospital to go to if you have cancer. Especially late stage cancer like I had. In the Ambulance I prayed and told the Lord he would not have had my Mom move in the spirit that way and move Elaina and I to agree to go to the first bed open if he did not have a plan. I knew there had to be a plan. I just didn’t know what that plan was at the time. When I found out, it blew me away. I was in shock of the information I was given. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.   I remembered the Devil coming to me and telling me that I had one of the rarest and most aggressive forms of cancers in the world. I remember the Devil implying to me that there would be no way that that there would be doctors available who had the knowledge to fight this cancer.

Miracle Alert: Dr. Ikeguchi and Dr. Herman were my first two Oncologists at OU Medical Center. Dr Ikeguchi had been to Africa to study Burkitts Lymphoma and the effects it had on the children there. Gaining extensive knowledge on this rare form of Cancer. Dr. Herman had spent his time studying Burkitts Lymphoma. According to the nurses at the hospital Dr. Herman is considered an expert in Burkitts Lymphoma cancer and has been published for the knowledge he has gained and the work he has done in this area.  What are the ODDs that the hospital I am sent to had two of the best authorities in the United States and possibly the world at that Hospital and that they, of all the Oncologists in the field would be my Doctors for the first two months of my treatment.   Anyone who knows me, knows I like to figure probabilities. The chances of this happening was a .00034% chance out of 100%. Not good odds at all in the natural world. The ODDs including hospitals that are strictly cancer hospitals is 3,413,522 to 1. Approximately. There is nothing bigger than Jesus Christ. There is nothing stronger than the word of God to rebuke the destructive forces of the Devil. (Feel free to check my math, I could have been off a bit.)

WHERE THE MIND GOES THE BODY WILL FOLLOW

I have seen a lot of science fiction shows in my life. That is also a major understatement. I even watch the SyFy shows that would be labeled B or C category or one or two stars. If it is SyFy, I will watch it. We arrived at OU Medical Center and went straight to the seventh floor. This is the Oncology floor. As I was being wheeled towards my room I was looking in the occupied rooms trying to catch a glimpse of what might be in store for me. I had never seen anyone on chemo, never even talked to anyone who had been on chemo. So to say I had absolutely no idea what to expect would be absolutely 100% correct. I caught glimpses of the end of the bed in each room but couldn’t see toward the front where any of the SyFy stuff would be located. I was not nervous……ok I was extremely nervous. Yes, I believed the Lord was with me, no doubt. But the battle field of the mind is a very active and treacherous place and you couple that with 43 years of SyFy imagination and well I saw tubes coming out of heads…big glass jars filled with green liquid…contorted body parts and you get the picture. Not knowing a thing can be the scariest thing of all. The devil loves to draw you into the world of what if and speculation. He knows that if he can move you away from the word of God, then he has the opportunity to take you on a demonic joy ride of fear.

They wheeled me into the room and helped me into the bed. I slowly looked around the room. No Frankenstein, Dracula or the Devil. No Glass jars filled with green oozing liquid. It was just a hospital room. I asked the Lord to forgive me for my fear. I know under the circumstances most people would be scared and it would be completely understandable. However, I knew through the word of God that fear was the opposite of faith. Fear can freeze you physically and mentally. It can keep you from moving forward and can block you from seeing the things that the Lord is doing for you, around you, and with you. I prayed right then “Lord, forgive me for being fearful. I know that you are with me and that you are in control of my life, this situation, and the outcome. I love you Lord. Amen.” I know it wasn’t a fancy or long suffering prayer, but Jesus heard me. I felt a complete calm come over me. Even as the Doctors and nurses came in the room, two and three at a time, taking blood, hooking up machines, sticking needles in my arms, taking X-Rays……I was at peace knowing that Jesus was in control.

One thing is for sure is the moment you decide to give it to the Lord the devil will be there to fight you every step of the way. He will throw at you everything he has in his arsenal to keep you from holding the faith. He will do everything within his power to make you doubt, question or even deny the healing grace the Lord has given you. I was no exception. My family, Wife, Mom, kids were no exception. Because if he can’t get to you then he will do what he can to get to you through your family. I experienced this almost immediately.   But I also knew there was two ways in which to see every situation. I could see it through the Lords eyes or I could allow the Devil to tempt me into believing the SyFy version of the situation.  It was a fight from the very beginning. The devil was on me from the moment I made that decision. Not a day went by that he didn’t tempt me or attempt to scare me into not believing the Lord had the power to heal my body.

MIRACLES ARE REAL and GOD STILL DELIVERS THEM

As mentioned on page one, I was diagnosed with Stage IV Burkitts Lymphoma on August 2^nd 2015 and was CANCER FREE on September 25^th, 2015, 49 days later. Dr. Herman called it an anomaly. Dr. Oglesby said he had never seen anything like it. Not just the recovery time, but the lack of serious side effects and the consistency my blood counts throughout the entire process.

During some of the times I have shared my story I have been asked by a few people a very difficult question. I have been asked “Why is it my son, mom, aunt, cousin, friend, didn’t make it? They were Christians and they believed and had faith. So why did God not heal them?” I don’t have an exact answer to that question. I know that sometimes the Lord heals someone to be an example for others. To help others grab onto their own faith and develop a closer relationship with God. So I have to believe that it is also in his plan to take some of us home to have that same impact. I wish I had a better answer for those who’s family members didn’t make it. What I can tell you is it does not mean they had any less faith than anyone else. Sometimes I think God just brings his children home. Sometimes he allows us to see the reason for that persons sacrifice and it helps, and then sometimes he doesn’t. One thing I know for sure is that God loves all his children and is always going to do what is best for them as any parent would. I also know that those who have left us are in heaven and there is no way to compare an eternal life in heaven to a mortal life on earth. On the earth we deal with the earthy restrictions of faith every day. It seems at times that the moment we confess something with our mouths in the name of Jesus Christ the devil is on the scene to steal it away.

According to the Medical Community I should have experienced serious side effects from the chemo and drugs given during treatment. They kept looking for them to creep up in my blood work. However, each morning they would come in and tell me my numbers were good. My red counts, white counts, platelets, uric acid, and blood cultures. There were however a few major concerns that came up and these are the concerns that I believe God had the opportunity to show his grace in all abundance.

CONCERN 1

The Doctors first major concern was that my Kidneys were going to shut down because the cancer was dying so fast in my body that it was clogging up my system. They brought in a kidney specialist, he gave me some medicine and hung out with me for a few days and then everything stabilized. However the rate at which I was killing the cancer cells did not. My Kidneys just hung in there and kept pumping the cancer out of my body.

MIRACLE ALERT: The normal steps that would have been taken would be for the Doctors to simply put me on dialysis. This was something the Doctors believed was coming soon with the rate at which I was flushing the cancer. I remember praying about this very thing. I asked the Lord to open my kidneys and allow just the medicine to do what was necessary to flush the cancer. I never saw a day on dialysis.

CONCERN 2

There second biggest concern was my face drooping on the left side and the double vision I was having. I’m not talking a little droop. I looked like a basset hound on one side of my face. I wasn’t just seeing double; I was seeing double with one set of doubles higher than the other. This was also during my first treatment. Again they brought in a Neurological specialist who at first was very concerned and believed the cancer had gone to my brain prompting him to order a CAT scan. If the Cancer had gone to my brain they were going to have to drill a hole in the top of my and put the chemo directly in through a port going straight to my brain. This worried almost everyone. This is understandable. Nobody wants a hole in your head. That one thing in itself brings up a whole other host of complications. So off to the CAT scan I went.

MIRACLE ALERT: I saw Jesus lying next to me in that tube. He simply smiled at me. He didn’t have to say a word. The look on his face was a very happy “Man, aren’t they going to be surprised”. This told me there would be nothing in that scan.   Sure enough the scan was clear. No Cancer. In fact they had found that the Burkitts had not touched a single organ in my body other than the small mass on the outside of my small intestine, the omentum around my abdomen and my bone marrow.   The droop went away and so did the cancer.

CONCERN 3

The third biggest concern that came from the doctors concerned the mass that was on the outside of my lower intestines and the rate at which it was dissolving. I saw this as a good thing. The concern for the doctors was that the tumor could be metastasized to the small intestines and with the rate at which it was dissolving it could dissolve faster than the small intestine would have to heal the holes that would be left behind. This would leave a 5cm hole in my small intestines allowing waste to flow out into the body cavities. This in turn would cause a host of complications, infections, possible organ failure, and definitely surgery. The question was do we operate now or wait to see if it actually leaves a perforation. Scary…no doubt.

MIRACLE ALERT: The rate at which my cancer cells were dying and flushing did not slow down. The family went to the Lord in prayer and asked the Lord to ensure there was no perforation in the small intestine once the mass was gone. We all agreed the Lord could make this happen. When my PET scan came back the tumor on the small intestine was gone and there were no perforations. It was the best case scenario one could have.

THE LORD WILL ALWAYS BRINGS THOSE AROUND YOU WHO YOU NEED AT THE EXACT TIME YOU NEED THEM

I would like to appreciate the unconditional love I received from family and friends. This love from my Mom, Wife, Brother, Sister in law and my Boys and my Aunt Steva. My Mom and Wife haven’t left my side since day one. I lived at my Mom’s house for most of the trips in between hospital stays and she was at the hospital with me from the first day to the last. Which was awesome because she is a loving Mother, but she is also a fantastic cook. Elaina, my Wife, has been a spiritual rock for me. Reminding me during times I was not my spiritual best that God was in control. She cried with me, kissed me, laid next to me on the bed, made me laugh, and kept me focused on Jesus. My Brother and Sister In Law stayed with me my first week in the hospital. My Brother would pray for me every day and I always got a copy of that prayer on face book or text. My Aunt Steva was the first to respond to anything I put out there on social media and constantly lifted my spirits. Cindy Stone for sending me a card every day just to let me know she was thinking about me. She is an awesome person. Richard Barry for the times he came up to the hospital to sit with me and catch me up on all the stuff in life I was out of the loop on. Mike Barnes who shaved his head, twice, to show his support for me. My Uncle Joe Lynch who shaved his head as well. To the soldiers who came to the hospital to see me from my unit, it meant the world to me. Josh Philllipi who literally bought me a game system to keep my mind off things. The games he got me…Mortal Combat, Call of Duty, it’s the soldier in us. My boss Patrick Henderson who came immediately to pray with the family and set the tone for the battle ahead. Elaina’s work colleagues who raised over $900.00 for our family. To all of my friends and family who sent me the encouraging words on facebook each and every day. If I have missed someone here I apologize. The outpouring was so great and the prayers so many that it was very difficult to keep up with. But I want you to know that all your prayers made the difference. So anytime anyone asks me to pray for them I never take it lightly. I love you all.

In total I had 576 Hours of chemotherapy over 5 months. That would be 14 forty hour work weeks. It’s a lot of a toxic chemical over a short period of time. We prayed and asked God from the very beginning that the chemo not cause any serious side effects. I lost my hair, had some stomach aches, some tingling in my toes and fingers, some memory loss and some constipation. All of which the doctors and nurses say will correct themselves. No organ failure, no damage to my nervous system, no damage to my skeletal system, and no damage to my circulatory system. This is not the case for so many people who go through cancer treatment. I’m sure you have heard that if the cancer doesn’t kill you the treatment will. The Lord placed a shield around me from day one. I could feel his presence and his power on day one and still do today.   He has never left my side, and it lets me know that until the day I die in my sleep as an old old man, I am to get this story out to anyone who will listen. It is a story of Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and that he will keep the promises he has made to us. It is also a story about the simple fact that God still performs Miracles.

I was diagnosed with Stage IV Burkitts Lymphoma on August 2^nd 2015 and was CANCER FREE on September 25^th, 2015, 49 days later. Dr. Herman called it an anomaly. Dr. Oglesby said he had never seen anything like it. Not just the recovery time, but the lack of serious side effects and the consistency of my blood counts throughout the entire process. I called it a miracle. During this short period of time the Lord showed me what the faith of a mustard seed can do and how it can grow to change a person’s life forever. I understand not everyone’s faith is in the same place spiritually. Just remember that Jesus will meet YOU where YOU are at, just as he did with me. I am sharing my testimony with anyone who would listen because the Lord has asked me to do just that.

Please contact me if you would like me to share this Testimony in person with your church, youth group, Sunday school class, bible study group or any of the like. I am very experienced at public speaking due to my exposure in my civilian occupation. I am a born again Christian and love the Lord.

Rian Short

918-884-9705

Two page Burkitts information flyer.

What is Burkitts lymphoma

Refractory, relapse and recurrence of Burkitts lymphoma, some layman definitions of words that nobody ever wants to hear.

Refractory Burkitt’s lymphoma is Burkitt’s lymphoma that quit or never responded to chemotherapy, or did, but never went into remission. The cancer becomes chemo resistant through mutations or was just resistant to begin with.

Relapse is when remission is achieved, but the Burkitt’s lymphoma came back. This means that with all modern tests available they were not able to detect any cancer after treatment. The cancer although not detectable with current technology was still there. Current technology can’t detect very small clusters of cancer cells or a single cell and the cancer just simply grew back. This usually happens within the first two years although some might say you’re cured after one, because the chances of relapse can dramatically decrease after one year.

When Burkitt’s comes back after two years it might be a recurrence of Burkitt’s lymphoma, but it is more than likely a new Burkitt’s lymphoma. Meaning it just came back after being cured the first time. They would have to compare the first with the second to tell for sure, but since Burkitt’s grows so fast that after two years it isn’t very likely it was the same Burkitt’s that was there the first time.

One of the good things about Burkitt’s lymphoma is that it can be cured, because it is a fast growing cancer, very fast for that matter. The cells can literally double in just 24 hours. Chemotherapy targets fast growing cells so a lot of times a person can be cured after going through a chemotherapy regimen. The chemotherapy regimens can be brutal and some of the most intense a person can have, because the chemotherapy has to get every one of those fast growing cells and not leave one behind, so you have to repeat the cycles often and might have many cycles of chemotherapy. Burkitts is a brutal disease, but many people are cured at first remission.

Jeff Runyan; Burkitt’s lymphoma patient, five years out from stage IV BL. RCHOP, CODOX-M/IVAC (R), 17 cycles of radiation. Remission June 2009.

When I was first Diagnosed with Cancer I was told I had Diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Then the samples were sent off to Mayo clinic who has one of the largest clinical laboratories in the world. The pathology report took an additional 14 days to come back from Mayo clinic and they said that it was actually Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) and my Oncologist said Burkitt’s Like lymphoma (BLL), but while we were waiting I had a round of R-CHOP to save my life. Why is this important? Because the treatment for DLBCL isn’t likely to cure Burkitt’s lymphoma. They immediately stopped the treatment for DLBCL gave me a short time to recover and started me on a treatment protocol appropriate for Burkitt’s lymphoma.

What this means is it isn’t always straight forward when it comes to diagnosing Burkitt’s lymphoma, Burkitt’s Like lymphoma or Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. If they get it mixed up a person that actually has DLBCL might get high does chemotherapy that they don’t need.  While people that actually have Burkitt’s lymphoma might not get the appropriate treatment that will stop Burkitt’s lymphoma.

This is why the Biopsies are so important for initial diagnosis.  It is up to the pathology lab to get the diagnosis right and in my case where they couldn’t tell exactly what I had they sent it off to someone that could give them clarification and possibly saved my life.

The National Cancer Institute says that Gene expressions can accurately Diagnose Burkitt’s lymphoma according to an article published in 2006.

“The value of molecular profiling to accurately diagnosis Burkitt’s lymphoma versus DLBCL will have a major impact on patients because the treatment for these two lymphomas is very different,” said Louis Staudt, M.D., Ph.D., deputy chief of the Metabolism Branch and head of the Molecular Biology of Lymphoid Malignancies Section in NCI’s Center of Cancer Research, as well as research team co-leader. “If Burkitt’s patients are treated with intensive therapy, there is roughly an 80 percent survival rate. However, if they are misdiagnosed and treated with the therapy recommended for DLBCL, lower intensity chemotherapy, the survival rate is reversed to 20 percent or even less.”

http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2006/burkittslymphomadiagnosis

Jeff Runyan
Stage IV Burkitt’s lymphoma survivor
R-CHOP, CODOX-M/IVAC (R), 17 cycles of radiation.

References;

• The website of the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov
  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Genetics/GeneticTesting/3491
• http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/newsfromnci/2012/BurkittReleaseStaudt

 

Updated 2/24/2017

“You have Burkitt’s lymphoma, but it is one of the good cancers.”  This is a total misconception. There is no good cancer and Burkitt’s is one of the fastest growing ones there is.

“You have Burkitt’s lymphoma.” What the heck is that? That is what my reaction was when I found out that I had Burkitt’s lymphoma. “It’s a type of Non Hodgkin Lymphoma that is very rare and you are the only one in 20 years that the Hospital has seen” My Oncologist said. One of my only questions was, what are my chances of survival? He said “About fifty-fifty,” and according to SEER he was right for my age group and stage.

Burkitt’s is a curable cancer, because it is so aggressive. Chemotherapy targets fast growing cells and Burkitt’s lymphoma is one of the fastest growing there is, so it can respond well to treatment. That said, the five year relative survival rates for all ages combined is just over 60% ( according to SEER otherwise known as “Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program”) Relative Survival rates are considered the Gold Standard when comes to statistics.

This is a Question and Anwser format for our closed group on Facebook. Just some simple guidelines to follow to help keep the conversations flowing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BLSociety/

The Burkitt’s Lymphoma Society Private Group has grown large and to help moderate it here is some basic information and rules to follow to help keep the conversations flowing. If a problem exists that you can’t resolve please take it up with an administrator and they can be found at this link. https://www.facebook.com/groups/BLSociety/admins/?order=defaultor
Alternately you can email admin@burkittslymphoasociety.com.

All your medical advice should come from your doctor, the information in our group is meant to be educational and not meant to be a substitute for medical advice from your Doctors or medical advice of any kind.

This group is also Facebook, although it says Burkitt’s Lymphoma Society Private Group, it is subject to Facebook terms of use and policies https://www.facebook.com/policies/?ref=pf . Anyone can see who is in this group, but only members can see the posts even when they show up in your news feeds, but private is not meant as privacy.

About our Facebook Group and some basic rules.

Burkitt’s is a rare form of cancer with unique characteristics and treatments. The experience of others can be useful, but everyone is unique so everything varies from person to person including treatments, severity, side effects and outcomes.

Our group is an informal support and advocacy group for Burkitt’s Patients and Caregivers both past and present as side effects can last a lifetime as well as the experience. We are here to support you as fellow cancer patients and caregivers by sharing our own personal experiences.
We ask that the group members respect others feeling and emotions, the experience with cancer can be devastating, life changing, or just a small glitch in your life, it varies from person to person, so each person’s situation is unique although the cancer might be called the same.
This form of cancer can affect anyone at any age or any race or any country, it simply does not matter. This group contains people of all ages and from all places, from the age 13 and up, so please keep that in mind when posting content. We hope you enjoy our group and find the information and support you seek from it.
© All rights reserved

Questions and Answers.

Q. Can I post links?

A. Yes, but only if it is directly related to helping someone in a comment, or directly related to BL in some way. But links are subject to removal. We try to allow a reasonable view period of 48-72 hours for most links, but we encourage you to not post links as posts and this will help people on mobile devices sort through posts. If we allowed everyone to post links as posts our group would be focused more on links rather than sharing with patients and caregivers in their posts.

Q. Can I post pictures?

A. Yes, we welcome pictures of appropriate content.

Q. Can I post anything I want related to Burkitt’s lymphoma?

A. Yes, you can post any question or anything related to Burkitt’s lymphoma, but if its a link refer to our link policy.

Q. Can I advertise anything?

A. No, we do not allow advertising anything and advertising will be removed and spam type advertising will result in a ban. This also includes fundraising. Fundraising  can be an important aspect for a Burkitt’s patient, but fundraising in the group is not conducive for the group. There are several reasons for this. 1.  We are not equipped to verify fundraising.  2. We are an international group.  3. We do not want to over burden the group with advertising and fundraising pages.
People are allowed to advertise on our Public Facebook page in the posts by othrs section, but in the closed group it isn’t allowed.

Q. Can I use derogatory remarks against another member or call them names, use innuendos or demeaning comments?

A. No, and neither can anybody else, and those posts will be removed and a warning issued and repeat offenses could result in removal from our group.

Q. How do I handle a member I don’t like?

A. You could block them or ignore them, to learn how to block someone follow this link.
https://www.facebook.com/help/168009843260943#How-do-I-block-someone?

Q. Who can remove posts and comments?

A. Admins can remove posts and comments or the person who wrote them can. To learn how to delete or edit a comment follow this link. https://www.facebook.com/help/105443102880679
To learn how to remove a post or edit a post follow the link. You can edit or remove your own post in our group or contact an admin and ask that the post be removed.

Q. What can I say in a post or comment?

A. Anything you want, you are responsible for your own posts and comments, just follow the basic guidelines we have laid out.

Q. The Burkitt’s lymphoma Society group posts are taking up all the space in my news feeds. How can I adjust my notifications settings?

A. For our group take a look at this link, notification settings are under the notification tab at the top of the page. https://www.facebook.com/help/187225274663021#How-do-I-edit-my-notification-settings-for-a-group? You can also go to your account settings, then scroll to notifications, then scroll to group posts, select the group and adjust what you get on your feeds