How Hadassah Helped Save my Husband’s Life

How Hadassah Helped Save My Husband’s Life

What I know is true: 

• Steve turns 72 today. Happy Birthday to my dear husband!

• Steve is alive and well!

• Steve walks 2-4 miles with me everyday

• Steve is a mensch. We all love him!

• Steve cooks every single meal—has for 41+ years.  I clean a mean dish.

• When the kids were in school and I was teaching, Steve made all of our breakfasts and lunches early in the morning.

• He lined the lunches up on the bannister so we could easily grab them on the way out. We have different tastes, so all of our lunches were different.

• He came home from a hard work day and cooked dinner.

• He also does all the shopping

• Did I mention that Steve has always done all the laundry? I do a mean fold.

• Steve slept on the couch with our aging Pittie, Coda, for two years. I occasionally saw him. He still attended to everyone’s comfort except his own. He napped daily…when possible.

• ·Steve was diagnosed with Mucosal Melanoma in 2008. That means that the linings of his organs were full of cancer. He was given 6 months to “put his affairs in order.

And here we are, in Corvallis, Oregon doing great almost 13 years later! How did this happen?

1.       Fabulous Hadassah research with worldwide impact

2.       Fabulous research, treatment, and care at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

It’s a long story replete with bumps in the road and heralding grace and damn good science.  You get the short version!

1.       We learned 3 years ago how Hadassah helped save his life.  We were on a phone conference with about 20 Hadassah women and Dr. Michal Lotem, MD. Head of the Center for Melanoma and  Cancer Immunotherapy, Department of Oncology, Hadassah Medical Organization.

     At one point in the call, a participant asked Michal, Why should we donate to Hadassah, thousands of miles away, when we have so many research facilities here in the USA?   
     Dr. Lotem’s response: I have collaborations all over the world. For example, I have collaborated with Fred Hutchinson Cancer in Seattle.
     I interrupted her and said, “I would like you all to meet my husband whose life was saved by immunotherapy.”  That shut up everyone!

Now, can I verify that Hadassah saved Steve’s life? No. But I can say for certain that Michal’s sentinel research in immunotherapy over 20 years ago laid the foundation for his treatment, as did her collaboration with “The Hutch.” Lucky us! Lucky MANY people!
The Melanoma and Cancer Immunotherapy Center at the Hadassah Hospital and Lotem’s lab as the leader of the center is at the forefront of innovative research and patient treatment. As such the Center has a significant impact on the management of cancer patients through the development of novel approaches to improve current immunotherapies. Dr. Lotem was one of the founders for KEYTRUDA.

2.       Fabulous research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and superb care at its affiliate, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, provided Steve with world class research physicians who are also professors at the University of Washington Medical School. Dr. Shailender Bhatia, his oncologist, quickly made an accurate diagnosis (after a major screw-up in Corvallis) and to this very day stays on top of and is intricately involved in innovating, exciting melanoma research. Though mucosal melanoma is not the skin cancer melanoma you are probably familiar with, the immunotherapy clinical trial worked for Steve! How grateful are we? Words cannot express.

Bless Fred Hutchinson, bless Hadassah. We are the fortunate beneficiaries of world class science.

Next blog…to the world of art: my ART DREAMS. When did it really start?