HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-04-22, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010.
A rare form of cancer has left a
Dungannon family struggling with
the unknown, but the community is
reaching out to them in their time of
need.
To help Mike Alton, who was
recently diagnosed with cancer, and
his family with the medical and
travelling expenses to a London
hospital, a benefit is being held at
the Dungannon Agricultural Hall,
Sunday, April 25. The event will run
from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and includes
a silent and live auction.
Over 300 items are up for auction,
including 300 bales of hay and a stay
at the Benmiller Inn. The live
auction starts at 1 p.m. The silent
auction tables will close at staggered
times – 12:30, 2 and 3 p.m.
About three weeks before
Christmas, Mike noticed a lump on
the side of his neck. He said he was
not concerned about it since it was
not painful, so rather than ruining
Christmas, he decided to wait until
after to go see a doctor.
Mike said on Boxing Day he was
convinced to go see a doctor about
the lump. His wife Jen (Tucker) said
the lump was no bigger than a golf
ball at that time but the doctors
believed it grew fast.
On Dec. 26 when Mike visited the
on-call doctor at Goderich hospital,
he was told to go to Walkerton that
night for a CT scan. Following the
CT scan, Mike was told to
immediately go to London hospital.
“From the beginning they (the
doctors) knew it was cancer,” said
Alton.He spent that week in the Londonhospital, first having a biopsy done,then another because the doctorsrequired a bigger sample, he said,
but no one knew what type of cancer
it was. He said he was also
scheduled to see a surgeon that
week, however, he met him a day
earlier in the cafeteria.
“The surgeon didn't believe it was
cancer because I was walking
around, talking and eating and I
wasn't in a great deal of pain,” said
Alton. “If it was cancer though, the
surgeon did not want to operate and
told he me he did not want to see me
on his table.”
After further blood work and tests,
to ensure the cancer was not
anywhere else in Mike's body, he
was finally sent home. A week later,
Mike returned to London for his first
chemothreapy treatment.
“By the end of the month we
found out how bad it was,” said Jen.
Mike was diagnosed with
Rhabdomyosarcoma, a skeletal
muscular cancer which was found in
the muscles from his chin, around
his voice box and down to his mid-
chest. The surgeon has since told
Mike that if he has to operate, they
may have to remove his voice box
and he would be on a breathing tube
for the rest of his life.
Mike said the doctors in London
have been video-conferencing with
physicians across North America,
and none have seen a case like his.
He added that he was also told this
type of cancer is normally found in
infants in their arms or legs, in which
case doctors have to amputate.
The doctors told Mike they had no
idea how the cancer would react to
the chemotherapy treatments but
they were hopeful that it would
shrink so they would not have to
operate. Mike has gone for two
inpatient chemotherapy treatments,
where he has to stay in the hospital
for five days straight, and he has
done two outpatient chemotherapy
treatments, where he is in and out of
the hospital the same day.
"I feel worse after the outpatient
treatments, I don't get that time to
stay and get medication to help with
the pain," he said.
Jen said she tries to go to London
to be with Mike as much as possible
to help him and ensure appointments
are being made and medications are
being prescribed correctly. She said
she can also stay with an aunt inLondon. Yet the couple is strugglingfinancially because neither one canwork at this time and they have topay for gas, food and parking while
travelling back and forth to London.
“We are very lucky to have the
support of my parents with them
being so close by to help take care of
the kids,” said Jen.
She said Mike's employer and
relative, Donna and Stuart Alton,
also help care for their children,
Brett, six, and Jake, two.
After every treatment, Jen has to
give Mike a shot to help bring his
white blood cells up and strengthen
his immune system again. Mike said
he also has to take two different
types of pills after each treatment,
mostly to help with the nausea.
Jen adds they are fortunate that the
medication is covered by their drug
plan as the needles, one a day for 10
days, would cost a total of $3,000.
She also said they have a health
nurse visit after the treatments to
help Mike cope.
Mike said he feels weak and
sometimes he has trouble breathing
or it hurts when he coughs, but he
can eat, although he has lost his
sense of taste and he some times has
trouble swallowing. Jen added that
the lump now looks like it has
flattened down and is more defined.
“I never went to the doctor in over
10 years before this happened. I was
never seriously sick. Now I am
seeing lots of doctors and getting my
fair share of blood work done,” said
Mike, adding that he also knows
more about the body system,
especially the muscles in the neck,
than he ever knew before.
Mike said he had planned to
renovate his home this past winter
but he began to "see his plans go
down the toilet." A local contractor
offered to help the Altons install a
new window in their home during
the winter.
“I was told I would feel a lot worse
before I would start getting better,
even after the chemo,” said Mike,
explaining that was why he and Jendecided to move their weddingahead from this summer to March 27at the Goderich Legion.“It wasn't how we planned on
getting married but it was perfect,”
said Jen, who has been with Mike
for the past 10 years. “There were
just so many unknowns and we
haven't been given much hope but
we wanted to get married.”
The couple honeymooned in
Niagara Falls for three days and on
their way back they stopped in
London for another CT appointment.
Since Mike's last consultation with
his doctors in London on April 8, he
has learned that the mass in his chest
has grown two centimetres and
therefore, the chemothearpy did not
help. For the next six weeks, Mike
will undergo radiation treatments
and if the mass does not shrink
down, he will have to have the
surgery.
Despite all this, the couple is
trying to stay positive.
“Whether we want to or not, we
can't just be moping around,” said
Jen. “It's really hard for Mike just to
be sitting around. He has always
worked so hard, non-stop.”
Members in the community have
also offered to help the family any
way they can. Most recently a group
in Dungannon brought the family 25
cords of wood to help heat the home
next winter.
“We are so grateful for this even
though it's so hard for us to accept.
We have tried to do everything on
our own and worked hard for it,”
said Jen. “The community has been
amazing. The support here is
overwhelming, to say the least.”
Jen also said they were surprised
when they learned about a benefit
being held to help them.
“I don't think of myself as sick, I
see others in the hospital who are a
lot worse off than me, so I don't feel
like I should be the one getting this
help. It's just hard to accept, but we
really do appreciate everything,”
said Mike.
Fundraiser in Dungannon for young family
NOTICE TO DOG OWNERS
IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF
MORRIS-TURNBERRY
2010 Dog Tags and licences are now available
(Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm)
at the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry Municipal Office,
41342 Morris Rd.
R.R. 4,
Brussels, ON
N0G 1H0
*** Tags can be picked up in person or ordered by telephone***
All dogs must be licensed in compliance with By-law No. 63-2004.
A copy of the complete By-law is available for review at the
Municipal Office. All dogs must be identified by means of a tag and
licence, issued for a (1) one year period by:
Friday, April 30, 2010
The fee schedule shall be as follows:
1/All Dogs (except those listed in #2)
- males, females, and spayed females $20.00 per dog
2/Pit bulls, Pit bull crosses, Staffordshire terriers $100.00 per dog
3/Kennel Licence Fee $75.00
(for a kennel of dogs that are registered or eligible for
registration under the Animal Pedigree Act)
4/Late Payment Charge $20.00 per dog
(Shall be assessed in addition to the licence fee,
if the licence and/or tag is not purchased by April 30th)
Excrement:
The By-law requires dog owners to forthwith remove excrement left by a
dog, from property other than the premises of the owner of the dog. Any
person contravening this provision is subject to a $50.00 fee.
For further information contact:
The Municipality of Morris-Turnberry
Telephone: 519-887-6137 Fax: 519-887-6424
E-mail: morris@scsinternet.com
A good cause
A fundraiser is being held this weekend for Mike Alton,
pictured with his wife Jen and his six-year-old son Brett.
Mike was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and his
friends and neighbours in the Dungannon area are chipping
in to help with medical and travel costs. (Photo
submitted)
By Sara Bender
The Lucknow Sentinel
Locks to lop
Sarah Strome sits nervously as sister Emma tries to even out the cut she made on the other
side. The sisters raised $1,500 for the Buzz Off Cancer event, held last Friday on the sidewalk
in front of Turning Heads and Making Waves in Brussels. Sarah cut off approximately six
inches of her hair as part of the Relay for Life fundraiser.(Denny Scott photo)