CANCER

Trading skates for a sled, Bemidji’s Lucy Solheim battles cancer to stay close to the game she loves

Jared Rubado — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:42:10 GMT

During a summer hockey practice in 2021, Lucy Solheim awkwardly leaned over to pick up a puck off the ice.

It was a normal, run-of-the-mill day for the Bemidji seventh grader until her dad noticed something was off.

“I’d been having nerve pain before that practice, but he saw I was bending down weird,” Solheim recalled. “He called a doctor and we got an appointment set up. When I had an MRI a few days later, they found a tumor.”

Solheim was diagnosed with myxopapillary ependymoma. It’s a rare, slow-growing type of brain or spinal cord tumor that originates from ependymal cells, which line the central canal of the spinal cord.

The initial test revealed one tumor, which she compared to the size of a sausage. After meeting with a doctor at the University of Minnesota, a separate test showed a second smaller tumor lodged in her spine.

Solheim had four tumors in total, with two more in her brain. In a matter of weeks, she felt the consequences of life’s most unfair circumstance. At 12 years old, Solheim was a cancer patient.

Since that practice in July 2021, Solheim has undergone two surgeries to remove spinal tumors, while the other two in her brain sit idle. She powered through a six-week radiation treatment and suffers from permanent nerve damage in her left leg.

In sports, time is undefeated; it catches up to every player eventually. Cancer and time worked together to take hockey away from Solheim before she was old enough to attend high school.

“I was never told I had to stop playing, but it just got to a point where I physically couldn’t do it,” she said. “I couldn’t keep up with anything anymore. I wasn’t really enjoying it anymore and it was hard for me. I’d been playing my whole life, and making that decision was really tough.”

However, Solheim decided to take hockey back.

After hanging up her skates following her eighth-grade season with the Bemidji High �� girls hockey team, she transitioned to the role of manager. Solheim also found a way to keep competing on the ice in the form of sled hockey.

The road often traveled

The Solheim family put a lot of miles on their car in 2021.

After pushing through her first surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester on Aug. 13, Solheim was told on a Google Meet session with her doctor that she needed radiation. It’s a process intended to shrink and slow the growth of the remaining tumors.

“The worst part is losing your hair,” Solheim said. “But I thought it was going to be way worse than it was. I have a great community around me that helped me. At school, I could wear a hat. I knew nobody would make fun of me but I was still nervous. I was the girl that didn’t have hair at school, and that scared me.”

It’s also a process that required her to be at the Mayo Clinic for six weeks. Meggen Solheim, Lucy’s mother, drove her to Rochester every Sunday night for a month and a half. They rented an apartment and stayed until Friday afternoon each week before driving back to Bemidji.

Despite the circumstances, Lucy was given the leeway to keep playing hockey during her radiation treatment. Meggen reached out to a 15U girls hockey team in Rochester and asked if she could skate with them during weekdays.

“We knew she’d have a lot of downtime even after her school work,” Meggen said. “We just wanted to give her something to look forward to and something she felt she was a part of. We found an email for the team in Rochester on their youth hockey home page, and they were amazing. Their coach told us to bring her whenever she wanted.”

Once her treatment ended, Lucy returned to Bemidji and rejoined her 12U hockey team. But she couldn’t hide what cancer had done to her playing ability.

“My leg just wasn’t right after surgery,” Lucy said. “I was limping a lot, I’d trip a lot and was really weak in my leg. I played the rest of my last 12U season — the season we went to state — and it was a really hard year for me. Skating was really hard. I couldn’t skate fast, I couldn’t skate backward that well. It wasn’t painful, I just couldn’t do it. I was just weak, I couldn’t run or jump anymore.”

Lucy stuck with it for one more year. But once the sport became something she couldn’t keep up with, she felt like she had no choice but to stop.

“We were really sad,” sophomore teammate Bailey Rupp said. “Like it’s hard for all of us, but super hard for her to hear that she can’t play anymore. But we knew she’d always be a part of our team and be our manager because we wouldn’t be a team without her. We need her with us because she’s such a huge part of our team.”

Prior to her freshman year in high school, Lucy embraced her new role as the Lumberjacks’ manager.

“My sister was still playing, and I have a lot of friends on the team, too,” Lucy said. “I figured, why not be the manager so I can still be with my friends and my sister, right? Last season, I didn’t miss it that much. But this season, not being able to play and watching my friends play, it just made me want to be out there so bad.”

Tough sledding

In just a few weeks after her managerial debut, Lucy approached her parents with a new proposition.

While at Top Shelf, Bemidji’s local hockey retailer, Lucy saw USA sled hockey world champion Chloe Kirkpatrick, who was a senior at BHS at the time. While they didn’t officially cross paths, Lucy felt inspired to give sled hockey a chance.

Her parents came in contact with Hope Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit organization in the Fargo-Moorhead area that provides family-friendly sporting and recreational opportunities critical to the health and development of children and adults.

Kirkpatrick got her start in sled hockey with Hope Inc.

“We made one phone call and it took off from there,” Meggen said. “They went above and beyond to get us on a call and get us to Moorhead that weekend. They wanted her to join, and it’s been arms wide open ever since. Her coach helped her get a grant to help pay for her sled. We’re still new to it, we’re still rookies, but they get us anything we could ever need.”

Lucy’s first sled hockey practice was in October 2023. Since then, she’s traveled to Moorhead nearly every Saturday to play.

“It’s weird because you don’t use your legs at all,” Lucy said. “You have to use your arms to push yourself around everywhere, and it’s really hard to learn at first. Your arms are burning because you’re so tired.”

Lucy said it took one practice to get over her trepidations about playing for a new team in a new sport. She also said it took five or six practices to feel comfortable playing on a sled.

Since then, Lucy has competed in a sled hockey tournament with Hope Inc. Last weekend, she played in a jamboree.

Hope Inc. also played in a sled hockey game against the North Dakota State football team before taking the ice against the North Dakota men’s hockey team at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.

“It gave her a chance to play the sport she loves and play it competitively,” Meggen said. "She just couldn’t skate anymore like she used to. She still can’t lift that left leg. There are times when she feels she’s missing out on something, but she’s still part of the team. But sled hockey is her thing now, and it’s amazing.”

Lucy officially met Kirkpatrick at a BHS practice earlier this season.

“She told me all about her (experiences) playing sled hockey,” Lucy said. “She told me about how she puts her blades in her sleds and how she cuts her sticks. She’s been a big role model for me.”

Second scare

Lucy was approaching the third anniversary of her first surgery last summer. She thought that chapter of her life was firmly behind her.

Every four months, Lucy received regular testing to monitor the three remaining tumors in her body. While the two in her brain hadn’t grown, the smaller one in her back had.

The news of a second operation looming was a shock, to say the least. Lucy did not feel pain of any kind prior to the examination.

“We were blindsided when we found out she had to have another surgery,” Meggen said. “We knew the tumor was there, and you’re always kind of on your toes. Every appointment she has comes with nervousness, but you have to get through it because you don’t want her thinking she can’t do it. You have to be strong for yourself, for her and your whole family.”

Despite having gone through the process once before and being three years older, Lucy feared the worst was yet to come.

“She took it really hard because she knew what she went through to get everything back that she lost after the first radiation treatment,” Meggen said. “We were in a really good stage, but we were so nervous that it was going to set her back and make it hard for her to walk. She was worried she was at ground zero again.”

Luckily for Lucy, she avoided another radiation treatment. She now receives spinal scans every four months and brain scans every eight months.

Prior to her second surgery, Lucy was granted a Make-A-Wish. The Solheims took a trip to Hawaii. The day they returned home, they drove back to the Mayo Clinic for her operation.

“My parents — my whole family, really — are so special to me,” Lucy said. “They’ve supported me so much. I’m just so grateful to have that in my life. To have good parents like that to help you go through this is amazing.”

Team embrace

Despite the Bemidji girls hockey season ending on Feb. 8, the Lumberjacks have continued practicing at the BCA. And for the first time since trading her skates for a sled, Lucy is playing hockey with her lifelong friends.

“She wasn’t sure how to introduce her sled hockey life to people,” Meggen said. “Everybody had questions, everybody was so supportive of her. They all wanted to know when her next game was and how she played. Just the embrace she felt from her friends was so special. To know Lucy is to love Lucy, and those girls love Lucy so much.”

Her battle with cancer has given her teammates a new perspective.

“Lucy is just Lucy,” Rupp said. “She has the best personality. We all love her, and she’s such a good person. She’s always been our best friend. She’s our glue because of the energy she brings to the rink every day. She reminds us of everything we have.”

Meggen noted that she had reservations about how Lucy’s diagnosis would change things in her social life. However, she was immediately reminded of the strong bond between Lucy and her friends.

“That group played 8U, 10U and 12U together, and they’re rock stars,” Meggen said. “Their families have been amazing to us and so welcoming. They helped us through some really tough days, but we’ve always done everything together. Those kids have never treated Lucy any differently. They treat her like the same Lucy they knew when they were 8 years old.”

Meggen has also found solace in the support system the local hockey community provided her family.

“Man, there were some long and tough days,” Meggen said. “You don’t know what’s around the corner for you and your family. You can wake up and think everything is fine, and then it’s not. We are so lucky that Lucy has so many tight friends, and that comes with parental support. For us, it’s leaning on our friends, family and faith.”

]]>

New bill aims to extend federal benefits to firefighters with cancer

Anne Sara Bien-Aime — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 21:59:32 GMT

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are working to expand federal support for firefighters and first responders who develop cancer as a result of their service.

U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Kevin Cramer have reintroduced the Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, which would extend benefits under the 1976 Public Safety Officer Benefits program to include occupational cancer.

The program currently provides benefits to families of first responders for line-of-duty deaths or injuries caused by physical trauma, heart attacks, strokes or mental health conditions. If passed, the legislation would provide federal support for the families of firefighters and other first responders who die from or are disabled by cancers linked to their work.

The legislation honors Michael Paidar, a St. Paul fire captain who died from leukemia in 2020. His widow, Julie Paidar, successfully advocated for Minnesota to extend line-of-duty benefits to their family in the wake of his death.

“Because of her efforts, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety awarded line-of-duty benefits to their family. It marked the first time that Minnesota extended death benefits to the family of a firefighter who died from cancer,” said Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota. Cramer is a Republican from North Dakota.

Klobuchar announced that the bill has passed out of the Judiciary Committee and is now gathering additional support.

Occupational cancer remains the leading cause of death among firefighters.

]]>

US surgeon general urges cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks

Emma Rumney / Reuters — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 19:20:09 GMT

WASHINGTON — Alcoholic drinks should carry a warning about cancer risks on their label, the U.S. Surgeon General said on Friday in a move that could signal a shift toward more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector if adopted.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said alcohol consumption increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, including breast, colon and liver cancer, but most U.S. consumers remain unaware of this.

Murthy also called for the guidelines on alcohol consumption limits to be reassessed so that people can weigh the cancer risk when deciding whether or how much to drink. U.S. dietary guidelines currently recommend two or fewer drinks per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.

"Alcohol consumption is the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States, after tobacco and obesity," Murthy's office said in a statement accompanying the new report, adding the type of alcohol consumed does not matter.

His advisory sent shares in alcohol companies including Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken down, in some cases over 3%.

Alcohol producers and industry associations did not immediately share comments.

It is unclear when or if the Surgeon General's suggestions will be adopted. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is ending. Murthy could be succeeded by Janette Nesheiwat, a director of a New York chain of urgent care clinics and president-elect Donald Trump's pick for the role.

Trump, whose brother died from alcoholism and who does not drink himself, has long warned about the risks of alcohol. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, has been open about his past struggles with heroin and alcohol, and says he attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

The decision to update labels will ultimately be made by Congress.

Small print

Murthy's advisory harks back to early U.S. Surgeon General action on tobacco, starting with a 1964 report that concluded smoking could cause cancer. The report kicked off decades of increasingly strict regulations, starting with U.S. laws on warning labels one year later and still ongoing today.

Alcoholic drinks in the U.S. already carry warnings on packaging, including that drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause birth defects and impair judgment when operating machinery. These appear in small print on the back of the packaging. This label has not changed since its inception in 1988.

Murthy's recommendations call for an update to existing labels, rather than new cigarette-style warnings that are displayed prominently on every packet.

Analysts, however, say cigarette warning labels did little to curb smoking and ingrained habits are hard to change.

"Warning labels won't be an immediate deathblow to alcohol makers, but it will compound the long-term threats to the industry," said Blake Droesch, analyst with eMarketer.

In the U.S., among the largest markets for many western producers, alcohol sales have been falling following a post-pandemic boom. Revenues are further threatened by looming tariffs. Longer-term, companies face competition from alternatives like cannabis and the threat of lower volumes as some consumers, especially younger ones, drink less than previous generations in some markets.

Beer makers, however, have enjoyed benefits from a shift towards healthier lifestyles, with low- or no-alcohol products enjoying rapid growth. Heineken's 0.0 version, for example, grew double digits in 16 markets last year.

'Save lives'

Public health bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) are also increasingly turning their attention towards alcohol after making progress on stronger tobacco controls.

The WHO says there is no safe level of drinking and that even a small amount of alcohol can harm health - a position that has prompted tense debate around the impact of moderate drinking and its role in society.

The Mayo Clinic says the health risk is low for moderate intake and rises with the amount consumed. The Surgeon General report says higher consumption raises risks and imbibing two drinks a day would result in about five more women out of 100 developing cancer and three more men out of 100 developing cancer.

Current U.S. dietary guidelines run until 2025, and companies including Diageo and Heineken have lobbied officials ahead of the change, lobbying records show, amid concerns the U.S. could adopt the WHO's language around safe consumption.

Other countries' guidelines already include such language, while nations like Ireland have already moved to introduce warning labels.

Industry associations like the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), which represents top spirits makers, point to research showing that moderate alcohol consumption can have some health benefits, though it adds no one should choose to drink for this reason and even moderate drinking may pose risks for some.

Some scientists accused the industry of misleading people about the risks of developing cancer from drinking in a 2017 study. DISCUS said the researchers had anti-alcohol biases and their study was selective.

The Surgeon General's advisory said alcohol is responsible for 100,000 U.S. cancer cases and 20,000 cancer deaths each year, more than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash deaths.

]]>

Shorter, less intense radiation treatment for breast cancer has benefits, Mayo Clinic study finds

Dené K. Dryden — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 13:30:00 GMT

ROCHESTER — Certain cases of breast cancer can be treated with less intense doses of radiation therapy over fewer days, a recently published Mayo Clinic study found.

"The standard at the time, for many of the patients we were treating, was either three to four weeks of whole-breast radiation ... or 10 days of partial breast radiation treatment," said Dr. Robert Mutter, a radiation oncologist and chair for research in Mayo Clinic's radiation oncology department.

Instead, participants in this study — who were treated between 2015 and 2017 — received their radiation treatment over the course of three days.

As breast cancer treatment research has advanced, treatment times have shortened as clinicians try to find the optimal techniques and doses of radiation for treatment. In some studies, though, Mutter said he noticed that there was "a surprisingly high amount of toxicity" from the amount of radiation used.

"My sense when I was designing our trial was that the regimen they were using, the dose was too high, it was too intense," Mutter said.

So, Mutter and his colleagues tried a less intense, three-day course of radiation treatment with 161 patients who had already had a lumpectomy. Some of them received traditional X-ray, or photon, radiation, while others underwent proton beam therapy. Another portion of patients received brachytherapy, where the radiation is given internally.

"We actually have a radioactive source that gets put into the breast for a brief period of time to give off a cloud of radiation," Mutter said.

The shortened treatment course, researchers found, came with excellent disease control, milder side effects and better aesthetic impacts on the breast (radiation treatment can affect how the breast looks). It also reduces costs to the health care system, Mutter said.

"We showed that as well in the paper — compared to the standard of care at the time, we were able to reduce cost," he said.

A shorter course of treatment could mean fewer disruptions to patients' lives, work schedules and caregiving responsibilities. This is especially relevant to patients who travel to Mayo Clinic, like Donna Enfield, who lives in the Bemidji area. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in July following a routine mammogram screening and decided to undergo treatment at Mayo Clinic.

"I really appreciate the fact that Mayo has tried very hard to always get my appointments clustered together, either on the same day or within a couple of days," Enfield said. "It's much more convenient when I go down."

Since her diagnosis, Enfield has made four trips to Rochester, a five-hour drive each way. When it was time for radiation, Enfield underwent proton beam therapy over the course of three days.

"My malignancy is on the left side, so underneath the breast, then, is not only the lungs, but the heart," Enfield said. "It was really important to me to be able to do the targeted chemotherapy ... so that I don't end up with a secondary cancer later on."

Afterward, Enfield said she didn't experience any skin irritation around the treatment site or fatigue, common side effects of radiation. Her treatment continues with hormone therapy medication.

"It's less disruptive to my life to be able to just go down once, get everything done and come back home," said Enfield, who works and is also a caregiver for her 86-year-old father.

The three-day treatment course is the clinical standard of care at Mayo Clinic, Mutter said, for certain patients.

"It will be important for other institutions to be able to replicate the findings," he said.

]]>

Juleigh Prosser to present at Northern Exposure to Lifelong Learning

Pioneer Staff Report — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 14:00:00 GMT

BAGLEY — NELL's fall 2024 series continues with Juleigh Prosser presenting "Cancer - A Defining Moment" at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Bagley Public Library, 79 Spencer Ave. SW.

"We have all been touched by cancer in some way, either individually or through our relationships with family, friends or people we know," a release said. "The only thing for certain about cancer is that it changes you, your life and your world."

Prosser will share her personal journey through cancer twice. Her unique perspectives and experiences "may be a bright light in a dark space for you or someone you know that is experiencing cancer," the release said.

Doors open at 9 a.m. with the program starting at 9:30 a.m. Refreshments will be served and a free-will donation will be accepted.

]]>

Minnesota has one of the highest melanoma rates in the US. A Mayo Clinic dermatologist breaks down risk, prevention

Dené K. Dryden — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:00:00 GMT

ROCHESTER — As warmer (albeit stormy) weather brings more Minnesotans outside, there's more focus on avoiding sunburns and preventing skin cancer down the road.

It turns out, Minnesotans have a higher rate of being diagnosed with melanoma compared to the United States as a whole. According to the State Cancer Profile database from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 36 out of every 100,000 Minnesotans are diagnosed with melanoma each year; the country's overall rate is 22.5 out of every 100,000 per year. Only Utah and Vermont have higher incidence rates than Minnesota.

First, what is melanoma? Dr. Jerry Brewer, a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic, said it is cancer that starts in melanocytes, the skin cells that create the colors in our skin. Like the rest of our skin cells, these melanocytes can be damaged by ultraviolet radiation, either from the sun or from tanning beds.

"When our melanocytes are exposed to the sun, there's some damage that happens to the DNA of those melanocytes, and our body has a very sophisticated way of targeting those damaged cells and correcting the damage," Brewer said.

Over time, though, Brewer said the body might not be able to keep up with getting rid of those damaged cells. If a damaged melanocyte isn't taken care of properly, it can replicate and start turning into cancer.

What's behind Minnesota's higher-than-average melanoma incidence rate? Are Minnesotans truly developing more melanomas, or are they just more likely to be diagnosed?

Brewer said one factor that could push Minnesota's rate higher is that some Minnesotans have Scandinavian ancestry.

"Fair-complected skin, blonde hair, blue eyes," Brewer said, "that sort of skin type — what we call Fitzpatrick Type II or III skin — does have a little bit of a higher incidence of skin cancer, including melanoma."

Brewer also said that tanning bed use is a major risk factor for developing melanoma.

"Tanning beds are a crazy risk factor," Brewer said. "If you go even just once or twice at a young age, your chances can be 75% more likely."

However, Brewer said research has shown that the more dermatologists there are in a community, the lower the risk of death from melanoma in that area. With more dermatologists, particularly in Rochester, could melanoma simply be diagnosed more often due to that access to care?

"Perhaps," Brewer said, "but I tend to see that there's probably a pretty even distribution of dermatologists throughout the country. We do have a couple of major academic centers in Minnesota, and those have a pretty dense population of dermatologists — for example, in Rochester."

Beyond tanning beds and having a fair complexion, there are a few other factors that play into a person's risk of developing melanoma. Brewer said these include having more than five sunburns (or just one blistering sunburn) in your lifetime, having more than 50 to 100 moles on your body or living at a higher altitude, such as in Colorado, where the UV exposure is greater.

"If you're an airline pilot, the ultraviolet radiation that tends to be linked to melanoma is UVA, and UVA can go through cloud cover and it can go through windshields," Brewer said. "And if you're up higher, closer to the sun, that exposure can be a little more intense."

Since the risk of melanoma is strongly tied to UV exposure, Brewer said protecting the skin from UV radiation is key. This includes avoiding tanning beds, wearing hats and regularly using sunscreen.

"It's kind of like putting money in the bank account; the interest will start to accrue over the years, and the more years that go by with that habit in place, the more benefit," Brewer said of sunscreen. "Just using an SPF of 15 but doing it daily reduces your chances of melanoma by 50%."

More often than not, melanoma appears as a new spot on the skin rather than an existing mole.

"Seventy to 80% of melanomas are brand new dark spots," Brewer said. "Only about 20% to 30% are from a mole that has already been there and just decides to turn bad."

What to watch for, Brewer said, is evolution — has the spot changed shape, size, color or in any other way?

"Some people tell me it starts to itch, or maybe it bleeds a little bit, but it's so early that it looks pretty normal," Brewer said. "There's been a number of times where we'll just check it and it's an early melanoma."

Other things to notice, Brewer said, are asymmetry, irregular borders, multiple colors in one mole or spot and diameter larger than a pencil eraser. These, along with evolution, make up the ABCDEs of melanoma, per the American Academy of Dermatology.

Brewer said catching changes early can help increase one's odds of surviving melanoma. Just 1% of skin cancers are melanoma, but melanomas cause the biggest share of skin cancer deaths.

"Just the simple act of looking your skin over can probably increase your chances of finding a melanoma early, which the key to surviving melanoma is catching it early," Brewer said. "Taking the time once a month, whatever is your favorite day of the month, taking a good look at your skin and keeping an eye on anything that's changing or new."

]]>

Bemidji's Ariana Wright named Global United's Little Miss Minnesota

Pioneer Staff Report — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 16:00:00 GMT

Global United Pageant recently named Bemidji's Ariana Wright as Little Miss Minnesota in the Pageant Preliminaries in Plymouth, Minn.

Global United Pageant is a philanthropic program committed to seeking contestants and title holders who exemplify the beauty that comes from serving others in the community, a release said.

This pageant partners with organizations from all over the world to give to those in need and works each year to help raise funds for childhood cancer research.

Wright has an ongoing fundraiser, #fleeceforall, to raise money to purchase fleece for tie blankets that she is making to donate to the Joe Leuken Cancer Center and the Upper Midwest Ronald McDonald House in mid-July.

The fundraiser has raised over $300 so far and will run until July 15. To donate, visit gofund.me/d943dcc0.

In addition to her fleece fundraiser, Wright will be hosting an official Alex's Lemonade Stand during Lemonade Days from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 29, at Pete's Place West, 7189 Pete Lane NW. Her fundraising page is available online at alexslemonade.org/2024/lemonade-with-little-miss-minnesota-global-united.

Wright has been competing in pageants for more than a year. She has previously held both the Minnesota Princess and America's Princess 2023/24 titles with the America's Little Miss Organization.

In July, Wright will join other contestants from across the world in Minneapolis at the Global United International Children's Pageant. Contestants will participate in formal wear, talent and gold fun fashion competitions, the release said.

]]>

Innovative procedure helps Bemidji businessman Todd Lowth take down cancer

Dennis Doeden — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 12:00:00 GMT

BEMIDJI — Three years after being diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer, Todd Lowth is back behind the wheel at work.

It's all thanks to a rare and innovative procedure offered at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Lowth, 64, leads the team at Bob Lowth Ford, a dealership his father started 60 years ago in Bemidji. But since his disease was discovered in March 2021, work has been secondary. After undergoing standard treatments at Sanford Bemidji’s Joe Lueken Cancer Center and Mayo, including chemotherapy, surgery and ablation, the cancer came back three times and spread to his liver.

“My first thought was just acceptance, I guess,” Lowth said. “I didn’t really get that bent out of shape. I just thought, ‘Well, what’s next?’”

After the most recent recurrence, Lowth’s medical team at Mayo proposed a novel treatment: hepatic artery infusion pump chemotherapy combined with surgical resection and ablation. The team led by Dr. Cornelius Thiels performs only 10 to 20 of these procedures a year on patients at high risk of recurrence or for whom tumor removal is impossible.

“It’s a really intensive treatment,” Thiels said. “We almost treat it like a transplant. We felt like this was something patients in the Midwest needed. I know Rochester is not convenient for people from Bemidji, but it’s certainly much more convenient than flying to (places like) New York. That’s why we built this program.”

Doctors urged Lowth to take some time to think about the option. The pump that would be inserted into Lowth’s abdomen delivers chemotherapy directly to the liver. Following the surgery, Lowth would need to return to Rochester every two weeks to have the pump checked and refilled.

“They wanted me to research it and be sure,” he said. “I thought the sooner the better. I told them, ‘You’re in charge. I’m not the expert here.’”

Thiels explained that when all the options were weighed out, this seemed to be a good course of action.

“Todd is a smart and thoughtful guy. He asked a lot of the right questions," he added. "We thought this was a good option for him. I think he was skeptical but also optimistic to try something different. He was definitely on board, but it’s a lot to consider in going through such intensive treatment where you have to come to Mayo Clinic every two weeks for sometimes six months or longer.”

Lowth was philosophical about the decision.

“When they put you under, if you never came to or it didn’t go so successfully, you’d never know the difference,” he said with a slight chuckle. “So when I awoke, after I kind of gathered my thoughts, I said, ‘Well, I guess that went A-OK.’”

A final postoperative appointment with Thiels last month confirmed that.

“We follow up patients like him for years because these cancers are tricky and can come back,” Thiels said. “But this was our last check-in. He was doing great."

He added that Todd was not only an amazing patient, but he also has been enjoyable to get to know and talk to in the midst of his dedication to getting better.

"He did all the actual hard work to get through all this," Thiels said. "And to thrive and do well with the treatments, and live his life around this difficult problem that now hopefully we can move on from.”

Help along the way

Besides his teams from the Joe Lueken Cancer Center and Mayo Clinic, Lowth says he leaned on family and friends to get through his battle. His brother Jim and sister Gaylene Nichols, along with other relatives from Bemidji and beyond have been there for him.

Co-workers at the dealership and friends like former Bob Lowth employee Leo Osmundson also have been by Todd’s side. Osmundson drove Todd to Rochester for the pump procedure.

“After the surgery, I popped in the room and he was sitting up just like they hadn’t done anything,” Osmundson said. “He went through it like a trooper. It surprised the heck out of me, what he had to go through. The doctors knew what they were talking about. They did things right with him.”

Osmundson has known the Lowth family since Todd and his siblings were youngsters, having lived only a few blocks away.

“We’ve always had a good solid bond,” he said. “We’ve been that way forever, and we will until we die. If there’s something that pops up that he needs help with, absolutely I’ll be there for him. That’s what friends are for. And he’d be the same with me.”

Todd Moudry, general manager at Bob Lowth Ford, was impressed by Lowth’s determination.

“He had a great attitude throughout the whole thing,” Moudry said. “He attacked it with a good attitude. Everybody was kind of holding their breath because of the unknown of 'What happens if' … but I never saw him down. He and I had some personal prayer time together that was critical. It was good to see him renew his faith. He has a great testimony to give. He just went after it with conviction that he was going to beat it.”

Lowth added, “Faith helped me through this. You find out the depth of humanity and compassion. It instills your faith in mankind.”

]]>

Kate Middleton says she is having chemotherapy after cancer discovery

Michael Holden / Reuters — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:29:11 GMT

LONDON — Kate Middleton, Britain's Princess of Wales, said on Friday she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy after tests taken after she had major abdominal surgery in January revealed that cancer had been present.

Kate, 42, the wife of heir to the throne Prince William, spent two weeks in hospital in January after undergoing what her office said at the time was successful, planned surgery for an unspecified but non-cancerous condition.

However, in a video message released Friday, March 22, Kat, said subsequent tests revealed cancer. She said she was well and getting stronger.

A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024

"My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment," Kate said in the video which was filmed on Wednesday.

"This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family."

The news is the latest major health blow for the British royal family after King Charles revealed in February that he too was to have treatment for cancer, meaning he has had to postpone his public royal duties.

Kate's office, Kensington Palace, said it would give no further details about the type of cancer that had been found, saying the princess had a right to medical privacy. It said she was on a recovery pathway and the preventative chemotherapy had begun in February.

After her operation, the palace said the princess, still popularly known by her maiden name Kate Middleton, would not return to official duties until after Easter, which falls at the end of this month. But her absence from public life has provoked intense speculation and wild rumors on social media.

Privacy

She and William had wanted privacy about the cancer until their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, began their school holidays which started on Friday.

"It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok," she said.

"As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits."

Kate has not appeared at a public event since she joined other members of the royal family for a church service on Christmas Day.

However, a video filmed last Saturday by a member of the public which was published by the Sun newspaper showed Kate looking healthy, walking and carrying shopping bags alongside her husband at a farm shop in Windsor, near to their home.

"We hope that you will understand that, as a family, we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment," Kate said.

"My work has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I look forward to being back when I am able, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery."

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Kate should be afforded the privacy to focus on her treatment and be with her family.

"The Princess of Wales has the love and support of the whole country as she continues her recovery," Sunak said in a statement.

"She has shown tremendous bravery with her statement today. In recent weeks she has been subjected to intense scrutiny and has been unfairly treated by certain sections of the media around the world and on social media."

As Kate Middleton, she was the first commoner to marry a prince in close proximity to the throne in more than 350 years when she wed William in 2011 and has since become one of the most popular royals.

Kensington Palace said William would continue his duties while supporting his wife, as he had since her surgery. A source said Kate was in good spirits and focused on her recovery.

"At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone," Kate said.

]]>

Trinity blast in ‘Oppenheimer’ was start of tests that sent fallout clouds over Minnesota, the Dakotas

Patrick Springer — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 19:24:06 GMT

During the final seconds of the countdown, most of the observers in the New Mexico desert laid down with their feet toward a firing tower that rose 100 feet above the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range.

At 5:30 a.m. on July 16, 1945, the Manhattan Project’s Trinity atomic bomb detonated, unleashing a 19-kiloton explosion, melting asphalt and sand into green glass and sending radioactive material billowing 50,000 to 70,000 feet into the atmosphere.

The blast marked the beginning of the nuclear age — and the beginning of a decades-long era of atmospheric nuclear testing that deposited radioactive fallout throughout the United States and worldwide.

The thundering Trinity test — the climactic scene in the recently released movie “Oppenheimer” — showered fallout on 46 states, including North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota, within 10 days.

A study using state-of-the-art computer modeling drew upon newly available data sets to reach its findings and also computed cumulative deposits of radioactive fallout in the United States for the first five days after each of 93 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test.

The study, led by Princeton University researcher Sebastien Phillippe, is the latest to estimate cumulative fallout deposits from U.S. atmospheric nuclear tests.

“Our results demonstrate the significant impact of Trinity, the first nuclear weapon test, on the overall deposition density in New Mexico and across the contiguous U.S.,” the study authors wrote.

Despite their distance from the Nevada Test Site, fallout levels were notably high in North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota, leaving lingering questions about cancer and other health effects.

The Forum, in a special report published on May 1, 1988, investigated fallout exposure in the tri-state region, including some of the nation’s highest readings for radioactivity in milk in the Mandan, North Dakota, area and wheat near Crookston, Minnesota.

Nuclear testing fallout study by Kaity Young on Scribd

Fargo was cited as an example of a “hot spot,” an area of unusual fallout, in 1959 congressional hearings, The Forum reported. Radioactive debris in the soil increased more than tenfold from June to July 1957 after rains from fallout clouds.

The detonation of atomic and nuclear bombs at the Nevada Test Site were timed so that winds would carry the fallout away from population centers, including Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

That meant the fallout plumes, carried by winds in the upper atmosphere, often traveled to the north and east — toward the Dakotas and Minnesota.

Maps illustrating the study’s estimated fallout density show high concentration levels reached the western Dakotas, with more diffuse high levels to the east.

Not surprisingly, the highest fallout densities were clustered in the Southwest, including New Mexico, Utah and Nevada, and extended north to Colorado, Idaho and Wyoming, the study found.

Little has been done nationally to determine possible health effects from radioactive fallout from nuclear tests, despite the known link between radiation and cancer. The higher the dose, the greater risk of developing cancer over time.

A study in 1994 by the North Dakota Department of Health, spurred in part by The Forum’s special report, concluded that a “conservative estimate” of between 50 and 100 cases of thyroid cancer could have occurred because of radioactive fallout.

The study also determined three or four cases of childhood leukemia could have resulted from fallout and found North Dakota’s rise in the childhood leukemia death rate from 1963 to 1967 was “consistent with a radiation effect.”

“It’s something that’s been largely forgotten or completely forgotten,” said Dr. Stephen McDonough, who, as chief of the preventive health section, was the study’s lead author.

Although the study found elevated levels for certain cancers associated with radiation, it was not able to prove a causal link, he said.

“You can’t prove it, that the nuclear fallout killed children, but it’s certainly in the realm of possibility,” he said. “I did make a serious effort to look at it. I tried to be thorough.”

North Dakota’s milk had higher levels of radioactive Strontium-90 in milk than other areas of the country from 1955 to 1965. “As a result, North Dakotans were exposed to among the highest amounts of measured dietary Strontium-90 in the United States,” the study found.

A 1966 federal study estimated infants fed milk produced in the Fargo area after the July 1957 fallout episode received a significant dose of radioactive iodine, The Forum reported in 1988. The Fargo levels for one summer were comparable to those accumulated over four years by infants in a Utah fallout town.

Multiple myeloma, a form of cancer that has been associated with radiation, was elevated in Burleigh County, which includes Bismarck, from 1968 to 1987. “This elevated death rate is consistent with the delayed onset of non-leukemia tumors after radiation exposure,” the study said.

The study found that of 22 types of cancer, along with infant mortality, only childhood leukemia, thyroid cancer and multiple myeloma showed possible associations with fallout in North Dakota.

“Despite the heavier than average fallout, North Dakota was, and remains, a healthy place to live,” the study said.

A study in 1987 by the South Dakota Department of Health concluded there were 111 more leukemia deaths than expected, or 10%, from 1950 to 1969. Extrapolating from those additional leukemia deaths, the study calculated there could have been another 1,000 deaths from other cancers due to radioactive fallout plumes.

McDonough said the federal government has failed to adequately study possible cancers and other health effects throughout the United States as a result of its atmospheric nuclear testing program.

“The question is, does the U.S. government owe something to those who got thyroid cancer or whose child died from leukemia during that period,” he said.

Detonating nuclear weapons above ground sent radioactive materials as high as 50 miles into the atmosphere. Large particles fell to the ground near the blast site, but lighter particles and gases migrated into the upper atmosphere, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Hundreds of above-ground tests were conducted around the world from 1945 to 1963. Most atmospheric testing ended following an international treaty in 1963, including in the United States and the former Soviet Union, with the last above-ground nuclear test conducted in 1980, according to the EPA.

Fallout typically contains hundreds of radionuclides. Some persist for long periods, such as Cesium-137, which has a half life of about 30 years. Most have short half lives and decay away within minutes or hours. Iodine-131, associated with thyroid cancer, has a half-life of eight days.

]]>