Cancer free — celebrate!

By Curt Swarm

The great news on Dec. 4, I’m cancer free! It was the day of my fourth infusion with the immunotherapy drug, Keytruda. The first thing on the agenda was a full-body PET/CAT scan. I was pretty sure it was going to show that I was cancer free — I could feel the health in my body — and I was right. The doc confirmed what I was feeling, and I had the pleasure of ringing the bell. Praise God!

However, I have to continue the infusions for one year as an insurance against the cancer returning. I can handle that. The doc spread the infusions out from every three weeks, to six weeks (by doubling the dose), so that means I have seven to eight infusions to go. Doable.

I credit the early cure to (1) early detection; (2) drinking aronia juice daily; (3) outstanding doctors, starting with Great River Medical Center in Burlington and extending to the University of Iowa; and (4) prayers, well-wishes, cards and gifts from so many people, even strangers.

It started with a red splotch (called a lesion) on my forehead. I thought it was an old-man liver mark, but Ginnie made me go to the dermatologist in Burlington. They did a biopsy, which revealed a neuroendocrine carcinoma. Burlington sent me to Iowa City. In the mean time, while waiting for the appointment in Iowa City, about a month, Ginnie and I started drinking aronia juice daily. By the time we got to Iowa City the lesion had disappeared, which sort of baffled the doctors. But they did a PET scan and some cancer was located in a lymph node in my neck. The cancer had spread from my forehead to my neck. The docs were now calling it Merkel Cell Carcinoma, which is sort of rare.

The first infusion of Keytruda made me sick, so sick that I stopped drinking the aronia juice, thinking the aronia juice and Keytruda might be fighting each other. By the second and third infusion, the ill side effects stopped.

The doctors at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics are beyond excellent, they are some of the best in the world. Ginnie and I had no problem putting our complete trust and faith in them. The proof is in the pudding — four months from Stage III Cancer to cancer free.

The well-wishing, support and cards we received from so many people were overwhelming and much appreciated. Of the many gifts and notes we received, I’ll mention one. The ladies of our church made Ginnie and me each a hand made prayer quilt, tied with prayer knots. I’m a prayer warrior. I can lean back in my recliner with the prayer quilt over my lap, finger a prayer knot, and pray for someone. The sensation of God’s power and peace are comforting. Everything will work out.

Ok, so how do we celebrate being cancer free? I’m an Iowa State grad — don’t hold that against me. Iowa State played in the Big 12 Championship against Arizona State at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Dec. 7. We went. We had never been to anything like this, and it was time we went. Iowa State got thrashed, but we still enjoyed going anyway, and being in the awesome Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium. Ginnie has relatives living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, and we were able to visit with them also, cancer free. Yippee!

Aronia berries have the highest concentration of anti-oxidants and anti-inflamatories of any berry in the world. If you would like more info on aronia berries and where you can purchase the juice and powder, go to www.linngrovearonia.com. Tell’m Curt sent you.

Contact Curt Swarm at curtswarm@yahoo.com