Feature Story Notes

Main Subject Interview
1. When were you diagnosed?
A. March 19, 2012

2.  How did the doctors detect your cancer?
A. In December Robert went in for a physical and doctors notice that the urine was high in protein and the doctor thought there was something going on with his kidneys. When he went back to a doctor for his kidneys they sent him to a blood doctor who notice there was something not right with his blood. He visited his wife doctor that she went to for her cancer and they took a sample of his bone marrow and dected little holes in his bone that if wasn't treated soon would snap his bone thats when the doctor told him about his cancer.

3. What was your first thought after finding out?
A. How are we going to treat it.

4.How did you tell the rest of your family?
A. His wife Betsy found out a week before him but didn't tell him when the doctor told her. Told his son Cameron a couple weeks later and told his daughter Isabella a week or a couple days after him.

5.How did your family react to the news?
A. They were shocked but since he explained to them in such a positive way they understood and were in a positive way.

6.  How long was your treatment?
A. A couple weeks.

7.  How did you view this situation?
A. He viewed it in a positive way and had no doubt in his mind that he would not die.

8. What was your lowest point? 
A. Not being able to see his children.

9.  What was your highest point?
A. Seeing his children.

10. How did cancer effect your life before you were diagnosed?
A. Both his parents had cancer his mom had Ovarian cancer and his dad Prostate cancer and his wife had Breast cancer.

11. Who else in your family has connection with cancer?
A. Both his parents and his wife had cancer.

12. How much research did you do on your type of cancer?
A. Ask the doctor what cancer this was.

13. How did you feel about losing your hair?
A. he didn't really care because it was ichy and overtime he would scratch his head his hair would fall off and his wife finally got to annoyed with it and decided to shave his hair off.

14. Where did you get your treatment at?
A. Southern Methothodes Hospital in San Antonio

15. What kept you motivated every day?
A. Living kept him motivated.

16. Who was your caregiver?
A. his wife Betsy was his caregiver.

17. Who was part of your support group?
A. His children and his wife were part of his support group.

18. How many treatments did you get?
A. He had to have two stem cell transplants because the chromosomes that he had was fighting off the stem cell treatment so he had to get a second stem cell transplant.

19. How did this experience change your view on life?
A. People had it worst then him. he met people at the hospital that had worst cancer then him and so many of them were young and they connected and shared stories and gave off good vibes and gave ideas of fighting.

20. What did your family do to make you feel better?
A. They never felt bad for him and never cried in front of him and stayed positive.

21. What was your daily schedule like?
A. Having to go to San Antonio for the first stem cell transplant and went into his neck to put on a juggler vein and that took one day.  The next day they took out the stem cells though the blood that goes through this machine that separates the stem cells and replenishes the plasma back into his body and that took from 8am to 1pm. The doctors count the stem cells through a machine and he found out that he had gotten enough stem cells. The next day they gave him chemo through a IV and then left back to were he was staying at. the next morning he come back to the hospital and did the chemo treatment again. The next day and put his stem cells back in that they were taken and frozen. The doctors kept the stem cells in bags that looked like bags of frozen blood. The doctors got 13 million stem cells out of his body and they only needed 5 million stem cells to put back into his body. They put them back in with a big needle that looked 12 inches long and 2 inches in diameter and the nurse slowly put the stem cells back in through his arm. The next days he had to be away from anybody that was sick and had to wear a mask into the hospital and out of the hospital. He had to go to the hospital everyday for 15 days to check his white blood cells and it was in the morning and releases him to go back home.

23. What was the outcome of the treatment?
A. He is in remission. 

Second Interviews

1. What was your reaction to the news?
A. She was shocked and in disbelief when she heard the news. Even though she anticipated the outcome from all the test ad the call from the doctors office. She was still hoping that it was not going to be cancer.
A. He was shocked.

2. How did this experience change you?
A. She become more responsible.
A. It meant that he would have to grow up.

3. What was the scariest moment for you?
A. Before the treatment Robert developed pneumonia.
A. He told him that he would have to be the man of the house.

4. How did you support the patient?
A. She was his caregiver and attended all his doctors appointments as well as the treatments.
A. He would act hopeful and act happy so that Robert would be to.5. What kept you from giving up?
A. Faith and family.
A. If he gave up then Robert would to.