It’s probably pneumonia.  Maybe it’s COVID?

Those were the thoughts running through the mind of 28-year old Patrick Smith as he drove through a dark winter’s night from his home in Hannibal to the Blessing Hospital Emergency Center.

For several weeks, Patrick had experienced unexplainable symptoms including back and chest pain, cough and elevated heart rate. The symptoms would come and go, until this night as he arrived home from his job with Blessing Health System.

“As I was parking, I started to feel really dizzy and light headed and thought I was going to pass out,” Patrick called.

A call to his sister, a registered nurse in southern Missouri, encouraged him to seek care immediately.

It was life-saving advice that led to a shocking discovery.

“I was not expecting to find out I had cancer,” he said.

Patrick had a grapefruit sized tumor in his chest.

With Blessing Cancer Center triple board certified medical oncologist Mohammed Memon leading his care team, Patrick learned he had B-cell lymphoma.

B-cell is a Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that begins in the body’s lymphatic system, part of the germ-fighting immune system. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, white blood cells called lymphocytes grow abnormally and can form tumors throughout the body.

With no history of cancer in his family, and no known risk factors, the cause of Patrick’s cancer is a mystery.

“Just luck of the draw,” he said with a chuckle.

Most patients with Patrick’s type of cancer receive conventional chemotherapy. But his cancer was different.

“Patrick’s cancer was aggressive and required an aggressive treatment,” said Dr. Memon.

Reviewing treatment options, Patrick and Dr. Memon decided on a chemotherapy cocktail of medications called R-EPOCH. R-EPOCH is delivered differently than conventional chemotherapy. It is infused into a patient’s body once every 21 days over the course of five days. The patient must be hospitalized during the week-long treatments. 

As part of the comprehensive services of the Blessing Cancer Center, Patrick would receive his R-EPOCH infusions conveniently on Blessing Hospital’s inpatient medical oncology unit.

Trained registered nurses are at the bedside around the clock on Blessing’s inpatient medical oncology unit to monitor patients undergoing chemotherapy infusion. The team also includes specially trained pharmacists. All team members are skilled in managing the unique needs of the oncology patient at any stage of their care.

Patrick received six courses of R-EPOCH chemotherapy from March through July.  He got to know the inpatient oncology staff very well.

“They were rays of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy situation,” he said.

The sun shone brightly on Patrick throughout his treatment. After one cycle, his symptoms were gone. After two of the six cycles of treatment, a PET scan showed a reduction in size of Patrick’s tumor. After all six cycles were completed, another PET scan showed no cancer in his body.

“It was a good day and huge relief,” Patrick stated.

Throughout his experience, Patrick stayed positive and honest with himself.

“I was hopeful things were going to turn out alright,” he said. “And I was convinced that regardless of my thoughts, things were going to turn out the way they would turn out. So, I might as well not stress about it.”

Patrick said the care of Dr. Memon and the Blessing Cancer Center staff relieved much of his stress.

“He and his team made it so I wasn’t as worried about how things would turn out. They made sure I knew what we were going to be doing and what I could expect. It just made it a lot easier to handle,” Patrick concluded.

The connection Dr. Memon felt with Patrick was equally as strong.

“His attitude was wonderful,” the doctor said.

Patrick asked to be admitted for his treatments from Wednesday through Sunday, instead of Monday through Friday. That allowed him to work two days a week each treatment cycle.

“His main concern was being able to continue to work,” Dr. Memon observed. “That’s remarkable.”