By day, Greg Skwira, sits behind the copy desk of Crain Communication’s Automotive News. In the evenings, the 56-year-old Royal Oak man sits behind a potter’s wheel. He and his wife, Paddy, craft clay pots, bowls and cups and sell them at art fairs throughout southeast Michigan.
It’s physical work – hauling 50-pound boxes of clay, hunching over the potter’s wheel. So when he started getting back and neck pain in 2002, he didn’t think much of it.
“I had some aches and pains,” Greg said. “But I just thought, “Hey, I’m getting old and my stuff’s starting to fall apart.”
But he wasn’t just feeling the aches and pains of age. In late 2002, the pain got much worse and Greg made a doctor’s appointment. An examination and CT scan revealed a mass in his chest and abdomen. Further tests indicated it was cancer.
Diagnosed with lymphoma, he was referred to a respected local oncologist. Greg was ready to proceed with treatment at a hospital near his home when a friend – a cancer survivor – told him about Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit.
“She didn’t push, but she said it’s really important to get a second opinion,” Greg said.
After learning that Karmanos is one of only 39 comprehensive cancer centers in the United States – one of only two in Michigan – Greg followed his friend’s advice. He was immediately impressed with the Institute.
“Sometimes when you go to the doctor, he has his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave and go on to the next patient,” Greg said. “But it wasn’t that way at Karmanos.”
A journalist by profession, Greg brought five pages of questions and notes to his first appointment with David S. Eilender, M.D. Greg and Paddy were amazed – Dr. Eilender didn’t leave until he’d answered every question. It took almost five hours.
By the end of that first meeting, Greg had decided to seek treatment from Dr. Eilender at Karmanos Cancer Institute. The reason: The oncologist at the other hospital was an excellent physician, but he treated all kinds of cancer. Dr. Eilender specializes in lymphoma.
“He looked at me and said: Lymphoma is all I do – and I’m pretty good at it,” Greg said. “That was enough for me.”
After a bone marrow biopsy showed that the cancer had not spread, Greg started chemotherapy in January 2003. He received six cycles of CHOP, a chemotherapy regimen which includes the drugs cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), vincristine (Oncovin), and prednisone. Greg also received a monoclonal antibody known as rituximab (Rituxan) which often gives better results than the use of CHOP alone.
“Chemo isn’t a stroll in the park, but it failed grandly to dish up the rigors I had been anticipating,” Greg said. “Medications to mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy have improved immensely during the last decade.”
Greg was also impressed by the multidisciplinary team approach at Karmanos. At other hospitals, a cancer patient might have one or two physicians. At Karmanos Cancer Institute, patients have a team of specialists – oncologists, surgeons and radiologists who specialize in a particular type of cancer – reviewing their cases and collaboratively developing the best treatments.
And from what Greg saw, the team approach at Karmanos extends far beyond the multidisciplinary team.
“From the guy who parks your car to the person who gives you chemo, you really get the feeling that everyone there cares about you as a person,” he said. “There’s a generosity of spirit at Karmanos like I’ve never seen anywhere else,” he said.
Greg finished chemotherapy in May 2003. Today, the cancer is in complete remission.
He and his wife worked 17 art festivals in 2004 and they plan to display and sell their pottery at as many shows in 2005.
He said he’s learned a lot about cancer during the last few years – more than he ever wanted to know. But the most important lesson may be that the number of cancer treatment success stories is growing enormously.
“The days are long gone when the diagnosis of cancer was a death sentence,” he said. “People get better and survivors are all around us.”
