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Success Stories

Steve’s Story Attitude + Perseverance = Never Give Up No one could tell Steve’s story better than he, and for those of us who were fortunate enough to have known him and heard him speak … we know that this account doesn’t do it justice….but we wanted you to know it. Steve always started his story by telling about his first visit at a VERY prestigious cancer center. He said the name shall remain nameless, as he would cough and barely cover his mouth, he would give the name and everyone would laugh. He told of how they gave him just two weeks to live. No need to get a second opinion, go home and get your affairs in order… Steve went home and after crying for a little he told himself that this just can’t be right. So he called a couple of friends he had in the healthcare industry. One of his friends recommended he contact the manufactures of Proleukin, a drug approved by the FDA for Stage IV Melanoma. He was referred to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Steve always said Bethlehem twice and then why Bethlehem? Based on further research of his own along with a second colleague agreeing with the recommendation, he came to Bethlehem, PA. He would tell of his first meeting with Dr. Lee Riley, saying out loud “I have Metastatic Melanoma, it’s in my lungs and liver.” Steve was impressed that he was seen so quickly and that the office staff spent a lot of time with him. They even stayed late that night to work with him, develop a plan and coordinate the next tests he would need. The main thing Steve stressed was the importance of making it to his son’s Bar Mitzvah…two and a half years from that point. Then he would make the face that Dr. Riley made when he told him that time line… He remembers thinking that it was an unlikely scenario but he was going to make it happen. Steve underwent Proleukin therapy - it killed a lot of his liver tumor, but it ultimately returned and continued to slowly grow. He underwent several different treatments, each probably killing some tumor cells, but also taking some part of Steve’s health as well. Two and a half years later, on Saturday, September 9th, Steve attended his son’s Bar Mitzvah – a testament, not only to the medicines and staff, but mostly to Steve’s attitude and perseverance. Steve passed away on Thursday September 14th, 2007. Steve gave himself extra time because he never stopped being his own advocate, he never believed that the next day would be his last and he never stopped hoping that we could find a cure in time. We need to continue to HOPE. Hope that we will find a cure and hope that in the future, people like Steve can tell their own story. … A friend of Steve =================================================