Tony Colvin
Tony is the husband of my friend, Leslie. I met Leslie through WGirls, an organization that provides underprivileged women and children with the support and resources necessary to achieve health, happiness, and the ability to lead productive and successful adult lives. Leslie was introduced to WGirls when Tony was getting cancer treatment in New York and they were served dinner by WGirls-New York. After Tony went into remission, she vowed to pay it forward and did so by starting a WGirls chapter in Milwaukee.  |
| Tony, Leslie, Owen, and Lucy |
Tony had these words to share about his cancer experience:
I finished
a triathlon in August of 2008 and felt great.
A few days later I noticed blood in my urine and went to the ER
for what I thought was a kidney stone (nothing major). A few minutes later a CT scan changed my life. The ER doctor presumed the tennis ball size tumor in my left kidney was cancerous and needed to be dealt with quickly. After several consultations at different hospitals the consensus was I had renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer).
On September 15, 2008, I had surgery to remove my left kidney (radical nephrectomy) at Froedtert Memorial Hospital. The plan was to have surgery and remove the kidney and move on without chemotherapy or radiation. The biggest surprise was yet to come. The original assumption of kidney cancer was inaccurate. The team of doctors ruled out kidney cancer but did not have a final determination of what type of cancer I had. Two weeks later the finding was made - I had Ewing’s Sarcoma-PNET (primitive neuroectodermal tumor) of the left kidney. Chemothererapy would be in order as soon as I was recovered. The only problem was the cancer was so rare in adults (400 cases/year in the US and only 10% are age 20 and older) that very few hospitals specialized in sarcomas, let alone Ewing's Sarcoma. On top of this news our family was growing in size with my wife pregnant with our second child. We consulted doctors in NYC at Memorial Sloan Kettering and agreed to start chemotherapy out in NYC. Fast forward a long nine months, which included the birth of our daughter Lucy (now 4 years old), we made it through the treatment. In total, I had surgery to remove my left kidney and followed that up with seven rounds of chemotherapy rotating each treatment between NYC and Milwaukee.
On September 15, 2008, I had surgery to remove my left kidney (radical nephrectomy) at Froedtert Memorial Hospital. The plan was to have surgery and remove the kidney and move on without chemotherapy or radiation. The biggest surprise was yet to come. The original assumption of kidney cancer was inaccurate. The team of doctors ruled out kidney cancer but did not have a final determination of what type of cancer I had. Two weeks later the finding was made - I had Ewing’s Sarcoma-PNET (primitive neuroectodermal tumor) of the left kidney. Chemothererapy would be in order as soon as I was recovered. The only problem was the cancer was so rare in adults (400 cases/year in the US and only 10% are age 20 and older) that very few hospitals specialized in sarcomas, let alone Ewing's Sarcoma. On top of this news our family was growing in size with my wife pregnant with our second child. We consulted doctors in NYC at Memorial Sloan Kettering and agreed to start chemotherapy out in NYC. Fast forward a long nine months, which included the birth of our daughter Lucy (now 4 years old), we made it through the treatment. In total, I had surgery to remove my left kidney and followed that up with seven rounds of chemotherapy rotating each treatment between NYC and Milwaukee.
I approached chemotherapy thinking it would just be another hard obstacle in my path, but quickly realized it was going to be much more mentally and physically
challenging than I thought. With the support of family (my wife who was teaching at the time) and extended family and our faith in God that we would eventually get through the dark times, we were able to navigate through the darkness into brighter days that still continue today!
As an adult having been treated in a pediatric hospital we (my wife and I) saw firsthand how challenging it can be for children and families to go through fighting cancer. It didn’t seem fair to see children, as young as 3 and as old as 18, fighting for their lives.
Raising awareness and funding for pediatric cancer is a noble pursuit. Knowing that there are others in need, especially young children with cancer, is heartbreaking and anything we can do to bring additional funding and awareness is commendable. Run, run faster and run for the kids! So thankful!
Tony chose MILE 18 because, "On June 18th of 2009, I walked out of chemotherapy for the last time and have never looked back - while never forgetting how fortunate I am for each and every day."
To read more of Tony's story, visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tonycolvin
As an adult having been treated in a pediatric hospital we (my wife and I) saw firsthand how challenging it can be for children and families to go through fighting cancer. It didn’t seem fair to see children, as young as 3 and as old as 18, fighting for their lives.
Raising awareness and funding for pediatric cancer is a noble pursuit. Knowing that there are others in need, especially young children with cancer, is heartbreaking and anything we can do to bring additional funding and awareness is commendable. Run, run faster and run for the kids! So thankful!
Tony chose MILE 18 because, "On June 18th of 2009, I walked out of chemotherapy for the last time and have never looked back - while never forgetting how fortunate I am for each and every day."
To read more of Tony's story, visit: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tonycolvin
Make a donation in honor of Tony and others still fighting, those we have lost, and those who may one day be spared this fight because of what we‘re doing.
Give to make yourself a part of this historical effort.
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