Harold Willhite

"Nothing's in a rush," says Harold, back in his workshop after surviving two lung cancers. "I've got the rest of my life."

Harold and Joan Willhite live a quiet sort of life in Yuma, Ariz. Harold, a retired helicopter mechanic, spends most days tinkering in the garage behind their house, while Joan volunteers her time at the local YMCA. "We live in the same house we bought when we were married 50 years ago, and we have the same telephone number," Joan says. "Not much goes on in our life."

However, the Willhites' simple life was interrupted in the fall of 1998, when Harold developed a rasping cough that wouldn't respond to conventional treatment. At first, Harold's doctors thought he might have pneumonia, but after performing a full physical examination, their concerns intensified. "It looks like it could be cancer," they said. However, the results from a diagnostic lung puncture and biopsy were inconclusive.

"It was like we were just tap dancing around the problem," Harold recalls. "Things just didn't seem to be moving forward.

"I used to live in Minnesota," Harold continues, "and I was familiar with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. So I asked my doctor, 'What's the chance of being treated at Mayo Clinic in Arizona?' He made a phone call, and two days later, we were in."

On September 10, Harold's birthday, the Willhites made the 200-mile drive from their home in Yuma to the Mayo Clinic campus in Scottsdale, Ariz. "The atmosphere was so calming," Joan remembers. "We had a crisis in our life, but we were surrounded by calm people who knew exactly what they were doing and told us everything we needed to know."

At Mayo Clinic, Harold's treatment team was headed by radiation oncologist Dr. Steven Schild. Harold immediately underwent a series of diagnostic tests. "If you've got a problem, especially cancer, the sooner you get after it the better off you are," Harold says. "And Mayo Clinic didn't mess around." In fact, before he was even awake from the anesthetic, the diagnosis was clear: Harold had stage III cancer in his right lung.

Innovative Care

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, claiming more lives than colon, prostate, and breast cancer combined. Treatment for lung cancer depends on the type of cancer, how advanced it is, and the patient's overall health. In some cases, surgical removal of the tumor is an option. In cases that cannot be treated surgically, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of the two are given.

Harold's tumor was too advanced to be operable. However, Dr. Schild had an innovative new treatment to offer: hyperfractionated accelerated radiation therapy, a trial combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy designed to shrink the tumor.

"Historically," Dr. Schild explains, "trials have shown that chemotherapy with radiation resulted in better patient survival rates than radiation alone. Another trial demonstrated that three times per day radiotherapy yielded better patient survival than conventional, once-daily radiotherapy. However, no one had combined concurrent chemotherapy plus three times per day radiation until this trial was performed for qualified patients."

"When we agreed to participate in this program," Joan recalls, "an extremely knowledgeable nurse spent at least an hour talking one-on-one with us about what to expect. They really went out of their way to help not only Harold, but me. I really felt prepared. It was a tremendous help."

Under the close care of Dr. Schild and his colleagues, Harold began an aggressive regimen of radiation treatment and chemotherapy, which took place in a series of appointments scheduled three times per day, Monday through Friday, for a total of 36 treatments in 12 days. "Everything was so methodical," Joan recalls. "We never had down time or waiting. We'd simply show up at Mayo, and they'd take care of everything. It was very comforting."

For their part, the Willhites drove over 400 miles roundtrip each week for Harold's treatment, arriving in Scottsdale on Sunday night and returning to their home in Yuma on Friday evenings. And fortunately, the side effects of the treatment were tolerable. "I didn't feel like running the races," Harold recalls, "but I didn't have an upset stomach, either."

By the time Harold finished his course of radiotherapy, the tumor had shrunk substantially. "You could see from week to week how much better it was looking," Joan recalls.

Careful Follow-up

Harold's treatment regimen was a success, and his lung cancer went into full remission. Relieved, the Willhites' life returned to normal, with Harold back in his workshop or going on hunting trips in the desert. "It's different than it used to be," Harold says. "I used to do a lot of walking. But now I really notice it if I go very far."

"So instead, he takes his four-wheeler and goes the easy way," Joan chuckles. "In fact, last week he went quail hunting with a friend of ours."

"I just get a big kick out of being outside," Harold smiles.

As part of the research study, Harold's follow-up care involves returning to Mayo Clinic for regular health evaluations every six months. In January 2003, a computerized tomography, or CT, scan discovered a second malignancy, this time in Harold's left lung. "People with lung cancer are predisposed to getting other malignancies in the area, because the tissues have already been injured," Dr. Schild explains. "So when, five years after the first malignancy, Harold's CT scan revealed a small lesion, we were immediately suspicious."

"Had we not been on this regular callback, or had we waited twelve months instead of six, we don't know what the outcome would have been," Joan adds. "But because they were watching closely, this second tumor was small enough that it was operable, and the surgeon just went in and whipped it out and threw it away."

It's now been eight years since Harold's initial lung cancer diagnosis. He and Joan faithfully return to see Dr. Schild every six months for follow-up care. "Harold always says, when he gets done with Dr. Schild, 'I'm going to live at least another six months because I've got another appointment,'" Joan laughs.

And just as before, Harold keeps busy in his backyard workshop. "I do all my own mechanic work," he says proudly. "And nothing's in a rush. I've got the rest of my life."