The Asbestos Curse Afflicts The Poore Family, But The Power of Love Runs Stronger. Libertyville, IL

Colette and Randy Poore

44 year old Randy Poore and his wife, Colette, live in Libertyville, Illinois with their two young children, Caitlin, age 17 and Conor, age 12. Randy is a management consultant for Ernst & Young. Colette is a school teacher at Oak Grove Elementary School District in Libertyville. Randy's father, Clyde Poore, worked at an asbestos plant in nearby Waukeegan, Illinois. Clyde Poore died in 1992 of asbestosis. Randy's uncle worked at the same plant. He died of lung cancer. Randy himself worked at the plant in the 1970's while working his way through college. On March 18, 2000 Randy was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma.

In August, 1999, Randy developed right sided chest pain and was diagnosed and treated for pleurisy by his family physician. Randy then developed a dry cough with increasing severity, and he was diagnosed in December, 1999 with a bronchial infection. His doctor prescribed antibiotics and inhalers. His condition did not improve, and an x-ray showed a pleural effusion (build-up of fluid in the chest) on Randy's right side.

Dr. Charles Brown at Lake Forest Hospital in Lake Forest, Illinois, performed a thoracentesis on March 18, 2000. The biopsy showed malignant pleural mesothelioma. Later, the cell type was determined to be mixed or "biphasic," both epithelial and sarcomatoid. This has a worse prognosis than epithelial mesothelioma alone. There were also metastases to lymph nodes.

Randy has not let this bad news stop him. Instead, he had moved forward against the disease with humor, courage, and most of all the love and support of his family and his wife's family. With them by his side through ups and downs, Randy is fighting on and making progress.

Randy was referred to Dr. David Sugarbaker at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Sugarbaker removed Randy's right lung, in a surgery known as an extra-pleural pneumonectomy (EPP) on May 24, 2000. After the surgery, Dr. Sugarbaker discussed treatment options with Randy and Colette, and they decided to proceed with chemotherapy.

Randy Poore, Post EPP

On August 30 Randy was referred to thoracic oncologist Dr. Nicholas Vogelzang, at the University of Chicago, for chemotherapy. Dr. Vogelzang is the Director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center, and is a member of MARF's Board of Directors. Dr. Vogelzang initially advised the chemotherapy regimen of Gemzar (Gemcytabine) and Cisplatin -- following Dr. Sugarbaker's plan.

Randy's first cycle of chemotherapy, which began on September 27, did not go well at all. Two days after the chemotherapy, he experienced delayed extreme nausea, could not eat and had to be hospitalized for dehydration. But within a week, he was feeling much better, and was optimistic about resuming chemotherapy. Dr. Vogelzang suggested treating him with Carboplatin, rather than the Cisplatin, in order to avoid the nausea he experienced during his first cycle. This change made a big difference in reducing the chemotherapy's side effects.

After his third cycle of chemotherapy, Randy and Colette flew to Boston on November 9, for a checkup with Dr. Sugarbaker. According to his sister-in-law, Leslie, the whole family was praying that nothing would show up on his tests. They were thrilled when the tests showed no tumor growth.

Randy has had severe problems though. There are a number of possible side effects to the drastic EPP surgery, and according to Randy, he is one of the of the few who have experienced most of them. He had nerve damage as a result of the EPP, and has numbness in his right chest. He has difficulty swallowing at times, and has severe night sweats. His weight, normally around 195 pounds, is down to about 150.

Randy and his son

He also has extreme, constant pain, from his back all the way around his right side to his front. An intercostal nerve block was performed, but it was not very effective, and in the end only required more medications. Randy's constant pain and weight loss concerned Doctor Sugarbaker so much that during the November checkup, he personally walked Randy into Brigham and Women's Hospital's pain clinic. On November 13 Randy had surgery to install an epidural, a morphine pump in a pouch like a fanny pack, which he could regulate himself to control the pain.

However, the day after Christmas, Colette had to call an ambulance to take Randy to the local hospital, for severe back pain. Doctors found a mysterious e coli infection. For two weeks, they could not identify the source of the infection. Finally, an abscess was discovered at the tip of the epidural's catheter . Removing the catheter and the abscess required another surgery.

Now Randy is back on pain medication. Though he felt wonderful at first, as he is on it longer he feels less "normal." He feels medicated and very tired. He has to sleep a lot and has trouble with his memory. For Randy,who is used to being physically and mentally energetic, this is very frustrating.

Through all this, Randy has a great attitude. He is very grateful for the support of his family, and he sees the positive news that all of these problems are outside the realm of the cancer. He says, "I've had every kind of scan you can imagine -- nuclear, MRI, CAT, bone -- and the doctors haven't seen any recurrence of the tumor." He is excited to resume his fifth cycle of chemotherapy. After that, he'll have one more cycle, and then his chemotherapy will be done and out of the way. Currently, he feels really good some days, and terrible on others. He and his family are looking forward to more good days.

** POSTED FEBRUARY 5, 2001 **

An Update -- 5/11/01

Randy is currently experiencing chronic pain in his chest. Dr. Sugarbaker has told him this is primarily the result of the surgery. Since they had scraped so close to the lung in an effort to remove all the cancer, there was a lot of nerve damage. Randy says it's the price he had to pay to ensure a successful surgery.

Depending on the outcome of his latest CT scan, he will go in next week for a an alternative trial - "Spinal Cord Stimulation", where they will implant electrodes along his spinal cord to control the pain in his rib cage. There will be an implanted transmitter (dial) under the skin of his abdomen with an external receiver where he can set off the electric stimulus or pulse. He says he has been told the premise of this form of pain management is that "the feeling of pulsing is better than the pain you are feeling."

An Update -- 8/8/01

Randy just completed his third cycle of chemotherapy (Navelbine) this week. He has two more cycles of chemotherapy left, after which he will undergo a CAT scan and a PET scan. His doctors will then review the results and determine what avenue of treatment to pursue.

He continues to endure chronic pain. Some days are bearable, and some are much worse. He continues to experience pain in his chest, and has now developed pain in his left leg, and a numbness in his right leg. It is difficult for him to get around and impossible to do so without a walker. His wife and children are at home for the summer, and although his children will be in school in the fall, his wife may take a leave of absence, possibly through Christmas.

Mr. Randy Poore passed away on October 4, 2001