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Aggressive Treatment for Rectal Cancer Preserves Patient’s Quality of Life

Arthur Evans, of Calumet City, takes a positive approach to life. He rarely misses work, lifts weights and prays daily. He never let himself get down during his fight with rectal cancer. “One time I caught myself wondering ‘why me,’ but I put it in God’s hands and left it alone,” Evans said.

There was one thing Evans was concerned about, though, and that was whether he would lose his rectum and have to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of his life. It was a quality of life issue. When the cancer was discovered in fall 2000, Evans was a seemingly healthy 41-year-old with a wife and three children.

There were telltale signs of the rectal cancer – a bit of blood with bowel movements – for more than a year before he consulted a physician. It wasn’t until the bleeding increased noticeably that he decided, with his wife’s encouragement, that he should consult a physician.

At one hospital, he made appointments – one doctor at a time – with several different specialists. Their recommendation was that the rectum should be removed. He wanted another opinion.

At the multidisciplinary gastrointestinal clinic at Loyola’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Evans saw several specialists in one visit: Francis Harford, M.D., a colorectal surgeon; Alexander Hantel, M.D., a medical oncologist; and Nena Mirkovic, M.D., a radiation oncologist. They would start by aggressively treating the tumor with radiation and chemotherapy. If the cancer shrunk enough, they could try to save the rectum.

For five weeks Evans got short doses of radiation therapy five mornings a week. At the same time, he wore a small device that pumped cancer-fighting drugs, 24-hours a day, through a needle in his chest. Through it all, he never missed his work as a machine operator. Some of his co-workers didn’t even know he was sick.

By February, six weeks after completing the combined radiation and chemotherapy, his Loyola physicians gave him the good news: that the tumor had shrunk by 50 percent. Harford explained that only during surgery would he be able to see if the rectum could be saved. He thought there was a 50-50 chance. Harford was able to reconstruct the rectum and avoid a permanent colostomy by using a special technique that approaches the tumor both through the abdomen and the anus. “Loyola doctors care about people and the quality of their lives,” Evans said. “Dr. Harford went the extra mile for me — he had my life in his hands and I’ll always be grateful.”

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