Cancer and Clinical Services Patient Stories

Taking care of both patient and family

“The most important thing to have is hope,” says Mark Althouse when asked about his experience at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (The James) for treatment of higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS). “I wanted to hear the stories of people who survived.”

Mark received that encouragement not only from his care team, but also from a man in Oklahoma who had already completed his own treatment for HR-MDS. That valuable connection was made through his pastor, but now Mark is serving as a lifeline for others, including a woman recently diagnosed with HR-MDS, through Helping Others Through Peer Experiences (H.O.P.E.), a program developed by The James to provide peer support to cancer patients and caregivers that matches people with similar diagnoses.

“It was so valuable to have an idea of what to expect from someone who had already gone through what I was facing. It’s a perspective no one else can give,” Mark says. “At the same time, my doctor was straightforward with me about my chances, not giving me false hope but always answering my questions and explaining the approach we were going to take. Perhaps as important, the entire team at The James served as a great resource for my wife too. I learned that the internet is a dangerous place to search for answers, so having a place she could go to for the latest, most accurate information was exactly what we needed.”

Prior to his bone marrow transplant, Mark faced rounds of chemotherapy to get his blast count down. He mentions a list of the challenging side effects he faced, then summarizes with a simple understatement: “It was rough.” After five months, he received new bone marrow donated by his oldest son. “The fact that my son was my donor was pretty cool for me,” Mark says. After 36 days in the hospital with “some ups and downs,” he was able to return home.

Throughout his treatment and recovery, Mark benefitted from seamless access to an array of medical specialists at Ohio State. As needed, his hematologist-oncologist, Alice Mims, MD, referred him to a urologist, endocrinologist, dermatologist and ophthalmologist, all of whom had experience with BMT patients. Mark emphasizes that his wife was always included in appointments and conversations too. “She had as many, if not more questions, than me. She kept on top of my medications, made my care a priority and did the deep dive into research. When you get a diagnosis of cancer, it’s a journey for the family too. Dr. Mims and the others never forgot that."