Troy Martin's Fight Against Cancer

*written by Troy's wife Amy*In April 2019 after losing 44lbs we noticed a lump in Troy Martin's groin area. He had a physical and labs in Oct 2018 and everything checked out. He was able to see our doctor May 2019 and get labs and schedule an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed enlarged section of inguinal lymph nodes along the inguinal ligament next to carotid artery. We could not get in for a biopsy until June 24th 2019 as they were training the only tech who could do an ultrasound guided biopsy. July 9th we received a phone call that Troy has DIFFUSE HIGH GRADE LARGE B CELL NON HODGKINS LYMPHOMA.

We received an appointment at Ironwood Cancer with Dr Robert Yoo on July 11th and found out more about the cancer. Troy has a rare high grade aggressive sub type that is newly discovered in the past 5 years  called DOUBLE EXPRESSOR TYPE. Only 10% have this sub type. Cure rate for having just DLBCL is 80%, Cure rate for the worst sub type Double HIT is 20%. Troy's sub type Double Expressor is somewhere in between those two. Our doctor has only seen 5 patients in the last 5 years with this rare aggressive sub type and all 5 were extremely sick and he met them in the hospital. The fact that Troy is experiencing very little symptoms (more fatigue, night sweats, leg swelling and pressure at enlarged tumors) this far, is 52 years old, non smoker makes him think he will endure and respond well to the treatment.

The treatment that has shown the most promise with this type and sub type is called R-EPOCH chemo administered over 5 days in patient hospital every 3 weeks , with an additional $6k lumbar injection shot of chemo on 5th day to reach his spinal cord and brain. This rare aggressive sub type Double Expressor most often reoccurs hidden in the spine or brain and is found too late. 15 to 20% of patients with this sub type are in remission 2 years after treatment with just R- EPOCH. Those who opted for the $6k shot to spinal column and brain 75/100 people are still in remission after 2 years. We are praying insurance will authorize this very expensive shot of chemo to ensure him the best chance of cure and no recurrence.

Immediate needs this week are a PET/CT scan to see if the cancer is elsewhere in his body or lymph areas. A bone marrow biopsy to see if cancer is in his bones. An echocardiogram/ekg to see if his heart is strong enough for the chemo as 3 of the drugs can cause a fatal heart ejection infraction during or after treatment. Labwork to see if any thing has changed since May 2019. Oncology co pays. Deductibles and Out of Pocket max needs to be met before insurance will pay and that is $7500. We were told due to the aggressive fast multiplying sub type he needs to treat this aggressively and intensely. We go back to the Oncologist on July 25th  to find out the results of these preparatory tests . These will all tell us the stage of the disease 1,2,3,4,5. If the lymphoma is localized in that section of lymph nodes or if it is in other sections, organs or bones.Regardless the stage R-EPOCH is the best course of treatment for his sub type.  I asked why they can't remove that section with confirmed cancer and was told it is considered a blood cancer and you can not remove all the blood in his system so we need to eradicate and shrink the tumors and cells. We were told he  must take off at least 6months from work , this was extremely unexpected and we are not prepared to cover the expenses of half a year off work. Our insurance coverage says only out patient chemo at a hospital or facility, we asked if this is a possibility to limit costs and he said absolutely not with this dose adjusted (if his body is handling it, they increase the doses) R-EPOCH treatment it must be monitored at injection, during and after so that they can respond to any side effects or serious side effects.  We also need prayers that our insurance will pre authorize the PET/CT/ECHO/BONE MARROW BIOPSY  quickly so he can get those this week and proceed on schedule with the first treatment on July 26th 2019. We need prayers for pre authorization for IN PATIENT Hospital administering of chemo for all 6 to 8 rounds. As this is the safest method for this aggressive treatment. Prayers to stay healthy prior so we can get started and healthy from infections in between so we can stay on schedule and not delay rounds.

I met Troy when I was 15 years old and told my friends I am going to marry that boy! Lucky for me he chose me too! I would choose him every day, zero regrets. He is  an amazing son, brother, father, husband, papa and friend. He makes our lives fun and is strong mentally, physically and spiritually. I have no doubt we will armor up and battle this disease together with the support, love and prayers of others. We have a 25 year old son Jake, he has autism and a very busy schedule of speech, music and occupational therapy. Special Olympics bowling, golf, basketball and baseball. Due to his autism we are hoping to keep his schedule as consistent as possible. We have a 26 year old daughter Mackenzie Reber (who is organizing this fundraiser) and bonus son Soren Reber who are our biggest fans and are having to take care of their family and still function thru the stress and worry. We have 3 grandchildren Blaine, Lily and Mirielle whom we adore and are fighting to see grow up. It will be a challenge for their parents to explain limited contact due to a weakened immune system while Papa is in treatment. We have countless family, friends, associates and church family who we love and appreciate as examples in our life. We have had some of them go thru similar battles , some have won and some have lost. With both we now realize we had zero idea the extent of their stress, worry, sadness, fear and needs. We wish we had done more, for longer and will be forever changed by this experience we are just starting. We love you for reading this, for including us in your thoughts, prayers, fasts, prayer rolls/chains, fundraisers, good vibes. Whatever your faith or belief we will accept it with gratitude and promise to not take any day together for granted, even the heartbreaking ones. We vow to let this trial refine us and help us live the remaining years together with joy, gratitude, service, faith and strength we didn't realize we had. We believe in God and his son Jesus Christ. We believe in the power of prayer. We believe in healing and miracles. We know our family will be together for eternity and would hope these treatments are successful so that we can continue our journey together here for many more years together.

If you are able to give any amount, a skipped soda, coffee, lunch or movie it will add up and be a great relief to our family along this journey. I am far more comfortable serving others than receiving service from others but I am willing to ask for help in order to alleviate stress from my husband who needs to be solely focused on fighting the biggest battle of his life. He is a warrior and I know he can conquer this cancer.
With gratitude, Amy Martin (Troy's wife) and family Mackenzie Reber (daughter), Jake Martin (son), Soren Reber (bonus son), Blaine, Lily, Mirielle and our families