Convenience and Compassion Converge in Webster for Stage 4 Lung Cancer Survivor
“What’s going on over there?” Mike Delooze wondered.
As a bus driver for the Webster Central School District, Delooze noticed a building going up across the street from the bus garage where he reports for work. He saw the UR Medicine sign but didn’t think much of it.
Once the building came together, he learned it was for oncology – and that was fortuitous for him, as he has been receiving treatment for stage 4 lung cancer since 2021.
When Delooze recently found out his oncologist, Arpan Patel, MD, was seeing patients at Wilmot Cancer Institute Webster, he decided to make the move.
“It’s much more convenient for me in Webster,” he says.
Delooze’s journey starts with lung cancer screening. He has a history of smoking, so his primary care doctor asked him about getting screened. Delooze didn’t have any symptoms – but he did end up having stage 4 lung cancer.
“If they didn’t tell me I was sick, I wouldn’t have known,” he says.
His team at Wilmot Cancer Institute, including Patel, Charsie Simmons, RN, BSN, OCN, and Kristin Knapp, PA-C, had him start with four months of chemotherapy, and it wasn’t easy. Luckily, the nausea and weakness subsided as soon as he finished chemotherapy.
Then he began an immunotherapy treatment, durvalumab. Not only has it kept his cancer at bay, but he has felt well three years into his treatment.
“They watch you pretty close, and they really do take good care of you,” he says. “It's all been a positive experience, except for the fact that you've got cancer.”
The immunotherapy treatment has allowed him more time with his daughter and to watch his grandchildren grow up. They’ve taken trips to Portugal, France, and Spain, which he calls pilgrimages. They visited religious sights, which was important to him, as his faith has played a major role in his life even before his cancer diagnosis.
Seeing Patel and his team at WCI Webster has meant he gets the compassionate care he prefers, closer to where he lives and works.
“Whenever I get my immunotherapy, I do it in between my runs,” he says. “I get done in the morning, get my immunotherapy, and then go back to pick the kids up in the afternoon.”
The convenience is nice because Delooze doesn’t know how long he will receive immunotherapy. It could be for life.
While that sounds intimidating, Delooze keeps a positive, grateful attitude. After the last few years, he says he has a lot to be thankful for, especially his Wilmot team.
“You appreciate what you've got and you appreciate life a little more,” he says. “I wouldn't wish cancer on anybody, including myself, but I've met some amazing people I wouldn't have met had I not gotten sick. All the staff I've had to deal with, they're amazing. You can tell the team really cares about you.”
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