“We can deal with this”: Couple leans on each other and Beacon Cancer Care team following Stage 4 cancer diagnosis

After almost 47  years of marriage, finishing each other’s thoughts and sentences is second nature to Bill and Mary Grimmer.

Their conversation is peppered equally with tenderness, respect, humor and sometimes a little teasing. They are clearly each other’s strength, support and comfort. Over the past several years, their bond has proven steady as the couple has faced Bill’s health challenges together. But they haven’t been alone.

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In late June 2022, Bill and Mary waited for their friends to arrive at their home before going together to see Billy Joel in concert at Notre Dame Stadium.

“That afternoon, before the concert, I told Mary that I was starting to see double,” Bill said. “It was really rough, and I said I didn’t think I could go.”

But the group had out-waited two years of the pandemic for the Piano Man’s rescheduled concert. Plus, Notre Dame is not only Bill’s alma mater — he’s a Double Domer — it’s also where he worked part-time as an Adjunct Professor of Law for over 30 years at the Law School.

His double vision finally cleared and the group enjoyed the concert together. But the good times didn’t last long.

“As soon as the concert was over, I became disoriented — I didn’t know how to get out of the stadium,” Bill said.

Once home later in the evening, Bill felt ill and vomited continuously over the weekend. The couple knew they needed to go to an emergency department. But there was just one problem.

“I hate hospitals,” Bill said unequivocally. He couldn’t understand how Mary, a former Memorial Hospital Social Worker, could stand going into one every day during her career.

Despite Bill’s reluctance, they went to the Memorial Emergency Care Center on Monday morning where emergency medicine physician Richard Seall, MD, delivered sobering news to them following a CT scan of Bill’s head. The scan showed brain cancer.

Dr. Seall asked Bill if he’d ever had any cancer before. Bill answered that he had, in fact —  melanoma had been removed from his forehead several years before. A faint scar was the only visible trace of this most serious type of skin cancer. Dr. Seall said that point was where the largest spot showed on the CT and that the melanoma may have started growing there.

Beacon Cancer Care nurse practitioner Haley Bywaters

Bill spent the next five days at Memorial Hospital and learned that the cancer had spread to one of his lungs. The Grimmers met with oncology nurse practitioner Haley Bywaters.

“She sat down with us and said, ‘We’ve confirmed that this is melanoma and it’s treatable,’” Mary explained. “’It’s not curable, but it’s treatable.’ And that was a big moment when we realized that we can deal with this.”

During his hospitalization, he also met Dr. M. Uzair Saqlain of Beacon Cancer Care.

Dr. M. Uzair Saqlain, Beacon Cancer Care

Dr. Saqlain, who is triple board-certified in medical oncology, hematology and internal medicine, explained the cancer treatment protocol Bill could expect as a patient.

“We at Beacon Cancer Care understand that a cancer diagnosis is a life-altering event,” Dr. Saqlain said. “We take time as it is the only thing that will allow patients to make sense of the events following the diagnosis. Our departments work together harmoniously to provide a well-coordinated care plan that all of our patients deserve.”

For Bill, his treatment would begin immediately after his discharge from the hospital and would include radiation therapy for his brain tumor and infusions of KEYTRUDA®, an immunotherapy that has revolutionized oncology treatment. In Bill’s case, it would be used to treat his lung.

And, Bill was able to have one stereotactic radiosurgery treatment for his brain tumor with radiation oncology Medical Director Dr. David Hornback even before he was discharged. This technique allows a patient to receive a very high dose of radiation, precisely aimed at the tumor, in as little as one treatment.

Dr. David Hornback, Radiation Oncology Medical Director

“When meeting patients for the first time, it is important to try and determine their state of mind and level of concern or anxiety,” Dr. Hornback explained. “While appropriately anxious about his diagnosis, Bill struck me immediately as someone who was positive and hopeful, which can be so critical to a patient trying to get through the process of multiple scans, biopsy, labs and treatments. Bill also seemed to have a great deal of trust in his providers which I believe also helps.”

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Later in the fall at one of Bill’s outpatient cancer care appointments following his hospitalization, Dr. Saqlain was concerned about what he was seeing on Bill’s lung.

“There was one spot that they couldn’t identify,” Bill said. “Dr. Saqlain said, ‘That spot bothers me — I think we need to scope it.’ And he said he could text a buddy in Elkhart who could help.”

Dr. Diego Heredia, Beacon Medical Group Pulmonology and General Surgery

That buddy was Dr. Diego Heredia, a triple board-certified physician in internal medicine, critical care and pulmonary diseases at Beacon Medical Group Pulmonology and General Surgery. His office called Bill and Mary at 8:30 the next morning to offer an open appointment at 1 p.m. that same day.

The Grimmers first met with pulmonology nurse practitioner Theresa Malcom, followed by Dr. Heredia.

“Theresa was wonderful and we gave her a lot of information,” Bill said. “Then the doctor came in and said, ‘We can do the procedure tomorrow.’ And he spent an hour with us.”

“He checked Bill out, head to toe,” Mary added.

“He was phenomenal — the kindness — he was beyond belief,” said Bill.

Dr. Heredia performed the bronchoscopy with endobrachial ultrasound procedure the next day to biopsy the lesion in his left lung. The biopsy results revealed that it was not cancer as Dr. Saqlain had worried.

Pulmonology nurse practitioner Theresa Malcom

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Following several more weeks of outpatient infusion treatments, Bill and Mary met with Dr. Saqlain to review results from a PET scan.

“He came in and he told us that the cancer in the brain and lungs is gone,” Bill said. “He said, ‘It’s still in your body — we don’t use the word ‘cure.’ You’ve got cancer and we’ve got to keep treating you.’”

At the end of January 2023, Dr. Hornback met with the Grimmers for another update following an MRI: There were no new lesions on Bill’s brain and one of the last ones was breaking up.

However, later in the spring, they learned that the Stage 4 cancer had spread into Bill’s sternum, or breastbone. But he explained that a recent PET scan showed that it is not spreading and it’s under control.

Bill said his infusion therapy treatment plan will continue for another year with appointments at the Beacon Cancer Care Memorial infusion center once every three weeks. In-between treatments, he and Mary are finding a new rhythm for their activities, including working out regularly at Beacon Health & Fitness and making some travel plans, too. Plus, Bill is spending time volunteering at the Notre Dame Law School on occasion.

Living with cancer takes a team, and the Grimmers know that the clinicians and associates at Beacon Cancer Care are going to be right there alongside them in their journey.

“We’re thrilled with the care I’m getting at Beacon and hold our doctors and all the people in the infusion center in high regards,” Bill said. “And anytime we get a chance to tell people about Beacon, we’re still doing that.”

And that feeling is mutual: “It has been an honor to take care of Bill and Mary,” Dr. Saqlain said.

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Learn more about Beacon Cancer Care — call 574.647.8300.