Marcus Mackey: When All the Cooks Are in the Kitchen
Marcus is a primary grade special needs educator in Chicago’s suburbs and lives with both his father and grandmother. This is a man used to dealing with a certain amount of chaos in his day-to-day life. Then came his bladder cancer diagnosis, but he took that in stride, too.
“There is a long history of cancer throughout my family. So many instances of cancer, that the mention of the word does not completely debilitate me.” That familiarity has worked in Marcus’ favor, but several years after being diagnosed, a migration of his original cancer into his lymph nodes coupled with a pre-existing diagnosis of diabetes made treatment challenging.
Interactions between chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and diabetes medications led to spikes in Marcus’ blood sugar levels that were “sky high.” Marcus’ primary physician referred him to Dr. Srilata Gundala, founder of Hope & Healing Cancer Services in Hinsdale, Illinois. “Dr. Gundala was forward thinking and advised me about two different paths,” recalls Marcus.
This is where things got really tricky for Marcus.
Given his complicated medical profile, Marcus interacts with a number of specialists. Those specialists do not always agree on the best path forward. Is surgery the best option? Perhaps watching and waiting holds more promise. Patients rely on the expertise of doctors, but doctors do not always agree on how or when to treat their patients.
The lack of medical consensus is hardest on the patient, of course, but Marcus continues to take things in stride. “I am a very easy-going person,” says Marcus, “and I roll with the punches. It is what it is, you know? When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade and have a party.”
Throughout all of this, Marcus has successfully maintained his positive attitude. He focuses on the continual advances being made in cancer treatment, “If I had been diagnosed a year earlier, who knows what might have happened?” He has learned to forgive his doctors their human limitations using his extraordinary empathy to his advantage, “Chemo is so cutting edge, and most docs are set in their ways. I understand it.”
More than anything, Marcus worries about managing all the systems and bureaucracies involved in managing his specific cancer treatment. There are a lot of cooks in his particular cancer kitchen. He is grateful for Dr. Gundala, “I love her to death. She is like family to me now. Her care and compassion are incredible. She gives me hope that doctors are just barely scratching the surface of what is possible.”
Dr. Gundala could not agree more, “Cancer treatments have made and continue to make massive leaps in recent years. Patients that would have little opportunity to hope are now defying the odds. It takes time for some in the medical community to be fully open to this changing landscape, but our patients will benefit most, and we can all agree on that.”
For now, Marcus is continuing with his current protocol. His treatments and scans are expensive, but so far everything has worked out. “I keep trucking,” says Marcus, “I keep going through any tears or frustrations. You learn to adapt and not let it interfere with life. I do what I want to do. These struggles have made me appreciate things more and not take anything for granted. I am strong and resilient.”
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
