Patrick Bowler
Patrick Bowler, 55, was a youth football coach who played to win. So, when he was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer, he approached it the same way. He was going to “beat cancer, to win.”
The first signs of a problem came when Patrick experienced a loss of breath while playing basketball, but a cardiac stress test was normal. Then, he felt fatigue and acid indigestion. Antacids helped some. When his fatigue became extreme, his stools turned black, and food got stuck in his throat and didn’t go down as fast as normal, he knew something was wrong.
Tests showed Patrick had a tumor at the top of his stomach, closing off the esophagus. “My (local) doctor said ‘I’m sorry.’ And, that’s all he said,” explained Patrick. Then Patrick met an oncologist from Loyola. Along with the medical oncologist, he met a surgical oncologist, radiation oncologist and nurse – all of whom were part of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Center at Loyola’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center.
In one day, Patrick learned how Loyola’s experts wanted to treat his cancer. “I was pleased that they were thinking the same way I was: Get at this thing and get it done. I told them that was the first good news I’d heard.”
After his single visit with Loyola’s GI cancer specialists, Patrick started chemotherapy treatments four days later. One of his former youth players was getting chemotherapy at the same time as Patrick. Patrick told him, “I used to be your coach, now we’re on the same team. And we’re going to win.”
Chemotherapy was followed by radiation to his stomach. Then, Loyola’s surgical oncologists – gastrointestinal surgeons who have been specifically trained in procedures to remove physical cancers – removed his stomach and attached his esophagus to his large intestine.
Patrick has made some adjustments since surgery. He eats less and more frequently. But, “I eat better than I ever did. I eat everything,” he said proudly.
Occasionally, Patrick talks with patients who have a similar diagnosis and are unsure about their situation. He couldn’t wait to see one such patient. “I told him, ‘You’ve got to see me to believe this. I was where you’re at right now. And I’m good to go.’”