Opinion: Springfield child tries St. Jude chemo protocol

Eric Olson: Tell me about Cross’ neuroblastoma cancer and how you became aware of it.

Brian Kubik: We became aware of Cross’s neuroblastoma after many, many trips to the doctor’s office. Cross began showing levels of distinct fatigue. … Ashley (Brian’s wife) was persistent in calling our pediatrician, almost to the point that we thought we might be bothersome, but Ashley was convinced that something was wrong with him by just his daily activities. He had many blood tests, ultrasounds, etc., and the results were normal except for some signs of possible mono. Cross then began to complain about his belly hurting and some mild abdominal distention, which was assumed to be constipation, and a barium enema was ordered. Then, Cross spiked a temperature of 104 F. After more calls to the pediatrician, a CT scan of his abdomen and pelvis was completed – the tumor showed up big time. The tumor was the approximate size of a softball around the aortic artery in the stomach area.

We were told by our pediatrician around 5 p.m., and we were on our way to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis by 7 p.m. … Our pediatrician had already made arrangements with Dr. Wayne Furman, a world-renowned physician in the field of neuroblastoma.

How was the family received by the hospital?

As we traveled here, I thought about the cost of his future treatments. We have some savings and personal assets, and we were prepared to spend it all if that was what it took. When we checked in that evening, the lady asked me for our insurance card and told me that all of our charges would be charged to insurance and anything that the insurance did not pay, St. Jude Hospital would pay the rest. … In fact, they had temporary housing at The Grizzly House at no cost to us. … We could tell the minute that we arrived here that these people are here because they want to help children and their families.

What were the next few days like?

The next few days were the worst of our lives. Cross went though so many tests (bone marrow, tumor biopsies, CAT scans, etc.) that our heads were all spinning. We were also told that Cross was a Stage 4 neuroblastoma patient. … Only 650 children per year … a one-in-100,000 chance that Cross would have this.

What is Cross’ treatment?

Dr. Furman had been working on a neuroblastoma treatment protocol since the last one was initiated in 1997. It had just been IRB-approved a week or so before we came here. Remember that St. Jude is a research hospital, and this next protocol is study for new treatments. Cross was an ideal candidate, so Furman sat down with us and asked us if we would accept this new idea in cancer treatment. … Cross is known as ‘the new protocol baby’ at the hospital. Since Cross started, another girl has started the treatment also. We have actually already been asked if Cross’ blood can be used in another research study for a protocol that they are working on. Of course, we accepted.

Is it surprising to you how well he’s taken it?

He is doing so well with the treatments; children are resilient. … We refer to St. Jude as Cross’ work, and we all just go to work together every day. … It seems like it has been harder on his parents. The first two weeks of chemo were not good because he was so sick, but we continued to see improvement, and now, five weeks out, he is doing great (50 percent reduction in tumor size). The first round, ‘the window,’ was the experimental drug, an Astra Zeneca drug called ZD1839. The prescription bottle says ‘for experimental use only,’ which is really crazy to me. Fortunately, he’s experienced minimal side effects thus far.

How has this affected you, personally and professionally?

Obviously, it has changed our lives. Ashley and I were always totally into Cross.

We prayed to get him here, and now we are praying to keep him here. We have rekindled our faith in God and have prayed extensively to Saint Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes.

I have an extreme passion for my businesses of architecture and construction and still do. I have always positioned Ashley and Cross as most important in my life, which is why I really didn’t think I had anything to learn here – but it has certainly clarified my ideals. Both Joyce Buxton and Jon Dodd at BKD-IA, and Paul Freeman with my other businesses, have shown to me how much they care for me and my family by taking over for me even though it means that they have to work double. This is what partners are for, and I love every one of them for that. … I also was comforted by my previous employer, Michael Sapp of Sapp Design Associates, and other companies in Springfield in our field that actually called and offered to send over some of their staff to help our office – even though I knew they were all also extremely busy.

How can the Springfield business community help?

First of all, please pray for Cross’ successful recovery, now and forever, from the cancer within his body. He has a long road ahead, so he needs a lot of prayers. Spend every waking minute with your children enjoying every single day. Understand what St. Jude really has to offer and understand how it is funded to perform the research that they do. Cancer affects one in every three people, so most likely, every single person will have a close family member affected by cancer. The more we understand it, the more we can survive from it. Purchase bracelets and T-shirts or donate to ‘Crusade for Cross’ fund at Liberty Bank. My brother is also organizing people to participate in the annual Boston Marathon qualifier here in Memphis in December to raise money for St. Jude Research Hospital.

Eric Olson is Springfield Business Journal news editor.