Obie Battles Cancer

While some college students worry about their grades or future careers, sophomore DeMonta Whiting faces a rare form of cancer.

Two and a half weeks ago, doctors diagnosed Whiting with Desmoplastic Roundcell, an extremely rare cancer.

Originally, doctors thought he had a tumor.

"I was more devastated when they said it was a tumor. They told me, 'You have a tumor. You probably want to leave campus, and you probably want to go spend time with your family. And you want to stop taking classes.' I thought I was going to die," Whiting said.

Later, Whiting was relieved when they told him he had cancer in his abdomen, "It's not in any organ so I haven't really been affected in any way, like I don't throw up or have problems breathing. It's just sitting there. But it's a very rare cancer."

In the Cleveland hospital that Whiting initially went to, only one person had seen Desmoplastic Roundcell. He moved to Stone-Kettering, a hospital in New York, where they have treated 35 similar cases.

"There's some kind of protocol that usually works," Whiting said. "The only problem is that it's very aggressive. For that, there're a lot of admissions to the hospital. With normal people, if they get an infection, they go to a hospital and come back, but with this type of treatment I'll have to go more often to the hospital. This is for the chemo. It's really harsh. It's hell."

Whiting is now receiving chemotherapy in Cleveland where he stays at Hope Lodge, a cancer ward sponsored by the American Cancer Society to relieve the stresses of prolonged cancer treatment.

After being treated with chemotherapy, Whiting is left with a low white bloodcell count and a weak immune system.

Whiting said, "Last week I didn't have an immune system. I couldn't leave the building without wearing a mask. At the time, you can't eat anything, fruits or vegetables, restaurant food. They're afraid that you'll get an infection from that. Everything has to be processed, canned foods, and everything's been through a machine. When I'm at Hope Lodge, I watch TV, try to turn to Spanish channels, eat, lay down, wake up. You just can't do anything when your counts are low."

Whiting has also stopped attending classes and working as a Resident Coordinator, something he misses.

His immediate supervisor, Graduate Assistant and Area Coordinator Marites Fiesta said, "As an RC, he did great with his residents. From the way he interacted, I knew he liked what he did. When he found out that he had to resign, he was upset. We pushed for him to take care of himself first. And we really miss him not on our staff."

Dealing with cancer, Whiting has had to reconsider the context of his life, "You can't help but think about things. You see people worrying and crying about exams, stuff like that - there're so many bigger things in life. This week I went to the hospital because I got the chills. It's not like when healthy people get the chills. It means you have an infection. I can't get a fever, like 101 degrees and sleep through the night because I don't have the immune system to fight it. If I go to sleep, I might not wake up."

Whiting retains good morale, attributing some of it to his friends and colleagues. "The best thing is just to see how other people are taking it, how they're supportive. That's the best thing. That's what brings a lot to me. I get a lot of letters. People stop by. It all makes my day more special," Whiting said.

Associate Dean of Students Bill Stackman has been involved with the effort to help Whiting get treatment. "We've been working with him, providing transportation. Other administrators have been supportive. Students, faculty and staff have been helping. It's looking better," Stackman said.

Whiting has also been receiving monetary support with the help of fundraising efforts by other students, tabling in the basement in Wilder, or holding parties for his benefit.

His fellow Bonner Scholars organized a spaghetti dinner on November 10 in Harkness Co-op, raising over $1500.

The Bonner Scholars Program provides scholarship funds to students who wish to structure their college experience around helping the community. Since students are often required to fulfill work-study requirements with their financial aid packages, volunteering for community service becomes difficult with time constraints. The program offers the equivalent of a full work-study award.

First-year Yolanda Olsen said, "We're a close group and we support each other and he's in dire need. We came together to support him."

Adrian Bautista, director of the Bonner Scholars Program, said, "I pray for him because it's something not many people have to deal with."

"I feel good about [the Bonners]. I realized I knew a lot of people when I was here, but I didn't know that a lot of people knew me, or that people cared," Whiting said.

Overall, Whiting is keeping an optimistic spirit, saying, "It's actually kind of exciting, too, considering I used to think my life was pretty boring. It keeps the juices flowing."