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Savoring Every Ounce of Life While Undergoing Treatment for Skin Cancer
Darlene Dobkowski, Managing Editor for CURE® magazine, has been with the team since October 2020 and has covered health care in other specialties before joining MJH Life Sciences. She graduated from Emerson College with a Master’s degree in print and multimedia journalism. In her free time, she enjoys buying stuff she doesn’t need from flea markets, taking her dog everywhere and scoffing at decaf.
Ryan McDonald, Associate Editorial Director for CURE®, has been with the team since February 2020 and has previously covered medical news across several specialties prior to joining MJH Life Sciences. He is a graduate of Temple University, where he studied journalism and minored in political science and history. He considers himself a craft beer snob and would like to open a brewery in the future. During his spare time, he can be found rooting for all major Philadelphia sports teams. Follow Ryan on Twitter @RMcDonald11 or email him at rmcdonald@curetoday.com.
In this episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with someone who has undergone 41 surgeries and physically debilitating treatments during his more than 15-year journey with several cases of skin cancer. We discussed his cancer journey, and why, as he starts a new treatment after his most prior therapy failed, he’s focused on quality rather than quantity of life.
Jeffrey Wittig has spent the last 15 years receiving treatment for several bouts with skin cancer – including cases of squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and most recently, basal cell carcinoma.
During his cancer journey, Wittig has undergone 41 surgeries to treat his various skin cancers, including large skin grafts, and a complete removal of his nose followed by a surgical reconstruction with a prosthesis.
Wittig, who is currently receiving treatment for recurrent basal cell carcinoma, said his care team recently told him his prognosis is not good and that the aim is to keep the cancer from spreading to his brain for as long as possible. As Wittig begins a new therapy after his previous failed to keep his disease at bay, he says his goal is to focus on his quality of life no matter the outcome.
In this week’s episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, Wittig discusses what his journey has been like, as well as his decision to switch to a new therapy once his previous therapy stopped working. He also offers others facing a similar situation advice and chronicles why he’s focused on quality rather than quantity.
“I've told my oncologists and my dermatologist and my radiologists that I'm not really concerned about quantity at this point, you know, but quality,” he said in an interview with CURE®. “So, you know, if I've got two years, (then) how can we make this the best two years? So, you know, that's my goal at this point; (it’s) not, you know, to wrap this up with a big bow and call it all good, because I know that's not true.”
For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.
For more information on nonmelanoma skin cancer, visit skincancerinfo.org.
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