Jack Hyer - “Here I am Seven Years Later, Still Around”

Jack Hyer, Chapel Hill, NC

Despite Jack Hyer’s 15 years of work with the American Cancer Society, his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in May 2000 still came as a surprise.

“Never did I ever dream that this would happen to me,” Hyer said.

During the Memorial Day weekend, Hyer, of Chapel Hill, N.C., recognized a lump in his right armpit as a possible cause for concern. Doctors at UNC Hospitals biopsied the lump and diagnosed him with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system.

“UNC Hospitals reacted very quickly to my problem,” Hyer said.

After the biopsies, UNC outpatient surgery transferred Hyer to Lineberger’s hematology/oncology department to begin chemotherapy immediately.

In addition to the lump in Hyer’s armpit, a CT scan indicated two cancerous spots on his lungs and two cancerous spots on the groin area.

When he conferred with old friends at the ACS, as to where he could receive the best treatment for this disease; they assured him that his decision to stay at Lineberger was the right one. He said he was assured that their reputation was excellent and that he should not even consider any other cancer center in the country.

Hyer said he recalls how impressed he was with oncologist Dr. Thomas Shea's personal attention. When the doctors performed a bone marrow needle biopsy on a Friday, Hyer said he thought he would have to wait anxiously until Monday for the test results. However, late that night, Dr. Shea called to inform Hyer that the results were negative. Dr. Shea's phone call saved Hyer an entire weekend of high stress and anxiety.

After chemotherapy, the cancerous spots on Hyer’s groin area disappeared. During the eight weeks that followed chemotherapy, Hyer received successful radiation treatments directed at his chest in the radiation oncology department of Lineberger.

Seven years later, Hyer’s oncologist, Dr. David Morris, jokes that Hyer is more likely to die from a heart attack than from cancer. He attends follow-up appointments once a year with Morris and his chance of a reoccurrence is slim to none.

“Here I am seven years later, still around,” Hyer said.

 “Everybody really bent over backwards to make sure I was getting the right kind of treatment,” Hyer said.  “There was such terrific attention paid to the individual patient particularly.”

Hyer said he was so appreciative of Lineberger’s radiation oncology treatment services that he and his wife decided to recognize UNC Hospitals with a donation. A few years after treatment, the Hyers rewrote their wills so that all money left after their deaths would fund translational research and a professorship in radiation oncology.