NEWS

Man diagnosed with leukemia one year after daughter

Kate Snyder
Reporter
Alyssa Foster, 3, works on a puzzle with her father, Chad, in their Zanesville home. Alyssa was diagnosed with leukemia in December 2013. Chad was diagnosed one year later.

ZANESVILLE – Last December, almost exactly one year after his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, Chad Foster also was diagnosed with leukemia.

"This year, we're skipping December," he said.

Chad and his wife, Kelly, of Zanesville, have spent the past 15 months supporting their youngest daughter Alyssa, who was 1 year old when she was diagnosed, as she undergoes a two-year chemotherapy treatment.

On Wednesday, Chad is scheduled to be admitted at the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus for a five-day round of chemotherapy followed by a bone marrow transplant.

"It doesn't seem like it should happen twice in the same family," he said.

A benefit to raise money for Chad's medical treatment is scheduled for May 2 at the Century National Bank Family Center within the Fieldhouse.

But even with Alyssa's and now his diagnosis, Chad said, his family is still fortunate.

"I still don't really consider us to be unlucky," he said. "We're all still here."

Initially, before his diagnosis, if anything, Chad said, he thought it would be diabetes or heart issues, both of which run in his family. But though there are some cases that are genetically linked, Chad's and Alyssa's respective illnesses have no connection to each other, doctors have told Chad. They aren't even the same type of leukemia.

Alyssa Foster, 3, works on a puzzle in her Zanesville home. Alyssa and her father were diagnosed with different forms of leukemia one year apart.

Alyssa was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is one of the most common forms of childhood leukemia. Chad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, also called acute myelocytic leukemia, which primarily affects older people, according to the American Cancer Society.

Alyssa will undergo chemo treatment until the end of this year, and then she will be closely monitored for the next three years, and after that, Chad said, she'll be considered "cured," but she'll likely have to be regularly monitored for a long time.

"It's helped me to get a little perspective on what she's been going through," he said.

Chad first noticed something was wrong when he got a sore throat last September and October that wouldn't go away. Eventually acid-reflux medication treated the sore throat, but Chad began to get fatigued easily. Too easily.

On Dec. 20, Chad was taking his daughters' beds out because they got bunk beds, and the beds were big but light, and he got so tired just going down the stairs.

"It's something I should have been able to do," he said.

That night, he went to the emergency room and was transferred to Columbus. He didn't get to go home for four weeks.

After the bone marrow transplant, Chad will stay in the hospital for three to four weeks, and he won't be able to work for six months. But donations have been coming in, many from the very same people who donated when Alyssa was diagnosed.

"It's been unbelievable. All the same people came back and helped again," he said. "You've got all these friends you don't think about a lot, but when you're in trouble, they're there."

ksnyder2@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

740-450-6752

Twitter: @KL_Snyder

If You Go

• What: Benefit for Chad Foster

• When: May 2

• Where: Century National Bank Family Center within the Fieldhouse.

• FYI: Silent and Chinese auctions begin at 3 p.m., and the spaghetti dinner begins at 4 p.m.; tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for children; other events include a bake sale and raffle.