Dr. Ahsan Basha (Host): Welcome to our monthly podcast on The C Word, Community Not Cancer. Thank you for coming back to another episode with us. Today, we have a patient who's actually a patient of mine, Kenny. Hello, Kenny.

Kenny: How are you?

Host: I'm well, thank you. And thank you for coming and joining us today.

Kenny: Not a problem.

Host: So, Kenny had been a patient of mine since last December 2025 or so. And he is seeing us because he was diagnosed with a type of cancer called squamous cell cancer, which started in the skin, and then progressed to other areas of his head and neck, particularly his parotid gland and lymph nodes. And he came to us, originally not knowing initially where we started from, but eventually getting that history of what happened. So Kenny, tell us what happened. Like, what got you to see a doctor in the first place?

Kenny: So back in June or July, I went to a dermatologist, and I had a spot on my temple about the size of a—I want to say a dime size. And he cut it out. He did all the perimeters, closed me up. I went home. So back in I want to say November, I went to my primary doctor, and I had on the side of my head by my temple or by my ear, my left ear the size of a pea. And I thought it was kind of weird because it was starting to stick out. So, my primary doctor said, "I'm going to put you on an antibiotic." So, she put me on an antibiotic, and it didn't do anything to it, and it was starting to really grow rapidly. So, she goes, "I'm going to send you in for a biopsy." They did a biopsy, and they told me it usually takes about a week to get it. It took two days. And then, they got ahold of Dr. Basha. My journey started from there.

Host: Okay. And when you said it grew rapidly from a pea, by the time it got to me, I think it was, like, almost like half a softball. Does that sound right to you?

Kenny: Yes, it does.

Host: And then, just to explain to patients, when patients first come to me with cancer in this area, we oftentimes get concerned about could've been something that involves the head and neck organs.

And unfortunately, there are not that many ear, nose, and throat doctors in the area. So, we actually had to get other doctors involved from outside of the local area, which we try to do as much as we can here. But we're lacking things, we have connections all throughout the community and get people up to other doctors. So, I referred Kenny up to both the radiation doctor that's part of Riverside as well as to a ear, nose, and throat specialist up at Rush University. So, tell me, what was the experience like getting to the point of figuring out what's happening to you?

Kenny: So, I saw an ear, nose, and throat doctor up in Rush Hospital, and then I also had to see two other oncologists, I believe.

Host: That's radiation oncologist. Yeah.

Kenny: Yeah. I got the diagnosis that I had stage IV cancer from a nurse practitioner at Riverside at the other clinic.

Host: The radiation clinic?

Kenny: The radiation clinic. She's the one that broke the news to me. And it was kind of devastating. Stage IV, you think it's over.

Host: Yeah.

Kenny: But then, Dr. Stubbs, my nose and throat doctor from Rush told me they've been talking to Dr. Basha that we're going to start an "immo" therapy—"

Host: Immunotherapy, correct.

Kenny: —to try to shrink the tumor.

Host: Yeah.

Kenny: But I would still have to have surgery. So, I started an immunotherapy. And before you know it, it was killing it. So, my body was basically fighting the cancer.

Host: Yeah. So, let me back up just a little bit. I'll explain to the listeners out there. So in stage IV, cancers, most commonly, we are thinking about incurable cancers. It is a little bit different for head and neck cancers than for other cancers because stage IV is more about the number of lymph nodes involved in the area of the head and neck. So, it's not the similar cancers that go to other organs necessarily. And that's just to explain to patients that it's a little bit different perspective on that issue.

The other thing about it is that when we talk about stages, part of it is actually determining historically what the prognosis was, meaning how long can we expect to control it? How long could we expect that people will live with it? Some of our staging things are actually being reconsidered in the modern days of the new treatments we have, including immunotherapy and things where we are finding that treatments are so much more effective that we can downstage.

We actually haven't done that yet in head and neck cancer. But in other cancers, we definitely have patients who would've been considered stage III in, say, other cancers like breast cancer and stuff are now actually stage I, stage IIs, because we have such effective treatments. I believe the day is not far ahead of us where we may restage these head and neck cancers based upon current treatments. It hasn't been done yet, but that's why he was given the diagnosis of stage IV. It wasn't that it had gone to other organs outside of the head and neck area, but just because of the lymph node involvement and the prior historical data on rates of disease.

Kenny: Right.

Host: Okay. So, you mentioned that the treatment's been killing it. So, the one deficiency of my podcast here is that we don't have visual representations of what happened with Kenny. So as I described, by the time he got to me, the mass had grown into about half a softball inside of his face. Before you started treatment, by the time you got to see those doctors up at Rush, Kenny, how big was your cancer?

Kenny: It was about the size of a softball.

Host: A full softball, right?

Kenny: Yeah. At one point, my wife was really concerned that it was going to split my skin. I mean, it was so tight. And it was starting to come to a point where It was almost like that movie Alien, where something's going to pop out of the side of your head.

Host: Yeah.

Kenny: And that's how big it got, and it was very sore. I had to be on morphine because the pain was unbelievable. But Dr. Basha fixed me.

Host: I wouldn't take credit, but I helped. I provided the medications and everything like that. I got expert opinion from other doctors, which is what I do. So, I got opinion from several other doctors as to what would be the best approach to treat Kenny. And we started him on an immunotherapy.

What immunotherapy is, it's a medication which, as Kenny said, uses your own body, your own immune system to help attack the cancer cells. It trains your immune system to recognize cancer as not belonging, that this is not what we want in our body. So, it trains the immune system to attack the cancer cell, and then allows the body to then rapidly check the cancer. So, his particular treatment is a drug called Libtayo, the brand name. And it's an infusion he gets every several weeks. Tell me about the day you first came in for the treatment, what was in your mind?

Kenny: Well, I thought I was going to get sick. I thought, "Is it anything like chemotherapy?" Where you've heard all these stories of people get sick. Was I going to have side effects from it? So, I just prepared myself and I got my first treatment. And the only thing it really did was make me fatigued for about half a day. There was no side effects. I didn't get sick. And it started working really fast. It was unbelievable. You know, I mean, here I was, already had a sonogram. I've had PET scans. I've had CT scans. And the last PET scan that I went through I just got a speck of cancer left in me. It's It's just amazing.

Host: It is. I'd love to say we can guarantee that to everybody, but everybody's different. But Kenny had an incredible response. Literally, by the time he came in for a second treatment three weeks later, it had shrunk to at least half the size, as I recall, and I have photos of each thing, and I gave Kenny a little collage of it. So, he has it in his collection, his collage of photos that kind of monitor his response. And literally by, I think, the second or third treatment, it was down to half a golf ball maybe, and so on and so forth.

Kenny: Because, you know, Dr. Stubbs told me that before I started immunotherapy, was they're going to try to shrink it as much as they can, but they're still going to have to go into surgery. It's going to be about a 17-hour surgery. I'll spend at least seven days in the hospital. And the side of my face will be totally gone. And I lucked out, if you can hear it in my voice.

Host: Yeah, I do. And actually, we did send the copies of the scans to Dr. Stubbs, so she's aware and let us know that right now they're not planning on any surgery.

Kenny: None. It's a great success story. I mean, I just hope that everybody that if you got parotid gland cancer, go through the immunotherapy first. You may be cured.

Host: We'll try to individualize for patient. But yeah, I mean, again, you know, part of medical care is getting the opinions from other doctors, getting everybody's input. And then, trying to use what is best for each individual. Fortunately, for Kenny, he was able to qualify for this particular drug for his cancer and it's working. That's the amazing part. So during that whole process of getting the diagnosis, getting scared about a 17-hour surgery and disfigurement of your face, what were you leaning on for support?

Kenny: My wife gave me support. I mean, she came to all my doctor's appointments. She came to most of my treatment until, basically, she stopped coming just simply because I'm doing well. But no, she took me to Rush. She's alway s been by my side. If it wasn't for my wife, I don't know what would've happened, you know?

Host: Yeah. Good.

Kenny: She did a lot of research, too. You know, she read up on all this.

Host: What did you do for yourself? Did you research yourself or you just kind of—

Kenny: Nope. I let the best team of doctors in the world.

Host: So, your wife did a lot of research for you. Any other support you have? Like support system, what do you use? What keeps your spirits up, I guess?

Kenny: God. My higher power. Without God or Jesus Christ as my savior—you just got to rely on Him.

Host: If I may ask, was there any change in your relationship with religion as you went through this process before or after?

Kenny: Not really. I didn't blame him for what I have. I don't blame anybody. And what's really remarkable is my dermatologist surgeon blamed himself, and I told him he did nothing wrong. It was just a single cell that got away that gave me parotid cancer. But I've always had a good relationship with my Lord.

Host: With your Lord and with your wife too? That's good.

Kenny: Yep.

Host: One thing to know about Kenny, just as you can probably tell from his speech and talking, he's a very positive individual. Very much outgoing. Very connected with the people around him, that I can say. So, he's always a pleasant person to take care of as from a physician point of view, and I know our nurses and staff would say the same thing. A lot of joking coming about as you go in and out of the office. Is that kind of how you've led your life most of the way?

Kenny: It has, you know? I was in the service for 12 years, and you can't get too serious all the time. I mean, there's times to get serious, but I really lucked out. That's all I can say. If you would've seen me in the pictures Dr. Basha had of me, I looked like Frankenstein.

Host: Did that ever disturb you when you were walking around the town?

Kenny: It did in a way. But, you know, people stare, I don't care. The only part that I was really scared of is having surgery. Because what she told me, thank God I didn't have to.

Host: Just as a little issue obviously, so again, we had to send you up to Rush to get that opinion, and I'm glad we did, because Dr. Stubbs is a great surgeon and gave us great input on how she wanted to do things, and I appreciate her for that. But what's it like just being able to stay in your hometown?

Kenny: Well, that's another thing. When I was diagnosed with it, and they told me that I was going to have to go to Rush. and then I'd have to do treatments every three weeks, and I'd have to go to Chicago. That's a long distance for us that live down here. And Dr. Basha talked to Dr. Stubbs and the other oncologists, radiology, and got it to where I could have my treatment in my hometown of Watseka at Riverside. And this is where my treatments, the beginning and the end.

Host: So, saved you a lot of traveling.

Kenny: Yes. You did.

Host: And again, to the audience out there, this is standard treatment that we can give here, so it is something we are able to offer. Sometimes we have to remind the doctors up in Chicago we can do all that, do it all here.

Kenny: Yeah, because I don't think they really thought that I could have my treatments down here at first.

Host: So, sometimes we remind them, but we can. Pretty much any FDA-approved therapy we can do down here at Riverside. So, the only things we generally don't do are experimental therapies, and there are some specialized treatments that require some monitoring at an academic center. But even some of those are coming down here too to this area. So, you know, we look forward to offering as much as possible down here for people's health and convenience so they don't have to journey up too far from here.

Kenny: So, I'm looking forward to my next PET scan in October.

Host: October. Yeah, so am I. Again, we've had very positive results, and I'm happy for that. And as a physician, we always like giving good news. I mean, we have to give all news. But it's always a little fun to give good news, especially when a person can see the changes dramatically. It makes it that much easier. And sometimes with, like, cancers inside the body, like in the lung or other things, you don't know until you do the scans.

And Kenny, again, with the photos we have, you can see this softball turning to a golf ball, turning back to a pea again. And now, I look at your face, and I can barely tell anything at all. It's a fact.

Kenny: Yeah. You know, when that cancer was sitting on my major nerve on the side of my face, it basically paralyzed my side of the face. So, I talk out the side of my mouth now. I got a drooped nostril. I got dry eye. But you know what? If that's all I come out with, I'm satisfied.

Host: Anything else you'd like to add before we finish here, Kenny?

Kenny: The staff at Riverside have treated me great. Dr. Basha's a good doctor. All the staff here at the clinic here in Watseka, they're top-notch.

Host: I appreciate that, Kenny. Again, we don't do this podcast to advertise ourselves, but we appreciate compliments and we appreciate being able to provide service to our community here, because it is about community, right? And so, that's what we want people to feel at home in their community getting the best care possible, and we strive to do that. And so, I thank you, Kenny, for sharing your story.

Kenny: You're very welcome.

Host: Again, thank you to the audience for listening to us today. And we appreciate your journey with us on these visits, and we hope to see you or let you hear from us again in future podcasts for the C-Word, Community Not Cancer.