With speaker's support, group fighting rare cancer gets May as their own

Capitolwire: With speaker's support, group fighting rare cancer gets May as their own.

By Mark Shade, Capitolwire

HARRISBURG (May 2) - It wasn't the television lights that made Loren Sweigard blush. It wasn't nerves. And it wasn't the presence of House Speaker John Perzel.

What made the Lewisburg man's neck, face and head go from pinkish-white to cherry red was a rare form of cancer lurking inside his body, threatening to kill him.

Most cancers don't show themselves in on-again, off-again living color, but carcinoid is the exception to that rule - and it's also the problem.

However, Sweigard didn't drive 75 minutes from his home in Union County to show what his body can do with carcinoid like a freak at a carnival. He did it to join the call for doctors to do a better job caring for people who share the seemingly benign problems that don't go away with traditional treatment.

The newly formed Pennsylvania Carcinoid Cancer Advocacy Network organized the rally and convinced Perzel, one of the state's most powerful Republicans, to pen a resolution making May "Carcinoid Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.

"We are here on this historic day because we don't want the next person diagnosed with carcinoid cancer to experience the same struggles," said Teresa Lanza, head of PCCAN and a carcinoid survivor herself.

Lanza and other victims of carcinoid are hoping the awareness campaign will arm people with knowledge of the disease's symptoms, which also include diarrhea, wheezing and stomach cramps. They're also hoping doctors take note because one of the biggest obstacles to getting a quick carcinoid diagnosis is the fact that many doctors just treat the symptoms of the disease.

Harold Harvey is not one of those doctors, Lanza is quick to say. He's a Penn State Hershey Medical Center physician the Harrisburg woman considers "a champion of our cause."

Harvey has helped Lanza stay ahead of her fight with the disease and said many more medics could do the same thing if they tried.

"I've learned from my patients. I've learned from Teresa Lanza," Dr. Harvey said at the Capitol rally. "Knowledge and awareness empower patients and empower physicians to do better."

Leroy Petersheim of East Earl, Lancaster County, learned about the disease the hard way when his wife succumbed to carcinoid cancer a year ago.

Mrs. Petersheim's diagnosis came 18 months before her death. But by then, the disease had entered its fourth stage of growth and was invading her bones and liver.

One of the symptoms Petersheim's doctors treated was wheezing. At first, he said, they thought she was having bronchial problems. Then they thought it was allergies.

"So, we went to a specialist and took our carpets out because they thought little mites were getting into the house," he said.

The symptoms persisted for four or five years until a liver biopsy finally came up with the diagnosis. "But by then the only thing they could do was palliative care," Petersheim said.

Petersheim said he was "probably born too soon," but said he wanted to do what he could to help the cause. He and Lanza are hoping people will listen.

For more information about Lanza's efforts, see the Capitolwire story published last November.

Copyright 2004 capitolwire.com

capitolwire.com, a service of The Associated Press, provides a comprehensive news and information service to subscribers with a need to monitor or influence the actions of state government and to track key issues such as Healthcare, Transportation, Education and the Environment. Our customization platform allows relevant news and information to automatically flow directly to subscribers creating an awareness and speed-of-response advantage.

If you liked this story, sign up for a trial subscription. http://www.capitolwire.com For more information on capitolwire.com, write to info@capitolwire.com or call us at 717.986.0225 (toll-free at 866.894.0677).