Kathleen’s Story

Site created on March 26, 2023

As many of you know, our mom (Kathleen Ruch) was diagnosed in November 2022 with Large B Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma after a tumor the size of a softball was found in her abdomen, near her kidney. Since then, she has gone through a lot of ups and downs (almost daily!) but she’s always ready to face the next steps knowing everything is in the hands and plans of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

The first round of chemo did not affect the tumor at all. Her awesome oncologist at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic in Oshkosh (Dr Zahid Dar) shared her case in front of a group of tumor specialists (a “tumor board”) to help choose the best next steps. It was decided she should go to St Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee to have a very intense procedure called Car T Cell Therapy, after a round of a different chemo to shrink the tumor as much as possible. While we love and trust our entire oncology team in Oshkosh, we were led to see if Mayo Clinic would be interested in giving a second opinion. They scheduled her urgently and we met another incredible oncologist there, who is on board with the current plan. (He also had very high praise for Dr Dar’s work!)

You can read about Car T Cell Therapy online, if you’re interested. It’s pretty new but well past clinical trial stage. In a nutshell, it’s similar to a stem cell transplant in procedure. A few weeks ago, Mom had her T Cells harvested (it looked like a dialysis machine) and sent to a lab in another state. As my brother, Ben, puts it, they send the weak cells to boot camp to learn how to be trained killers. Once they’ve done what training/growing they need to, they’re sent back.

Meanwhile, this last round of chemo was supposed to shrink the tumor, which makes the Car T transplant more likely to work…but just like the first round, it did not affect the tumor whatsoever. We’re still moving ahead with a lot of confidence in Mom’s oncologist, Dr Sherjeel Sana, and our entire team at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Center at St Luke’s Medical Center!

More info and updates will follow soon…in the meantime, Mom and we simply ask for your PRAYERS! 💚

Newest Update

February 07, 2024

Journal entry by Heidi Kohlmetz —

Welcome and thank you for coming back for yet another update on Kathy’s cancer journey! It’s been awhile because she’s been on a treatment that has been pretty uneventful and it was expected to be used forever. Today, however, we had a setback. 

For the first time, the tumor has grown a “significant” amount, which is about 2cm in all directions. (It was the size of a softball, so imagine that bigger.) There is also a spot on her lung that was noticed on her last scan that has grown enough to mean it’s a nodule that needs a biopsy. 

She will have a PET scan next Tuesday and a biopsy as soon as we can get it scheduled. In addition, Dr Dar will be presenting her case to the Tumor Board at St Luke’s either this Friday or next. This is the same board who he presented her case to and they all strongly agreed the TCell Transplant was the best option. I’m sure they’ll be surprised to see her case back on the agenda!

There are still different treatment plans available, so there is no doubt she’s ready to continue her fight! Today’s news was a real kick in the gut, though. Please remember to pray for her again as we face all of these changes. Any cards or notes you can send would also be REALLY appreciated! Silly or serious, Mom needs all the encouragement and love you can share. God’s got this! 💚
Read More of the journal titled "February 07, 2024"
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