Boyd Dunleavy survived acute myeloid leukemia, thanks to chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
- Bruce Morton
- Jun 30, 2023
- 15 min read
DESCRIPTION
A husband, father and mortgage broker, Boyd Dunleavy of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, was leading a healthy lifestyle, healthy enough for him to run marathons. Then in 2011, what began as night sweats and nosebleeds necessitated a series of blood tests. He was then told to go to the hospital right away. His platelets had plummeted, and that’s when he was told he had blood cancer, a diagnosis confirmed after a bone marrow biopsy.
Supported by his wife and his faith, he was determined to deal with this diagnosis of a rare form of blood cancer, acute myeloid leukemia. He was told by his doctor that with this rare type of blood cancer, in order to live, he would need a stem cell transplant. Boyd was put on a regimen of chemotherapy, but his cancer relapsed in February 2012. After additional chemotherapy, he was told he was in remission, and was cleared to get a stem cell transplant. A donor was found, and it was in May 2012 that Boyd Dunleavy received his life-saving stem cell transplant.
Boyd said the transplant was the toughest thing he had ever been through. It lasted two and a half weeks and was “just beyond horrible.” However, he was thrilled to learn the identity of his donor, Nathan Barnes, and in 2013, got to meet him. He credits Nathan with saving his life.
However, there would be more trouble for Boyd. After his first round of chemotherapy, he developed balance issues. He said it was because the chemo poisoned his brain stem. The following spring after the stem cell transplant, he was diagnosed with a virus called transverse myelitis. He was rushed to an emergency room and doctors told him he had a bladder infection, inserted a catheter and sent him home. Soon after that, the care team discovered its misdiagnosis.
Looking back, Boyd says the chemotherapy was difficult as it is for anyone, but there was more drama attached to the stem cell transplant. That’s because he says if the transplant works, you live and if it doesn’t, you die. He said the transplant was perfectly executed and is grateful, a sentiment in stark contrast to the first hospital, the source of two misdiagnoses.
Post-transplant, Boyd Dunleavy decided to become a competitive runner. He began training in 2013, and in 2016, through its Athletes With Disabilities program, he qualified for the Boston Marathon. A friend told Boyd he could never do Boston. Completing it required mental determination, resilience, toughness and strength, but he did it.
Boyd says he trains on a treadmill because he still has balance issues, and the treadmill is safer than running outdoors or running at night. His favorite distance is a half marathon, which is 13.1 miles. He says his body starts “falling apart” at about the 20-mile mark, and he gets ataxia, which results in difficulty walking or running in a straight line. To someone who wouldn’t know better, they might think Boyd is drunk; but to run a marathon, he needs a ‘guide man’, and during the race, has to take nerve medication.
By way of advice for those diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia or any type of cancer, Boyd Dunleavy says to tune out the negative people, and to take charge over your cancer journey as much as you can by being your own advocate with those in health care. He will always credit his wife for standing up and pushing back until she could find someone who would listen, something he thinks is remarkable in that normally, she is a very introverted person. If it is a doctor you don’t trust, find another doctor; if it is a hospital, you don’t trust, find another hospital.
Boyd says don’t forget to advocate and don’t forget to stay strong.
Additional Resources:
Support Groups:
Man Up To Cancer: https://www.manuptocancer.com
GRYT Health: https://grythealth.com
TRANSCRIPT
Bruce Morton: This is the @CancerInterviews podcast, and I’m your host, Bruce Morton. Our guest on this episode twice survived blood cancer, but then his journey took a wrong turn. However, he has battled through a disability and a big part of his survivorship is that he can run a marathon. In fact, he has run more than 30 marathons and half –marathons. He is Boyd Dunleavy of Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, and this is his story. So, here he is, and Boyd, welcome to Cancer Interviews.
Boyd Dunleavy: Thank you so much for having me today.
BM: Boyd, we know you have a life beyond a cancer journey. So, fill us in and tell us where you are from, what you do for work and what you do for fun.
BD: I do live in Moncton, New Brunswick now. I grew up in Vancouver, met my wife overseas. She was in Australia, but from Ontario, actually from Toronto, so we lived in Toronto for a year, then moved to London, Ontario in 2002. We had three kids in six years. I was a banker and mortgage broker. I thought I was physically active, a slightly overweight mortgage broker, playing golf a couple times a month, active in the community and church and things like that. We thought life was hectic and chaotic. Then on Canada Day in 2011, our lives took a dramatic turn with the blood cancer diagnosis, which would have been July 1, 2011. In terms of work, I am on medical disability, so over the years, I have spent time volunteering, I have won awards for speaking before like the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Lymphoma Society. Coming out of COVID, the cancer community has gotten really smart and there are a lot of online support networks, and so I participate in about ten different of them, so that’s what I do to keep busy. I stay busy with church. Our oldest son just graduated high school. Our three kids in six years are now teenagers, so it’s incredibly busy. I am just thrilled to be alive and active and doing quite well in spite of everything we’ve been through.
BM: Boyd, for all of us who survived cancer, there was a time in which our health took a sudden turn for the worse. How did your health go from normal to abnormal?
BD: I was experiencing night sweats, nosebleeds, when I underwent acupuncture, I would bleed, and the acupuncturist said something’s not right. I just thought it was because we had three kids in six years, I was incredibly busy with work, so I went to my doctor, and she ordered blood work and that’s when we got the terrible news that I had to get to the hospital right away and she suspected something horrible. My platelets had dropped to the twenties or thirties, something awful, so I was admitted to the hospital. That’s when I was told I had blood cancer.
BM: Every cancer diagnosis is different and every person who receives one is different. We already know this is horrific news, but in your case, how did you handle it?
BD: I just had to get through this. The determination of others really kinda propelled me to make me the kind of person I am today. I was always kind of passionate and tried to be excited about life, but it wasn’t even the diagnosis, it was the second or third round of chemotherapy we were fighting with, the doctors and nurses not doing their job. I had an infection that almost killed me. My wife said if she hadn’t intervened on three separate occasions, I would have died. I guess the compounding difficult news was the chemotologist came in and said I had acute myeloid leukemia. It is such a rare type of blood cancer and if I don’t get a stem cell transplant within a year, I’ll be dead. I disagreed and said the Lord Jesus will determine whether I live or die. That was the determining factor that this was not going to kill me. Something inside of me just rose up and said ‘no.’
BM: We’re confident you’ll be able to learn some tips and tools to help you through your personal cancer journey, but first we’d like to invite you to please give us a ‘like,’ leave a comment or review below and share this story with your friends. Kindly click on the Subscribe button below and click on the bell icon, so you will be notified the next time we release a cancer interview. And if you or a loved one are facing a cancer diagnosis, please click on the link in the description and Show Notes below to check out our free guide, “The Top Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I First Got Cancer.”
To get back to your story, Boyd, first you went on chemotherapy, which is never fun for anybody. What was the toughest part of the chemo? And you had mentioned doctors and nurses not doing their job, so you might mix that part in as well.
BD: Just falling through the cracks of the system is how I would put it. You’ve got shifts changing, you’ve got other people coming on, not paying attention to what went on the previous shift had done, fevers, infections, etc. Over those three months, they went on to refer me to another hospital for the transplant and some clerk at the hospital in Toronto just sat on my file for months. So, in February 2012, my cancer relapsed because of somebody’s incompetence, so it went on and on and on, like a bad story. On February 17, on my fifth round of chemo, God supernaturally intervened. I had a vision of Jesus being flogged before his crucifixion, and the Scripture in Isaiah said, “By his stripes, you are healed.” Two nights later, I supernaturally just vomited the cancer out of myself. I knew I was in remission. The only way they could tell if you have blood cancer is through a bone marrow biopsy and I have had about five of those, and I just knew I was in remission, so I had actually gone with my son out to Vancouver to see my family out there. That’s when the doctors called to tell me I was in remission. That was sort of a ‘mic drop’ moment, but you have to be in remission to do a transplant, so we knew they had a donor, but we were going to have the procedure in the hospital where I had been so we found the Juravinski Stem Cell Transplant Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, which is near Toronto, and they had beds, they were ready to rock ‘n’ roll, so May 3 of 2012 was my life-saving stem cell transplant.
BM: And there’s a great story, Boyd, with respect not only to the transplant, which we want to hear about, but about the person who made it happen, the donor, if you could tell is about both.
BD: The transplant was the hardest thing I had ever been through. It was just horrific. It was two and a half weeks of that, just beyond horrible. That was the hardest thing. Got through that, came home, brain injury, spinal cord trauma after the year of chemo, but the coolest part of all that was we found out who was the donor. He was a man named Nathan Barnes. Nathan was an American Naval serviceman, and we found out years later that the Navy flew him from Japan to give his DNA to save my life. Between the transplant in 2012 and connecting with him in 2013, I had to live. They weren’t going to connect me if I didn’t live, so getting through all those things was just amazing. People praying, people believing in me and even just re-learning how to walk up and down stairs was a huge step for me. One of the most interesting things for me was the spring of 2013, a friend approached me about taking me to Alaska. He did so and ran a marathon for me with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and changed my life. I bought a pair of shoes and started running in spite of the brain trauma, in spite of the spinal cord injury, in spite of the balance issues, in spite of all those things. It literally changed my life. Nathan is the person that saved my life, but I have had multiple friends intervene and say that I should come with them and get active. It’s been an amazing story.
BM: Boyd, I want to go back to what resulted from the chemotherapy, but any sort of brain or spinal cord issue manifest itself?
BD: First round of chemotherapy I developed these balance issues, and the team completely missed it. They didn’t know what it was. The chemotherapy poisoned my brain stem. The following spring after the stem cell transplant, I got a virus called transverse myletis. I had no immune system. I was trying to eat spaghetti and my face went numb. I was rushed to an emergency room. Again, they misdiagnosed it. They thought it was a bladder infection. They stuck a catheter in and sent me home. That’s when they discovered I had a brain injury on top of everything else, along with the nerve damage to the lower back. Bruce, the funniest thing happened. I got a letter in the mail from the hospital, asking how was the service? I actually filled it in and sent it in. So, I had a blood cancer relapse and a spinal injury, and they wanted to know if everything was okay. They connected me with the head of the ER. I remember talking to him. This would have been November of 2012. He just apologized. I didn’t feel like it, but Christians we are supposed to forgive. I told him I choose to forgive, even though I didn’t feel like it; but I was able to get off the majority of the medication I was on, so other than some medication for nerve damage and some indigestion. A brain injury and spinal cord trauma and issues with my vision, it was a perfect transplant. I went through so much nonsense, just to survive. I have friends who have done way better, and I have friends who have done way worse, and I have been to funerals of people who didn’t make it, so people ask, “What’s your motto?”, and I say, “Cracked but not broken.”
BM: Boyd, now I want to talk about the transplant itself. Obviously, your newly-found friend, Nathan, stepped up in the biggest way imaginable, but there was still the transplant that needed to take place. Could you say the transplant was executed better than the previous phase of your care plan, in other words, the chemotherapy?
BD: With the chemotherapy, the goal is to get it into remission. Once they give you the treatments for the transplant and it doesn’t work, you die, so the stakes are much higher. So, it worked because it worked. It wasn’t like the first time failed, so you try it again. That’s how high the stakes were. This is the point in your life that if it doesn’t work, then you’re dead. They did a great job. I’m still alive. It was the fumbling of my home hospital, not the one where I got the transplant, that caused all the ongoing health issues, but I am choosing to forgive. Meanwhile, we haven’t touched on this yet, but because of my disability, I qualified to run in the Boston Marathon through its Athletes With Disabilities program. I ran it four times. So, I made the best of a horrible situation.
BM: I used to be a runner myself and was intimidated at the thought of training for and running in a marathon. And I didn’t have any disabilities. So, you had a disability, and you went from zero as a runner to someone competing in the Boston Marathon. From a mental and physical standpoint, how did you do it?
BD: Somebody said I would never run Boston, and I thought, “Are you kidding?” God healed me of cancer, I have been through a transplant, I am going to get into Boston. So, the mental determination, the toughness, the resilience, the strength, 2016 was my first Boston. It was an amazing moment and ran into a guy named Bill Rodgers, who had won Boston four times. My wife said I should go back I had had so much fun. So, 2017 was a tremendous moment. I had a 25-minute personal best at Boston. It was the five-year anniversary of my transplant. With the transplant, I had a 30 percent chance of living an additional five years, so I did, sang “Victory in Jesus’ as I crossed the finish line, and I learned that I beat the guy who said I would never run Boston, by a minute. That blew my mind because this person was way faster than me. So, it was just determination and hard work. I can look back on the amount of training I did in 2013, even to today. You put in the hard work, and you go with what you know works for you. For instance, I train on a treadmill because with the balance issues, it is much easier training on that than running outside and possibly getting hit by a car, or running at night where my vision is not as good as it used to be. You do your thing well, and it works. You meet people who run ultra marathons, so there is always the next thing. Marathons are hard, so my favorite distance is the half marathons (13.1 miles). My disabilities don’t show up during a half marathon. During a marathon, my body starts falling apart. After 20 miles, I get ataxia, which is difficulty walking straight. I look like a drunk man. I need a guide man when I am running a marathon. I take my nerve medication during the marathon. It’s quite a process. It feels like I am on a unicycle, but somehow, we get there with God’s grace.
BM: The following is a yes-no question, and I am pretty sure I already know the answer, but would you say there is a link between the mental toughness it takes to battle cancer and the mental toughness required to train for and compete in a marathon?
BD: Yes. It is 100 percent yes. Because of the fortitude and determination of coming through cancer, it’s never just a marathon, it’s never just a 5K, it’s never just a half marathon, it’s not just cancer.
BM: And how can that mental toughness be beneficial to you on and off the marathon course?
BD: In the past, I allowed people to comment on my life or get on my case for being on a disability. I would tell them it is none of their concern. I am responsible for me, my wife, my children’s welfare, and if the doctors haven’t cleared me to return to work, I tell them it is none of their concern. I acquired this sort of toughness. I don’t go around looking for arguments or whatever. You gotta be strong. Like a tree, you don’t bend.
BM: At this point, we are going to wrap things up, and we will conclude the way we always do, with the following question. If you encountered somebody one-on-one, someone who had just been diagnosed with blood cancer, there might be lots of things you would want to impart to that person, but if there is any part of the message that stands out above all others, what would it be?
BD: Get away from the negative, negative people, whether it is you, whether it is family, you gotta live. You have to live, so get away from whatever is negative. If it is a medical system, find another hospital. Find a positive. If you believe in God, draw on that faith in God. There were people that believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, so I stand on the shoulders of many strong people that came before me.
BM: You had mentioned how your wife had done some no-nonsense advocating on your behalf. What can you say about advocating with healthcare professionals?
BD: They’re not God. They have got a God complex. I have tremendous respect for those who have earned my respect. Those that are well-meaning. Those that are arrogant or incompetent, I don’t have patience for anymore. You have to advocate. My wife just over and over and over again had to push back, and she’s a very introverted person. She doesn’t talk about it publicly, but she kept talking until she found someone willing to listen. I hope that’s a good answer.
BM: That’s an outstanding answer and an outstanding, inspiring story you’ve shared with us, Boyd; so, we want to thank you very much, really appreciate it and want to wish you the best on the race and on the racecourse of life, as you deal with it. Thanks very much for being with us on Cancer Interviews.
BD: Absolute pleasure today, Bruce. It has been wonderful getting to know you. All the best.
BM: And that brings to a close this episode of Cancer Interviews. Please remember if you or a loved one is on a cancer journey, Boyd is one of many through words and actions who can be of aid. So, until next time, we’ll see you down the road.
Additional Resources:
Support Groups:
Man Up to Cancer: www.manuptocancer.com
GRYT Health: www.grythealth.com
SHOW NOTES
TITLE: Boyd Dunleavy, Two-time Blood Cancer Survivor – Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Complications from treatment that helped Boyd Dunleavy survive two bouts of Acute Myeloid Lymphoma resulted in subsequent brain and spinal cord issues. Through a successful stem cell transplant, faith and dogged determination, Boyd started from scratch to become a distance runner, competing in more than 30 marathons and half marathons. He shares his story on the @CancerInterviews podcast.
Additional Resources:
Man Up to Cancer: www.manuptocancer.com
GRYT Health: www.grythealth.com
Time Stamps:
03:00 Boyd said night sweats and nose bleeds led to his diagnosis of blood cancer.
04:16 How he handled the bad news.
05:02 Learned he would need a stem cell transplant.
06:35 On his chemo regimen, the care team did a poor job, leading to a blood cancer relapse.
07:55 Learned he was in remission.
08:39 Describes his stem cell transplant.
10:08 Boyd recalls when he became interested in distance running.
10:58 Says brain and spinal cord issues materialized.
13:48 Says a stem cell transplant is a high-stakes procedure.
15:15 Explains how he became a distance runner.
18:03 Boyd compares the mental toughness required to battle cancer with the mental toughness required in distance running.
20:27 His positive message to those diagnosed with blood cancer.
KEYWORDS (tags):
cancer
blood cancer
acute myeloid lymphoma
ataxia
bruce morton
transverse myelitis
stem cell transplant
cancer interviews
brain trauma
boyd dunleavy
chemotherapy
bone marrow transplant
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