By james art 
73 -year -old William Ed Carutens was on vacation in Arizona when he noticed some pain in his back. He thought it was an injury to a disc in his spine.
Three weeks later, when Caruders received the results of his blood work from his primary care doctor, his diagnosis was more serious than they thought. Carruthers is diagnosed with multiple myeloma, blood cancer that affects white blood cells that produce antibodies to combat infection.
“I was in shock,” he said. “If I hadn’t went to blood, I wouldn’t stand here today.”
The American Cancer Society estimated that over 187,000 people were diagnosed with blood cancer in the United States in 2024 – this is 10% of all cancers diagnosed at the national level every year.
Blood cancers, also known as hematological cancers, affect the production and function of blood cells. They usually start in the bone marrow. Bone marrow transplants are used to treat common blood cancer, such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
Dr. Hannah Safah and Dr. Sabba, directors in the program for therapy for hematological malignancy of the Institute for Lake Cancer Cancer Cancer in the area of Baton Rouge.
Autological bone marrow transplantation is an surgery that replaces bone marrow stem cells infected with patient cancer, with cells from another part of the patient’s body, most commonly taken from the ribs. After eight months of chemotherapy in the lake, Carruthers is the first patient in over eight years to receive a stem cell transplant in the Baton Rouge area.
There are 23 additional patients in the lake for this type of bone marrow transplantation and therapy, including those in clinical trials. In addition to autologous bone marrow transplants, the program designs its first allogenic bone marrow transplant – which includes donor stem cells – to take place in the fall.
“The future is bright for our bone marrow transplant program,” Safah said. “Dr. SABA and I, along with nurses, laboratory, support services, Epic team and administration, are eagerly awaiting blood cancer care in the region through new procedures and studies. “
Caruders underwent his bone marrow transplant surgery on January 22 and was discharged from the hospital on February 5th. He walked down a corridor on a jam on the fifth floor of the Regional Medical Center “Virgin Mary” with his wife Ginny, to the song “Eye of the Tiger” to ring the ceremonial bell for survivors of cancer.
Caruders joined the celebration of his team at the hospital, including Safa and his nurses, as well as his son Michael and his daughter -in -law Iris. He hopes that after 100 days of evaluation and quarantine to rely on his white blood cells and improve his immune system, he can enjoy the time with his family again.
“The most difficult part will not be the same with my grandchildren,” he said. “The 6-year-old can throw a seizure if he can’t see me.”
Carather, a native of Sacramento, California, moved around the country during his life as a deputy chief of police at Burlington’s railway company North Santa Fe. After 50 years of marriage to their wife, three children together and two granddaughters, Caruders chose to settle in Madisonville to be close to their grandchildren.
The two sons of Caruders, Jeffrey and Michael, and their families managed to drive back -behind the hospital in Baton Rouge to visit him during his recovery. Caruts ‘wife stayed at Hogs Houses, a free housing program for patients’ patients in the lake in Baton Rouge.
This could not have happened if Caruts had to get care further from the home.
Susan Foret, Vice President of Cancer Services in the lake and former oncology nurse and surviving cancer, said the hospital’s goal was to provide “services close to home”.
“It’s a monumental time in the lake and at the Cancer Institute,” Foret said. “This allows us to provide life -saving events for events that were not available earlier in the area.”
Caruders is looking forward to returning home to Madisonville to enjoy some normality, but the first thing on his task list after leaving the hospital is to enjoy fried fish sandwich and fries from McDonald’s.