Roche Laboratories
Copied
"5/22/03
Dear Robert,
On behalf of the Roche Oncology Team, I want to thank you for sharing your story with other Roche employees around the world.
I'm pleased to enclose a copy of the article that appeared in the Roche Newsletter "Hexagon".
Best Regards
Shelley Rosenstock"
The Roche Group's worldwide newspaper
Number 1 - 2003 Roche Holding Ltd, CH-4070 Basel
Don't call him a miracle
Don't tell Bob Vandegrift that he's a miracle. He won't accept that. But if you hear him talk about his cancer, now over six years after he was told he had a few months to live, you'll believe that something powerful is at work here.
After surgery in December 1996, sixty-eight year-old Bob Vandegrift was told he had colon cancer and that it had spread to his liver. Following a colonostomy, his doctor told his family he had four months to live. A second opinion was the same. Deciding to fight for his life, Bob Vandegrift sought the help of yet another physician who also referred him to an oncologist who suggested that he take part in a clinical study for Xeloda.
In April 1997, Bob Vandegrift began a Xeloda clinical trial, remaining on the protocol for five years - until April 2002. "I was doing well. The Xeloda was certainly more convenient than 5FU, with fewer side effects", adds Vandegrift. He credits his survival to surgery, pharmaceuticals and the development of personal strategies for dealing with the disease. "It's important that we listen to our inner voice", Vandegrift explains. "I believe the mind-body connection could very well be the deciding factor (in whether or not we beat the disease)".
Today, Bob Vandegrift speaks in churches, assisted living centers and a cancer center, talking to people with cancer about developing individual strategies to overcome the disease. "The last six years have been the most important time of my life", Vandegrift says, "and I want to make a difference whenever possible."