Oakland Man Finds New Life through Cancer Battle

Jill Perry of our church saw this article below and made sure I was able to see it. She wrote, “Hi Pastor, I hope everything is going well and that you are feeling stronger every day. I finally was able to get that story for you about the Oakland man who had Stage 4 lymphoma….Quite an inspiring story. Of course, I think you and Koyce have quite an inspiring story also. You both amaze me with how you have handled all that you have gone through. We miss you at church and look forward to the day we can see you either sitting in the crowd or preaching from the pulpit. We will be happy with either one.
Take care and hurry back. Love, Jill.” The article is below.

MATT RHODES didn't realize how alive he could be until he overcame a period in his life when it looked as if he might be dying.

Diagnosed with stage-four Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 31 in 2001, Rhodes' cancer rendered him unable to walk because a tumor was pressing against his spinal cord. The Oakland resident learned a year later that his doctor estimated his chances of survival at one in three, and other doctors had calculated it at one in five.

"That was probably the first time it really hit me how close I was to death," said Rhodes. "The tumors had gone outside of my lymph system, so they were basically everywhere. My whole chest and torso was pretty much full of tumors — my spleen, my lungs, my bone marrow — all over the place."

Fast forward to today. Rhodes, 39, is cancer-free. He and his wife, Claire, have become avid triathletes, competing for charity under the banner of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program.

It's a phenomenal survival story, with a neat love-story subplot. Before he contracted lymphoma, Matt considered himself a reasonably healthy bachelor who ran a little and worked out at the gym to stay in shape. But after surgery to remove the tumor, followed by 12 weeks of chemotherapy and 12 weeks of radiation treatment, he had to learn to walk again. He used a walker at first, then a cane. About a year into his rehabilitation, he went on a ski trip to Colorado, where he met Claire through mutual friends. While the two were swimming, she noticed a large surgical scar on his back. He told her his cancer story and thought he'd killed a budding romance.

"When we got back to the lodge, I made things even worse by showing her a Web site I'd made with pictures and a journal from my rehab," he said. "She basically got to see me near death only a year before. She was flush and had a blank look on her face afterward, and I thought, 'Good job, Matt. Way to screw up this relationship. This isn't going anywhere.' But she stuck with a guy who should have been a 'no' the second you hear stuff like this."

Claire wound up shifting Matt's physical mind-set into overdrive. An avid runner, she convinced him they should try the inaugural Hike For Discovery at the Grand Canyon, where they came in contact with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which sponsored the event. They were married shortly after in 2004, settled in Oakland, and at Claire's urging entered a triathlon through Team in Training, which has prepared more than 380,000 novice athletes for marathons, triathlons and cycle rides, raising nearly $1 billion for research, education and patient aid since 1988.

"I'd never done anything like this," Matt recalled. "I'd only done one other race in my life, a four-mile road race. I had no real concept of what it would take or how good it would feel. My initial thinking was do something easy, but Claire said, 'No, no, let's challenge ourselves.’”

Since 2006, Matt and Claire have competed in more than 10 triathlons together, raising several thousand dollars toward finding a lymphoma cure. They recently took part in the Avia Wildflower Half-Ironman and are now training for their third Escape From Alcatraz triathlon in June. Even though Claire generally beats Matt, he adores the fast-growing sport.

It still grabs him sometimes that he is able to compete. Rarely does a day go by when he doesn't reflect on what he overcame.

"It's a wonderful irony that I'm out here running and cycling when my diagnosis had me not walking, and possibly worse," he said. "My first three or four triathlons, I'd get choked up during the race because I'd get to that moment where I realized what I'm doing and how lucky I am. I'd look like an idiot on the course because I'd be wheezing, barely able to breathe, because I would get so emotional."

As for Claire's influence on his life, Matt said, "She believes in herself in a great way and me in a way that makes me do things I never thought I could do before."

Claire has made inspiration her life's work. She is director of the San Francisco arm of Girls On The Run, a nonprofit prevention program that helps preteen girls develop self-esteem and healthy lifestyles through running. Matt is a computer software animation and graphics developer who provides inspiration simply by telling his story whenever and wherever he can.

"Team in Training tries to contact people who are going through treatment so they can receive support from our group, but also we use them as honorees as inspiration for the team," he said. "It's give-and-get inspiration. For me, it's a real honor to hear that I inspire people." In truth, they both do.