Vincent DiMartino
At the age of 75, I’m just happy to still be here and be able to continue to contribute to my musical community. When I was diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma in 2021, I had never heard of the cancer and didn’t realize how aggressive and deadly it is. It was especially surprising to get such a life-threatening diagnosis when I felt perfectly fine. The only complaint I had when I met with my primary care physician for my annual physical was some pain from a nodule about the size of half a golf ball in my left knee.
A biopsy of the skin tissue determined the tumor was Merkel cell carcinoma. Additional imaging scans found that the cancer had already spread to two other parts of my body. After meeting with an oncologist at a cancer center near my home in Danville, Kentucky, I began to realize the seriousness of my situation. The oncologist was recommending surgery followed by rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and I worried that my recovery would be long and difficult, curtailing my teaching and music career.
Figuring Out the Next Steps
I picked up the trumpet in elementary school and have been playing the instrument ever since. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, in 1972, I taught music at the University of Kentucky for 2 decades and then at Centre College in Danville for over another 2 decades. During that time, I also built a serious jazz and classical music career, playing the trumpet in bands alongside some of music’s greatest legends, including Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Tony Bennett, and Ella Fitzgerald. I also recorded and was the soloist with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra on Mel Tormé’s Christmas Songs album and appeared as a soloist on a television special with the Boston Pops as well.
Although I had officially retired from teaching in 2012, I still occasionally teach music. Soon after my cancer diagnosis, I decided to fulfill a weeklong commitment I had made to teach at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. I thought it would be a good distraction from cancer and also give me time to figure out my next steps.
Contributing to Research
It was while I was away in Michigan that my wife, Patti, began researching treatment options for Merkel cell carcinoma. She found a clinical trial underway at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. The randomized, phase II trial was investigating combined nivolumab plus ipilimumab, with or without stereotactic body radiotherapy, in patients with advanced Merkel cell carcinoma as a first-line therapy or after previous treatment with anti–PD-1 and –PD-L1 monotherapy.1 That study likely saved my life.
I thought if I was eligible for this trial, most importantly, as a teacher and lifelong learner, it would give me the opportunity to help researchers get closer to more effective treatments—and possibly even a cure—for this aggressive cancer. And, at age 72, I had already lived a long and fulfilling life and figured whatever happened to me, being able to contribute to the study and assist other patients was a good thing.
I was randomly assigned to the combination immunotherapy and stereotactic radiation arm of the study and was among the 41% of patients who achieved a complete response to the treatment.1 I’m monitored closely every 3 months to catch any early signs of a cancer recurrence, and my imaging scans continue to show no evidence of disease.
Remaining an Asset to My Community
Having cancer has both upended my life and enhanced it. During my participation in the clinical trial, Patti and I decided to split our time between Florida and Kentucky, and we bought a house in Bradenton. Although Patti is maintaining a high-powered career as Chief Executive Officer of a car dealership in Danville, Kentucky, because she now works from home in Bradenton, we have the chance to spend more time together. Just having the opportunity to have coffee together every morning is precious to us. And I’m busier than ever with my music.
I’ve joined Moffitt’s house band, The ReMissions (named in honor of every patient’s wish), and I enjoy going back to the hospital to visit with my oncology team and simply socialize with them—and not discuss cancer. I also spend time meeting with other musicians who are cancer survivors, and I play in small clubs around Florida two or three times a week. And, I have gone back to my great love, teaching; but now, I’m teaching people my age how to keep playing music into old age.
Cancer has taught me how to adjust to a new life normal and how important it is to remain an asset to your community. When I’m not playing or teaching, I’m collecting trumpets. Life is good.
REFERENCE
1. Kim S, Wuthrick E, Blakaj D, et al: Combined nivolumab and ipilimumab with or without stereotactic body radiation therapy for advanced Merkel cell carcinoma: A randomized, open label, phase 2 trial. Lancet 400:1008-1019, 2022.
Mr. DiMartino divides his time between his home in Danville, Kentucky, and Bradenton, Florida. He is Past President of the International Trumpet Guild and is a Pickett-Blackburn Performing Artist.
Editor’s Note: Columns in the Patient’s Corner are based solely on information The ASCO Post received from patients and should be considered anecdotal.
