Honorary Relay Chairman’s Young Bride

Was A Pioneer For The Cure

By John Voket

It was the early 1960s, and Irene Arfaras was in the prime of her life. A twenty-something newlywed with a bright future and hopes of raising a family, she shared many of the same hopes and dreams of her friends and family members.

Then came her own personal nightmare — a diagnosis of a rare form of cancer called choriocarcinoma. Her husband, George, remembers those terrible days vividly.

“The only conventional treatment at the time was a total hysterectomy,” he recalled sitting in the comfy basement den of his Newtown home, now some 44 years later.

But then a glimmer of hope was offered in the form of a radical new medical treatment that was in its developmental stages. Would Irene consent to being one of the first women in America to undergo a medical trial on this brand new form of chemotherapy?

“We got the call from our ob/gyn at Yale, Dr Clarence Davis,” Mr Arfaras said. “And we trusted him, he was a very learned man.”

Mrs Arfaras recounted the conversation she and her husband had before making their decision to go forward if she qualified for the trial.

“[Dr Davis] knew all the experts at the National Institute of Health at Bethesda, Maryland,” she said. “We got our results back from the lab and found out I was accepted for the test.”

During their 16 weeks in Bethesda while she underwent the clinical trial, the Arfaras’ learned more than they ever wanted to know about this particularly insidious form of cancer that can often be cured but not before leaving many of the women it touches unable to have children. Choriocarcinoma is rare, and forms in the tissues of the reproductive system.

According to Healthopedia.com, this type of cancer most often affects women. But it can also include a rare type of testicular cancer in men. Choriocarcinoma in women usually follows a pregnancy. It is more common after a molar pregnancy.

A molar pregnancy is one in which a fetus does not develop. A tumor made up of abnormal cells develops instead of a baby. The tumor of the molar pregnancy is usually benign, which means it is not cancer.

Choriocarcinoma develops from reproductive tissue cells, which are very active. When these cells undergo cancerous changes, they grow and multiply very rapidly.

A tumor forms and sheds cancer cells into the bloodstream at an early stage. The cancer cells in the bloodstream develop new cancers in other parts of the body, a process known as metastasis. If choriocarcinoma is not treated successfully, these tumors throughout the body can result in damage. And that can quickly lead to death.

The exact cause of choriocarcinoma is unknown. A woman whose diet is low in protein and other nutrients is known to be at higher risk for molar pregnancies; a woman who has had a molar pregnancy is also at high risk for choriocarcinoma.

Once Mrs Arfaras had completed her treatments, she returned for follow-up checks about every three months. After about a year, the treatment was determined a success.

The true proof came, however, in 1964 when Mrs Arfaras became pregnant and delivered a healthy baby boy named Nicholas.

“During the treatments, we attended church services near the hospital, and Irene prayed they would be successful,” Mr Arfaras recalled. “She used to say that if we were able to have a child, we would come back and have the baby baptized at that church.”

When it was time for that solemn ceremony, the Arfaras’, with numerous relatives in tow, formed a caravan of vehicles heading south to the Washington, D.C., suburb. And while the couple awaited the scheduled time for the ceremony, Mrs Arfaras decided to surprise the staff at the NIH with a visit.

“There were so many young women there who were just like me, all worried they would never have children,” she said. “But just by going there with Nicholas gave so many of them hope.” And that is one of the reasons why, today, some 44 years later, George Arfaras will be serving as the Newtown Relay For Life’s honorary chairman.

“One of the most important aspects of the Relay For Life is giving people hope,” he said. “Whenever someone with cancer sees all those survivors walking around the track, it has to fill them with hope. Just like Irene has been able to share her story with people for so many years, giving hope to those people going through the process.”

To punctuate Mrs Arfaras’s message of hope, just two years after Nicholas arrived, little Maria followed.

“Dr Davis delivered both of them,” Mr Arfaras said. “Through those years, we experienced so much fear and joy, and through the process this wonderful man became more like an uncle to us than a doctor.”

The rollercoaster ride of joy and pain did not end with the arrival of Maria, however. When the children were in their teens, Mrs Arfaras lost her 35-year-old sister to colon cancer. But through it all, she never lost the desire to help spread that message of hope.

“About seven years ago, a girl in her early 20s who actually worked with my other sister was diagnosed with the same cancer I had,” Mrs Arfaras said. “We talked on the phone together for about two hours. A few days later my sister called back saying the girl had come out of her depression and had a positive attitude toward her treatments.”

That story turned out very well, Mrs Arfaras said. But it only provided greater inspiration for Mr Arfaras to do something more than be a caregiver to his wife.

Last year, he helped raise $2,500 through the local Lions Club where he is an active member. This year, as plans for the 2006 Relay For Life ramp up, Mr Arfaras is already busy visiting local companies to help raise even more support, and inspire more teams to come out for the overnight American Cancer Society benefit, scheduled for June 10–11 at the Newtown High School.

Anyone interested in learning more about what they can do to help the record-setting local relay in its third year can come to a volunteer meeting in the high school lecture hall next Wednesday, April 5, at 7 pm.

“I do it for my wife, a 44-year survivor who was brave enough to offer herself as a pioneer for this experimental chemotherapy treatment that has since helped so many women to survive this vicious and traumatic illness,” Mr Arfaras said. “But we need as many people as we can to come and lend a hand. If you can give a donation, join a team, or volunteer, it will make a difference and help give hope to someone who is in the same position we were 44 years ago.”