Firefighter fighting cancer

MOSES LAKE - When Derek Beach went in for a physical in January,

he wasn't expecting to be diagnosed with cancer.

The 40-year-old Moses Lake firefighter felt fine, friend Sandy

Hanson said, but doctors discovered he had Acute Myelogenous

Leukemia. Shortly after the diagnosis, Beach went in for a 27-day

induction treatment at Central Washington Hospital in

Wenatchee.

MOSES LAKE - When Derek Beach went in for a physical in January, he wasn't expecting to be diagnosed with cancer.

The 40-year-old Moses Lake firefighter felt fine, friend Sandy Hanson said, but doctors discovered he had Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. Shortly after the diagnosis, Beach went in for a 27-day induction treatment at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.

"(The doctor) said there was a chance they could cure it with chemo," Hanson said. "Lisa (Castro) and I are really close friends with Brenda (Beach) and Derek."

Three weeks into the treatment, doctors discovered the leukemia went into remission, meaning less than five percent of his cells were cancerous, but his body is still producing the leukemia cells, Hanson stated. To keep in remission, Derek needs to keep going through chemo. Doctors hope a bone marrow transplant will allow him to recover.

"(The doctors) told him he was going to be out of work for a year," she said. "I know he's got sick time, but we don't know when that's going to run out. (Brenda) was going to try to work, but every time he starts feeling good enough that she can go back to work he has to go back into chemo."

Derek and Brenda recently received news that doctors found a 12-point match for Derek's transplant, Hanson said. The match is based on points of 12 points DNA compatibility. The transplant process could take about three to six months total and is scheduled to start in May.

"He will go to (Seattle Cancer Care Alliance) and have a week of testing," Hanson said. "They test his body to make sure it can handle the process. Then they have to 'condition' him. There are two ways this can be done - another chemo treatment similar to his first round or radiation. The idea is to kill off his immune system. Then at week two of the conditioning, he will receive the transplant."

The doctors want the donor cells to kill off any of the cancer cells, and become his new immune system, Hanson explained. The family will stay in Seattle within 30 minutes of the hospital for the initial month, so doctors can monitor Derek's recovery.

"Since his immune system is struggling, they don't get to go out at the beginning. There is lots of waiting, watching and more waiting," Hanson stated. "Once they are at month three, they see if the new immune system has grafted well and the side effects or graft host symptoms are manageable, they work to send Derek home."

Castro and Hanson wanted Derek and Brenda to focus on Derek's recover, Hanson said, so they planned a fundraiser for Tuesday night to help them. The spaghetti feed and auction starts at 6 p.m. at the Moses Lake Event Center, located at 1475 Nelson Rd. N.E. They will be requesting donations at the door.

"The firemen from his shift are helping to serve it. We're hoping to raise enough to help them get through the transplant," Hanson said. "They're going to be in Seattle for three to six months ... We want to raise enough money so they don't have to worry about losing their house."

They also will be auctioning about 12 to 15 items to help raise money.

Along with the feed, they are planning a blood drive and marrow donor registry at Lake City Foursquare Church on Saturday between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The church is located at 333 Central Dr. in Moses Lake. People need to bring photo identification, and 16- or 17-year-old participants need a signed parent-permission form, Hanson stated.

They want to schedule as many appointments as possible, but they can accept some walk-ins, Hanson stated. To schedule an appointment, contact Hanson at sandy@lakecityfoursquare.org.

"The bone marrow registry will be an information table at the drive. People can stop by it after they donate blood or can just go to it, if they don't donate blood," she stated. "They can explain what it means to be on the National Bone Marrow Registry. They also explain what it means when you are a match. If a person wants to join the registry, they will fill out some paper work with help. They also will have their cheeks swabbed. This is the first part of the marrow match. The information gets put into the national database."

While marrow donors used to need to go through surgery to harvest the marrow, the process is simpler now, Hanson explained.

"Typically, they can do a type of a blood draw now," she stated. "The donor match is contacted and tested further and then gets evaluated by a doctor. Five days before the donate, they receive a drug that will boost their body to produce the cells desired. Then on the day of, they get hooked up to machine that draws blood out of one arm, separates what it needs out, then puts the blood back into the other arm. The process takes about four hours."