Face of Defense: Marine Beats Cancer, Gains New Outlook

By Marine Corps Cpl. Katherine M. Solano
2nd Marine Logistics Group

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – At age 18, many men are thinking about their first year of college, their high-school sweetheart, their favorite sports team or even their impending adulthood and the responsibilities that come with it. For many, the furthest thing from their mind is a cancer diagnosis. For Marine Corps Cpl. Daniel Botero, it was a reality.

The Colombia, South America, native said he decided that at 18, he was going to give back to the country that has given him hope and opportunities in life by enlisting in the U.S. military. With a four-year commitment on his shoulders, Botero already had done more than most of his peers.

But just as he was about to begin training to become a combat engineer, Botero was faced with a prospect that some adults cannot even fathom. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in February 2009.

On top of that, doctors told him the cancer had spread to his liver, lungs and brain. As a new Marine and a new adult, Botero added new cancer patient to his life’s résumé, while putting his Marine Corps career on hold. He began an aggressive course of chemotherapy that left him weak, without hair and unable to do simple tasks without tremendous effort.

After his first surgery, neither Botero nor his doctors were sure if he would make it through a necessary second surgery. “I was so weak from the chemo, we didn’t even know if I would survive the anesthesia,” he said. “I told them I needed a month to just rest, eat and try to gain some strength. My odds were still bad going into the second surgery.”

In July 2009, doctors successfully completed his second surgery. Fourteen months later, his doctors told him his cancer was in remission.

Botero finally could begin his life as a Marine, a life that only a year earlier held no guarantees. In less than two years, he had become a Marine, been diagnosed with cancer, and had faced the very real possibility of dying before his 21st birthday. Now, he was a cancer survivor.

He jumped back into his Marine Corps training with zeal. With most of his family still living in South America, he said, the Marine Corps had become his family.

“The Marine Corps was all I knew, so I just wanted to get back into it,” Botero said. “I begged them to give me something to do while I was in treatment.”

That’s how he became involved with the Wounded Warriors Battalion at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. While working with the wounded warriors, Botero said, he developed an even more positive outlook while surrounded by those he came to consider as family.

The common bond that the Marines formed by enduring various injuries, diseases and treatments is one he will cherish forever, Botero said.

“The whole thing was a good experience, because I appreciate every little thing now,” he added. “Instead of always being mad, we learned to be thankful. Everything is glorious.”

When he left the Wounded Warriors Battalion and began his work as a combat engineer, Botero took what he learned with him on his deployment to Afghanistan with the 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Combat Logistics Battalion 1 Embedded Partnering Team. The positive attitude he had before his cancer diagnosis has only expanded since then, he noted.

“I’m a joker -- always smiling,” he said. “That is what held me up through all of this.”

Botero said his outlook on life has improved, but that the biggest change came in his outlook on the Marine Corps. “It made me realize the Marine Corps is a path, not just a job,” he explained.

His appreciation for the Marine Corps and life itself is evident as he discusses the harder days of treatment.

“Going through this changed my outlook on everything,” Botero said. “I realize you have to enjoy every minute. A lot of people think of their future, but I believe in living your future as you’re building it.”

Face of Defense: Weightlifter Excels in Iraq

By Army Sgt. Paul Evans

310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, Sept. 6, 2011 – Kentucky Army National Guard Sgt. Corey Blankenship often spends his time here occupied with very weighty issues.

Blankenship, who hails from Corbin, Ky., is a weightlifter who motivates himself and others to stay in shape through his one-hour, twice-daily workouts.

“You’ve got to make it part of life where you stick to it … but you get lazy sometimes. I’ve always got someone to work out with me for motivation,” said Blankenship, who’s assigned to 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

Blankenship is a human resources specialist, and he’s known to lead by example both at his military workplace and in the gym.

“I like to consider Sgt. Blankenship as the backbone of the section. He brings the knowledge and leadership to the section when I can’t and keeps them active in their duties. He’d be tough to replace,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Terry Roark, Blankenship’s supervisor.

Altogether, Blankenship has some pretty good statistics to show for his exercise regime: he can bench press 455 pounds, bicep-curl a 225-pound-bar and squat about 500 pounds, just to highlight a few of his impressive feats. He also follows a strict, low-carbohydrate diet.

Besides spending two hours in the gym daily, Blankenship tries to include about 30 minutes of cardio work twice a week, either running or bike riding. He said consistency “is about the only way” for people to stay fit in top physical condition.

Blankenship, who’s married with a daughter, joined the Army in November 2006, he said, because he was bored with civilian jobs.

“I had a lot of friends in the Guard pulling me towards joining,” he said, “and the idea of getting college benefits was cool.”

Blankenship has held three jobs during his military service, to include infantryman, diesel generator mechanic and human resources specialist. He also attended schools for air assault and rappelling. This is his first deployment.

Stateside, Blankenship works full-time as the human resources NCO at Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 149th Infantry Regiment, in Barbourville, Ky. Blankenship also attends Columbia Southern University, where he’s working to earn a bachelor’s degree in human resources management.

Serving in the Army offers many rewards, Blankenship said.

“Aside from friends and camaraderie,” he said, “there’s always something new… whether it’s getting to travel, go overseas or attend interesting schools, the opportunity is always there to do something big.”

Face of Defense: Soldier Clears Hurdle for Marrow Donation

By Army Spc. Kimberly K. Menzie

Task Force Currahee

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Feb. 23, 2011 – An aviation operations noncommissioned officer assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Brigade Combat Team, may have the opportunity to make a sacrifice that could be someone’s one shot at hope.

Army Sgt. Tyrone J. Harvey has been notified that he is a preliminary match to donate bone marrow.

“When I found out I was a preliminary match, I had a mixed rush of emotions: happiness, excitement and fear,” said Harvey, a St. Louis native. “Initially, when I checked the block, I thought to myself, ‘Maybe someday I will be helping someone.’”

He said Red Cross representatives told him very few people are selected as donors. “They tell you going in that less than 10 percent of people who volunteer qualify as preliminary matches, then only one of 10 preliminary matches actually get to donate.”

For Harvey, the road to becoming a potential bone marrow donor began at Fort Rucker, Ala., when he helped as president of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program to organize a Red Cross blood drive. “While I was donating blood,” he said, “I was asked to donate an extra vial of blood and to register as a bone marrow donor.”

Before signing any paperwork, he said, he was briefed on what the donor process entailed.

“They explained to me all about how they would test my blood for certain properties, and if it was a match and they need you, then they would contact you,” he said.

Six years later, officials with the Defense Department’s bone marrow program contacted Harvey to see if he would be willing to complete the remaining tests to determine if he is a conclusive match.

Harvey is unable to complete the remaining tests while he is deployed, but he said he is dedicated to following through completely when he returns home.

The science behind finding a match helps explain why matches are hard to find.

Army Maj. (Dr.) Burton T. Newman, the brigade’s surgeon and a native of Tallahassee, Fla., explained that DNA has specific markers called human leukocyte antigens, or HLA. When these DNA markers are closely matched, Newman said, the likelihood is greater that the donor cells will reproduce in the transplant recipient’s body.

“Because half of our DNA comes from our mothers and then the other half from our fathers, the best chance of finding a match is from immediate family,” Newman said.

Information from the National Cord Blood Program notes differences in the frequency of certain HLA types among ethnic groups. Therefore, patients are more likely to find a good match among donors from their own ethnic group.

African-American patients who need bone marrow transplantation have an especially hard time finding an unrelated bone marrow. The greater variation in HLA types is higher among people with African ancestry than in any other group, and some people who have both African and European or other ancestry may have novel combinations of HLA types that are not found in either parental population.

Harvey’s parents are of African-American and Caucasian descent.

“If I have a chance to offer someone the opportunity for them to continue their life, I don’t really feel like there is a choice,” he said. “It is such a small price for happiness. I know what it is like to lose someone close. … If this is someone’s one shot at hope, why not do it? I like to think that if the situation were reversed, someone would do the same for me.”

Health Study Uses Data from Global War on Terrorism

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

May 29, 2007 – When a landmark Defense Department-sponsored health study was launched six years ago, one of its goals was to evaluate the impact of future deployments on long-term health. The investigators did not know how timely the project would be. Today, the Millennium Cohort Study has enrolled tens of thousands of participants who have deployed in support of the global war on terrorism, said Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Margaret Ryan, the study's principal investigator and director of the Defense Department Center for Deployment Health Research, part of the Naval Health Research Center, in San Diego.

The study was designed in the late 1990s "in the wake of the first Gulf War to answer some of the most difficult questions that couldn't really be answered retrospectively after that conflict," Ryan said.

The joint-service study was established to evaluate the health risks of military deployments, occupational exposures, and general military service, Ryan explained, noting that about 108,000 servicemembers have signed up to take part since program enrollment began in July 2001.

Participants' health is evaluated over a 21-year period, Ryan said, noting the size of the cohort -- the group participating in the study - likely will total more than 147,000 people.

"About 40 percent of our cohort has deployed to one of the more recent operations, either in Iraq or Afghanistan or surrounding regions, in support of the global war on terrorism," Ryan said.

Involvement in the study is voluntary, and participants are selected randomly, Ryan said. All information is secure and safeguarded, she added.

Participants report their health status every three years and can fill out either paper or online surveys, Ryan said.

"We do strongly encourage people to use the online option," Ryan said. "It's a very secure way to transmit information."

Dr. Tyler C. Smith will replace Ryan as the study's principal investigator later this year, as the Navy physician is slated to take a new duty assignment at Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The study is providing valuable data that will help military epidemiologists understand possible cause-and-effect relationships between combat-zone deployments and problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Smith said

"We have the ability to look at a large group of individuals who were deployed and not deployed," Smith said. "And we can see what factors predict new-onset PTSD, and how PTSD evolves over time. That's what we've been focusing on."

Evaluating the incidence of PTSD among servicemembers wasn't possible until recently, "simply because we didn't have a cohort in place like this that's large and population-based," Smith explained.

"So we're learning things that we really haven't been able to investigate in the past," he said.

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