“My wife, Cindy, and I were certainly discouraged by the prognosis, but we both felt strongly that we had experienced wonderful, full lives and we were going to make our final days positive,” said the Portland, Oregon, resident.
Then came a positive turn. Three months after his chemotherapy treatment failed, a new drug called venetoclax (Venclexta) came out that offered hope. It is a pill, taken in conjunction with chemotherapy infusions. The drug combination worked for him — and five years later, Trelstad is feeling great.
“They call me the long-timer,” he said “I was one of the first patients to try this new medication.”
During the intervening five years, however, regular check-ups for the nevus had fallen off his radar.
When he went to see his ophthalmologist for another reason, she asked him how long it had been since he’d had it looked at. Trelstad was promptly referred to Oregon Health & Science University for a follow-up evaluation, which unfortunately revealed that the nevus had turned into a choroidal melanoma, a form of cancer that affects the middle layer of the eye.
“Maybe because I’m a retired cardiologist and understand ‘medicalese,’ or maybe because I’ve become more philosophical with the leukemia diagnosis, but the melanoma diagnosis didn’t bother me that much,” said Trelstad. “My doctor recommended proton therapy and said it had a 90-95% success rate. I had confidence in her. It made sense not to worry and to try protons.”
Trelstad met with Jonathan Chen, MD, PhD, at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center – Proton Therapy a month later. They talked about what to expect and potential outcomes.
"As a retired physician, it is not hard for me to assess another physician's confidence, comfort and compassion,” said Trelstad. “Dr. Chen easily passed my evaluation on the first visit.”
He completed five sessions of proton therapy for his choroidal melanoma and has had a very good outcome. He reports having dry eye for which he uses eye drops.
“But my vision is excellent,” he said. “The entire proton therapy process was less challenging than I expected. I had a mask made, and tantalum clips added to my eyes, but the hardest part was staring at a little spot for 10 minutes. I felt the care team knew what they were doing, and I’m tuned into that, being a doctor myself. I had great confidence in the entire team.”
During his five days in Seattle for treatment, Trelstad stayed with his niece and explored the city. Now he is back in Oregon doing what he loves, restoring mechanical parts of old cars.
Trelstad said he’s known as the “Sucker on Alameda” for the free work he does on classic cars for others. He’s also helping his nephews restore a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL convertible — the same car he restored for himself and drives during the summers.
