CLEVELAND — It started with a seizure.
That’s when 34-year-old Peter Mang discovered he had cancer.
“Whatever they told us, I didn’t comprehend it,” Mang said. “It took a while to actually realize what this was. Because I had never heard the word glioblastoma in my life.”
Mang had a brain tumor.
He says surgery helped remove 99% of it – and chemotherapy and radiation helped remove the rest.
But he knew there was a chance it would return.
“It was about another year and a half that it was shown there was reoccurrence at a different location in my brain.”
The second time around, chemo didn’t work. And surgery wasn’t an option.
“That’s when my doctor said, do you want to look at trials?”
The trials were being done by the Cleveland Clinic and were experimental cancer treatments using immunotherapy.
Dr. David Peereboom from the Cleveland Clinic says Mang went on a trial for an experimental drug called VT 1021.
And, it worked.
“His tumor has actually shrunk to where we cannot see it at the moment.”
Mang has now been on his trial for three years and continues the treatment to this day.
“We are indebted to people like Peter,” said Dr. Peereboom. “And all the other patients who place their trust in the research process and agree to go on a clinical trial.”
His experience with cancer and the trial led Mang to start his own non-profit, to help others who went through what his family went through.
“A lot of people don’t talk about finances for cancer,” Mang said. “It’s one of those things that’s just kind of a secret.”
The goal of his non-profit, Go With the Good, aims to help other brain tumor patients who are struggling financially.
“Whether it’s even just a bill that they can’t pay or if they need some more food,” Mang said “That’s kind of where we started with this.”
He says the name of the non-profit comes from realizing that the little things are actually what’s most important.
“It’s the time that you have with family, with friends. So, our focus is always just to go with the good”
Even with all of the challenges he faces, Mang continues to do just that.
“We've just been very encouraged to see how he's done,” said Dr. Peereboom. “And more importantly, to see how he's come through all of this and continues to fight with the smile on his face.”
If you would like to support Mang’s foundation, you can go here to make a donation, volunteer, or share your cancer story.
