John Fulton

It was spring 2021 when John Fulton first noticed something was not quite right. An avid outdoorsman, he was gravel biking in the mountains for one of his first rides of the year when he realized it felt a lot more challenging than it had been the previous year. Nevertheless, he pushed through. Just a short time later, as he and his wife of 37 years, Judy, hiked in Vail, he felt the same difficulty. “We felt like the altitude was affecting him a bit more, but this was during the pandemic, and we’d recently gotten our vaccines — everyone was having some side effects and residual issues,” explains Judy, who works as a Clinical Dietitian. At almost 60, John had plenty of excuses for feeling run down, but by mid-May, after helping his son move from Ohio to Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, he decided it was time to see a doctor. “I’d just finished a two-day trip of driving a 26-foot trailer and moving furniture, but I went in for blood work on a Friday,” John tells us. On the following Sunday, which happened to be his 60^th birthday, John received a life-changing phone call. “My nurse practitioner and our first Superhero gave me a call on a Sunday, no less, and said — you really need to get to the hospital. Your blood work is very abnormal,” John recalls. Judy adds, “It’s one of those calls — it stops you in your tracks. I’m in healthcare — I knew this was not a good thing to get this call on a Sunday.”

‘A God thing’ sets the stage for just the right treatment

The couple went from their Highlands Ranch home directly to the emergency room, where more tests were run to find the most accurate diagnosis. It was there they met Chris Benton, MD, our second Superhero and board-certified hematologist/oncologist. Dr. Benton gave them the news they had been dreading: John’s tests revealed he had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). While the condition can affect anyone at any age — it mostly affects children younger than 15 and is the most common cancer that affects children. While a rare cancer to begin with, it’s even more rare for it to affect an adult, but Dr. Benton happens to have undergone advanced training at a national cancer center in the condition, allowing him to have unique expertise in adult ALL. “We felt so comfortable with Dr. Benton,” Judy shares. “We're religious people — and it felt like a God thing that he was put into our life, that he was rounding at that time and had an incredible background with adult ALL.”

Step 1: Inpatient treatment begins

John was soon admitted to Swedish Medical Center, which has a newly expanded blood cancer unit as part of its Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at Swedish Medical Center. “At that time, it was during the pandemic so he could only have one visitor at a time. At first, I felt like I had to be there 24/7,” Judy recalls. “But the team there is so helpful — they are the third set of Superheroes we encountered. They were straight with me that it would be a long road and that I should take time away. I was calling them in the middle of the night to check in and they were so kind. They were taking care of me as much as they were taking care of him.”

John began an intensive therapy of chemotherapy with very precise treatment protocols. Side effects were difficult – most notably, he faced pancreatitis. Even still, John and Judy both continued to work as much as possible. A Research Hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, John was able to join in remote calls and work flexible hours (sometimes in the middle of the night) from the hospital. Both report that work was a good distraction for them. John was hospitalized for most of the summer and into the fall of 2021. Then, he transitioned out of the hospital and onto an immunotherapy regimen that required a PICC line and what he referred to as a ‘man purse,’ which contained a pump and the immunotherapy drug, worn 24/7 for 28 days, and included a; a course he planned to undergo for five rounds. At the conclusion of the immunotherapy same time, he started a 24-cycle maintenance chemotherapy with monthly infusions for 24 visits.

Step 2: Continuing to modify

“Team Benton is amazing and is our fourth set of Superheroes. They modify their ‘secret sauce’ based on current research so things change,” John explains. “In November 2022, Dr. Benton’s nurse practitioner, Sarah, called me and said we received a new research outcome, you no longer have to be on the immunotherapy drug during the 24-cycle maintenance chemotherapy,” John explains. “So, I could come off that. Fortunately for me, the impact of my maintenance chemotherapy is not extreme. I’m still able to bike ride and avoid some of the chemotherapy side effects.” He also receives periodic intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) in February 2023, a blood product that supports the immune system — allowing him to feel more freedom to do the things he wants to do. “Not only does it help his health, but it helps his mental health and quality of life. We get to see the grandkids, he was able to ski again, he can be active,” Judy shares.

Step 3: Back to loving life

While John will continue to be treated by the blood cancer program for the foreseeable future, he’s back to enjoying life again. The family was finally able to celebrate John’s 60^th birthday this past June with his number one request — a pinata and the opportunity to visit with our two boys and grandkids. “This is a really awful diagnosis and getting it is really a helpless feeling,” John explains. “I am convinced that without Judy as an advocate, without this incredible medical team, without our church and our family, I would not have survived,” John concludes. “It’s just a really great kickball team!”

Learn more about blood cancer treatment at Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at Swedish Medical Center.