As a young pilot flying missions in
Vietnam, Michael Delia never dreamed his military service would lead to a
struggle to survive five decades later and provide an emotional story
of hope and inspiration for untold generations to come.
Delia, 73, lives in Kennebunk with his
wife of 50 years after a 27-year career in the U.S. Air Force and
another 25 years as a defense industry executive and consultant. A
father of three and a grandfather of eight, he has always been
health-conscious, active as an athlete and a coach, as well as an avid
skier.
But Delia’s world was turned upside down
in late 2013 when he was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma stemming
from what is thought to be exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. It was a
pivotal moment in his life and led to a monumental struggle to overcome
a deadly cancer.
While attending a class in Saco, Delia
discovered a lump on his inner thigh and at first thought it was a
swollen cyst. A biopsy indicated that the retired colonel, a decorated
command and combat pilot, was suffering from Stage 3 lymphoma and he
then endured two rounds of chemotherapy, but the cancer kept coming
back.
“It spread to both sides of my body and
into my lymph nodes and a lung,” Delia said. “I thought of my mother who
we lost to cancer 25 years ago.”
Oncologist Dr. Helen Ryan at New England
Cancer Specialists in Scarborough learned of a clinical trial program
for a new treatment that was going to be conducted at Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute/Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and shared that news
with Delia.
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