Resilient brain cancer patient meets resilient medical team: They keep on keeping on

Ken Gipfert was “not a doc person”. Nothing personal, just didn’t have insurance. When he had heart attack symptoms, he chewed on aspirin for a couple days – not a good idea. Then he saw a doc and got a stent. And when he was diagnosed with brain cancer, he got something bigger – a slew of doctors at Henry Ford and innovative treatment that people would die for – or without.

Picture this guy in his early 50s: Hiking, biking, hunting, fishing, and doing what he loves most – helping people. He’s big on compassion. He wants a family and a house with a white picket fence. He’s a carpenter who falls two stories at a construction site, breaks his back in three places and recovers. In 2019, he’s at work and happens to glance at the time. It’s 11:00. The last moment of a typical day. He seizes.

An ambulance takes him to Henry Ford in Jackson. “No insurance,” he says. The nurse says, “Worry about that later.”

CT and PET scans are done. Cancer is found. He hears the word “lucky”. The stage 4 cancer has only metastasized from his lung to his brain.

Scared of dying, he drifts to an unknown mental place and steps through an opening into the galaxy. He wakes up and the fear and anxiety are gone.

“Somehow I knew God’s got this,” he recalls.

He’s ready for treatment.

Organized care

Doctors in Jackson are coordinating his case. The brain tumor and one-third of his upper lung are removed. He receives high-intensity radiation treatments.

But the brain tumor recurs. In Detroit, neurosurgeon Ian Y. Lee, M.D. performs a biopsy, then inserts a laser fiber into the center of the remaining tumor mass, and heat kills the tumor.

Within a few months, the brain tumor is active again. Says Dr. Lee, “Unfortunately, that’s the problem with these types of tumors.”

The tumor is pressing on a part of his brain that controls the function of his left arm, and Ken loses more functioning of his left hand. To preserve strength and dexterity, Dr. Lee performs an awake procedure to monitor his arm function while a resection is done. Although the brain has cells that transmit information, it does not have pain receptors, so he is comfortable during the procedure.

In March 2023, the tumor recurs – for the fourth time.

Expert team with advanced technologies

“We used every bit of advanced technology that we have available over the course of the four operations that we’ve performed. Based on the prior behavior of the tumor, it was going to quickly recur again,” says Dr. Lee.

Efforts to control the tumor also involved giving Ken several treatments of highly precise stereotactic radiosurgery. The treatment does not involve an incision. Instead, several multidirectional and precise x-ray beams are focused through the skin and onto the tumor.

But now, something different had to be done. The multidisciplinary team and tumor board conferred. Along with M. Salim Siddiqui, M.D., Ph.D., a specialist in radiation oncology, Dr. Lee and the team performed motor mapping and electrically stimulated Ken’s brain. The purpose was to identify and protect important brain areas during the surgery. Then Dr. Lee removed the tumor.

During this surgery, Dr. Siddiqui placed six GammaTiles into the resection cavity. A GammaTile is a type of collagen sponge with four tiny, radioactive cesium seeds encased in titanium. The radiation is delivered in the exact location where it needs to go with very little dose to the surrounding tissues, minimizing radiation damage. After a few months, the small, sponge-like tiles dissolve and they are absorbed.

Extraordinary stability

“It’s been a year since that surgery, and Ken has remained stable without any signs of disease recurrence in the brain. I think it is remarkable considering how fast he recurred previously,” says Dr. Lee.

Implanting GammaTiles was like a last-ditch attempt to try to do something to help Ken, says Dr. Lee. “Now it seems like he could get a durable response from the treatment. At this point, he’s in a pretty stable place, and the response he has had is actually quite remarkable.”

“The reason we’re able to do these types of procedures with GammaTiles is because of the multidisciplinary way we approach patient care. It’s not done in isolation,” says Dr. Lee. “We combine the most advanced technologies with our team approach to come up with the best combination of treatments for a patient.”

Five years after his initial diagnosis and having had several recurrences, surgeries and radiation treatments, Ken is considered a unique patient.

“In other patients, another recurrence would represent an incurable situation. But in Ken’s case, he received this advanced radiation technique and superb surgery,” says neuro-oncologist Lisa Rogers, D.O., co-director of the Brain Metastasis Program at Henry Ford Health Center.

Close to home: Jackson or Detroit

Every aspect of Ken’s care has demonstrated our commitment to keep therapies close to home and make it easy to go through treatment in Jackson or Detroit when needed, says Dr. Siddiqui. “We embrace every possible innovation as an option and a necessity, pushing the boundaries of what is possible for cancer care.”

Part of Ken’s care involved receiving pembrolizumab immunotherapy treatment in Jackson. His case shows the crucial partnership between Henry Ford in Detroit and in Jackson, says medical oncologist Eric Granowicz, M.D.. “We have the full spectrum of specialties available. Complex cases can be seen in Detroit, but the everyday treatment and care can be close to home in Jackson.”

“Ken’s case exemplifies the need for multispecialty care, including neurosurgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology and often neuro-oncology,” says Dr. Rogers. “His case also represents the benefits that can be obtained by searching for the latest innovations in cancer care and treatment for recurrent brain metastasis.”

Ken is a very diligent patient, says Dr. Siddiqui. “He maintained his spirits despite his long journey.” For Ken, that journey included side effects from the treatment.

Somewhere in the blur of treatment and recovery and while waiting to receive full disability benefits, he sold his house and all his possessions. Then he moved into a small upstairs room in his brother’s home in Belleville.

“I live like a college student now with a bed, a chair and some totes,” says Ken, who often uses a cane. A couple weeks after the latest tumor resection and the GammaTiles were inserted, Ken began having trouble walking. An MRI showed that he had experienced a small stroke.

It’s common that when you do a resection, the surrounding brain area will show signs of a stroke because blood vessels that go to the tumor will also go to the adjacent areas, says Dr. Lee.

It could be worse

A cynic might ask if Ken thought the treatments were a success, considering his prior active lifestyle and current limited lifestyle.

“Wrong attitude!” laughs Ken.

“You have to play the cards you’re dealt. Yeah, I can’t go hunting and fishing, but at least I’m still able to walk, talk and eat. After surgery, I saw patients who couldn’t talk or bathe themselves. This could be worse,” Ken says, frequently using a stoic expression he learned from his mom.

“I have to keep going. I can’t crawl into a corner. And I can’t take the easy way out,” he says, referring to the night he sat next to a gun and a bottle of whiskey.

“Everyone’s going through something. It’s all about attitude and how you deal with it. This illness has increased my faith in God. I’m praying, and I think I’m going to get recovery,” says Ken. “I am thankful for what I can do.”

Although he misses going to work, Ken keeps to his old work schedule. Up at 5:35, he drives to the gas station for coffee.

“That’s it,” he says.

Then he listens to music and faith messages on the radio. He skips the politics. And he stays in touch with his stepson.

Gifted and gifting doctors

“These doctors are pretty much the best doctors you could ask for. They’re the gift that God gave to help me. And their gifts have helped me tremendously. I wouldn’t be here without them. They’ve been very compassionate,” says Ken, a former pack-a-day smoker. “I used to think I was immortal, not anymore.”

His goals are simple – he doesn’t want cancer to return. And he wants more physical therapy so he can at least walk through Walmart. Recently, he began receiving support services from Henry Ford’s ExCITE program – Exercise and Cancer Integrative Therapy Education.

Before cancer, Ken’s gift was to physically help others. Now he’s helping people in a different way – encouraging them to avoid feeling hopeless.

He says, “Don’t let the small stuff steal your joy. And if you have faith, practice it daily. Do whatever you can do to keep going.”

“Yesterday, I was carrying 5-gallon buckets of mulch to help my buddy working on his property. I’ll keep carrying my cane, and eventually I won’t have to use it.”

What’s his timeline for getting rid of the cane?

“Yesterday!” he laughs. “I’ve got high expectations!”