Red Vines and Remission: A Celilo Cancer Patient’s Journey

Ken Bostick has a clear mission when he shows up at Celilo Cancer Center with a tub of Red Vines in hand for the staff. “Those are the people who are taking care of me, so I do my best to take care of them,” he says with a laugh. And he knows what makes them smile.

That’s because he’s spent a lot of time with the Celilo team over the last year, since he realized in April 2024 he wasn’t feeling like himself. “I was having trouble eating and felt kind of ‘hung up’ in my chest,” he remembers. “I had low energy and just generally wasn’t feeling well.”

Ken made an appointment with his primary care provider, Bryce Youngquist, PA, at Water’s Edge Medical Clinic Internal Medicine. Bryce took Ken’s concerns seriously and ordered blood work and medical imaging of his chest and abdomen.

Before long, the results were in. Although his lungs were actually clear, Ken had a form of lung cancer in his chest that was causing his symptoms.

An unfamiliar journey

“No one wants to hear they have a cancer diagnosis,” Ken points out. He and his wife, Judy, were left wondering, “What do we do now?”

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wonder long, nor were they alone as they set out on an unfamiliar journey of treatment. The Celilo Cancer Center team was well-prepared to serve as guides.

Katie, the nurse navigator, quickly had Ken set up with treatment appointments and important information, all organized in a folder Ken could keep with him. The team made sure Ken and Judy understood what to expect, and they helped with their tears too. They even juggled the schedule to get him started a week sooner since he was feeling so poorly.

Pretty soon, Ken was busy with chemotherapy and radiation at Celilo, with periods of time back at his home in Goldendale, Washington. Judy drove him to every appointment. The staff checked if Ken and Judy had somewhere to stay in The Dalles or if they wanted to use the Celilo House, a nearby residence for patients living out of town who are in treatment at Celilo Cancer Center.

All this time, the team was looking out for Judy too. As they made sure Ken had coupons to get acupuncture and massage, they checked if Judy could use some too.

During his chemotherapy sessions, Ken got to know the Celilo pharmacist, Eric, who explained the custom “cocktail” he crafted for Ken’s unique treatment plan. The staff jumped in to take care of Ken’s needs as they came up, even when that meant meeting him on the weekends or squeezing him into a full schedule.

“The nurses were all outstanding,” Judy says. “They would get him in even if he didn’t have an appointment.”

The staff who became family

When an MRI revealed Ken’s cancer had spread to his brain, he needed to add radiation sessions. His team continued to support him. “They were encouraging me and letting me know what was to come,” he says.

When a complication sent him to the hospital for a few days, the Celilo staff even came to visit him. Ken’s “sobriety family” from Alcoholics Anonymous who have supported his more-than-26 years of sober living proved dedicated supporters during this time too.

With radiation treatment completed, Ken has moved on to immunotherapy, the idea of which terrified him. But now he says it’s’ a win-win: the treatment is going well, and he gets to see the “staff who became our family,” he explains.

Ken is also working on keeping his body healthy by walking and doing calisthenics, even while extreme fatigue continues. He is officially in remission, when he originally expected partial remission at best. He credits his Celilo team and the prayers of his friends and loved ones for making this happen.

Judy appreciates how much the Celilo staff did for her too. “Even if there was an option closer, it wouldn’t be my first choice,” she says. “Celilo would.”

Ken agrees. “I am so filled with gratitude for what those people did for me, so I could enjoy my son for another Christmas and have more time with my daughter and her family,” he says. “You can’t put a value on what they did for me. They are irreplaceable.”