In a race towards recovery Published Dec. 1, 2006 By Valerie Mullett 341st Space Wing Public Affairs MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- In a year when the 341st Missile Maintenance Squadron experienced a huge level of success earning numerous Air Force Space Command-level awards and defeating their competition in Guardian Challenge, it also suffered a devastating blow when one of their own was diagnosed with cancer. Senior Airman Stephen Boyd, a member of the 44-person periodic maintenance team "PAPA04" found out about his condition in July after seeking medical attention for a foot injury. After an MRI performed in Great Falls uncovered something more, a subsequent MRI at Harborview Hospital in Seattle was ordered. It would reveal the 23-year-old Airman had high grade glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive level IV cancer. It had reared its ugly head in the form of an inoperable tumor on his brain stem. "When I found out about his diagnosis, it made me reflect on what's really important - and that is life. Everything else that we do is secondary," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Fason, 341st MMXS commander. But forced to deal with the reality of the diagnosis, the squadron, the Air Force and Airman Boyd's family all came together to do what they could for support. Meet Stephen Boyd Along with his three brothers and two sisters, Stephen Boyd grew up in the very small town in northeastern New York on the outskirts of Jamestown. Mayville has a population of nearly 1,800 according to the 2000 census - a tight-knit community whose support has been "overwhelming" according to Cindy Boyd, Stephen's mom, since her son has returned home. Growing up, his mother recalls him being a "chatty youngster" who always had a sunny disposition and was easy to get along with." He carried those characteristics through his teens and also developed strong traits of honesty, loyalty and work ethics that would make him a success when he embarked on his Air Force career. Home-schooled along with his siblings, his father served in the U.S. Navy for nearly 12 years. One of his assignments took them to an Air Force base overseas. "We like to joke that we've brainwashed our kids to join the Air Force," said David Boyd, Stephen's father. "We have sent three of them so far." He joined the Air Force in May 2003, because "I really needed a job that would pay a little more than minimum wage," Stephen said. "Also, my dad pushed me in that direction." After completing basic training, he attended his technical school at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., and then further trained at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., before being assigned to Malmstrom two-and a-half years ago. "Stephen's work ethic was very strong and contagious," said Tech. Sgt. Jason Raether, PMT supervisor, of his former team member. "He loved his job and he loved being in the Air Force. But the one thing that sticks out in my mind particularly is he was always smiling and happy, no matter what was going on. He would smile or laugh and he would make you do the same." "He is the kind of person everyone wanted on their team," Colonel Fason said. The sequence of events The Air Force had brought Stephen's mother here to be with him for the testing in Seattle. She already had an inclination something serious could be wrong. "A few days before Stephen's appointment with the foot doctor, he told me he had been dizzy and had difficulty with a shaky right side," said Cindy Boyd, Stephen's mom. "That was my first clue that there could be something neurologically wrong." Stephen sensed it as well. "I knew something was wrong, but like a typical guy, I just ignored it hoping it would go away," he said. His mother was "thrilled and relieved" that she would be able to be in Seattle when her second oldest of six children went through the diagnostic process. But things didn't exactly go as smoothly as they could have. "I was sitting up beside his bed when the doctor told me over the phone," Mrs. Boyd said. "Nobody wants to hear that their child will not survive. I was devastated but hid it from him until the next morning when the doctor came to see him." Stephen coped in his own way, waiting for the test results, not knowing his mom already had been told. "I pretty much zoned out all the time - on my laptop," he said. "I guess it was the greatest thing for me to have my notebook along." Unfortunately, Mrs. Boyd did not make it to the hospital before the doctor saw Stephen the next day. The bus she relied on for transportation broke down. "I came in an hour or two later and he had talked on the phone with several people already," Mrs. Boyd said. "Once I got there, we went into overdrive taking care of phone calls and details. I believe we both rejected the dire prognosis at first and went about the business of seeking help." Less than a week after being diagnosed, Stephen returned to N.Y. to begin intense chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Stephen's treatment journey One of the 341st MMXS' mottos is "bearing down and getting it done," something Airman Boyd was about to be tested on in the real world. "For the first two weeks, I just sat around waiting for them to start," Stephen said. "Six weeks of treatment later, I was very thankful for them to stop." He received radiation treatments every weekday and the chemotherapy was in pill form specific for the brain which he took every day, according to his mother. They traveled nearly 50 miles to a Regional Cancer Center each day for his care. When Stephen got sick during the summer, Mrs. Boyd contacted her two other children currently on active duty with the Air Force and "told them to get their ducks in a row as they were probably going to be coming home," she said. They did, in fact, make a trip home for a month and according to Mrs. Boyd, it was a wonderful thing for Stephen to have their support. "There was a lot of laughter and love there," she said, which he needed to help him endure some of the side effects. The radiation made Stephen tired and caused him to loose his train of thought easily, according to his mother. Sometimes he would get grouchy and irritable, but in a fashion true to his character, this too, got turned into a joke. "Humor has been very helpful," his mother admitted. Another side effect was a persistent dry mouth making it hard for him to talk. But not impossible. He relied on his laptop and his computer savvy to create what he calls "My Brains." "My Brains is simply a text file that helped me out with short term memory loss when I had treatments and anything I may forget now," Stephen explained. "I still have a shaky right hand, so I can't write anything down. This helps me communicate easier." Besides the shaky right hand and a weak right leg, Stephen said "he's fine." What lies ahead The survival rate for people diagnosed with the type of cancer Stephen has is not tremendously high. But Stephen, his family and his doctors are optimistic. A benefit was held in his honor Oct. 8, raising more than $6,000 to help offset medical costs but perhaps the most significant part of that event was the appearance of a stranger. "A woman saw the article about Stephen in the local paper and came just to meet him," Mrs. Boyd said. "She is an 11-year brainstem cancer survivor! Meeting somebody like that was so very encouraging." Also encouraging were the results of his latest MRI. According to an e-mail update sent Nov. 20 from Mrs. Boyd, "It appears the chemo. and radiation have affected the tumor. It has changed appearance suggesting a dying center. There is a new, second, very small tumor close to the first one that was not in the radiation path. We have an appointment with a 5- to 6-member medical team that will review the before and after treatment images and consider a Gamma knife procedure." In the meantime, Stephen wants to hear from everyone here. "I enjoy getting cards, letters and e-mails. It helps me keep in touch with what's going on 'back home' (referring to Malmstrom)," Stephen said. "I plan to beat this thing and move back to Great Falls." "He has a wonderful, positive attitude," Mrs. Boyd said. "He plans to get well and take his place among the survivors." This former missile maintainer is just bearing down and getting it done. Editor's Note: Senior Airman Stephen E. Boyd was medically retired Nov. 2, 2006. He can be reached via e-mail at steveboyd1@mac.com or cards can be sent to him at:5030 Dinsbier Road, Mayville, N.Y. 14757. Mrs. Boyd also sends out medical updates via e-mail on Stephen and anyone wanting to be added to her mailing list for that should contact her at cindy_boyd@yahoo.com.As of press time, Stephen was recovering from Gamma Knife surgery that took place Wednesday to remove the second satellite tumor.