My name is Mike Butler, and I was a patient at Mary Crowley Cancer Research until this past February. 

I have been fighting colon cancer since 2011, and thanks to the team at Mary Crowley, I am officially off trial. In fact, my tumors have shrunk so much that there may not be any activity at all.

When I first arrived at Mary Crowley in 2017, however, after undergoing multiple surgeries and many rounds of chemotherapy, I felt overwhelmed and hopeless. We had run out of options, and this last-ditch effort had little chance of working. Nonetheless, with my family in mind, I was willing to give a clinical trial at Mary Crowley a shot. 

I enrolled in a combination small molecule and immunotherapy trial that promotes cancer cell death by removing the cancer shield that is inhibiting the immune system to fight the cancer. I was encouraged when my first scan after nine weeks showed that my tumors had shrunk 47%. Even better, I experienced no side effects, and I was able to spend time with my family and continue uninterrupted my work as the Senior Associate Dean of the AddRan College of Liberal Arts at Texas Christian University.

Finally, after over four years on trial, my tumors have shrunk so much that I rolled off in February 2022 to begin the next phase of my cancer journey—occasional scans to continue to monitor my tumors. 

I feel cautiously optimistic that this arduous journey may be over, but I am relieved that, if I ever need them, Mary Crowley will still be here for me.

In the meantime, I am grateful for the years I have gained with my wife, three daughters, my son, and my two granddaughters. I celebrated my 40th anniversary with my wife on a cruise with my family and later went on an Alaskan cruise with my wife and mother. My son received his master’s degree in Divinity, and I was honored when he asked me to sing at his ordination. 

All of this would not have been possible if I had not taken that leap of faith to participate in a trial at Mary Crowley.

While not every patient may be so fortunate to have an outcome like mine, my hope is that, with your help, they have the opportunity for a chance at a future. Clinical trials are costly and time-consuming but necessary for the development of more effective, less toxic cancer treatments. Mary Crowley is well-positioned to pioneer the next wave of cancer therapeutics. Your support allows them to continue to bring hope and a better quality of life to cancer patients like me. Please consider making a donation today at www.marycrowley.org/donate.

We patients are grateful to know you stand behind us.

Sincerely,

Mike Butler