In 2021, Kurt Hildebrant saw a urologist for issues with his prostate. He wasn’t sure what the problem could be, but further examination revealed cancer in both his prostate and bladder. 

It was a diagnosis that Kurt knew all too well. 

More than a decade before this diagnosis, Kurt was diagnosed with rectal and kidney cancer. Now, at nearly 65 years old, the cancer was back, spreading to other parts of his body. 

Close to home 

The first time Kurt was diagnosed in 2008, he received treatment at the Cleveland Clinic. But because of the location of the cancer on his bladder this time, Kurt knew he couldn’t do the long car ride back and forth to northern Ohio, having to stop frequently to use the restroom. This time, there was no question—Kurt would get expert care close to home at Kettering Health. 

“They’ve been fantastic,” Kurt says. “It’s a great place.” 

Following his diagnosis, Kurt met his oncologist, Dr. Emily Franks, who detailed his chemotherapy treatment plan, which consisted of FOLFOX, an aggressive chemotherapy often used to treat gastrointestinal cancers.

After three years of palliative chemotherapy, Kurt got news that his markers had gone back up in the spring of 2024. 

Cancer is personal 

Kurt had six weeks of radiation before Dr. Franks put him on a different chemotherapy regimen than the one before, hoping to ease his symptoms. This time, Kurt gets 90-minute chemotherapy infusions followed by a chemotherapy pump for 42 hours. 

The treatment is still taxing, but Kurt explains that after having to work from home for years because of his diagnosis, his nurses and oncology team have become like his friends, making the visits an overall positive experience. 

“I look forward to going to chemo,” he says, “believe it or not.”

Kurt says he thinks of his life as two different parts: his pre-cancer life and his post-cancer life. He acknowledges that his diagnosis completely changed his life, and that things may never look the same as they did before. But he also knows that Kettering Health is the right place for him to be at this time to continue on. 

“You have to trust your providers,” he says. “And I trust my oncologist implicitly.”