Katie Allgeier Mass Media Profile Piece Dr. Mark Delmaramo grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he attended St.

Lukes primary school and Cathedral Preparatory School for high school. Delmaramo attended Clarion University (then, Clarion College) for his undergraduate degree, studying for his secondary education degree. It was not until his a 19th century British novel class in his final semester at Clarion that Delmaramo decided to go to grad school and pursue a career in higher education. The main reason I went to grad school was because I hadnt read enough, Delmaramo remarked. Now, of course, Ive got a list from here to the ceiling that I still need to get to, but I dont feel such a sense of urgency. While pursuing his doctorate at Bowling Green University, Delmaramo met his future wife, Brenda, who was pursuing her Masters degree. The two did not hit it off immediately; after one date in 1984, the two barely spoke until they went out once more in 1987 and, as Delmaramo says, never looked back. The two now have four children. In October of 2012, Delmaramo woke up one morning with a swollen left leg. After spending a day in the hospital and being put on blood thinners, Delmaramo was diagnosed with a blood clot and sent home February 28th. Delmaramo went to bed, and shortly after midnight he woke up in Pain like I had never felt before. Delmaramo had a CAT scan and was diagnosed with a kidney stone. Delmaramos doctor, had some additional, unsettling news. He said Youve got a mass on your right lung. I said What are you talking about? He said I think you have a tumor on your right lung, you need to have this checked out. Delmaramo then had a PET scan, and then the mass was biopsied. On March 12th, Delmaramo received confirmation: he had stage 3B lung cancer, meaning that the cancer was no longer self-contained within the tumor, but had spread into the surrounding lymph nodes. I never smoked a day in my life, Delmaramo noted. Thats the part that still has me scratching my head. Delmaramo began simultaneous courses of chemotherapy and radiation, and remarked on the distinct differences between chemotherapy and radiation. Chemo was amazing because it affected me right away, he remarked. The radiationfor the first ten treatments, you might as well have shone a flashlight at me. I never

really noticed. Then all of a suddenit was awful. I got real red, and I wasnt in any pain, but then my throat started to hurt, in conjunction with my taste buds flying the coop from the chemo. It was not much fun. It was a cyclical sort of thing; it would come and go because I was on what Dr. Lobe (Delmaramos chemotherapist) at the time called Baby doses of chemo. In July of 2013, Delmaramo began a more rigorous course of treatment, during which he lost his hair and his prized moustache. In spite of this, Delmaramo never lost his optimism or his faith. I was trying always to put a positive spin on everything, you know, Delmaramo remarked. I was never afraid. You know what I mean? I believe theres a heaven, theres a God, and there is an afterlife, you know? I mean, I am a cradle-Catholic, have never wavered, and from that perspective I felt likeif I had to go I had to go, I wasnt going to be wimpy about the thing. Throughout his treatments, Delmaramo was in the thoughts and prayers of not only his family and friends, but also people he had never met. He remarked that this outpouring of love from all sources was the best part of the experience. Thats been the most wonderful element of this whole thing, and I say the reason that Im cancer free now is I had people praying for me like you would not believe. Lots of people I know but the thing that astonishes me to this second is the wishes and prayers from people that I dont know. I got put on prayer lists in these churches all over the place, and I was like Wow, this is cool! Delmaramo has emerged from the ordeal grateful. Its been an amazing ten months. I lost twenty pounds; now Im hoping to keep it off. My hair is growing backI may have this cough for years because the radiation does damage the good part of your long when its taking out the bad part, but its a small price to pay. Following the ordeal, Delmaramo has planned a trip along the Camino del Santiago, a 790 kilometer pilgrimage from St. John Pied de Port to Santiago, Spain. Delmaramo said that this pilgrimage is a sort of thank you to everyone who prayed for him during his treatment.