Former Loyola football teammates battle cancer together as doctor and patient
Mike Lowe and Dan Dammrich watched the Loyola vs. Providence game together. The two former Loyola football teammates blended in with all the others hanging out on the sideline. They greeted old friends, talked with assistant coaches and enjoyed a warm mid-October Saturday afternoon.
There was only one sign that anything was unique. Lowe had a medium-sized black bag slung over his shoulder. It was giving him chemotherapy while he watched the game. Dammrich, his old friend and teammate, is now his cancer doctor.
Lowe, a reporter for WGN-TV, was diagnosed with stage 3(c)N+ colon cancer in May.
“It’s very advanced,” Lowe said. “The N means it is on more than five lymph nodes. But the prognosis is pretty good. I’m under no illusions of how serious it is. But I’ve been able to deal with it pretty well.”
Lowe, 45, has stayed in touch with Dammrich since high school.
“[Dammrich] was class of 98 and I was 97,” Lowe said. “His older brother was one of my good friends. To have that relationship that goes back almost 30 years is pretty special.”
Treating Lowe isn’t any different for Dammrich, of course.
“We want the best possible outcomes for all our patients,” Dammrich said. “He has a whole team around him, almost like a football team. There is a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, surgical oncologist, all the social workers, nutritionists and a palliative care team working with him.”
But the personal connection and the old high school football tie is making it easier for Lowe.
“It really feels special for me,” Lowe said. “I feel like I’m getting the best possible care because he knows me, even if it isn’t any different. After we talk about how I’m feeling and go over the blood tests it always ends with Loyola football.
“It’s just a special, meaningful connection. And this has not been a dull season, there is always something to discuss.”
Peter Lee, the quarterback on Lowe’s Loyola team, is watching his two old friends battle cancer together and says that he sees the impact of their high school football coach shining through all these years later.
“John Hoerster was all about what he called PMA, the positive mental attitude,” Lee said. “That’s what he started preaching to us freshman year and never stopped. I’m seeing [Lowe] putting that to work now on something that is way more important than winning a football game.”
When we met up at the Loyola game I was braced for Lowe to look a bit rough. I knew he was going through chemotherapy. But Lowe looks great and definitely has the positive mental attitude. The chemotherapy bag was connected to his chest through a tube.
“We have a lot of situations where we use the home pumps,” Dammrich said. “This is the goal. For people to look like Mike and walk around enjoying his day with all symptoms well controlled, doing well.”
Lowe ran into Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg at his radiation treatment a few months ago. Sandberg has also been dealing with cancer recently.
“That was something, to walk in there and see one of your childhood heroes,” Lowe said. “He gave me some great pointers about how to approach cancer mentally. He said the best medicine is stepping up to the plate and getting a few hits. I kind of took that to mean, stay in the game. Don’t let it stop you from living your life. I’m trying to stay in the game.”