Tray knew he was in trouble when he couldn’t tie his shoes.
Aside from his rapidly bulging belly, Travis looked like a picture of perfect health; strong, vibrant, rugged – a real man’s man who loved football, family and the great outdoors.
Devoted husband to Kelly, loving father to Cody and Corey.
The 29-year-old Travis had his whole life in front of him.
Then, out of the blue, his stomach started swelling. At first just a little.
“Travis, you look pregnant,” Kelly teased.
But the bloating worsened. Finally, it was so bad that he could barely eat without feeling sick.

So the Bales went to their doctor and the news was devastating.
Travis was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a disease in which malignant cells form in the lining of the chest or abdomen. It is a rare form of cancer that is frequently associated with asbestos exposure.
That night the Bales scoured the internet and what they read was horrifying;
life expectancy for malignant mesothelioma was 12-18 months.
“I thought I was going to die,” Travis recalls.

As residents of South Dakota, the Bales did not have access to a major medical center.
So, they packed their bags, left their boys and set out to find the best treatment for Travis.
Their first stop was the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, one of the leading cancer institutions in the nation.
They told him that nothing could be done and that Travis should pretty much get his affairs in order.The Bales persevered. Next stop, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
NIH immediately enrolled Travis in a clinical trial.
Unfortunately, that didn’t work. Neither did the next trial they put him on.
Haggard and thin, his weight plummeted from 220 pounds down to 150.
With nowhere else to turn, the Bales went back home.
They started looking at cemetery plots and talked to the boys about their dad dying.
“There was a lot of praying and crying,” remembers Kelly.
“We wanted to spend as much time together as possible because we didn’t know how much longer he had.

Finding Dr. Vogelzang
It was during this dark time that the Bales discovered a savior.
Kelly kept seeing the name of a famous doctor at the University of Chicago Cancer Center pop up in internet chat rooms.
That doctor was Nicholas Vogelzang M.D., a world renowned expert on mesothelioma.
“I first became interested in the disease back in 1980 when I saw about eight patients who had mesothelioma, including two sisters, all within six months. So I wrote a paper on it,” explains Dr. Vogelzang.
The Bales went to see Dr. Vogelzang and they were blown away. “He was reading, writing and listening to

 

Searching for Hope We thought, wow he’s smart,” remembers Kelly. Medical expertise aside, Dr. Vogelzang gave the Bales “Dr. V has done me right,” says Travis. “If plan A doesn’t work he always has plan B, C and D.” Plan A was a chemo regimen of two drugs and it worked. There was a 70% tumor reduction. The Bales were ecstatic. “We got the news right around Christmas time,” says Kelly. Two Years Later Travis went back to his normal life and tried to forget he ever had cancer. But two years after he finished treatment, doctors found a nodule near his pericardium. The Bales immediately came to see Dr. Vogelzang, who was now director at Nevada Cancer Institute. Further testing indicated the disease was back. “It was a shock. We felt like it was a punch in the gut,” explains Kelly. But the Bales buckled down and as always, Dr. Vogelzang had options. He put Travis on a Phase I trial for advanced solid tumors. Because it is a Phase I study, this is the first time it is being used on humans. To date, this drug has been used on fewer than 40 humans. Regina Lee, Travis’ research nurse, monitors him very closely to establish maximum tolerated dose and toxicity. “As frightening as a Phase I trial seems, it has been my experience that these patients find hope in them,” Lee explains. “They are true heroes in this campaign to find viable drugs to fight cancer.” There is a popular misconception that Phase I trials, also called developmental therapeutics, are wild “scientific experiments” that pose a high risk for patients. In fact, the opposite is true. Studies have proven that toxicity rates are actually lower on Phase 1 trials when compared to the standard therapy. This is due to good patient selection, close patient monitoring, experience of the investigator and the fact that these new agents typically target tumors and not normal tissue. Plus, very often Phase I drugs are taken orally as pills, which of course is easier for the patient. As for Travis, he likes being on a clinical trial. “Someone has to do it. The drugs that helped me were once clinical trials.” Romance and Adventure These days, the Bales are commuting back and forth from South Dakota so Travis can get his treatment from Dr. Vogelzang in Las Vegas. Since he was first diagnosed, Travis has changed the way he looks at life. He takes more risks, like sky-diving and riding a Harley. Kelly has noticed another, more subtle difference. “He is more romantic, ”she says with a smile. It is hard to plan anything long-term but they are cautiously optimistic. “When I was first diagnosed I thought, oh no, I’m gonna die, but then I said screw this. I am going to fight this thing,” says Travis. Kelly agrees. “You have to be proactive, you can’t lose hope.” My wonderful and courageous husband Travis Bales died Friday Sept 18th, 2009 after an 8 year fight with Mesothelioma. Kelly Bales Travis P. Bales May 10 1972 - Sep 18 2009 Travis Bales, age 37, Huron, SD, died Friday, September 18, 2009, at his home after a long battle with cancer. His funeral service was held on 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 22, at First United Methodist Church with burial at Restlawn Memory Gardens Cemetery. Memorials will be directed to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.Travis Phillip Bales was born on May 10, 1972, in Huron, SD. His parents are Susan (Wessel) Neiffer and Steve Bales. He attended schools in Huron. Following completion of his formal education he worked at Dakota Pork in Huron and LSI in Alpena, until ill health forced his retirement. On June 16, 1995, Travis married Kelly Marie Schroeder. They lived in Huron and also their cabin at Lake Thompson.Travis’ interests included camping, fishing, guns, boating, shooting fireworks, performing magic tricks, spending time at the lake cabin, and following the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Wild hockey team, and the Huron All-Star hockey team. He is survived by his wife, Kelly; 2 sons, Cody Schroeder, and Corey Bales and friend Abby Eide; soon-to-be-born grandchild; his mother, Susan Neiffer; his dad, Steve Bales; his father, Phil Smith; 1 brother, Jesse Bales, 2 sisters, Lindsay Bales and Becky Smith; grandparents, Jerry and Maggie Bales, Darlene Van Tour, Doraine Wilson, and Jackie Bjorke; his mother- and father-in-law, Allen and Rose Schroeder; 1 brother-in-law, Chad Schroeder; and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and wonderful friends. He was preceded in death by and infant brother, Jeremy Bales; and grandfathers, Max Smith and Dale Wessel.   Borrow all the beauty that's around you every day. 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