There’s a saying among sports circles usually reserved for the most dominant athletes: You can’t stop him — you can only hope to contain him.
As far as Russell Kemp is concerned, cancer might have him contained right now, but it won’t beat him.
Kemp, a recent Plant City High graduate, was diagnosed with stage IV liver cancer on March 1. His particular diagnosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, is usually found among people age 50 to 70. But if there’s anything his Raiders football career has prepared him for, it’s standing strong in front of the toughest battles.
BAD BREAK
Earlier this year, things seemed pretty normal for Kemp and his family. He was dealing with a torn meniscus, but his doctors hadn’t found anything cancerous in the area. He only found out that he has the disease when horsing around with his brother, Tyler, didn’t go as planned.
“I was having a slight argument with my brother, and he gave me a little shove, so I took a step back, and when I took a step back I felt multiple pops in my knee,” Kemp says. “That was actually my hip fracturing. I went to Tampa General.”
One X-ray revealed two hip fractures — and a tumor.
The tumor had eaten away at his hip.
Doctors did a biopsy of it and found that it was liver cancer.
Because the tumors had spread from Kemp’s liver to his hip, he was given a stage IV diagnosis. Somehow, however, the cancer had not actually attacked his liver. It was still functioning normally, which would explain why it went undetected for so long.
Hepatocellular cancer, the Kemp family later learned, is extremely rare among young people. According to cancer.org, the average age at diagnosis of liver cancer is 63. More than 95% of people diagnosed with liver cancer are 45 years of age or older. About 3% are between 35 and 44 years of age and about 2% are younger than 35.
Kemp’s liver tumor eventually grew just over two centimeters, which rendered Kemp unable to keep food down. The cancer had also spread to his tailbone.
To fight the disease, doctors have had to resort to aggressive chemotherapy treatment: something that, unlike most patients with this disease, Kemp is young and healthy enough to endure.
And he’s ready for anything.
“Since the day they diagnosed me, I said it’s not a big deal,” Kemp says. “I’m gonna beat it.”
SUPPORT SYSTEM
In April, before Kemp graduated, the Plant City High football team hosted a fundraiser at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and made some shirts to help with the medical bills. In total, the efforts raised around $1,300 and opened Kemp’s eyes to the amount of support he was getting from Plant City as a whole.
“When I went to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, there were people I didn’t even know that had the shirts on and were supporting me,” he says.
Also helping him is his family’s background: his grandparents are veterans of the medical field and his mother, Ann, is currently a medical assistant. This had made it much easier for the family to not only cope with the diagnosis, but also to work with Kemp’s treatment schedule. And, of course, Kemp’s own attitude toward the whole ordeal is encouraging.
“It shocked the heck out of me, because he said if it was cancer, he was ready to deal with it,” Ann Kemp says.
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Kemp recently completed his third round of chemotherapy at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and is also undergoing physical rehab to strengthen the muscles in his hip. He currently uses a walker to get around and isn’t the biggest fan of it. So, he’s working as hard as he can to get his doctor’s permission to ditch the thing as soon as possible.
“When he first saw me, he was surprised to see how much I got the range of motion back,” Kemp says. “When I went back into the hospital, they had physical therapy every day. I’d be walking twice a day. My goal, hopefully, is to strengthen my leg enough to be able to walk again.”
The tumor in his liver has shrunk with the chemotherapy, so Kemp is able to eat again. All of his food must be served well-done or at least very hot, so as to ward off as much bacteria as possible.
Next week, he will consult his oncologist about treatment plans going forward.
The cancer has derailed his post-graduate plans to enlist in the Navy, and he’s more focused on beating the disease. He plans to enroll in online classes at Hillsborough Community College when his cancer is cleared and transfer to a larger university later. Or, if possible, he would also consider enlisting in the Navy and working in technology.
He hasn’t made a decision either way, but there are bigger things on his plate now. Winning this battle comes first.
“I’m gonna beat it,” he says. “I said I’d never had cancer, but that I’m definitely not gonna continue to have it after this. And if I have to beat it multiple times, I will.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
TREATMENT
Russell Kemp’s chemotherapy treatments are more aggressive than most because of the advanced nature of his cancer.
After four days of chemo every three weeks, Kempå gets a white blood cell shot to boost his immune system. Because he can’t get the shot on the same day as his chemotherapy treatments, he has to wait around 27 hours to get the injection. Chemo treatments are preceded by one hour of hydration, after which he must take three to four anti-nausea medicines to help deal with the radiation. When chemo is over, he must go through more hydration.
The entire chemo process takes about four hours.