Glenn Personette, of Clifton, New Jersey, says he is a church-going guy. When a kidney stone landed him in the hospital in early 2021—which led to doctors discovering he also had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma—he recognized it as divine intervention.

“Everything happens for a reason. I had cancer but no symptoms, and no one knew. God didn’t want me to go yet, so he gave me a kidney stone to find the cancer,” says the now-59-year-old.

After being discharged from the hospital, he saw lymphoma specialist Andrew Ip, M.D., at John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center for a second opinion.

Glenn’s lymphoma was in advanced stages and located in a critical area next to his spine. “He was a high risk and required treatment immediately,” Dr. Ip says. “When we factored in his age and ability to tolerate treatment, we wanted to get him started on chemotherapy right away so we could get rid of the disease for good.”

Glenn was in full agreement. “If you’ve got cancer, you want to get rid of it as fast as possible,” he says. “I was like, ‘Let’s start chemo tomorrow.’”

Challenging Cancer Treatment

Glenn was admitted to John Theurer Cancer Center the next day for the first of six rounds of treatment, with each round requiring a four-day stay in the hospital every three weeks. But after his second round, he experienced a severe reaction to the chemotherapy. He had to spend two weeks in the hospital being treated for mucositis (inflammation and sores in the mouth and gut).

“My whole mouth was black. I couldn't eat anything, and I could barely drink anything. My whole body had a rash,” he says.

His chemotherapy had to be stopped for two months while he recovered. When treatment was restarted, Dr. Ip moved Glenn to a different regimen that could be done on an outpatient basis.

In the end, the treatment was a success. “I went into remission shortly after the second session,” Glenn says.

A Second Lymphoma

Over the next couple of years, Dr. Ip continued to monitor Glenn regularly for any signs of recurrence. In summer 2023, a PET scan revealed a small tumor in Glenn’s back. 

During a biopsy, Glenn’s surgeon was able to remove the whole tumor instead of just taking a sample. After that biopsy, Glenn was diagnosed with a second lymphoma. This time it was marginal zone lymphoma, a chronic or indolent type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

It’s rare to be diagnosed with two different cancers in two years, Dr. Ip says. “Although my suspicion is that the two lymphomas are related, I could never prove it. At this time, the thought is that they aren’t related,” he adds.

Dr. Ip treated Glenn with six weekly treatments of immunotherapy, which put Glenn in remission. Because the nature of chronic lymphoma means it might reoccur at some point, he will continue to be monitored.

Glenn is incredibly grateful to Dr. Ip and his team for their care and support over the last few years. “Dr. Ip is truly a caring person. The nurses in the hospital were absolutely fantastic,” he says. “You know what it's like when you're in the hospital—you’re woken up every few hours to check your blood pressure and so forth. But my care team would be so gentle that they wouldn't even wake me. Those little things really matter.”

Next Steps & Resources

• Meet our source: Andrew Ip, M.D.
• To make an appointment with an oncologist near you, call 800-822-8905 or visit our website.
• Learn more about cancer care at Hackensack Meridian Health.
• Schedule a cancer screening at a location near you.

The material provided through HealthU is intended to be used as general information only and should not replace the advice of your physician. Always consult your physician for individual care.