RECORDER STAFF WRITER

How many people, when faced with battling a disease that could possibly be fatal, would approach it with the attitude that they are almost glad they have it?

It’s an attitude that some might find hard to understand, but Jason Hurtado’s outlook on life and the cancer that he has been battling against four years could make even the most negative person look at their own life a little bit differently, and perhaps even see hardships as a blessing in disguise.

Jason turned 32 on Sunday, and he and his wife Karen, 28, have already been through more than what many people experience in a lifetime. Both attended Kingsburg High, and although the two had been acquaintances for a long time, it wasn’t until after Karen graduated in 1996 that a romance blossomed.

The couple is now married with two children, their daughter Riley, age eight, and seven-year-old Jason, named after his dad.

In October of 2002, Jason went to the emergency room after seeing blood in his urine. He laughs now at how he had just finished drinking red Hawaiian Punch, and thought it had to be some kind of fluke. But it was no fluke. His kidney weighed seven pounds, and a few days later, the kidney was surgically removed. He had renal cancer, but doctors assured him that the cancer was confined to the kidney so there was no need for further treatment.

Jason said the doctors gave him “a very blunt, short, ‘you’re alright.’”

For two years, he had monthly scans from the neck down every three months, all coming back fine.

It was in June of 2004 when any over-exertion would cause pain in the back of his neck, and he would experience a severe spinning sensation when he laid down. One night, when the pain was particularly intense, he decided to take a bath, hoping it would help him to relax and ease the pain. Karen was in bed, unaware that her husband nearly drowned because he couldn’t sit up in the tub. He was finally able to pull himself out by grabbing a towel rack hanging above the tub.

An MRI revealed that Jason had a 22 centimeter cancerous tumor in the back of his head. The renal cell cancer was metastasizing. The tumor was surgically removed, and he underwent three weeks of radiation following the surgery. Two series of chemotherapy followed over a three-month period. He went for treatments four times a week, his weight dropping from 186 pounds to 139 pounds in a few months. When he got home after his treatments, he would spend all day in bed, except for dinner time which he wanted to spend with his family. He would spend the mornings following chemo shivering, which would be followed by a fever taking over in the early afternoon, then vomitting.

And then, a reprieve. “Everything was fine for a year,” he said.

But then, while on the job as a wireless installer with Lucent Technologies, Jason suddenly lost hand movement, and his speech was momentarily slurred. “I thought it was a stroke, personally,” he said of the experience.

He called Karen to tell her what had happened, and she told him he needed to get to a doctor. Not terribly worried, he took a break for lunch before going to the emergency room.

When he got there, a CT scan revealed a spot toward the middle of his brain. This time, doctors opted for a new treatment called the cyberknife. At the time, Jason was the fourth or fifth person in Fresno to undergo this new treatment. The one-time procedure took an hour and a half. Jason had a mask custom fitted to his face to bolt his head down to the table, and was kept awake while stereo radiation was directed straight toward the tumor in his brain.

The radiation is supposed to continue fighting the cancer over a period of time, and Karen said, “It’s working. It’s decreased, going on nine months later.” He still has occasional seizures on his right side, which he takes steroids to control.

While the family was optimistic that Jason’s brain was doing well, they were faced with another hurdle. In January, cancer was found in his lungs and a lymphnode. A former smoker, he had actually quit six months before the tumor in his kidney was diagnosed. Doctors started him on Neavan, a new FDA-approved drug that has been maintaining the cancer in his lungs, another positive.

With things once again looking up, a bone scan taken just a few weeks ago revealed that the renal cell cancer has once again spread, this time to Jason’s legs and hips. It’s being treated with a form of chemotherapy that’s brand new for his type of cancer, and he’s thankful that it’s not making him sick.

On Sunday, Jason and Karen left for the Issels Medical Center in Santa Barbara, where he will undergo three weeks of treatment. His treatments will include a week of detoxification, along with a variety of non-toxic, alternative treatments specifically geared toward Jason’s individual needs.

The total cost of the treatment is $15,000, and although Jason’s health insurance will cover 75% of the cost, payment of $5,000 is required at the start of each week. Jason’s mom borrowed the money from a friend in order to get her son in. Jason and Karen will have to pay over $4,000 out of their own pockets, in addition to the $6,000 they already owe.

In the midst of their struggles, the Hurtado family has realized that the love and support of family and friends have played a large role in helping them to stay strong. Friends and family recently pitched in to send the four of them to Disneyland for a long weekend. Jason used a wheelchair, since too much walking exacerbates the pain in his legs. The pain comes in spurts, but he doesn’t complain.

“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “We’ll worry about it when I can’t walk anymore.”

At this point, he’s not letting anything stop him. He and his son get up as early as 6 a.m. on the weekends and go to skate parks all over the Valley. When the family returned from their trip to Disneyland, it was like returning to a new home. Family and friends had spent the weekend cleaning, doing yard work, painting, and decorating, giving Jason and Karen one last thing to worry about.

“They’re amazing,” Karen said of everyone who has pitched in to help them along the way. “We wouldn’t know what to do without them.”

With children the ages of Riley and Jason, adults can only wonder how much they comprehend. Riley writes notes to her dad letting her know that she’s praying for him, and Jason never lets his dad come or go without giving him a hug.

A while back, Jason said that he and Karen had to address the question, “If worse comes to worse, what are you gonna do?” Karen had been a stay-at-home mom since the kids were born, and Jason was the one who worked. Jason said that if they got to Ground Zero, he had to ensure his family would be taken care of. While he was too sick to work, he stayed home with the kids, and Karen went back to school to become a medical assistant. She completed the program, and has been working on building up her clinical hours. On a leave of absence while Jason undergoes treatment at the Issels Medical Center, she will go back when they return.

Jason will also return to work at Lucent when this phase of his treatment is over, and said he plans to work until he reaches retirement age. He said that work helps him focus on something other than his own drama.

“I just look forward to swingin’ it tomorrow, ya know what I mean?,” he said with a smile.

While some may wonder if the positive outlook is really a facade to hide what must be a terrifying ordeal, Karen said that Jason “really is okay with it.” They both admit to having difficult moments, but Karen said, “It’s just either gonna be good or it’s gonna be bad, we just take it as it comes. We always come out on top.”

Jason said that he has taken the cancer on “almost like a best friend.” He said that the way it has changed his outlook on life has been such blessing that he’s almost glad he has it.

“A lot of good comes out of it,” he said. “More than you ever know.”

The Hurtados’ family and friends are hoping the community Jason and Karen have called home throughout their lives will come together to help them with the financial burden of Jason’s illness. They are holding a car wash at KCAPS on Saturday, Sept. 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Donations can also be made to the Jason Hurtado Medical Fund at the WestAmerica Bank at Draper and Marion streets. One-hundred percent of all donations will go directly to the family.