In May of 2003, two weeks before my high school graduation, I went to my local doctor for pains I was having in my leg.  Being a normal 18 year old kid, and a wrestler bumps and bruises were not uncommon.  After an x-ray the doctor told me the six letter word that would turn my world upside down.  I sat speechless as my moms eyes began to tear up, thoughts raced through my head. “CANCER, cancer doesn’t happen to me, I’m too young, too healthy, am I going to die?”   Within 48 hours I was rushed on a plane and had landed in Omaha Nebraska where I had several tests and a biopsy of the femur which confirmed the diagnoses, Osteosarcoma, a rare childhood bone cancer.  The tumor in my femur was just above my right knee.

The next step was treatment.  I immediately started my first round of intense chemotherapy, which created horrible side effects, some of which were nausea and mouth sores. I was fortunate enough to make it back to Montana just in time to graduate with my senior class. The celebration was short lived as I had to go right back to treatments, a rigorous protocol of four months of inpatient chemotherapy 200 miles from home. I then was back to Omaha, NE to have limb salvage surgery to remove the tumor and 6” of my femur and my knee.  It was replaced with a custom titanium knee and titanium rod inside my bone from my upper femur to my shin.  After a few months of physical therapy and a lot of determination I was able to walk with only a slight limp, not noticeable to those who don’t know I have a prosthetic. After a short break, I began chemotherapy again, this time for another four months. The high dosage chemotherapy I was on was so toxic that after a few hours of chemotherapy I would spend the rest of the day getting “rescue” drugs to save my organs and the rest of my body.

After almost a year of treatment I was finally done, I enrolled in Dawson Community College where I graduated with both an Associates of Art and Science degrees.  At this time, I had routine three month check ups which consisted of CT’s of my chest, leg X-rays, blood work and follow up visits to my pediatric oncologist.

Three years with no sign of the cancer recurring…then in August, 2006 a CT scan revealed a small nodule and we found out that my cancer had metastasized to my lungs.  I immediately was flown off to Minneapolis, MN to have surgery to remove the lung tumor.  I decided to make a change and moved to Bozeman to begin school at Montana State University where I attended classes switching majors from architecture to graphic design.  In May, 2007 I had to drop out of school two weeks before finals, as another lung tumor appeared and we were again sent to Minneapolis for another lung surgery to remove the cancer. Then in September, 2007, scans showed that my left lung was full of fluid and the right side showed an uncertain larger mass. They said that my lung was only functioning at 10 to 15 percent capacity.  The new course of action was to drain the left side and then start another new high dose chemotherapy protocol which consisted of eight treatments - each five days long, three weeks apart.

I have currently finished my sixth round of chemo along with a lung surgery that removed the tumor, 2/3 of the lung, as well as the phrenic nerve which controls the diaphragm.  I’m scheduled to return to the hospital and have another scan to see if I need surgery on the other lung, or just continue and finish the last two rounds of chemo.

I want to thank my family, friends, and God for helping me through this battle.  I can’t thank the people enough that helped to make this dream of putting on a fund raising fishing tournament come true. Thanks goes to all of you wonderful people who donate money to further benefit childhood cancer.  You are all true heroes as we embark on this journey “Fishin For The Cure”.  

Matt has been an amazing hero to all of us through his battle. Matt  never ceases to amaze us all - never complaining, always joking and joyful...what a wonderful man whom we are so blessed to call brother, son, and friend.  You can read more about Matt and leave him an encouraging message on his caringbridge site at www.caringbridge.org/visit/mattsiegle