Outdoorsman Mark Ferdinand Beats Hodgkin Lymphoma in His Hometown

When Hazleton resident Mark Ferdinand, former deputy game warden, hunter safety instructor and Butler Township supervisor, found out he had classic Hodgkin lymphoma, his first question was, “How long do I have?” And when his doctor told him he would need chemotherapy, his question was, “Can I get treatment close to home?”

Fortunately, his oncologist, Michael Evans, MD, with Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute, was able to answer Ferdinand’s first question with good news. “I told him that Hodgkin lymphoma is highly treatable and highly curable,” Dr. Evans says. And because a new cancer center was opened last year to house the robust cancer program at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Hazleton, the answer to Ferdinand’s second question was, “Yes.”

LVH–Hazleton has been providing excellent care for many types of cancers for nearly 10 years. Statistics from 2015 to 2022 show a total of 2,955 patients from 21 different counties in Pennsylvania and 21 patients from out of state. More than 2,000 of those patients resided in Luzerne County, where Hazleton is located. The new center, completed in 2023, has allowed the team to expand its capabilities, working closely with John and Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center at LVH–Cedar Crest.

“This is a massive improvement in terms of space,” Dr. Evans says. “We now can accommodate multidisciplinary clinics so that patients do not have to travel to Allentown. We also have included clinical trial infrastructure. We are bringing all this expertise to Hazleton, all under one roof.”

Ferdinand is one of the hundreds of patients that have been treated in Hazleton for blood and bone marrow cancers. He vividly remembers the time he spent inside the newly constructed cancer center and can’t say enough good things about the care he received.

“Someone from the team was always in touch with me, asking about my temperature, oxygen level and checking the dose on my medication,” Ferdinand says. “When I came here for the infusions, they would always make sure the drip was going through properly. From the people doing the scheduling to the nurses, the care was just excellent.”

Lymphoma is a cancer that is concentrated in the lymph nodes, found in the abdomen, groin, chest, pelvis and neck. Ferdinand, who had been through a series of health events over the last few years including an ablation for atrial fibrillation, COVID-19 and a blood clot, noticed a lump in his groin one day while leaning against the kitchen countertop washing dishes. Dr. Evans confirmed it was stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma. At age 72, Ferdinand now laughs at his reply at the time, which was, “For me, doc, it’s the fourth quarter. I need overtime.”

The care he received at the Cancer Center at Hazleton gave him that time.

Ferdinand began chemotherapy in November 2023. He received a combination of four drugs that were modified over time based on how he tolerated them. He was also given steroids to take before the treatments to minimize the side effects of the drugs. He remembers feeling very comfortable while he was receiving his treatments. “Everyone always had such a positive attitude,” he says. “It was like being at home.”

While classic Hodgkin lymphoma is “highly treatable” even at stage 3, it requires standard doses given on time. Ferdinand was intermittently hospitalized during the treatment for other concerns, so his care team had to be especially vigilant about dosing to be sure he wasn’t undertreated. Ferdinand did very well and successfully completed treatment in May 2024.

Once he was feeling stronger, Ferdinand went back to his favorite activities: hunting, fishing, and trap and skeet shooting. A lifelong outdoorsman, he served as president of the National Wildlife Turkey Federation’s local chapter for 25 years and worked with local groups to conserve wildlife. “We held fundraisers for student scholarships and would take students out who haven’t experienced the outdoors and show them how to hunt safely,” he says.

He is very grateful to be back doing what he likes to do and wants to do some traveling in the future. “I’d like to see some of the sights in the United States, like Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore,” he says.

At the Cancer Center at Hazleton, there is a bell on the wall that patients ring when they learn they are cancer-free. Ferdinand rang the bell loud and clear when that day came for him. “I told the nurses, ‘I am here, I am blessed, and I’m not going to waste a minute of it.”