#b#Hope for a Cure#/b#
Lee Eric Newton, 51, of West Windsor has been battling cancer for more than four years. What began with a diagnosis of bladder cancer eventually spread to his brain.
Newton had no insurance but qualified for care at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Community Health Center at University Medical Center of Princeton. He had several surgeries, treatments, CT scans, and more. When the brain tumor was discovered the clinic pushed to get him qualified for Medicaid, and a surgeon operated the next day.
Cancer Institute of New Jersey put him in touch with Dr. Matthew Galsky, director of the Genito-urinary Medical Oncology Program at Mount Sinai, who invited him to join Genentech’s Phase II clinical trial of atezolizumab. Newton takes the train to New York every three weeks for an infusion.
One might wonder whether, if he had been a private patient, the status of his cancer would have been discovered and treated earlier. Newton, not a fan of universal health coverage, disagrees. “Doctors donate their time to the clinic once a month. We did have to wait for the CDC doctor to evaluate the possibility of a tuberculosis infection, but I probably got as good treatment as anybody.”
Born in Princeton, he is the son of the late Len Newton, who died in 2014 after also battling cancer, and Ruby Marr Newton, 89, a former speech therapist, who now lives in Florida. His father worked with Jim Floyd to create the integrated neighborhood Glen Acres in West Windsor, where Newton lives. His brother, David Smith Newton, died in a motorcycle accident when Lee was 15. His sister Julie lives in Princeton and his brother Alex lives in Coral Springs, Florida.
After his graduation from Princeton High School, Newton spent 18 months at the Lewis School learning how to work with his previously undiagnosed learning disabilities. Newton graduated from Boston University and then attended Beijing University for a master’s degree in linguistics. He fell in love with China and married a Chinese woman.
The family moved to Princeton when their daughter, Jasmine, was born in 2001. The couple divorced with Jasmine was five. Her mother returned to China and Jasmine visits her in the summer. Jasmine is a sophomore at High School South.
The prognosis for Eric Newton is OK — for now. His life insurance will eventually help his daughter. But now that he is going to live, at least for a while, he may have to sell his house. He is out of work and living on disability because of his peripheral neuropathy. He hopes to raise money on Go Fund Me. Visit www.gofundme.com/NewtonLifesupport for information.
#b#Learning About Children#/b#
Child Health Associates, a pediatric practice in Plainsboro, has been providing part-time career opportunities for College of New Jersey’s nursing students to gain first-hand exposure to the practice of medicine. “TCNJ-educated employees have very high success rates locating full-time employment due, in part, to the valuable experience they obtained from working in our pediatric doctor’s office,” says Esme Dayaratna, the office manager and a resident of Plainsboro. “In turn, our office benefits from the valuable contributions and energy of our hardworking and dedicated TCNJ nursing school-educated employees.”
Recent nursing student employees from the program include Angela Ning, Brittany Pontebelli, Lindsey Brandt, Kaitlyn Dauria, and Kaitlyn Leonardo, who graduated from University of Tampa with a degree in public health. Staff members include Dr. M. Somasundaram, the owner of the practice and a resident of West Windsor, Vasanthi Somasundaram, Dr. Anita Kumar, and Wendy Sammy.
“The interns contribute vitally to the well-being of children in Plainsboro” says Dayaratna.
