User:James R Madden

James R Madden was known as an American Football Athlete. He last played at Temple University in Philadelphia in 1983. He did not play his senior year. Rather, he had to quit football due to a very rare cancerous tumor found on his head that year. The tumor was known as a DFSP dermatofibrosarcoma protuberance. At the time, little was known about this type of tumor and few knew the proper treatment for it. Today, this would typically be treated with MOHS surgery. Since the MOHS technique was not yet a viable method of treatment with all surgeons, Mr. Madden was not afforded the opportunity to undergo treatment with it. At the time, his dermatological Surgeon, Dr. Waine Johnson, MD. decided to go with a radical excision technique which was popular at the time. After several surgeries removed his cancer, Mr. Madden turned his focus on recovery. At the time Mr. Madden was told to see his doctor yearly to assure the cancer did not return. Mr. Madden had his head examined yearly and was always told the area looked good and the cancer had not returned. However, this was not the case. The tumor originally presented itself as two small (pea sized) bumps on the head. Consequently, this is what the Doctors looked for on subsequent visits over the years. It was not. This time the cancer did not spread vertically and appear as a bump as before. Rather, The tumor reversed and grew downwards towards the brain. This meant that all those years of getting a clean bill of health were wrong. In fact the tumor had continued to grow and worked its way downward. At 45 years old, Mr. Madden found himself in a precarious position. He would once again undergo multiple surgeries to have the tumor removed. The difference this time was his team would use MOHS Surgery for the removal. So, in 2005 Mr. Madden would again undergo multiple surgeries to have his tumor excised. Upon completion of this procedure, Mr. Madden would obtain a clean bill of health. Since 2005 Mr. Madden would undergo one more surgery for reconstruction by placing a metal plate in his skull where the hole had been. To this day, Mr. Madden remains cancer free and his prognosis is good. It is ironic that Mr. Madden had one goal his entire career, to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. When he quit at Temple, his back up moved into his position and was later drafted by the Steelers.