John celebrates more than five years of being cancer-free by sharing his story of optimism, resilience and gratitude.
When, just days after Christmas 2018, Upper Extremity Product Management Senior Director John Sodeika felt a hard spot in his abdomen, he made an appointment at the Arthrex Medical Center (AMC). Within hours of being seen by AMC Medical Director Paul Hobaica, MD, John was undergoing his first round of diagnostic scans.
“Two weeks later,” said John, “I was receiving chemo for stomach cancer.”
Otherwise healthy at the time and having just been promoted to his dream job leading Arthrex’s Upper Extremities team, John says he is the ultimate proof that you never know what the future holds.
“I’ve learned to embrace whatever situation I find myself in,” he said. “And I no longer say ‘no’ to things – which is how I found myself in front of a room of 400 donors, telling them about my Stage 4 diagnosis.”
Founded in 2011 by Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) physicians, the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation (FCSF) serves to manage volunteers in the FCS clinics and provide non-medical, financial assistance to qualified Florida adults undergoing cancer treatment – the idea being that by helping to cover everyday costs such as utility bills and car payments, patients can better focus their time and energy on fighting their cancer.
To date, FCSF has awarded more than $15 million in financial assistance to patients in need, made possible in large part because FCS physicians cover the Foundation’s overhead costs, allowing 100% of donations to go directly to patients.
As the Foundation’s Patient Liaison Board Member, John was asked to share his cancer journey at this year’s Lotus gala, held on Saturday, October 4 at Armature Works in Tampa, Florida.
In attendance with John were his wife, Aiste, two daughters, Krista and Erika, one of his FCS physicians, Judy Wang, MD (Sarasota, Florida), Vice President of Strategic Development Larry Higgins, MD, and Larry’s wife, Ania.
“After my diagnosis, I started thinking about how I wanted to be remembered,” John told the gala attendees. “Would I be defeated and curled up in the corner, or would I be optimistic and fight?”
Making the decision to fight, John recalibrated his life to focus on the things he had the power to control, like his diet, and the things that ultimately mattered most to him – family, faith, friends, co-workers and all of his caregivers. At the same time, Aiste implemented a family motto: “viskas bus gerai,” a Lithuanian phrase meaning “all will be good.” Standing in solidarity with John, his Arthrex team members made blue bracelets printed with that phrase and wore them in support.
John focused on those words through 26 rounds of chemotherapy before the treatments failed. It was at that point his FCS oncologist, Mark S. Rubin, MD (Bonita Springs, Florida), connected him to Dr. Wang, who was working on an immunotherapy clinical trial with FCS’s Drug Development Unit.
After 11 immunotherapy treatments over the course of 11 months, John received the news, on July 23, 2020, that a PET scan showed his cancer was no longer visible.
Because John’s treatment didn’t follow a known protocol, he didn’t have the opportunity to ring a bell, as many cancer patients do at the end of their treatment. So, Aiste bought him his own bell, which they now ring on the 23rd of every month.
“With no evidence of disease now for more than five years, we’ve also changed our family motto from ‘viskas bus gerai’ to ‘viskas yra gerai,’” John said. “All is good.”
John closed his gala speech by ringing the bell that he’d brought from home, saying he hopes his story inspires others to go through challenges with positivity and optimism.
John also wishes to extend his gratitude to his Arthrex family.
“I will always be grateful for the love and support shown to me by [President and Founder] Reinhold [Schmieding], Larry and the entire Arthrex team.”
If you are interested in donating to FCSF or would like information about volunteer opportunities within the organization, click here to learn more.
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