BOARDMAN A runner's mindset helps Tom Albani trample cancer cells

He has at least two more years of treatment, but he's ready for the challenge.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- The cough started in February. No big deal at first. Probably a cold. Tom Albani had opened the windows in his dorm room at John Carroll University, hoping to annoy his roommate, Doug. Hoping Doug would get fed up and leave.
But a few days went by, and the cough got worse. Albani could barely breathe. He had to sleep sitting up.
Pneumonia? Nah, couldn't be, he thought. Albani, a former Vindicator cross country runner of the year and a future surgeon, didn't have time for pneumonia. He had a full load of classes and he was planning to spend spring break building houses for Habitat for Humanity.
But he knew something was wrong. So he called his father, Dr. Tom Albani, who drove up to see him the next day. His father listened to his chest and noticed some diminished breath on one side. Probably pneumonia, he thought. Still, he decided to have Tom get a chest X-ray.
"That's when the nightmare started to unfold," Dr. Albani said.
The beginning
The radiologist noticed something "markedly abnormal" in Albani's X-ray. Something was wrong. They scheduled a CAT scan. Things started happening quickly. The scan showed a huge mass in the front of his chest.
Cancer? Nah, couldn't be. He's too young. He's in good health. Right?
"I was like, 'Dude, did you just say cancer?' " Albani, who graduated from Boardman in 2002, said. "Everything started happening really fast, and I was like 'What's going on?' "
His father's heart sank. He knew.
"I was just sick," he said.
And that's when Albani's life began to change.
Albani was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma, a type of cancer very similar to leukemia. The disease compresses the heart, fills the lungs with fluid and makes it difficult to breathe.
It usually strikes young adults. The Albanis aren't quite sure how he got it -- they used to live near a toxic waste dump site in Dayton, but the plant was shut down years ago -- and they may never know.
The cause doesn't really matter. Only the cure. Albani could beat it, but he needed to start quickly.
Time was running out.
The treatment
"I knew what it was; there was no point in denying it," Albani said of the diagnosis. "It's just like in cross country. You don't deny things. You just accept that things suck sometimes."
When the chemo started, Albani couldn't make it up his stairs. He couldn't keep food down. He lost muscle, he lost sleep, he lost weight. He went from 163 pounds to 138 almost immediately.
He also lost his hair.
"I was most worried about losing my eyebrows because that's the source of my power," he said, arching one of his eyebrows (which he still has).
He did not lose his sense of humor.
"I save a lot on shampoo," he said.
He grew a mohawk, but it eventually fell out. His friends at John Caroll shaved their heads in support. He even nicknamed his tumor Doug, in honor of his former roommate. (Albani had to drop out after the diagnosis.)
"You have to have a sense of humor about it," he said. "You can't act ignore what's happening. You can't treat it like a 3,000-pound elephant in the corner of the room."
And that's what's most amazing. In his darkest hour, just when Albani was supposed to act like his life was over, a funny thing happened.
He didn't.
"I'm just amazed with Tommy," said his mother, Karen. "Through it all, he never complained. You never hear him say, 'Why did this happen to me?' You never hear anything negative."
Support
How could he? Everywhere he turned, Albani was bombarded with support. His family rallied around him. His friends rallied around him. The community rallied around him.
"Everyone has been great," he said.
"It's been wonderful," Karen said.
"It seems so overwhelming," Dr. Albani said.
Food. Cards. Gifts. More food.
"I believe in three things," Dr. Albani said. "I believe in God and my faith. I believe in science and technology. And I believe in the power of family and friends.
"With those three things, no matter what you're going through, you can pull through. We've just had an outpouring of kindness, and it's meant more than you can imagine."
Instead of weakness, he found strength. Instead of despair, he found hope. It's as if God selected the perfect person to bear the burden.
"It does seem like that," said Boardman coach Dave Pavlansky, who coached Tom in high school. "He's one of the most humble, most giving people I've ever met.
"He's a typical distance runner. He's intellectual. He's optimistic. He has a plan. And he believes that with good, consistent effort, anything can happen."
Looking ahead
Three months later, Albani's recovery is going well. The tumors are gone. He still has chemotherapy -- as often as three times a week -- which leaves him tired and weak.
But it's not much different than running a race. He wants to quit. But he doesn't.
Albani, 20, has a very aggressive tumor, which divides rapidly and spreads rapidly. But since chemotherapy attacks cells that are dividing, a rapidly growing tumor is actually a good thing.
"But as far as the chemo goes, it does tend to knock you down and wipe you out," Dr. Albani said. "But he learned from his days of cross country, this isn't a 100-yard dash. It's like a race, where you gotta go through lots of initial stuff.
"It's helpful to have that mindset. You don't expect it to go away overnight."
Albani had to quit competitive running last fall when he injured his back in a car accident, but he's looking forward to going back to school -- he's already scheduled his classes for the fall. He's looking forward to eating a Chipotle burrito without losing it later and driving a car and sleeping regularly and being able to hang out with his friends whenever he wants.
In short, he's looking forward to feeling normal.
"The toughest part is not being able to live the life I was leading," he said.
He has at least two more years of treatment before he's rid of the cancer, but he's ready for the challenge.
"Everyone has problems," Dr. Albani said. "It's how you deal with it that makes the difference. The ones who do the best are the ones who take that attitude."
What is behind Albani and what is ahead of him matter little compared to what is inside him.
He's a survivor, but he's not looking to survive this race.
He's looking to win it.
scalzo@vindy.com