Link to article (Star Tribune 2006):
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11615536
Family has no regrets about son's treatment
By Paul McEnroe, Star Tribune
January 21, 2006
Published March 14, 2004
It was late summer 1999, and time was not on Michael Boyum's side. At 22, he was losing his yearlong fight against leukemia and as a last resort he turned to Dr. Fatih Uckun and the staff at Parker Hughes Cancer Center in Roseville.
The clinic's research arm had touted a so-called magic bullet to fight leukemia, a drug called TXU-PAP. Boyum, of Inver Grove Heights and an elementary education major who had attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, hoped it would work for him.
Uckun, who founded the center and its research institute, didn't make any promises and warned the family of risks associated with the experimental drug, Boyum's parents, Dan and Bonnie, said recently. The doctor didn't mention to them that three chimpanzees had died after being given the drug, they said.
Yet the chimp deaths wouldn't have changed their son's mind, the parents said. They described Uckun as a brilliant, compassionate doctor who tried to save their son.
"Michael would have said: 'Well, look at the chimps that made it. If I don't do anything, I am going to die before the end of the year, and I have a chance to live,'" said his mother.
Three months before giving the drug to Michael Boyum, Uckun had submitted an article to a medical journal about the chimp tests. The article didn't mention that three had died, and declared the drug had no serious side effects.
Bonnie Boyum, who is a nurse, said she and her husband were not aware of the research at the time. She scoffs at the notion that anyone should be concerned about what wasn't in the article.
"That's such a silly thing, I mean, that is so irrelevant to anything," she said. "... Do you think that [the chimps' deaths] would have mattered? These people already had death sentences."
She said that questions about Uckun's ethics and disclosures to patients and families are attempts to smear his reputation and detract from his work.
In July 1999, Michael Boyum had received chemotherapy at Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis. At first it seemed to help, despite the toxic side effects. But four weeks later he relapsed.
A friend told the family about Uckun's work at Parker Hughes, said his parents. It was a time of major decisions for their son. His choice of a new doctor was only one of them.
That August, Michael Boyum married his high-school sweetheart, Michelle. They had been dating for six years. They decided to go ahead with their wedding despite the grim outlook, his parents said. The next month, Uckun began the treatments with TXU-PAP. Boyum received injections over five days.
"There were no guarantees, but he gave us hope and he didn't say go home and die," Bonnie Boyum said. "He said, 'I will try my very, very best to save your son's life.'"
The magic bullet did not save him.
Michael Boyum died in October, three days after his 23rd birthday. Uckun was at his bedside. The death certificate said he died of adult respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and acute myelocytic leukemia. Uckun has said the death was not caused by the drug.
The Boyums' admiration for Uckun has not dimmed. In one example of his compassion, they said, he sometimes checked on their son in the hospital at 2 a.m.
"Fatih Uckun would never tell anyone, 'Go home, we can't do anything, just go home and die,''' Bonnie Boyum said. "He tries his best to save lives.''
Paul McEnroe is at [email protected] or 612-673-1745.
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11615536
Family has no regrets about son's treatment
By Paul McEnroe, Star Tribune
January 21, 2006
Published March 14, 2004
It was late summer 1999, and time was not on Michael Boyum's side. At 22, he was losing his yearlong fight against leukemia and as a last resort he turned to Dr. Fatih Uckun and the staff at Parker Hughes Cancer Center in Roseville.
The clinic's research arm had touted a so-called magic bullet to fight leukemia, a drug called TXU-PAP. Boyum, of Inver Grove Heights and an elementary education major who had attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, hoped it would work for him.
Uckun, who founded the center and its research institute, didn't make any promises and warned the family of risks associated with the experimental drug, Boyum's parents, Dan and Bonnie, said recently. The doctor didn't mention to them that three chimpanzees had died after being given the drug, they said.
Yet the chimp deaths wouldn't have changed their son's mind, the parents said. They described Uckun as a brilliant, compassionate doctor who tried to save their son.
"Michael would have said: 'Well, look at the chimps that made it. If I don't do anything, I am going to die before the end of the year, and I have a chance to live,'" said his mother.
Three months before giving the drug to Michael Boyum, Uckun had submitted an article to a medical journal about the chimp tests. The article didn't mention that three had died, and declared the drug had no serious side effects.
Bonnie Boyum, who is a nurse, said she and her husband were not aware of the research at the time. She scoffs at the notion that anyone should be concerned about what wasn't in the article.
"That's such a silly thing, I mean, that is so irrelevant to anything," she said. "... Do you think that [the chimps' deaths] would have mattered? These people already had death sentences."
She said that questions about Uckun's ethics and disclosures to patients and families are attempts to smear his reputation and detract from his work.
In July 1999, Michael Boyum had received chemotherapy at Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis. At first it seemed to help, despite the toxic side effects. But four weeks later he relapsed.
A friend told the family about Uckun's work at Parker Hughes, said his parents. It was a time of major decisions for their son. His choice of a new doctor was only one of them.
That August, Michael Boyum married his high-school sweetheart, Michelle. They had been dating for six years. They decided to go ahead with their wedding despite the grim outlook, his parents said. The next month, Uckun began the treatments with TXU-PAP. Boyum received injections over five days.
"There were no guarantees, but he gave us hope and he didn't say go home and die," Bonnie Boyum said. "He said, 'I will try my very, very best to save your son's life.'"
The magic bullet did not save him.
Michael Boyum died in October, three days after his 23rd birthday. Uckun was at his bedside. The death certificate said he died of adult respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and acute myelocytic leukemia. Uckun has said the death was not caused by the drug.
The Boyums' admiration for Uckun has not dimmed. In one example of his compassion, they said, he sometimes checked on their son in the hospital at 2 a.m.
"Fatih Uckun would never tell anyone, 'Go home, we can't do anything, just go home and die,''' Bonnie Boyum said. "He tries his best to save lives.''
Paul McEnroe is at [email protected] or 612-673-1745.
Link to article (Star Tribune 2006):
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11615536
Family has no regrets about son's treatment
By Paul McEnroe, Star Tribune
January 21, 2006
Published March 14, 2004
It was late summer 1999, and time was not on Michael Boyum's side. At 22, he was losing his yearlong fight against leukemia and as a last resort he turned to Dr. Fatih Uckun and the staff at Parker Hughes Cancer Center in Roseville.
The clinic's research arm had touted a so-called magic bullet to fight leukemia, a drug called TXU-PAP. Boyum, of Inver Grove Heights and an elementary education major who had attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, hoped it would work for him.
Uckun, who founded the center and its research institute, didn't make any promises and warned the family of risks associated with the experimental drug, Boyum's parents, Dan and Bonnie, said recently. The doctor didn't mention to them that three chimpanzees had died after being given the drug, they said.
Yet the chimp deaths wouldn't have changed their son's mind, the parents said. They described Uckun as a brilliant, compassionate doctor who tried to save their son.
"Michael would have said: 'Well, look at the chimps that made it. If I don't do anything, I am going to die before the end of the year, and I have a chance to live,'" said his mother.
Three months before giving the drug to Michael Boyum, Uckun had submitted an article to a medical journal about the chimp tests. The article didn't mention that three had died, and declared the drug had no serious side effects.
Bonnie Boyum, who is a nurse, said she and her husband were not aware of the research at the time. She scoffs at the notion that anyone should be concerned about what wasn't in the article.
"That's such a silly thing, I mean, that is so irrelevant to anything," she said. "... Do you think that [the chimps' deaths] would have mattered? These people already had death sentences."
She said that questions about Uckun's ethics and disclosures to patients and families are attempts to smear his reputation and detract from his work.
In July 1999, Michael Boyum had received chemotherapy at Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis. At first it seemed to help, despite the toxic side effects. But four weeks later he relapsed.
A friend told the family about Uckun's work at Parker Hughes, said his parents. It was a time of major decisions for their son. His choice of a new doctor was only one of them.
That August, Michael Boyum married his high-school sweetheart, Michelle. They had been dating for six years. They decided to go ahead with their wedding despite the grim outlook, his parents said. The next month, Uckun began the treatments with TXU-PAP. Boyum received injections over five days.
"There were no guarantees, but he gave us hope and he didn't say go home and die," Bonnie Boyum said. "He said, 'I will try my very, very best to save your son's life.'"
The magic bullet did not save him.
Michael Boyum died in October, three days after his 23rd birthday. Uckun was at his bedside. The death certificate said he died of adult respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and acute myelocytic leukemia. Uckun has said the death was not caused by the drug.
The Boyums' admiration for Uckun has not dimmed. In one example of his compassion, they said, he sometimes checked on their son in the hospital at 2 a.m.
"Fatih Uckun would never tell anyone, 'Go home, we can't do anything, just go home and die,''' Bonnie Boyum said. "He tries his best to save lives.''
Paul McEnroe is at [email protected] or 612-673-1745.
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=11615536
Family has no regrets about son's treatment
By Paul McEnroe, Star Tribune
January 21, 2006
Published March 14, 2004
It was late summer 1999, and time was not on Michael Boyum's side. At 22, he was losing his yearlong fight against leukemia and as a last resort he turned to Dr. Fatih Uckun and the staff at Parker Hughes Cancer Center in Roseville.
The clinic's research arm had touted a so-called magic bullet to fight leukemia, a drug called TXU-PAP. Boyum, of Inver Grove Heights and an elementary education major who had attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, hoped it would work for him.
Uckun, who founded the center and its research institute, didn't make any promises and warned the family of risks associated with the experimental drug, Boyum's parents, Dan and Bonnie, said recently. The doctor didn't mention to them that three chimpanzees had died after being given the drug, they said.
Yet the chimp deaths wouldn't have changed their son's mind, the parents said. They described Uckun as a brilliant, compassionate doctor who tried to save their son.
"Michael would have said: 'Well, look at the chimps that made it. If I don't do anything, I am going to die before the end of the year, and I have a chance to live,'" said his mother.
Three months before giving the drug to Michael Boyum, Uckun had submitted an article to a medical journal about the chimp tests. The article didn't mention that three had died, and declared the drug had no serious side effects.
Bonnie Boyum, who is a nurse, said she and her husband were not aware of the research at the time. She scoffs at the notion that anyone should be concerned about what wasn't in the article.
"That's such a silly thing, I mean, that is so irrelevant to anything," she said. "... Do you think that [the chimps' deaths] would have mattered? These people already had death sentences."
She said that questions about Uckun's ethics and disclosures to patients and families are attempts to smear his reputation and detract from his work.
In July 1999, Michael Boyum had received chemotherapy at Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis. At first it seemed to help, despite the toxic side effects. But four weeks later he relapsed.
A friend told the family about Uckun's work at Parker Hughes, said his parents. It was a time of major decisions for their son. His choice of a new doctor was only one of them.
That August, Michael Boyum married his high-school sweetheart, Michelle. They had been dating for six years. They decided to go ahead with their wedding despite the grim outlook, his parents said. The next month, Uckun began the treatments with TXU-PAP. Boyum received injections over five days.
"There were no guarantees, but he gave us hope and he didn't say go home and die," Bonnie Boyum said. "He said, 'I will try my very, very best to save your son's life.'"
The magic bullet did not save him.
Michael Boyum died in October, three days after his 23rd birthday. Uckun was at his bedside. The death certificate said he died of adult respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and acute myelocytic leukemia. Uckun has said the death was not caused by the drug.
The Boyums' admiration for Uckun has not dimmed. In one example of his compassion, they said, he sometimes checked on their son in the hospital at 2 a.m.
"Fatih Uckun would never tell anyone, 'Go home, we can't do anything, just go home and die,''' Bonnie Boyum said. "He tries his best to save lives.''
Paul McEnroe is at [email protected] or 612-673-1745.
Inscription
SON - HUSBAND - BROTHER
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
