Former R-P wrestler, cancer survivor addresses Whitehall wrestling team joins with guest speaker Dusty Mysen (back row, in white) after Mysen spoke to the team during practice, Cancer survivor Dusty Mysen gives inspirational talk to Whitehall before 2024 team wrestling finals
By Andy Roberts
Aug 27, 2024, 11:02 am· Updated Aug 27, 2024, 11:02 am
WHITEHALL — As far as Craig Christensen remembers, Whitehall wrestling had never brought in an outside guest speaker in the years he’s been involved with the program until last Thursday. That his old high school wrestling teammate Dusty Mysen was the first showed the respect between the two men, as well as the gravity of what Mysen went through to get there.
Mysen was a year behind Christensen at Reeths-Puffer, and while the two are close friends and former wrestling teammates, real life kept them largely separated after school, as it often does. Though he could have wrestled at Muskegon Community College, Mysen went off to Michigan State to study engineering and then to the Detroit suburbs working for Continental Automotive, while Christensen became a teacher and wrestling coach on this side of the state.
In September 2020, Mysen’s life took a turn when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a disease he said rarely affects people as young as he was at the time (47). His prognosis appeared bleak enough that the doctor who broke the news said it would be a good idea to get his affairs in order.
“The wrestler in me kicked in,” Mysen said. “’OK, I’m going to fight this.’ I went through years of chemo, radiation, and multiple surgeries. As I went through it, I relied on my sports background. I’d come home from chemo, and I’d hit the gym and work out. That’s all stuff you learn here.”
In September 2022, Mysen underwent a successful 13.5-hour surgery to remove the tumor from his pancreas. He has been cancer-free since, and in that short time, he’s developed a desire to give back all the support he received during two years of treatment. He’s working on a book and has addressed the wrestling team in his home school district of Oxford, as well as the youth teams he coaches.
His Whitehall trip marked his first speaking engagement away from home. “I’m in the auto industry in sales, so I’m used to talking and stuff like that,” Mysen said. “Craig says it should be a career but I don’t think I’m there yet…The message I want to share with them is really, what they are doing here is hard. Compared to other sports – my kids play basketball, football and lacrosse – what these guys do in this room is tougher than most sports.
That’s preparing them for anything they’re going to run into.” Christensen said he generally bristles at the idea that everything in life is easy after you wrestle, “because it’s not.” However, he said there’s certainly truth to the message his old friend delivered. “In some ways it prepares you for hard stuff,” Christensen said. “I just felt like going into the postseason, it’s a good message for the kids to hear.”
Mysen said the growth of the Vikings’ program has been remarkable, noting that they were not much of a factor when he and Christensen were wrestling. Over the past 20 years, Whitehall has become one of the preeminent programs on the west side of the state, and it earned a third Division 3 second-place finish in four seasons over the weekend.
“That’s a culture thing and that’s a coaching thing,” Mysen said. “It’s kind of cool to come over and see it and get to meet some of these kids I’ve been following (from afar).” Christensen, who has previously said he enjoys coaching kids far more than he enjoys coaching sports, noted that Mysen’s message reinforces the feeling of perspective in high school sports.
For athletes of that age, it can be easy to believe no bigger thing than the next game could possibly exist; adults have the advantage of knowing better. “It means a lot to have him come in,” Christensen said. “I think there’s some symbolism of standing in a wrestling room together. We truly haven’t been in a wrestling space together since 1991.
So, it’s special having him have the opportunity to come in and share his experience with a lot of the boys.” It’s likely Mysen will address many more sports teams as time goes on – while he joked that he’s not trying to become the next great motivational speaker, he said he wants to give back when there’s an opportunity – and his message will be similar when he does.
“When everybody picks you up, it really helps you fight through when you’re going through chemo and stuff like that,” Mysen said. “It’s little things, a call or a text or things like that. I think people forget that a little too much. I’m trying to remind people. It has an impact on people and it helps, and it had a huge impact on me.”
Cancer Types | This Is Living with Cancer | Official Site
Dusty Mysen survived his battle with pancreatic cancer by facing his diagnosis with determination and resilience.
After receiving a grim prognosis, he chose to fight rather than succumb to despair. He underwent multiple surgeries and treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation, and ultimately, he was able to remove the tumor from his pancreas.
Mysen’s story is a testament to his spiritual strength and faith, which played a crucial role in his recovery.
He has since become a mentor and advocate for cancer survivors, sharing his experiences to inspire others facing similar challenges.
Dusty’s Story: How Resilience, Strength and a Henry Ford Surgeon Spells Success in the Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer
By all accounts, Dusty Mysen has had good fortune in his upbringing, including his personal and professional life. Born in Muskegon, Michigan close to the shores of Lake Michigan, Dusty grew up with loving parents and a brother while competing in a variety of sports.
He describes his college experience as a blessed one where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1995 while meeting life-long friends. His degree allowed him to embark on a successful career in the automotive industry while providing for the love of his life Katie and their four children.
“Being an active family, I’ve loved watching my kids grow and chase them around while they played sports and do all their activities. I really couldn’t have asked for anything better,” he says.
A turning point in 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dusty who was 46 at the time, transitioned to working from home. “I’ve always been a glass half- full guy so given my long commute to work, I was thankful for the opportunity to work from home giving me more free time to be with my family and work out more,” he says. In the spring of 2020, Dusty began experiencing abdominal pain which he attributed to a pulled muscle. When the pain did not subside, he saw his primary care doctor who suspected an issue with his gallbladder. “My gallbladder was not functioning, so I had laparoscopic surgery to remove it,” he notes.
Dusty was told he should be back in action and could resume working out in a couple of weeks but instead of getting better, he was getting worse.
“I got really sick, was in significant pain and couldn’t sleep,” her remembers. His wife Katie, a nurse practitioner, said he looked jaundice and yellow, so they went to the ER where Dusty says the staff determined his liver was leaking bile. As serious as the situation seemed to be at the time, Dusty says in a way he felt fortunate. “Ultimately the gallbladder issue was a symptom of a much more serious issue that I would not have known about if it weren’t for the gallbladder symptoms.”
From a picture of health to the words no one wants to hear
Dusty at a clinic, determined to beat his pancreatic cancer.After receiving a scan, doctors recommended a biopsy of the pancreas to determine what may be causing Dusty’s medical issues. Due to his young age and general good health, Dusty says he went into the biopsy assuming that it was going to come back not cancerous.
But when he woke up, still groggy from the anesthesia at the local hospital, the surgeon gave him the devastating news that would change his life forever. “I was all alone and out of nowhere the biopsy surgeon is standing over me and says I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this but you have pancreatic cancer.
I don’t believe we can operate on it and there’s not much we can do and with that he pretty much walked away.” Dusty says the same news was delivered to his wife in an unempathetic way. As they cried together and were told to get his affairs together, Dusty expresses it was the lowest point in his life.
How faith and fitness became central to Dusty’s journey
Even though Dusty did not grow up attending church on a regular basis, he credits scripture with spearheading a positive attitude as he embarked on the fight for his life. “The verse that kept popping in my head pointed me to the realization that it’s God’s plan and out of my hands. As someone who likes to control everything, I realized I could control getting the negative thoughts out of my head and change my mental state from the lowest of the low to slowly come out of the valley and get into the fight.”
As Dusty endured chemotherapy and radiation for a two-year period, he made it a priority to continue to live life to the fullest extent possible. “There were days that I didn’t have the strength to do much, but I focused on fighting through and still worked out regularly, went to sporting events, worked full time and enjoyed hanging out with my family and friends.”
When initial complex surgical procedure fails, new hope is restored at Henry Ford Health
Determined to do everything in his power to beat the odds of surviving pancreatic cancer, Dusty met with a local surgeon who attempted to perform the Whipple procedure, a highly complex surgery to remove tumors in the pancreas. The extremely difficult operation entails removal of the pancreas head, the bile duct, small intestine, and part of the stomach, and reconstruction of a large part of the gastrointestinal tract. While the surgery offers the best chance for long-term survival of pancreatic cancer, eligibility is limited. Despite testing before surgery, the surgeon may find during the procedure that the cancer has spread or cannot be removed due to the difficult nature of the surgery. Unfortunately, that was the case for Dusty.
“The surgeon attempted to do the procedure in 2021 but couldn’t complete the procedure due to potential damage of important blood vessels so he told me it was a one and done opportunity and he did not recommend that anyone else try it again.”
After consulting with a few additional surgeons with the same opinion, Dusty said his search to maximize his chance of survival would continue. “I wasn’t yet fifty at that time and had four children between the ages of eight and twenty-two and an amazing wife – all whom I wasn’t willing to leave without a fight.” His search led him to David Kwon, M.D. a surgical oncologist at Henry Ford Health with extensive expertise in pancreatic tumor surgery.
Dusty expressed the meeting with Dr. Kwon provided the hope he needed despite not sugar coating what the outcome may be. “Dr. Kwon was honest with me and told me it would be a very challenging and long surgery and there was likely less than a 50% chance of success, but that he was willing to try if I wanted to proceed.”
He says he had faith and trust in Dr. Kwon from the very first moment he met him. “His reputation as an expert surgeon was the baseline, but his incredible bedside manner and strong, friendly personality made me feel he was the perfect surgeon for me from day one.”
Defying the odds with the second Whipple procedure
After meeting with Dr. Kwon, Dusty weighed his options and went with his gut to proceed with the second attempt of the Whipple procedure. Dr. Kwon says it was an honor to meet with Dusty who expressed his desire to fight for his wife and family. The 13-hour surgical procedure was a calculated risk but one that gave Dusty the hope he was looking for.
“In Mr. Mysen’s case, the surgery would be complicated due to his previous treatments including radiation, and this would be a very long surgery,” explains Dr. Kwon. He adds that the tumor is often located very close or adjacent to blood vessels that can cause life-threatening bleeding, making an extremely difficult surgery even more complex with concerns for significant blood loss. “In Mr. Mysen’s situation, with fastidious attention to the anatomy in relation to the tumor, we were able to remove the tumor successfully.”
Dr. Kwon emphasized the reason he was willing to fight with Dusty was because he was not only fighting for himself, but for the opportunity to have more time with his wife and four kids. “Couple that with his courage and positive attitude, I was willing to serve alongside him and perform the operation.”
Dr. Kwon says the final pathology was extremely favorable when the tumor was safely removed, and there was no spread of cancer to the lymph nodes. “He has already defied significant odds, in that the highest likelihood of tumor recurrence is in two years after surgery, and now, Mr. Mysen has been alive almost five years since his diagnosis.”
With a new lease on life, Dusty expresses the deepest gratitude for Dr. Kwon and the Henry Ford team who he says treated him like a person, not simply like a patient, and definitely not like a patient who wasn’t going to be around for long.
“The staff including the nurses, phlebotomists and CT techs were caring, and obviously experts in their fields, but also always explained things in a way that I could fully understand. In terms of Dr. Kwon, there are no words to describe how amazing he is. He saved my life. But it’s even more than that. He truly cares.”
Meet the Pancreatic Cancer Team
Renowned experts that specialize in treating and removing pancreas tumors.
Taking on Michigan Ironman
Always one to take on a fitness challenge, Dusty is participating in the Michigan Ironman 70.3 in Frankfort, Michigan in September, 2025 as a relay with two other cancer survivors. One, a 3-time cancer survivor, will do the 1.2 mile swim, another will do the 56-mile bike, and Dusty will finish the event with the 13.1-mile run.
Paying it forward with hope and help for others
Dusty at a book signing, promoting his book on his cancer journey.Since his successful life-saving surgery, Dusty has continued to work as a sales executive in the automotive electronics industry while continuing to stay fit by regularly lifting weights and running. As he enjoys life with his wife and kids, he is also active in his local Oxford community coaching basketball and lacrosse. Dusty, who plans to join his wife in a medical mission to Honduras in the Fall of 2025, has also made it a mission to give back to the cancer community by sharing his story. In addition to speaking events, podcasts and serving as a mentor for a cancer peer-to-peer mentoring organization, Imerman Angels, Dusty has shared his journey chronicled in his book,
A Cancer Warrior: How I Fought And Survived My Battle With Pancreatic Cancer.
He says it’s a mission to help others to realize that tomorrow is never promised but through resilience and strength, hope and miracles can endure.
“I wrote the book and speak at events in an effort to give hope, the one thing that every cancer warrior is looking for,” he expresses. “I was seeking it from the first day of diagnosis. Dr. Kwon ultimately took that hope to the next level and allowed me to say the words ‘cancer-free’! I hope my story can give a little hope to those in need while helping some people going through a tough battle in their own lives.”
SUMMATION:
OXFORD — On Sept. 22, 2020, Dusty Mysen woke up post operation to hear results from his biopsy. Mysen recently turned 47, was working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic and used the time he saved commuting to exercise.
He began having abdominal pain, and thought it was a pulled muscle before eventually visiting a doctor after it did not go away. Doctors told Mysen his gallbladder failed and he would feel better a few days after it was removed.
He got worse.
That September, Mysen’s biopsy surgeon came to his bed and told Mysen, “I’m sorry to tell you this, but you have pancreatic cancer. In my expert opinion, I don’t think it’s operable, and you should go home and get your affairs in order.”
“So, at 47, I’m like ‘I’m a dead man,’” Mysen said. “And so I went home and got into the fight a little bit, and did chemo and a couple of surgeries, and it really changed my whole life.”
Mysen said he needed a release during his treatment, and decided to start keeping a journal. In September 2022, Mysen decided what he wrote in his journals may help people facing their own struggles, and began to shape his writings into a book.
“Everyone has struggles in their lives, and I’m not naive enough to think that this book is a cure for that or can help that,” Mysen said. “But I hope that people reading it can get a little bit of hope, a little bit of inspiration.”
The book, “A Cancer Warrior: How I Fought and Survived My Battle With Pancreatic Cancer,” is available to order on Amazon and was released on Dec. 10. An aspect of the book Mysen mentioned is that it does not focus on statistics and instead focuses on providing hope.
It takes readers through “the biggest battle he ever faced,” one “filled with uncertainty and seemingly insurmountable challenges,” and life lessons he learned along the way, according to the book’s back cover. The fight lasted two years.
Fighting mentally was also especially important. Along with staying physically active and the support of his medical team, Mysen outlined a six-part framework in his book that helped him mentally and physically.
One of the six he attributed was his faith in his religion, although he also said faith in any religion, or in medicine, also works.
Mysen said part of this is playing mind games and faking it “till you make it” – by telling yourself that it’s not all bad even if it feels that way – is helpful.
Another of the six parts was focusing on why he was fighting, which for Mysen was his family. So he fought to be there for his family’s next milestone.
His family, friends and others were also part of his support system – another crucial part of the framework. Oxford’s community is especially included.
“Oxford, more than anywhere I’ve ever been, if someone is in crisis or struggling, they will stand up like no other place in the world,” Mysen said.
That system picked Mysen up, and he leaned into it. Mysen said there is “no way” he would be here without the support of his family and friends as well.
“Cancer is a monster, and you can’t fight it alone,” he said.
With his wife’s support, Mysen slowly began exercising. Eventually, Mysen improved and put on more weight. The chemo started to work; he was able to walk better, and more. Each accomplishment gave him more confidence in his abilities.
Mysen compared it to going to the gym. Someone may never feel like they will get stronger, but, two years later, they will see all the progress they made.
In 2022, Mysen underwent a second surgery and was cancer free.
Mysen said he believes the experience made him a better person. He said he appreciates small things more – like the sun and the smell of freshly-cut grass. He was also largely career-focused, and most focused on his immediate space, or his family.
“The fact that I’m still here, I’ve changed a little bit,” he said. “And I really feel that helping other people, even in small ways (is so important).”
For example, Mysen is a mentor for Imerman Angels – a one-on-one cancer support community that connects cancer fighters, survivors, previvors and caregivers to cancer confidantes with similar stories and experiences, according to the nonprofit’s website.
“But that’s something I probably really wouldn’t have done in the past because I was so focused on advancing my career and doing my things,” he said.
Mysen also said he will talk to anyone who thinks his story could be helpful and provided his email address to contact him.
“I’m just another dude who went through it, but I will talk to anyone who thinks that my story could help them,” he said.
Mysen’s email address is dustymysen@gmail.com. For more information on Imerman Angels, visit imermanangels.org.
For further information visit pancreatic cancer care at Henry Ford Health.
Dr. Robert C.G. Martin MD University of Louisville Hospital Pancreatic Cancer.
A Cancer Warrior – Dusty Mysen Returns Home to Talk About His Book and Cancer Journey December 10
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