Corey Rhodes says focusing on helping other liver cancer patients has assisted him in his own tough battle against a rare form of the disease.

The East Huntingdon man’s tumors have stabilized after nearly three years of trying multiple treatments for fibrolamellar carcinoma. With support of family, friends and his community, Rhodes expects to surpass by as much as three times his initial goal of raising $10,000 to assist with cancer research and to provide comfort to other patients.

“I don’t let it run my life,” Rhodes, 32, said of his personal cancer fight. “I go about my business and try not to really think about that.”

After months of planning, Rhodes’ July 20 fundraiser outing attracted 136 participants to Glengarry Golf Links in Unity.

In addition to his work for an accounting firm, “That was pretty much my life for the spring and summer,” Rhodes said of preparations for the successful event. “Keeping myself busy is the best way to keep my mind off of things.”

A golf outing was a natural fundraising choice for Rhodes. Golf is one sport the once active young man is still able to pursue since his cancer battle halted his participation in dek hockey and softball.

Unlike many other types of liver cancer, fibrolamellar carcinoma is known to strike younger, otherwise healthy people.

It is thought to occur in about one in 5 million people in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute, and researchers are studying how it may be related to incorrectly matched genes.

“They told me it was almost like a lottery ticket that randomly occurs,” Rhodes said of the disease.

Rhodes’ initial symptoms included heartburn during activity and shoulder pain. A scan revealed a telltale liver tumor after doctors ruled out celiac disease.

He underwent eight hours of surgery to remove the tumor in October 2021.

“They said it was the size of a deflated basketball,” Rhodes said.

When he learned the following February that the cancer had returned, he said, “That was probably a worse doctor’s appointment than finding out what I had to begin with.”

The cancer also spread to his bones.

Unable to undergo a second liver operation, Rhodes has received multiple rounds of chemotherapy, radiation treatments and immunotherapy. He took part unsuccessfully in a clinical trial in New York City.

At one point, he was placed in hospice care, and his weight dropped to 137 pounds in September.

“I did not feel like eating or drinking,” he said.

Rhodes has gained 30 pounds since switching to a more easily tolerated lower dose of chemotherapy every two weeks. A recent scan indicated his remaining tumors were stable.

Rhodes said he’s been fortunate to avoid any financial stress while battling his cancer. Medical insurance has covered his treatments and his employer has allowed him to work on a part-time schedule.

Thinking of other cancer patients, he realized, “A lot of other people have it a lot worse than I do. I felt like I needed to give back to other people who were not that lucky.”

That prompted his drive to raise money. Having received most of his care through UPMC, Rhodes said he wants part of his fundraising proceeds to be used for cancer research at the University of Pittsburgh and wants the rest to help local patients.

Cousin Aleece Brown of Scottdale, among other family members, played a key role in helping to coordinate the golf event.

“We were all on board,” Brown said. “None of us had golfed, but he had, and we have some fundraising experience.”

“We’re all very proud of the way he has turned this around to not be about him but about helping other people,” said Rhodes’ mother, Gail. “If this can help another patient in any way, that’s what we’re striving for.”

Rhodes is looking forward to making more money for his cause by raffling some choice donated items, including a signed hockey puck he received from the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

Rhodes is looking forward to another golf outing next year and is considering options for a winter fundraiser before then.

“His clock is ticking a lot faster than everybody else’s, so he needs to do something now,” Brown said of her cousin.

More details of Rhodes’ fundraising efforts can be found on the Rhodes Cancer Benefit Facebook page.

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