Every Day Is Thanksgiving For This Cancer Survivor

Thanksgiving comes once a year for most of us, but for John Floriano, every day on this Earth is a day for giving thanks. On Dec. 28, 2004 he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma cancer, which in most cases is fatal within one to 10 years.
He had three major tumors or spots on his spine one at the top, one in the middle and one at the base. After a series of diagnostic tests, Floriano was told he had about three years to live.
That was 18 years ago and some bone marrow transplants. He is still alive. He is thankful that sometimes doctors are wrong.
He is thankful for the 15 “bonus years” he’s had so far, and is hoping for many more.
His cancer is under control. Multiple myeloma cannot be cured, but it sometimes can and does go into remission.
Floriano, for 30 years was a very active, enthusiastic and dedicated teacher and student advisor. He has managed to downsize his life style to make it fit what he is able to do, and is thoroughly enjoying it. “I appreciate the time I have had, and I’m looking forward to all the good times that are still to come,” Floriano declared.
His advice for anyone facing a similar situation?
“Fight the good fight. Never give up. Do not take life for granted. Be thankful for what you have, adapt to what you can do, make the life style changes you have to make, and try to always follow your doctor’s recommendations.”
Floriano was a member of the teaching staff at Marinette Middle High School and Marinette High School for more than 30 years before cancer caused his early disability retirement. He was also very active as a mentor/advisor for Student Senate. He was also an enthusiastic promoter and participant in student activities, like the annual food drive, blood drives, and the 2-day Winterfest celebration.
One of the lingering after effects of his battle with cancer is an inability to tolerate cold. He said he was lucky to have a bone marrow transplant that was done during the two and a half months he spent being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN after being diagnosed with the often fatal multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is quite rare, affecting only seven out of every 100,000 people. It can occasionally be brought into long-term remission, but not cured, but generally brigs death within one to 10 years.
John Floriano  and his wife Terri have been married since July of 1990. They live in Peshtigo, where he helps with house work, enjoys watching the bird feeder in his yard and playing with his dog, who has finally learned not to harass the birds. He and Terri, who worked in the health care field in the Marinette area and Green Bay Heart Care, have four children - daughters, Sarah, of Wash.; Susan, of DePere, and their son, Steven, who lives in Porterfield, and their daughter, Michelle of Grey’s Lake, Il.
Floriano was born on Aug. 1, 1951, at Marinette General Hospital, and spent his early years living in Coleman, where his father was a member of the high school teaching staff and coached basketball, football and track. His family moved to Green Bay when he was five years old.
He graduated from Green Bay West High School in 1969 and attended college at Stevens Point, graduating in 1973, with courses in communications, sociology and English. He had always wanted to be a police officer, so he attended two months of training with the Green Bay Police department during the summer of 1973. Police work did not turn out to be what he expected, so he accepted a teaching position offer from Janesville  Craig High School, where he taught communication for two years.  He married and moved back to Marinette. He taught at the Marinette Middle School for five years before he accepted an opening as an English teacher at Marinette High School. He said teaching Middle School was very difficult. High School was much easier for him.
After becoming certified as an English instructor, Floriano started talking with staff about the need for communications classes. Marinette High School offered no speech program at that time, and he helped to get one started, coming up with different speeches and subjects for kids to cover. One he recalls best was by Jackie Doemel about horses, and the speech presentation included a guest appearance by a real horse of her own.
Floriano described the 15 to 20 years he spent teaching speech as the best years of his career that left him with some great memories. He is pleased that many of his former students returned to thank him after graduation.
Sandy Corwin and Brenda Blystone were among those he worked with on Student Senate.
He also did much rewarding work with the Student Senate, which at the time was the largest group in the State of Wisconsin. Winterfest was a big 2-day event. The annual food drive was another major project each year. Floriano said a lot of effort went into the food drive, and a lot of good results came out of it, including food that was provided for eight different northern Wisconsin food pantries in the area. The food drive awarded one point for every can or package of food collected, and the winning team earned a trophy. They once filled the whole bed of a pickup truck with Ramen Noodles. He said the food drive was important for more than a few reasons, among them was when kids learned to give something back, they also learned that giving can be very, very rewarding.
Then, in December of 2004, those projects came to an abrupt halt for Floriano, with an illness that started with a cough and a bad feeling in his back. He went to the doctor and was told to get a CAT scan. The CAT scan showed the growths on his spine and eventually Dr. David Mertens diagnosed his illness as multiple myeloma.
No one knows the cause, exactly, but there are theories. Among causes may be exposure to radiation or chemicals in pesticides, fertilizer or Agent Orange. Floriano wonders if the creek near Marinette High School, which one of their projects that included contaminated water that has since been treated, and might have had something to do with it.
After the diagnosis, Floriano went to the Mayo Clinic, where physicians got him connected to the right people and the right treatments. Those treatments included two bone marrow transplants, radiation treatment and chemotherapy. He said Dr. Lacy the physician who worked with him most at the Mayo Clinic, was acquainted with cancer specialists from all over the world. Years later she became head of the Cancer unit at the Mayo Clinic, Floriano said.
Back home he developed a cellulitis infection, which added to his problems. “It was a challenge for sure,” Floriano declared. “Thank God I live in the USA, where there is medical coverage to help you get through tough situations! I almost lost my leg”!
Floriano added it is reassuring to have convenient access to a quality cancer care center and great physicians right here in our community. When your doctor feels you need to talk directly to specialists when the need arises, they can make those connections, that’s important.
Floriano concluded by saying in addition to being grateful for the bonus years he is currently enjoying he is particularly thankful for the love and care his wife, family members, and friends who helped him get through the bad years. He is happy knowing that they are still there for him today when he needs them.

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