Walsh alert, communicating UM hockey coach to be sent to NIH when condition improves

University of Maine hockey coach Shawn Walsh’s condition has improved as he continues to recuperate from an infection and breathing difficulty in the intensive care unit at Bangor’s Eastern Maine Medical Center.

Walsh, who is suffering from kidney cancer, is in stable condition. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday.

“He has responded well to the antibiotics and the infection is under control if not gone,” said John Vickery, Walsh’s father-in-law.

He said his son-in-law’s breathing has improved and he has been more responsive “because he hasn’t been as sedated as he was earlier this week. He knows what’s going on. Lynne [Walsh’s wife] has been talking to him and he has been writing.”

His wife has been at his side throughout his ordeal.

He has required some assistance breathing, but is not connected to a life-support system.

Vickery said the doctors at EMMC intend to send Walsh to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. once he is healthy enough to make the trip.

Walsh, who is beginning his 18th season at Maine, was diagnosed with the disease 15 months ago and has had his left lung and left kidney removed and has undergone two exhaustive immunotherapy treatments as well as stem cell transplantation.

He had stem cell transplantation in May.

Dr. Richard Childs is Walsh’s doctor at NIH and has been one of the primary pioneers in the implementation of experimental stem cell transplantation. His brother Kevin’s stem cells were transplanted after Kevin was identified as a perfect donor match.

Walsh still has cancerous tumors in his chest and those tumors and a respiratory infection caused the breathing difficulty.

The hope is that his brother’s stem cells will take over his immune system and will attack and eliminate the tumors. The Bear coach had to take immunosuppressive drugs for several months to shut down his own immune system so it wouldn’t reject his brother’s white blood cells.

Walsh concluded taking the immunosuppressive drugs last week.

“The [new] immune system should be kicking in soon,” said Vickery.

In 19 stem cell transplants conducted in 1998, 10 of the patients showed significant tumor regression.

Three had total regression and seven more had partial regression.

“That’s what Dr. Childs is hoping for and looking for in Shawn,” said Vickery who added that Childs and his fellow doctors would be in position to try to reduce the size of the tumor once Walsh arrives at NIH.

“They would make a decision on what further treatment might be necessary,” said Vickery.

Dr. Marston Linehan, the chief of urological surgery at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda said doctors remain “very encouraged” by the results they are seeing from stem cell transplantation but said it does take time for the procedure to work.

“Sometimes, it can be a little while before the doctor sees regression of the tumor. It takes three to six months. That is the nature of the therapy,” said Linehan. “And it isn’t uncommon to have tumor growth during that time period. The hope of this therapy is that when the therapy starts to work, it will shrink the tumor. That has been seen a number of times.”

He also said it isn’t uncommon to have the patient suffer side effects from the transplanted cells.

“Even if there is a good match, sometimes the transplanted white blood cells will have a reaction against that patient’s body,” said Dr. Linehan. “That is called graft vs. host. Your hope is that you can minimize the [side effects of] graft vs. host and maximize the graft vs. tumor. That’s when the tumor gets smaller.”

He added that patients can also suffer side effects caused by the immunosuppressive drugs.

Still, he reiterated that although they are in the early phases of stem cell transplantation therapy, doctors remain very optimistic about the results.

Walsh, who has lost considerable weight, has led Maine to a 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven Frozen Fours and two NCAA championships. He is 399-214-44 and ranks 11th among active coaches and 19th all-time in victories.

He is a four-time Hockey East Coach of the Year and won the Spencer Penrose Award as the national coach of the year in 1995.

The Black Bears take the ice on Sept. 25 and newly-named assistant Tim Whitehead, the former head coach at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, would probably serve as interim head coach if Walsh isn’t ready to return at that time.