The Script: Kinesiology helps alumnus research his own brain cancer
Kasie Corley |
Alumnus uses human performance lab to document effects of disease
Lipscomb University alumnus Charles Baldinger is in a fight for his life, and he’s using the university’s human performance laboratory as a weapon for future brain cancer patients—and himself—to fight even harder.
Baldinger, a 2014 graduate of the exercise and nutrition science master’s program, was diagnosed in 2010 with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare Stage 3 malignant brain tumor affecting his speech and motor skills on his right side.
A West Point graduate, Baldinger branched as an infantry officer before medically retiring. Later he attended Lipscomb, and then entered the security industry before the tumor eventually evolved to Stage 4 brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme. Baldinger is currently stable, but his fight continues with a new clinical trial in Washington D.C.
After a recurrence of his cancer, Baldinger decided to refocus on academia, and he became a research assistant in biomedical and bioengineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he works today. He also became interested in documenting the physical changes occurring in his body due to the brain tumor, so he reached out to the faculty at Lipscomb to see if he could use the human performance lab for that documentation.
“He was interested in some bilateral comparisons between the right and left side. We started doing various measurements in our bod pod and then we measured bone mineral densitometry with our dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry machine,” said Kent Johnson, chair of the Department of Kinesiology, who arranged for Baldinger to use the lab.
“We all knew Charles and where his heart was. That’s what we are here for. We have allowed other people to use the human performance lab as well, especially military veterans. That is part of our mission,” Johnson said. “That’s how we are a little different than other schools, and it was a very small thing considering all of his challenges."
As a West Point cadet, Baldinger fell while rock climbing. During a bouldering set his arm locked up while 20 feet high and he plummeted to the floor. “I woke up in the hospital, and the doctor told me she had good and bad news. The good news was that I hadn’t broken anything. The bad news was that I had a tumor in my brain the size of a golf ball that needed to be removed ASAP.
“We’ve gone through steps A, B, C, D… E, and now we’re into experimental treatments. We’re attacking it from all angles, to beat the cancer,” he said. For example, Baldinger wears an Optune™ device that sends signals through his brain to stop the cancer from progressing.
“The idea is that it destroys dividing cells. Brain cells don’t divide very fast or at all. So, if it is dividing fast, it’s a tumor,” he explained. “That’s the principle, but it only works on a certain subset of cancers.”
With the Department of Kinesiology, Baldinger is: “…keeping track of a lot of different factors that could be influencing cancer growth,” he said. “There has to be a reason why standard survival time for glioblastomas is typically six months. I’ve been doing this for eight years. If anyone gets this far, I want to have a record.”
His record includes his exercise plan, body composition measurements, diet, levels on the Optune™ device, and types of chemotherapy and radiation treatment he’s received. The data is not currently part of a formal research project, but Baldinger, who is hoping to be accepted into a Vanderbilt neuroscience and bioengineering doctoral program, said it could be used in the future as a case study to increase scientific knowledge.
“We’re trying to tease out what is working and how we can duplicate it. The only way to do that is by measurement,” he said.
Baldinger visits Lipscomb quarterly to measure circumference, assess skin folds, conduct DXA scans to measure bone mineral density, and assess fat and lean body mass via sessions in the bod pod.
Baldinger’s research contributions transcend medicine and include participation in studies on innovative handicapped aids and equipment. Baldinger served as a test subject for an ongoing Department of Veterans Affairs study to develop communication technology for the speech impaired.
“He talks all the time and is very articulate,” said his mom, Kim Baldinger. “His speech has improved since the radiation, but it was almost painful to watch him because he could not talk. His tumor does not affect cognitive abilities at all, but it does affect his speech and his right side.”
At the time of his first treatment at Walter-Reed National Military Medical Center, Baldinger faced the decision of whether to stay awake during the surgery or undergo general anesthesia. “They get a much better feel for the tumor when they can shock your brain and see the response if you’re awake. If you’re under, they’re really just guessing,” Baldinger explained.
The tumor, located on the motor strip, affects Baldinger’s extremities. While in the operating room, the surgical team periodically poked his toe with a pin to check his sense of touch. His job was to let them know what he could feel. Part way through the surgery, the team stopped to discuss their progress; Baldinger was no longer responsive to the pin.
The medical team decided to end the operation; they had removed as much of the tumor as was safe. “I was disappointed. We are a faith-based family. I had this vision of going in, taking everything out, and everything being great and it would be the end of it,” said Kim Baldinger. “All of this was on my birthday. So, it was rough to have the surgeon come out and say they’ll have to get the rest of the tumor another way.
“In those ensuing years since 2010, the tumor was at rest and he started doing other things,” she said. “Life got in the way of him pursuing his interest in medicine. Well now, life isn’t in the way and he’s doing what he always wanted to do.
“God has a plan and a purpose. I’m waiting to see what the purpose is. Along the way, he’s helping people. I think that’s part of the plan and purpose, so we’re just along for the ride.”
Baldinger’s faith grew from the first diagnosis; however, it was a struggle. “I was angry for a long time when I first had this happen. I went through the stages of grief and ended up stuck at anger,” he said.
“For about six months I was just furious. I was 20. I was young and healthy and did everything right. I thought, ‘Why is this happening to me?’ Eventually, I calmed down and a lot of people helped me understand that this is another challenge both of faith and of me as a person. Once I accepted that, everything else fell into place,” he said.
“I’m going to continue fighting, working and praying so that cancer, particularly brain cancer, can’t do this for much longer to anybody else,” said Baldinger. “This recurrence gives me the ability and time to pursue this goal. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t have had the motivation to beat this had it not impacted my life so much. God called me to do this through this challenge.”
Lipscomb’s Department of Kinesiology has hopes of helping even more people through its human performance lab in the future, said Johnson, Equipment for cardiovascular and metabolic testing could someday be provided for community use, as well as equipment that tests balance issues, especially valuable for seniors, said Johnson.
For more information about Lipscomb's Department of Kinesiology, click here.