Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913
The evenings of Feb. 14 and 15 were filled with a message of love, of hardship and of despair that came in the form of Love Letters-an epistolary play that takes place within the letters between a man and a woman over 50 years and chronicles a tumultuous relationship punctuated by ups and downs and accented by comedy. But the real message of the night was one of charity and love directed at Chayten Pippin and his family from the event's main cast, FPST veterans and the shows immediate sponsors, Andy Meyers and Pam L. Veis.
It was only six days before his eighteenth birthday on Oct. 22, 2020, when Chayten received word from his doctor that he had a cancerous tumor and would need to travel to the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver immediately for treatment. It was the day after his birthday-Oct. 29-that he heard the actual name of that cancer.
"It's a mouthful," said Chayten's dad, Chris Pippin, "Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor which is a really rare cancer." Chris explained that only 400 cases have been studied globally making effective treatment a relative unknown. "It was a hell of a way to celebrate a birthday. Very Surreal."
Chayten began chemotherapy as soon as possible and has remained in Colorado for the better part of the following four months. "It might have been a week," said Chris, "It's all a blur back then." Originally, the Pippins stayed at the Ronald McDonald House before moving into "Brent's Place" which is a clean-living facility for cancer patients that may need future bone marrow transplants. More or less, the facility upholds a high-level of sanitation and cleanliness to prevent the risk of infections in patients.
Chayten did return home in February and managed to surprise the guests of the Valentine's Day showing of Love Letters at Valley Cinemas by attending in person.
Fort Peck Summer Theatre Director Andy Meyers explained that the Valentine's Day showing is a bit of a tradition for the two thespians-they've been performing it in Valley County since 2015-but that this year, instead of offering it as a fundraiser for the theatre itself, they decided to donate the proceeds to Chayten's cancer battle.
Chayten has been a regular attendee at the FPST summer camps and had been cast in a role to perform during the 2020 season before COVID-19 ended the season before it began. Chris too has been affiliated with the theatre as an actor on stage and a musician in multiple past productions explained Meyers.
"I think the theatre is so important to Chayten and his family," said Meyers. "So, it's just awesome that we can come together-especially coming out of the pandemic-as artists to support him by doing something he loves. That kind of made it extra special for us."
Meyers said Veis and he paid for the cost of the show, donated their time, licensed the play for a live showing with the help of Shelly George of Thrivent Financial and booked the venue-Valley Cinemas-free of charge. Alicia Bullock-Muthe supported the cast by directing the play and performing both pre-show and during intermission accompanied by Luree Chappel.
The generosity allowed them to optimize the play to give as much as possible to the Pippins and to Chayten's battle going forward.
Chris and his family were humbled by his fellow performers' generosity. "Actors have gone an entire season without any work," he said. "So, there are a lot of causes they could have supported, and it was very humbling to know they picked Chayten."
Chris said the prognosis and treatment has looked good. Following the first few rounds of chemo the most recent scans have shown the tumor shrank significantly which Chris said is good news. The current plan is to continue chemo until the tumor stops shrinking and then proceed with one of two possible treatment options in the future.
The first treatment is called HIPEC surgery or "hot surgery" where the tumor is removed and then chemotherapy drugs are poured into the cavity to destroy any remaining cancer cells that may have been left behind. The second is a treatment still in trial phases that calls for a regular surgery removing the tumor followed by internal radiation to attack just the cancer cells inside the body and then external radiation.
"So, there's two ways that we can go after the tumor stops responding to chemotherapy," said Chris. "And we're hoping the doctors have some information for us this time. They're really continuing to reach out to other colleagues in the cancer [field to] try and get the best way forward."
Chris said the diagnosis has made him feel out of control. He said any cancer diagnosis in a child is hard, but he feels like a leukemia diagnosis and the continuity of treatment options may have been easier to navigate, but with such an unknown cancer the emotions have been tumultuous.
"You almost feel like you're out of control," he said. "You're just rolling with the changes. It really makes your footing uncertain."
"I'd just like to thank everybody for their continued support through this strange trip that we're on. It's tough to verbalize the gratitude from it all."
In addition to the Love Letters fundraiser, Pippin praised the radiothon in Malta and one of Chayten's fellow Maverick pep band members and Hinsdale resident, Codi Donniaquo, put out change jars to gather funds for the family's needs going forward.
Chayten and family have returned to Colorado to continue treatment. To support Chayten's cancer treatment and the family's needs donations can be sent to Chayten's Venmo account @Chay-Pip-Med or they can be made directly to his medical account at First State Bank in Malta.
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