2023 KTM Sponsorship Packet

SURVIVOR SPOTLIGHT
Blake Hastings
Blake Hastings went into the clinic for an MRI of his foot for what he was sure was a broken
bone. But sitting in the exam room alone, the then-37-year-old received the news he never
expected to get: he had cancer. It was likely Ewing sarcoma, a type of cancer of the bones
or the soft tissue around them.
A family friend at his diagnosing clinic made a call that would change Blake’s life. Six hours
later, Blake and Carey met with M Health Fairview orthopedic surgeon Denis Clohisy, M.D., a
member of the renowned Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota.
“When it comes to Ewing sarcoma, it’s really premature to advise amputation until we’ve
seen the effect of the chemotherapy,” Clohisy says. “In most cases, it shrinks the tumor
and therefore results in a surgical treatment that’s less debilitating than one might have
thought at the beginning.”
Blake spent a grueling nine months in treatment – but at home. For weeks at a time, he’d
barely leave his bed. He spent about 15 days in the hospital total.
In the end, Blake was able to keep his leg, losing only part of his foot. About six weeks after his treatments had ended, he felt
like he was back to “full steam.” And now, one month short of five years later, the Hastings couldn’t be happier about Blake’s
recovery.
“The U of M team really managed the care of the person and the health of the person,” Blake says. “I think the medical care is
as important as providing that hope for someone, a family, that there is an end zone.”
Today the Hastings family is back to life as usual – working, getting the kids to their activities, and going on vacations together.
Blake likes to spend his time golfing, skiing, hunting, fishing, and playing basketball – and bragging that he can still beat his
kids at any of these activities with only nine toes.