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Coral Gables Chamber CEO Survives Life-Threatening Blood Cancer

Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute

Those who know Mark Trowbridge – and in Coral Gables that includes just about everybody – know him to be an affable, outgoing person with a big personality. As longtime CEO and executive director of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, “Trow,” as he is known to friends and associates, is a familiar presence around town, running or attending meetings, luncheons, business openings, networkers, dinners and other events.

In May 2023, on his 55th birthday, Mr. Trowbridge was in his office and about to go to lunch with friends when he suddenly fainted and fell back into his chair. By the time he gathered himself and made it out to their car, he was feeling extremely weak. Instead of going to a restaurant, his friends drove him to a nearby Baptist Health Urgent Care in Coral Gables. Bloodwork done there revealed something concerning and he was sent to the emergency room at Baptist Health Doctors Hospital for further evaluation.

(Watch now: Instead of celebrating his 55th birthday with friends last year, Coral Gables Chamber CEO Mark Trowbridge wound up being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a serious form of blood cancer. See how Miami Cancer Institute helped get him in remission and back to work. Video by Alex Nobrega.)

“Having worked through the Chamber with our partners at Baptist Health for a long time, I know the culture there and I knew this was an opportunity for me to get the best possible care,” Mr. Trowbridge says. He was admitted to Doctors Hospital, where a battery of tests revealed he had multiple myeloma, a serious type of blood cancer that affects blood plasma cells, a critical part of the body’s immune system.

What is multiple myeloma?

Normal plasma cells are found in your bone marrow. They make the antibodies, also called immunoglobulins, that help your body attack and kill germs, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). 

“When plasma cells become cancerous and grow out of control, they make an abnormal protein, or antibody, known by several different names, including monoclonal immunoglobulin, monoclonal protein (M-protein), M-spike or paraprotein,” the ACS says, a disease known as multiple myeloma. It can cause patients to experience symptoms related to low blood counts; bone and calcium problems; infections, and kidney problems.

A shortage of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all of tissues, can cause anemia, leading to weakness and fatigue such as Mr. Trowbridge experienced, while a shortage of white blood cells, which are the basis of the immune system, can cause leukopenia, impacting the body’s ability to fight infections. Multiple myeloma can also cause the level of platelets in the blood to become low – a condition called thrombocytopenia – which can lead to increased bleeding and bruising.

Symptoms of multiple myeloma include:

  • Bone pain, especially in the spine, chest, or hips
  • Weakness or fatigue
  • Weight loss
  • Frequent infections and fevers
  • Feeling very thirsty
  • Frequent urination
  • Anemia
  • Impaired kidney function and kidney failure 

Confirming a multiple myeloma diagnosis

Mr. Trowbridge had never heard of multiple myeloma so he went on his phone and Googled it. “Probably not the best idea. It’s a little scary when you first read about it,” he admits. “The first thing you learn is that it isn’t curable. It can go into remission and there are wonderful drugs out there and a lot of trials with opportunities to try different things to manage the disease but it never goes away.”

Mr. Trowbridge was moved to Miami Cancer Institute, where he underwent extensive testing that included a bone scan, PET scan and, ultimately, a bone marrow biopsy. “By that Friday afternoon, they confirmed I had multiple myeloma. And by that evening I began my first round of chemotherapy,” he recalls. “I’d never experienced anything like that. It was a bit of a shock to the system. And that’s when I think I realized for the first time how serious this was.”

Enter Peter Citron, M.D., an oncologist/hematologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute who subspecializes in lymphoma and myeloma, which are disorders of the lymph system and the blood system. Dr. Citron has worked with Baptist Health for 40-plus years and in Miami Cancer Institute’s division of hematologic malignancy since the Institute opened its doors seven years ago.

Peter Citron, M.D., an oncologist/hematologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute

“Mr. Trowbridge presented at one of our Urgent Care centers with fairly marked fatigue. And it was no wonder, because his hemoglobin was at five. That’s very, very low, probably a third of what it should be,” Dr. Citron recalls, adding that he was also suffering from kidney failure.

“In addition, his immunoglobulin levels were about as high as I’ve ever seen – they should be in the teens and his were around 16,000 – and his plasma cells were anywhere between 60 to 80 percent, when most people normally have five percent or less,” explains Dr. Citron. “All those plasma cells in Mr. Trowbridge’s marrow were squeezing out the normal cells, making him profoundly anemic.”

Treating multiple myeloma

Dr. Citron called Mr. Trowbridge while he was still being treated at Miami Cancer Institute to let him know he would be leading his outpatient care as soon as he was released. Mr. Trowbridge says he still gets chills when he recalls the physician’s closing words: “By the way, Mark, you and I are going to know each other for a very long time.” Remarks Mr. Trowbridge: “He was the first person to tell me that they felt good about what they had seen in my diagnosis, that I was going to respond well to the treatment and that they had a lot of tools in their toolbox to help me on a pathway toward recovery.”

Under Dr. Citron’s care, Mr. Trowbridge was started on a four-drug regimen that combines antibodies with effective chemotherapy agents and novel medications called immunomodulatory drugs. “He had an amazing response. The amount of plasma cell burden in his marrow was dramatically reduced,” says Dr. Citron.

Now Mr. Trowbridge was ready for the next phase of his treatment: a stem cell transplant, also known as an autologous bone marrow transplant, which took place in November 2023. “We obtained peripheral blood stem cells from his blood – 3.5 million of them – which were stored and frozen for use after the transplant,” Dr. Citron says. “Then we gave him a very high dose of chemotherapy that destroyed all the existing cells in his marrow.”

Once all the plasma cells in Mr. Trowbridge’s marrow were eliminated, his stem cells that had been collected and stored were then infused back into his blood so they could repopulate his marrow. The infusion process itself is quick and Dr. Citron says the marrow usually repopulates within 10 to 15 days. Because the immune system is compromised for several months following a stem cell transplant and even a simple virus can be deadly, Mr. Trowbridge had to isolate for 100 days to avoid any infections.

“I was pretty sick for about 20 days in the hospital and then I was isolating at home for another 80 days. And then little by little, I started getting stronger and feeling more like myself again,” Mr. Trowbridge says. By mid-March, almost 10 months after his diagnosis, he returned to work for the first time.

One year after his stem cell transplant, Mr. Trowbridge says he is in complete remission and cancer-free. “Every day is a gift. Every day is a little bit different. I still take quite a few medications, but I can tell you sitting here today, I feel almost completely like myself again,” he says. He will be on maintenance therapy indefinitely with immunomodulatory drugs, which Dr. Citron can adjust if Mr. Trowbridge has a relapse – not uncommon for patients with multiple myeloma.

“Mr. Trowbridge is doing just about everything and anything he wants to do and has his quality of life back,” says Dr. Citron. “We don’t tell people we’re going to cure their disease because I don’t think we yet have the possibility of doing that yet. However, the number of new therapies for multiple myeloma that have become available even in the past year or two is dramatic. If patients do relapse from the disease, we have many tools to turn this thing around.”

Mr. Trowbridge credits Dr. Citron and his care team at Miami Cancer Institute for his recovery. “The level of care, concern and compassion were like nothing I had experienced and I had already spent a couple of days over at Doctor’s Hospital where they had treated me wonderfully,” says Mr. Trowbridge. “The people here at Miami Cancer Institute make you feel so comfortable, even in a very uncomfortable moment. Whether it was that call from Dr. Citron or the care that I got at Hope Tower or from the transplant team, everything was done with a wonderful sense of compassion and priority.”

Since recovering from multiple myeloma, Mr. Trowbridge has helped support a widely popular fundraising event to benefit cancer research. “During treatment and recovery, you have a lot of time to reflect. ‘What could I do to give back?’” he says. He learned about Bounce Back from Cancer™, a partnership between The Miami HEAT and Baptist Health Foundation to raise funds for lifesaving cancer research at Miami Cancer Institute. Mark participated in the 2-mile walk from The Underline to the Kaseya Center and plans to participate again at this year’s event on March 15. For more information about Bounce Back from Cancer™, visitBounceBackfromCancer.net.

Healthcare that Cares

With internationally renowned centers of excellence, 12 hospitals, more than 28,000 employees, 4,500 physicians and 200 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties, Baptist Health is an anchor institution of the South Florida communities we serve.

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