With gratitude for care at UH Seidman Cancer Center, Katherine and Andy Kartalis have made a $250,000 gift to establish the Kartalis GI Cancer Treatment Innovation Fund, expanding access to breakthrough immunotherapies and cutting-edge technologies for patients facing gastrointestinal cancers.

More than six decades ago, two young revelers met for the first time among thousands of people at a large Greek convention. Making their way through the evening with a group of friends, Katherine and Andy Kartalis immediately clicked.

“After four hours, I said, ‘You know, I think I want to marry you,’” recalled Andy. “And I said ‘yes!’” laughed Katherine. The couple terms their marriage, now in its 63rd year, a success.

Andy served 21 years in the Navy, including a tour in Vietnam where he commanded a battalion of construction workers and engineers known as Seabees, who built infrastructure to support the U.S. armed forces. “My biggest accomplishment was bringing everyone home alive, even as we had a number of Purple Hearts to hand out to our men who were wounded,” he said.

After Andy retired from the Navy, the Kartalises settled in Cleveland. Andy worked in real estate development, co-founding a hotel development and management company.

Katherine and Andy’s marriage would persevere through five more battles – all in the form of Andy’s cancer diagnoses.

The first encounter, kidney cancer, came in 1992. “They removed it and I’ve been functioning with one kidney for 33 years,” said Andy. Then came prostate cancer, melanoma, and, in 2014, colon cancer. When the colon cancer reappeared 10 years later, Andy turned for cancer care exclusively at UH.

Through it all, Andy received primary care at UH from Gabriel Stanescu, MD. Their nearly 30-year-old patient-doctor relationship proved beneficial through the many referrals and treatments.

“Knowing a patient over decades allows us to tailor care in ways that go beyond charts and test results,” said Dr. Stanescu. “That trust and continuity are invaluable when it comes to complex diagnoses and health histories like Andy’s.”

A Call About Something New

“A week before my scheduled surgery to remove the colon cancer, the people at Seidman called me,” said Andy. “They said there was something new to try.”

That “something new” was a form of immunotherapy given under the care of GI oncologist Sakti Chakrabarti, MD. Every three weeks for half a year, Andy received infusions of a therapeutic called Keytruda.

Keytruda works well for roughly 20% of patients with colorectal cancer who harbor a genomic signature that allows cell defects to replicate and hide from the immune system, eventually causing tumors. The drug helps the immune system “see,” attack and destroy these cancerous cells, sometimes resulting in complete remission.

Through every appointment, Katherine held Andy’s hand. “I was so happy just to be able to do that,” she said.

Grateful for Andy’s care, Katherine and Andy made a gift of $250,000 to create the Kartalis GI Cancer Treatment Innovation Fund, advancing the most promising care for colon, kidney and other GI cancers. The fund will expand access to breakthrough immunotherapies and invest in other cutting-edge technologies, such as adaptive radiation.

“What we did for Andy is what we want to do for everyone we can,” said Dr. Chakrabarti. “Katherine and Andy’s gift means more options, more personalized therapies, and ultimately, more hope for families facing GI cancers.”