Students Support Coach with Prostate Cancer

After learning their beloved director Pat Butler had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, students and families across the Olathe school district found a way to turn a rivalry basketball game into something that mattered far beyond the final score.

Turning a night of competition into a community-wide show of support, the Olathe, Kansas, community ultimately raised more than $10,000 for The University of Kansas Cancer Center – all in Pat's name.

It was an outpouring he never anticipated. And one that is now helping fuel lifesaving cancer care for patients just like him.

For more than 3 decades, Pat had been a steady presence across the 2 rival schools – first as an educator at Olathe Northwest, then as vice principal and athletic director at Olathe West.

Pat had always lived an active lifestyle, exercising regularly and coaching sports teams for years. When he began feeling run down and experiencing unexplained aches and pains, he sensed something wasn’t right and scheduled a doctor’s appointment.

His physician ordered a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, a blood test used to assess prostate health. The results were concerning enough to warrant further investigation.

Looking back, Pat admits routine physicals weren’t a priority for him because he generally felt healthy.

“I felt like I lived a pretty healthy lifestyle,” Pat says. “But as far as the routine checkups, I – like a lot of men – hadn’t done that maybe the way I should have.”

Pat was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, with his doctors estimating the disease had likely been developing for a year or 2 before it was detected.

Known as the silent disease, prostate cancer often presents with few or no symptoms in its early stages, meaning it can progress significantly before noticeable warning signs emerge.

At The University of Kansas Cancer Center, Pat’s care team developed a specialized treatment plan, mapping out a course for how to treat his diagnosis.

This clear and adaptive approach immediately resonated with Pat.

"I so appreciated right off the bat this attitude of, 'We'll do this, and if this doesn't work, we'll do this,'" Pat says. "I coached for a long time, and it felt very much like game planning … When we met with Dr. Knox, [he had] a calm approach and a very quick plan for how to attack this … That was very reassuring.”

Cancer, like a tough opponent, doesn't always respond to the first approach. The key is having a proven, strategic game plan.

His care team, including Blaine Knox, MD, medical oncologist and hematologist at The University of Kansas Cancer Center and William Parker, MD, urologic oncologist at The University of Kansas Health System came prepared with exactly that kind of layered strategy.

Pat’s treatment plan includes 2 standard therapies for prostate cancer along with a third, more aggressive approach introduced upfront. This third component involved 6 rounds of chemotherapy over 18 weeks, designed to target cancer cells early and prevent them from later developing resistance.

While chemotherapy has long been used in cancer care, using it this early in prostate cancer treatment is a newer approach that has shown strong results.

“It’s been shown to be the best approach,” Dr. Knox explains. “Using all 3 up front, what we call triple therapy, you can really debulk the cancer and kill off those resistant cells.”

While cancer has brought uncertainty into Pat Butler’s life, it has also revealed an outpouring of support he never expected.

That support was on full display when the 2 schools he has been an educator at came together for a basketball game.

Usually rival teams, the rivalry took a backseat as students from both schools filled the gym in a sea of blue T-shirts that read “Butler’s Brigade” to show their support.

Signs throughout the crowd read “We Stand With You, Mr. Butler” and “One Olathe” – simple messages that reflected the spirit of a united community. The basketball game doubled as a fundraiser, with sales from the custom shirts helping raise funds.

A ripple effect spread throughout the Olathe community, as an Olathe Northwest soccer team organized its own fundraising event, with more groups quickly following suit. Across the Olathe community, more than $10,000 was raised for the cancer center.

"People are really good. That's what I've learned from this," Pat says. "Overwhelmingly, people have been amazing towards me and my family … [The community] was able to bring some attention to the issue and raise a little money.”

Support has been a constant through every step of his care. Having now finished chemotherapy, Pat has completed the most intensive phase of treatment. He has been responding well and now graduates to routine follow-ups every 3 months.

With 2 strong teams behind him (his medical care team and his Olathe community) Pat is moving through his diagnosis the same way he’s faced every other challenge: with a game plan and a team.

Gifts from our supporters make a vital impact on exceptional healthcare and medical research at The University of Kansas Cancer Center – the region’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. Please reach out to us by email or contact one of our gift officers to learn more about how you can make a contribution.