Mar 24, 2019 6 min read

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In April 2018, Mitch Barton started to experience pain in his right shoulder.

The 21-year-old North Strabane Township resident dismissed the discomfort.

Over the next few months, his mother, Christine Barton, encouraged him to visit a doctor, but Barton had started a job at International Paper Co. in North Strabane Township in June and didn’t want to miss work.

In September, Barton visited a chiropractor, who felt two small bumps and sent him to orthopedic surgeon Dr. Anthony Ripepi of Advanced Orthopedics.

An X-ray revealed Barton had a fractured clavicle, but he didn’t recall injuring it.

A subsequent X-ray showed what looked like soft tissue growing over the fracture as it healed – it’s not unusual for a bump to appear during the healing process.

The shoulder continued to bother Barton in October and November, however, and he became alarmed when the lump grew to the size of a hockey puck by Thanksgiving. His shoulder turned black and blue.

He returned to Ripepi, who immediately scheduled an MRI.

“The results came back and I had a mass on my right clavicle,” said Barton. “I had a followup appointment scheduled for Dec. 17, but we canceled that and Dr. Ripepi sent me right to UPMC Shadyside to an oncologist, Dr. (Richard) McGough.”

At UPMC Shadyside, McGough confirmed Barton had a cancerous tumor, and a biopsy determined it was Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer.

Barton and his mother were shocked. Ewing’s sarcoma is the same cancer that claimed the life of Barton’s Canon-McMillan classmate, Luke Blanock, in 2016.

And in 2013, Canon-McMillan graduate Kyle Deliere lost his battle with Ewing’s sarcoma three years after he was diagnosed.

Currently, a Canonsburg-area man also is undergoing treatment for the disease.

Annually, fewer than 200 cases of Ewing’s sarcoma are diagnosed in the United States.

“When Mitch developed it, I think it honestly shocked the whole community. I don’t want to make everybody panic, but I do think they need to investigate this area,” said Christine Barton. “The doctors are telling us that this is a type of sarcoma that’s extremely rare. It’s something you want people to be aware of. Raising awareness is good.”

Mitch Barton immediately began the first of three rounds of aggressive chemotherapy at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh for metastatic Ewing’s sarcoma because a biopsy showed he also had a cancerous nodule in his lung.

The goal was to shrink the tumor as much as possible before Barton underwent surgery Wednesday to remove his collarbone and the rest of the tumor.

Barton, his family, including his father, Dave, and brother, Jared, girlfriend Daisy Hicks, and oncologist, Dr. Julia Meade, were heartened by the results of his scans after chemotherapy.

“The results after chemo came back really good. My tumor was 10 centimeters when I started, and it shrunk over half its size,” said Barton.

Doctors successfully removed the collarbone and tumor, and in April, Barton will begin an additional four months of chemotherapy and radiation, and physical therapy.

Christine Barton left her job as a pre-school teacher to care for her son throughout his treatments.

She said she is strengthened by her son’s courage. His illness, she said, has brought the close-knit family even closer together.

“He’s always been a strong kid and a fighter,” said Christine. “It’s brought all of us closer together for sure. We have a lot of family time, sitting in a hospital room 12 hours, sometimes longer, and there’s been a lot of time to talk and discuss how we feel.”

Barton also is grateful for family and friends who have rallied to help during what the family now calls “Mitch’s Walk of Faith.”

A spaghetti dinner fundraiser will be held at 2 p.m. March 30 at Muse Volunteer Fire Hall, and a Stronger than Sarcoma event is scheduled for 5 p.m. April 3 at The Bar Association, a tavern in Canonsburg, with guest bartenders Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey Vaughan and Nick Sherman donating all tips to Mitch’s Walk of Faith.

A food train organized by a friend provides dinners for the family almost nightly, and sales of T-shirts and yellow bracelets have raised funds to help offset medical expenses.

Prime Metals and Alloys Inc., where Mitch’s father is employed, has held fundraisers, and International Paper, Mitch’s employer, has held events, including a lottery ticket sale.

Teams also will participate for Team Mitch in the Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K Run/Walk on June 29.

“It’s helped a lot, and honestly it’s lifted my spirits a lot, just knowing you have a community behind you and a great support system,” said Barton. “Every week I get encouraging letters in the mail saying people are praying for me, and Mass cards. I also believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that along with physical medicine, you need spiritual medicine. I feel that’s important. It can take you a long way throughout the battle.”

Barton, who also played baseball with Luke Blanock, said he tries to emulate Blanock’s courageous battle against Ewing’s sarcoma.

“I just remember what he went through, and I try to live my life every day like he did because he had such a positive attitude and was such an inspiration to this community, and his legacy will live on,” said Barton.

While he’s undergoing treatment, Barton, who graduated from Rosedale Technical College, has started restoring a 1959 Farmall tractor, and he’s planning to display it this summer at the National Pike Steam, Gas and Horse Association annual show.

His cancer diagnosis, he said, has changed his perspective.

“My priorities are definitely a lot more straight. Right now, I just want to get my health back on track, and I want to get back to work,” said Barton, a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church. “Basically, I just want to start my life. I’m reading scripture and listening to tapes by Rev. Keith Moore called ‘God’s Will to Heal.’ Having a strong will to live and having a strong spiritual foundation will help me through this battle.”