Former CBS News Colorado sportscaster details fight with incurable disease: "I didn't ask for this"
Mark McIntosh, a former CBS News Colorado sports anchor and reporter, uses a sports analogy to describe his ongoing battle against a disease with no cure: "Definitely a game-changer," he said during an interview at his Denver home.
The 65-year-old McIntosh was an on-air sports broadcaster at CBS News Colorado from 1988 to 2006. He was once named Denver's Best TV Sportscaster by Westword. He went on to serve as a host on other TV shows, motivational speaker and consultant and nonstop promoter of various charitable causes like A Stronger Cord, an organization aimed at helping men in recovery.
But last November, McIntosh said he felt a loss of energy and wasn't sleeping well. He mostly chalked it up to "old man" issues. But several months later, he stopped at his neighborhood gas station. As always, after filling up, he would check in with the manager, Steve Sutterlin to trade barbs and laughs. This time though, Sutterlin took one look at McIntosh and said "Your face is falling off your head," according to McIntosh. "He sincerely was saying you look like crap."
McIntosh drove directly to his doctor's office. Blood was drawn and tests showed McIntosh's kidneys were failing. He was diagnosed with amyloidosis, a rare disorder caused by an abnormality of plasma cells in the bone marrow. The disease can cause widespread organ damage and has high mortality rates.
While treatable, amyloidosis has no cure and McIntosh, who is now undergoing regular dialysis treatments three times a week and regular chemotherapy treatments, says it will likely shorten his life.
"So often life doesn't go the way we plan. I didn't ask for this," observed McIntosh. "It makes you get real clear on what your priorities are," said the married father of two.
McIntosh keeps up a regular exercise schedule and said at the moment, he feels good, despite having "a formidable foe inside my body."
As luck would have it, the former sports broadcaster was matched up with a hematologist-oncologist at UCHealth named Dr. Peter Forsberg, the same name as one of the Colorado Avalanche's greatest players. When they first spoke, McIntosh made a joke about his name, which Forsberg says he gets a lot.
"More often than not there's a comment that comes up around the name," said Forsberg.
"He's moving into remission," said the doctor. "He's had a great response."
Forsberg said improvements in the treatment of amyloidosis have been meaningful in the last five to 10 years, "A lot of patients are living longer than they've ever lived with amyloidosis."
Forsberg said the gas station manager's comments to McIntosh may have made a difference, "It is something that without detection can be fatal."
McIntosh said he hopes by talking about the disease he can raise awareness and help with earlier detection. Amyloidosis affects approximately 30,000 to 40,000 patients in the U.S. and Europe and there are an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 new cases each year in the U.S.
Recently, McIntosh returned to the gas station to tell Steve how his blunt assessment had led to McIntosh learning about the amyloidosis that was attacking his kidneys. McIntosh expressed gratitude and exchanged hugs and handshakes with his gas station buddy.
"I'm very grateful because who knows how much longer I might have put it off and it could have been worse."
