By Jacob Just

JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – A Jamestown man received an early Christmas gift last week when he rang the cancer bell at the Jamestown Regional Medical Center Cancer Center Friday.

Chris Siek, 39, is husband, father, and grandfather who was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic
leukemia (APL) in May of this year. While having to care for a family, Siek held both a full-time and a part-time job. This became a burden when Siek needed to travel to Fargo every day for four weeks at a time for arsenic infusions.

Siek also had an extended hospital stay which forced him to miss his grandson’s first birthday, but he was determined to make the second.

Siek’s life changed when the JRMC Cancer Center opened in July. He was able to complete his treatments in Jamestown rather than Fargo. “It’s way easier to drive two miles compared to 200,” he said.

On Friday, December 20th, Siek rang the cancer bell, signifying the successful end of treatments. That day was a special one for Siek and his family. “Christopher has a positive attitude,” his wife Missy said. “That helped the family quite a bit.”

Siek is JRMC’s third cancer survivor at the Cancer Center. The Cancer Center currently serves more than 100 treatments a month. The center is a partnership between JRMC and Sanford Health.