Heroes: Jim Yanko

“The ‘Miracle Man’”

Bob Highfill
Record Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, Jan 31, 2006

(On Nov. 5, 2003, Jim Yanko was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Doctors said a one-year life expectancy was typical in a case such as his. But more than two years later, Yanko is cancer-free and beating the odds.)

STOCKTON - Jim Yanko was in his prime, a husband and the father of two adorable girls, living his dream, coaching baseball at San Joaquin Delta College and teaching special education at Lincoln High School.

Life was good, and for someone as gregarious and fit as Yanko, the dreaded "C" word was unthinkable. But when four consecutive days of splitting headaches became unbearable, the then-35-year-old drove himself to the emergency room at St. Joseph's Medical Center. He was examined and rushed into surgery later that day, Nov. 5, 2003. The diagnosis was terminal brain cancer.

Surgeons removed a portion of a malignant brain tumor, and Yanko's life took a sudden and stark turn.

"I was scared to death," Yanko said. "I've never been as scared as I was that day in my life."

More surgery followed, and the prognosis was grim. Faith, family and friends sustained Yanko during a two-year ordeal that tested every facet of his being beyond belief.

Amazingly, the "miracle man," as his neurosurgeon described him, was pronounced cancer-free in November. He received more good news Monday, when a magnetic resonance imaging scan at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center showed no sign of cancer. Doctors will continue to monitor him carefully with follow-ups every two months.

"We're elated," Yanko said Monday. "I'm doing great."

Through it all, Yanko has maintained his zest for life, and coaching the game he loves has lifted his spirits. On Friday, he began his eighth season at Delta with a 2-0 victory over Feather River. The Mustangs will play at 2 p.m. today at Merced College.

"I thank God every day my feet touch the ground," Yanko said. "It really has put things into perspective."

Doctors removed a golf-ball-size portion of a tumor from the right frontal lobe of Yanko's brain during a seven-hour surgery. The mass was identified as glioblastoma multiforme, an invasive and rapidly growing terminal cancer. If it is left untreated, patients usually die within three months. With treatment, including surgical resection, radiation and chemotherapy, the median survival period is one year.

"When we meet with patients who have this disease, we tell them the median life expectancy with appropriate follow-up is about a year," said Yanko's neurosurgeon, Dr. Nicholas Butowski. "Typically, at the beginning, we definitely tell them uniformly that it's a fatal disease."

Yanko was devastated.

"I started to think, 'Is this what God has in store for me with such a young family?'" he said. "I went through the process of, 'Why me?' and then I decided I'm not going to let it beat me."

Yanko did all he could to recover. He repeated a self-wellness mantra ("I'm healthy, I'm strong, I'm whole") every morning and was back on the field two months after the surgery.

But the battle had only begun.

In August 2004, just nine months after the initial diagnosis, doctors detected some suspicious cells. Yanko returned to UCSF and underwent a gamma-knife procedure, which delivers concentrated beams of radiation to a specific area. Yanko had to wear an uncomfortable, helmetlike metal device during the daylong procedure. The process was painful, and the radiation brought on fatigue and nausea. Yanko bounced back again quickly and was doing well until July 2005, when doctors found what they thought was more cancer.

"They wanted to operate again," Yanko said. "That was tough, because my brother-in-law (Matt Kenney) came up from Southern California and took the girls (daughters Miranda, 8, and Abbie, 4) for a week so we could just focus on what we had to do here.

"It was a tremendous help, but it was very tough to say goodbye, because I didn't know if I was going to see them again."

Yanko had another operation. Fortunately, the mass wasn't a tumor but an abscess that his doctors believed might have been caused by the first surgery. The abscess burst during the second operation, causing a dangerous infection that once again threatened Yanko's life.

"It was a very difficult and complicated surgery," said Yanko's wife, Lynn. "It was not an easy recovery."

Jim Yanko was bedridden for one week at UCSF under the care of infectious-disease experts. Catheters were inserted into his skull, delivering flushing agents and antibiotics. He was sent home with an intravenous bag and a PIC line - a percutaneous intravenous catheter - so he could self-administer antibiotics 24 hours a day. He carried the IV bag around with him everywhere for five weeks and couldn't coach last fall.

Assistant coaches Jim Fisher and Denny Peterson stepped in during Yanko's absence.

"You never think you're going to have to do something like that with one of your peers," Fisher said. "It was difficult at a personal level, because he's a friend of mine. I've known him for 10 years."

The players went on without Yanko during their 18-game fall season, but he never was far from their minds.

"It affected us not having him here," sophomore center fielder Riley Gavello said. "We were all concerned about him."

Yanko responded to the antibiotics, and he was back on the field last spring for the 2005 regular season.

"When he came back, I was ecstatic," said sophomore outfielder Paul Basi, who developed a close relationship with Yanko while Basi's 16-year-old brother, John, battled leukemia, which took his life in April. "Coach was a big part of me getting through things with my brother. He was like my dad when my brother was in the hospital. I feel real close to Coach. I feel like we have a bond."

Yanko has inspired many around him, especially his players.

"He gives us all a little more fire when he's out here when he doesn't have to be," sophomore pitcher Nick Lott said. "We never see anything out of the ordinary. He's running over to the pitchers and then running over to our position players, helping us out. He's the hardest-working coach I've ever had."

Yanko no longer takes any cancer medication. He said he feels good and hopes the MRIs continue coming back negative. Yanko's doctor said his recovery has been miraculous.

"He's done extraordinarily well," Butowski said. "He certainly has beaten the odds thus far. It's an aggressive disease that can come back at any time, but he's been a bit of a surprise.

"I would say the prognosis is good, but at the same time, we're going to keep very close eyes on him."

Yanko knows his startling recovery wouldn't have happened without the help of many caring people.

"The doctors told me straight up it was a miracle," Yanko said. "The support from family and friends, and the strength that I have from Lynn has been tremendous. That strength was a plus."

Yanko feels strong enough to tackle another season, and the players' goal is to win the Big 7 Conference title for him.

"We're all trying to get that ring this year for Coach," Gavello said. "It would be nice this year to get him where he needs to be."

Contact reporter Bob Highfill at (209) 546-8299 or bhighfill@recordnet.com.