SHAMOKIN DAM — Dave Burns was flooded with feelings when he found out his cancer had returned — 14 years after defeating it the first time.

“There were all sorts of emotions — too many to list — after being fine for so long,” the 54-year-old said by phone from his Shamokin Dam home. “I was just dealing with normal middle-aged stuff.”

Now, Burns is undergoing chemotherapy, keeping his fingers crossed for a third bone marrow transplant and thanking family, friends and strangers for their ongoing prayers and support.

‘I feel hollow’

Burns was first diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia — characterized by the rapid growth of abnormal white blood cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells — in the early ’90s. Throughout that experience he received two bone marrow transplants. He was healthy once the transplants were completed.

He remained healthy until Aug. 10 when he heard from his doctors it had returned. He and his doctors were all thinking the same thing once it was discovered.

“Everyone was shaking their head,” he said. “After 14 years it shouldn’t have come back, but we didn’t waste time on why. It was irrelevant. We had to treat it.”

He began the first round of inpatient chemotherapy in August and is currently in round two of outpatient chemotherapy which consolidates remission to make it last longer for the next step.

Treatment began early last week and is every other day, twice a day. The days are long and sometimes he can sit in the hospital for hours upon end.

Through the process he said it eliminates his immune system and everything in his body begins to go downhill.

“I feel hollow,” he said. “I just feel wiped out.”

Through the treatments he needs to be extraordinarily careful about germs because of the lack of immune system. His days are filled with lots of hand washing, but there are also things he can’t do. He can’t cook or handle raw food, he can’t take out the garbage or change their cat’s litterbox.

His wife, Pam Brennan Burns, has taken on all the housework as well as working full-time. She said she has had her good and bad days dealing with the illness.

“There is a lot involved for the spouse of someone with a life-threatening disease,” she said by e-mail. “In Dave’s case, I try to remain strong all the time, which is tough.”

He’s hoping to receive a third bone marrow transplant. That is his only option of keeping the disease away. He has a transplant evaluation set up for this week in Pittsburgh to determine if it is feasible.