Kent Senter’s Wish Comes True: Terminal Multiple Myeloma Patient Hosts International UFO Conference
Kent Senter was given six months to live when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2007. Since then he's been marking items off of his bucket list: participating in the World Series of Poker in 2009 and now, organizing an international conference about unidentified flying objects (UFOs).
Senter has terminal multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma affects the white blood cells (or plasma cells), causing them to become cancerous and multiply. It causes the number of health problems, especially affecting the bones, immune system, kidneys, and red blood cell count.
According to The Huffington Post, 59-year-old Senter was informed he had cancer after having problems with his shoulders. His cancer was misdiagnosed a few times, but ta tumor on his spine developed into multiple myeloma.
"The doctors gave me six months to three years, but I responded well to the chemo," Senter told The Huffington Post. "I've been out of remission for about six months now, but I need to start treatments again, so we've got to get to the doctor once this conference is over and decide whether to go with the chemo again or go straight for a stem cell transplant."
Senter's fascination with UFOs began when he was just ten years old. He says that he saw an "unidentified aerial phenomena" once when he was ten and again when he was 33. He's been captivated by UFOs ever since — something that he says has been both gratifying and frustrating because discussing the extraterrestrial goes against the social norm.
But this weekend, Senter will have 12 different speakers addressing the scientific phenomena of UFOs at a conference he named "2013 Symposium on Official and Scientific Investigations of UAP" in Greensboro, N.C.
"It's unbelievable! I've got 110 percent support," said Senter. "I couldn't do any of this without them. Patty is probably the strongest woman I've ever met. She's the most supportive, kind person. I've tried to teach them all to pay attention, look at the details and don't believe everything you hear — just do the research on it."
Senter recently founded the Center for UFO Research, or CUFOR. Of his new organization, he said, "I just want to get the word out that there's another side to this — it's not just all kooky and alien head dolls. I've had a lot of vendors call, wanting to set up booths and tables to sell things, and I'm not allowing any of that."
Senter is intent on fueling a discussion about UFOs that yields some verifiable scientific results. His time is limited, but he hopes that it can happen before he succumbs to the cancer.
"I'd like to see this happen before I pass away," he said. "I don't want to have been interested in this and researched all these years and just go to my grave with no answers."
For more on Senter's incredible story, go to The Huffington Post.