My Battle with Cancer

My Battle with Cancer

Some of you are aware that I am involved in a battle with lung cancer, and for those that don't, I want to address it.

In November of last year, I was given a chest x-ray that picked up a spot on my right upper lung. I was sent for a CAT scan but wasn't really worried due to the fact that I had pneumonia years ago, and was left with scarring on my upper left lung. Since I was using a new doctor, I assumed that the scarring was what they were seeing on the x-ray. I was working at my magic shop on a Fri and received a call from the Dr's office saying that the doctor was gone for the day but wanted to see me as soon as possible about my CAT scan. I set an appointment for the following Tuesday. I called Marisa to tell her, and we both knew that it didn't sound good. On Tuesday, the doctor told me that the CAT scan indicated two suspicious nodules and that he wanted me to see a pulmonologist at the University of TN Medical Center. Armed with a copy of my CAT scan and an appointment in 2 weeks, I began an internet search. I soon discovered that the odds were very good that I had lung cancer. I also found out that if it was cancer, the odds were very good that I was going to die. I had been an on and off smoker (more on than off) for about 25 years but quit immediately. Lung cancer affects 8% of the population and it is one of the deadliest cancers due to the fact that it is not diagnosed until it is too late. Even when detected early, lung cancer is hard to cure. Most aren't, but some are. I am determined to be one of those that is cured.

“Kill the demon – lay him to rest
Use all your muscle – put a knife in his chest
If he quivers – if he ain’t dead
Pull back the covers – cut off his head
Kill the demon!”

My pulmonologist was very reassuring and set me up for some tests. First would be a fine needle biopsy, followed by a PET scan, bone scan and brain MRI. The biopsy confirmed that one of the tumors was adenocarcinoma. This cancer is most common in non-smokers, Asians and women and is generally a slower growing cancer that attacks the lymph nodes, liver and brain. Luckily, the cancer was all in the region of the lung and surrounding lymph nodes, however it had grown through my chest wall. I was staged at 3A. My case was taken to the chest conference and all of the doctors got a chance to review my case, and make recommendations. It was decided that surgery would be my best option so I was scheduled for surgery on Dec 26, 2008. Chemotherapy was recommended to follow up the surgery in an effort to kill any microscopic cancer cells that were in my bloodstream.

Surgery went well and the doctor was able to remove all of the cancer. I also had two sections of my ribs removed from just under my shoulder blade. I went home 1 week later but had to be readmitted with a MRSA staph infection. After another couple of days I was released from the hospital and sent home.

I began chemotherapy on Feb 24th with 4 rounds scheduled over 12 weeks. The schedule was to have carboplatin/gemzar on the first day, gemzar on the 8th day, and a day off on the 15th day thus completing a cycle. Patrick Swayze has said that chemo is “hell on wheels” and he is right. The chemo was as bad as the surgery. I fought nausea, diarrhea, and extreme fatigue. I had several issues with my platelets, white and red blood cell counts and, as a matter of fact, I had to skip the second part of round 2 because they were so low. After the chemo, it will be months before I start feeling back to normal. My last treatment was scheduled for May 5th but due to my nausea and fatigue, the doctor decided that I had had enough. An appointment was set for 3 months ahead for a checkup and, most likely, a round of scans. If I am clean, then they will schedule me in 3 more months.

“I was walking down the road, man, just looking at my shoes
When God sent me an angel just to chase away my blues
I saw a hundred thousand blackbirds just flying through the sky
They seemed to form a teardrop from a black-haired angel’s eye
And that tear fell all around me and washed my tears away
Now everything is cool – everything’s OK.”

The preceding paragraphs were written over several weeks as I kept notes. As I write this now, I am feeling really good. My appetite is finally coming back and I am feeling better as a result.

I decided early on that I was not going to die from cancer…at worst I will live with it.

So let’s call it a day, folks…