Tonight I am finding out that somehow I have lost all the stories I have written on this computer and so will try to recollect some events that have happened in my life in the last 6 months. Of course there is only one and that was the diagnosis of lung cancer. How did all of this occur? I had made arrangements for Georgianne and myself to go to my beach house in Oregon the last week in October. Reserved it for 2 weeks. Starting the first week in October I had a pain beneath my bra line that encircled my body, and changed my bra’s several times for the next 2 to 3 weeks with no relief. Took several pain medications but only had a few hours where the pain was eliminated. So I called my primary doctor but he was overloaded that day and told me to go to urgent care that night. I did and found out that it was another primary doctor who worked during the day in another city and they take turns seeing patients in the evening. I arrived on Friday night at 6P.M. and noticed I was the only patient there. I was seenright away by a very pleasant M.D. and told him of my complaint. He took my complaint seriously and stated he did not know why I was having so much discomfort and couldn’t find a diagnosis but stated since I was there I may as well get some blood work done and a chest x-ray. That was accomplished in the next hour and I went home. Two days later the pain miraculously disappeared and I felt great. Monday night I got a telephone call from my personal physician (who I’ve been his patient for over 20 years) and he stated he was calling me about my chest x-ray and before I could let him finish I told him I was all right and he informed me I was not. My chest x-ray showed an abnormal shadow and I was to have a C.T. scan and follow up with the pulmonary doctor and would get a call the next day for the appointments. To tell the truth I really thought he was over-reacting but I didn’t argue. The next day at 8:00 A.M. my phone rang and I was told my C.T. scan was scheduled for the next day and 30 minutes later the call came from the pulmonary office that I was to see the doctor the next day after the scan. This for me was very odd as I never heard of such urgency. The C.T. was done and the following day I went to the pulmonary doctor at which time she showed me the results and suggested I have a lung biopsy at it appeared I might have cancer and that was the only way to confirm it. The following week I had the biopsy and sure enough I, who have never smoked, did not have a cough, felt great, now had the diagnosis of lung cancer. To state I was in a stage of shock is putting it mildly. The next step was to have P.E.T. scan to see if the cancer was hiding anywhere else in my body and lo and behold they found a suspicious gland at the apex of my lungs. It was decided to have surgery to remove my cancer and was prepared for and was taken into surgery where they took a biopsy of the lymph node and found it was also cancer and therefore stopped any further surgical intervention. When I woke up from the anesthesia I was surrounded by Julie, Bob and Joanie and Donna. There was a bandage on my neck and I felt some moderate pain. They explained to me what had occurred in surgery but I really did not understand the situation as I was still under sedation. Julie took me home and the next day I was quite aware of what lay ahead of me. The next week was my oncology and radialogy appointments. Both physicians were forthright with me and told me what I could expect in the next few months. In my mind I decided I would go through with the treatments for a few months, see what the results would be and then at the end of that time would consider if I’d continue to be treated or just live my life out without all the medical intervention. I did not know at that time that Julie had put all my results on the computer and I was receiving so many e-mails wishing me love and recovery but also so many people telling me about other cancer treatments. It became almost to much reading all the alternatives and I concentrated on getting through radiation and chemotherapy treatments. At this time I have completed 38 radiation treatments and 30 hours of chemotherapy in 2 months. Physical reaction did cause me problems but I think I managed all right but I can state I did overcome my
mental anguish. This week I found out my lymph node has been eradicated completely and the tumor on my lung has been reduced at least by 50% and it will be 3 months before any further treatment can be prescribed. At this time I am feeling good about the treatments I have gone through and happy that I can continue to live my life a little while longer in what I consider good health. My family and friends have been more than supportive and I can never thank everyone enough, but my daughter Julie has got to be at the top of the list, being there for me almost every day in person and always staying with me through all of my chemo visits. Thank you more than I can ever express. Mom, Bobbie, G.Bob and Barbara