georgesalley

A week or so ago the local hospital sponsored a cancer awareness day. My Wife and I went, and, lo, I had some suspicious skin "spots". That was on a Saturday, so Monday we called the Dr. who had made the "diagnosis" and scheduled an appointment. Wednesday we went in and he decided to remove 3. Today, Tuesday, he called to report the 2 were benign, but the one on my lower lip (beneath my beard) was a basil cell carcinoma! Now to find another surgeon who specializes in such to make sure all cells are removed. Cheers, Geo

This date, one year ago, I waited outside my Doctor’s office early in the morning for her to arrive, in order to find out what the C-T scan she had ordered showed. When she arrived she immediately ushered us into her office and confirmed that the radiologist agreed with the preliminary diagnosis of cancer. Whereupon she made an appointment with an oncologist for that morning. The oncologist decided that a PET scan was needed before proceeding further, but agreed that I had lung cancer. So my wife and I drove to a Maple Festival in the Virginia Mountains for the weekend. Hi-di-ho, Make Lemonade, Geo

I’ve been thinking lately about how to chronicle the onset of the disease it order to determine the length of my survival. Was it when I started having a persistent cough, when the family doctor noted something suspicious and ordered an x-ray, when we got the results of a C-T scan and met with an Oncologist, or when I had a biopsy? The cough became noticeable in the Fall of ’05, so the cancer had developed then. I had gone to a Dr. in Jan ’06, but he did not seem to think anything of it, and it wasn’t until I went to a long time Family Physician that she heard something “troublesome” in my lung. After the x-ray she felt it was either cancer or tuberculosis, and ordered the C-T scan. Since I’m 74, the tuberculosis was a potential for anyone from the South my age, but not terribly likely because I’ve been tested ever since I was a tot. The x-ray was in Feb ’06, the C-T scan in Mar, and the biopsy in Apr. Anyway, the diagnosis was Stage IV in Apr, restaged to IIB in Oct, and deemed NED after the lobectomy in Nov. It has been quite a year, or thereabouts! Cheers, Geo

Here is mine. Had a meeting with the Onchologist yesterday. As far as she is concerned, I am cured!!! Wow, Geo

Hi there! My thorasic surgeon at Duke, Dr. Harpole, told me he would never make a diagnosis of cancer based on enlarged lymph nodes. In my case, a mediastinoscopy proved they were negative, and a later lobectomy (where most of them were removed) also proved negative. Cheers, Geo

OK, I was a heavy smoker for over 50 years, so the lung cancer was not totally unexpected. But, on the other hand, my Grandfather smoked, literally up until his death at 89, and it was diabetes that did him in. I had sorta been looking for prostrate cancer, and the lung cancer caught my unawares. Playing the "blame game" really serves no purpose! Cheer, Geo

I have heard some tales of blood clots in connection with ports. Has anyone had any experience with that? Cheers, Geo

I have had the problem of "bad" veins for 60 years! I plan to leave the port in, even if I have to get it flushed every month. Cheers, Geo

Today my wife and I had pedicures. I’ll be 74 in a week, and the thought of such an extravagance would have been unthinkable up to a year ago, BC (before cancer). Mine was in celebration of the fact that my chemo appeared to have cured a vile toenail fungus, and Betty’s to spare a possible female client embarrassment (there are 2 chairs). I must say it was soothing. Within reason, I plan to investigate a mildly hedonistic approach to the world. Cheers, Geo

Bill, At the age of 17 I volunteered for the Army, became a Paratrooper, and went off to War, as it were. I never considered death then, and certainly do not now. To use a crass statement, “there is no profit in it”. Life is to be lived as it comes, the bitter with the sweet. Cheers, Geo

We hear about the various side effects of chemotherapy; hair loss, low red blood cell count, etc. Generally these are considered detrimental, but perhaps there some beneficial side effects also. All my adult life I have been plagued with athlete’s foot fungus. In 1996 a dermatologist prescribed Lamisil which had a dramatic effect. That, and the fact that I was living on my boat in warm climes wearing only sandals, brought relief until 2002 when I moved ashore and began wearing shoes and socks. The fungus returned with a vengeance! I was actually starting another Lamisil treatment when the cancer was diagnosed. My oncologist recommended ceasing the Lamisil during chemo due to potential liver damage. But lo, the chemo has had an effect on the fungus, such that it appears to be pretty well gone! I did have the blood cell issue to the extent that I had a blood transfusion and Aranesp shots, and was severely neutropenic at one point. But I had only minimal hair loss, and nothing else really significant. Anyone else have beneficial side effects to report?

First suspected cancer/TB 2/23/06. Turned 73 2/1/06. Diagnosed Stage IV 4/10. Currently NED! Cheers, Geo

I got a prescription for 2.5% Lidocaine & 2.5% Prilocaine cream, and apply to area of port an hour ahead. I use the large water block band-aids to cover the cream. Cheers, Geo

What now? Having managed to more than survive lung cancer; I think I can actually lay claim to be “cured”, so where do I go from here? The original official diagnosis was for stage IV cancer in April ’06. The first C-T scan of 3/7 showed a 1.42x1.90 cm mass in the right lung. The original PET 3/20 reading is as follows: “Hypermetabolic lesion in the right upper lobe of the lung, which corresponds with a 1.5 x 2.3-cm nodule. … There is one hypermetabolic lesion in the right hilium and multiple hypermetabolic lesions in the mediastinum and base of the left neck, consistent with metastatic disease. …. There are several small low-density lesions in the liver, which are not hypermetabolic. “ A 20% increase of the mass in 2 weeks! A needle biopsy 4/4 showed it to be squamous cell. Treatment was proscribed as chemotherapy, no mention of surgery or radiation as alternatives. At the time I knew not enough to question either the diagnosis, or treatment regimen, but I did have some severe reservations regarding published survival statistics. I don’t suppose otherwise I gave the consequences that much thought, other than to just see what would develop. I had only two goals in mind, participation in the treatment, with the intent of gaining the most results, and learning more about the issue of lung cancer. The question of whether I really had stage IV was moot because the oncologist, et al, thought, and acted, as if I did. Thus the clinical trail that I was enrolled in was for advanced NSCLC (Carboplatin & Alimta). I had never had any of the clinical lung cancer symptoms, and physically felt to be in good shape. The chemo treatment was for 18 weeks, once every 3 weeks, starting 4/24. Some heartburn, intestinal pain, minor constipation, and fatigue from being anemic. No nausea, no hair loss, put on 10 lbs. By July the C-T scan showed that the tumor had been reduced to nothing, but by then the chemo had also been working on the blood cells and I needed a transfusion. Last chemo on 8/7. There was a C-T scan 9/1 which showed no real change from the 7/7, so a PET scan was ordered for 9/18. When the oncologist stated that the cancer was in remission 9/25 I felt that I had made the 2 year category, and was headed for the 5 year, but didn’t feel the term “cured” was applicable. Thus the decision to seek a second opinion at Duke. My oncologist had no problem with that and set up an appointment. We made our first visit to the Duke Clinic on Oct 10th. I had copies of the C-T scans and the last PET scan on CD with me. Because the liver lesions had remained the same throughout the chemo period, on the C-T scans of 4/17, 5/26, 7/7, and 9/1, it was decided that they were not indicative of metastasis. The first order of new diagnosis was to determine the status of the mediastinal lymph nodes. An appointment was made for a mediastinoscopy on the 24th as an outpatient. Afterward we returned to Duke the 31st, and the report was negative for any lymph node cancer and a PET scan was scheduled for the 13th. The results were far more comprehensive than previous scans. In fact I was restaged to IIB!!! But, there was “something”, “too small to characterize” in the right upper lobe where the tumor had been. I was scheduled for a lobectomy 11/22 to remove the right upper lobe, the site of the original tumor. Also I had a brain C-T scan that proved negative. Met with the thoracic surgeon 12/12 regarding the pathology results of the lobectomy. It was a traditional resection using a rib spreader in order to get all possible lymph nodes. Everything was negative!! NED The surgeon was astounded that there was no evidence whatsoever of the carcinoma in the lung lobe. He indicated that he has never seen a carcinoma so completely eliminated by chemo. All in all, the treatment, beginning with chemotherapy and ending with adjuvant surgery, appears to have been the best for me, I understand that since results and toxic effects from chemo are not all that predictable such treatment might not be a first choice. So, given that the cancer is now “gone”, and I’m back to reasonably normal regarding life expectancy, has my outlook changed any? Am I supposed to have some sort of epiphany, make a change of lifestyle, or what? Actually I have not completely recovered from the lobectomy, having some pain, discomfort, and shortness of breath. I’ll be 74 on my next birthday, 2/1/07. I was a heavy smoker for 50 years, so the cancer was not totally unexpected. I sorta quit smoking 5 or 6 years ago, but believe me the urge is still there even after all that has transpired. Betty, my wife of over 50 years quit in 1986 and says she too still has the urge. We sold our Farm in NC Jan ’06, and started building a new house in VA. Hopefully we will be in by Spring. In the meantime we have been living on the site in a 21.5’ RV trailer. Actually that has not been that bad since we lived aboard our sailboat full-time for 6 years ‘96-’02. So I guess I’ll just mumble along, taking life as it comes. Equanimity has always been my strong suit.