I had to leave an exercise class the last week of December 2004 because I couldn't breathe, just kept coughing. At the end of January 2005 I was in a two day seminar with about about 40 coworkers who have known me forever. They gave me a hard time about bringing something contagious to the seminar as manifested by my seal like barking cough. At the end of the second day two of my friends became concerned that I couldn't walk two blocks and talk at the same time. They drove me to the ER where I was Xrayed, diagnosed with pneumonia, given antibiotics and sent home. Followup visit to my PCP resulted in another round of antibiotics. In March I got myself to the ER. Xray was too cloudy to reveal my tumor or even a broken rib (from the coughing), I had a collapsed lung and very low O2 sat. I was admitted this time and a bronchoscopy resulted in my diagnosis: Stage 4 non resectable nsclc adenocarcinoma. I went in the hospital with a cough and came out lugging an O2 tank but I'm still here 3 years later.
