I just turned 55. Even if I didn’t remember, I’m sure the AARP won’t let me forget it: They’ve send me an application every year since I turned 50, and I’m sure this year’s is sitting in my post office box even as we speak. I’ve always loved my birthday. It was the start of…
Chapter II
In September of 2013, doctors diagnosed me with a malignant 5cm mass, discovered during a regularly-scheduled MRI (which I have as part of my follow-up from a 2001-2002 breast cancer battle). After surgery and tests, I learned that I had thymic carcinoma -- a rare and fast-growing cancer of the Thymus gland. Usually, it’s not diagnosed until it’s already spread to the lungs, heart, or other places, because it can be fairly symptomless. I was blessed, as my oncologist said, that my regular MRIs helped catch it early. My outlook would have been much worse if this had been discovered months later.
I am documenting my journey through Cancer Part II in the hopes that it will educate and inspire others who are facing a difficult diagnosis. In the days after I left the hospital, I sat down with my colleagues at Growing Bolder to share my thoughts on this new challenge. As we say -- I am Surviving & Thriving.
Looking Forward and Backward
See ya at the end of October, Georgetown! Since I posted last, I have passed two blood tests with flying colors. I think I’ve come up with the winning pre-test cramming session. I take the 5am Orange Theory class,don’t drink anything after, drive to the Lombardi Cancer Center, run up and down about 7 flights…
When 2 Becomes 6
I’m not exactly sure why I waited until the four hours before I have my next CT scan to pass along this news, as it could be obsolete in, say, four hours, but here it is. My every-tw0-week Georgetown Lombardi visits are about to expand to every-six-weeks. That’s right, the trial that failed for 90-percent…
Highs and a Low
I’m not sure why I wasn’t confident this time. Completely baseless, as I told Patrick. But going in to this CT scan, I was fully expecting the tumors to have grown. Part of the reason may be that I looked over the http://www.clinicaltrials.gov page recently, and I read that the goal for my trial was to have…
An Underdog Kind of Day
I was sure Underdog said it. I’ve actually spent the bulk of my 8-dollar Southwest wifi fee trying to prove it, but there’s no need to fear, that Underdog quote’s NOT here. He was NOT the one who said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” So far today, though, putting pooch and proverb together is…
Redefining the Cancer “Patient”
A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with my nephew, Matt, and he remarked, “You changed the way I think a cancer patient is.” I didn’t need to ask him what he meant, because at one time in my life (granted, it was a long, LONG time ago), I probably thought of cancer patients…