Cancer Journey of a Secular Buddhist

They took out the tumor and I’ll have an MRI tonight to make sure it’s all gone then I can resume on my lung cancer treatment journey after this speed bump I’ll post again when I have a clear treatment plan, probably early next week! The nursing staff have been incredible: highly skilled, genuinely caring and very supportive. The surgeons, anesthesiologists, residents, and medical students are all extremely bright and kind. My surgeon does three brain surgeries a week and said this 4 hour surgery was quite successful. My left arm function is already coming back and I have no pain or weakness. I have to stay in the neuro recovery unit for a day or two but I should be able to go home soon! My family can visit for a while. I’m thankful that I’m so lucky with this speed bump and I’ll slowly start stepping on the gas again!! I’m also thankful for all the support and suggestions and inspiring stories from my friends and family. It really helped me and my family to have such optimistic vibe...

My lung cancer journey took an unexpected turn last week. I had a battery of tests on Wednesday 8/20 including CT scans of my head, chest, and abdomen to see if I qualified to be in the clinical trial I was applying for. On Friday the results came back and showed my lung cancer had metastasized to a tumor in the right frontal lobe of my brain. I've lost much of the function in my left arm and hand, as the left side of the body is controlled by the right brain. I'm typing this with my left hand only, hunt and peck style, which is slow and frustrating. Hence, this won't be a very long note. My left leg is a little affected so I have a slight limp, but it's no problem. I didn't finish all the clinical trial tests so I don't think I'll be in the trial; one fewer decision to make. This was a complete surprise, a scan on 7/6 showed no tumors in my brain, and now 6 weeks later, it is the size of a big marble. The good news is that it is close to the top of my...

 I f you have been following my posts you'll know I have been diagnosed with lung cancer and I've had an operation to obtain a biopsy sample from my spine to see if the cancer had spread. This week I learned that indeed, the cancer has spread to my T7 vertebra and so I have Stage 4 Lung Cancer. My doctors explained that they don't think of Stage 4 Lung Cancer as being curable because even though there are treatments that can eliminate all evidence of cancer in many cases, it is quite likely that the cancer will return and treatment must then be resumed. Luckily, there have been some amazing advances in the treatment of lung cancer and it may eventually become a treatable chronic disease like AIDS or Diabetes or other Endocrine disorders. One of those advances is immunotherapy in which drugs are given through infusions every three weeks for up to 2 years and these drugs stimulate the immune system to attack the cancer cells. The effectiveness of this approach depends on pre...

  My surgery was a success they excised the right transverse process of my T7 vertebra at 10am, sent it to pathology for testing, and sent me home at 3:30. Yas made me a soba dinner with unagi and wakame salad. Much better than hospital food. I’ll get the results in 2 weeks and start the next phase of treatment. Yay!!

For those who have known me more than 30 years, you know that I was a heavy smoker (a pack day from age 15 to age 40) but I stopped 30 years ago before my daughter Caitlin was born. The old policy was that if you stopped smoking more than 15 years ago, then your risk level for cancer was the same as for non-smokers. Last year, the policy changed and anyone who smoked a pack a day for 20 or more years is advised to get an annual low-dose lung cancer CT scan. If you smoked heavily for 20 or more years, I *strongly* encourage you to get an annual low-dose lung cancer CT scan. It is inexpensive and can literally save your life! When caught early, lung cancer can be cured with radiation and/or lung surgery quickly and easily, with no need for chemo-therapy! I had such a scan in April and it detected a nodule in the right upper lobe of my lung. A robotic bronchoscopy (so cool!) got a biopsy sample which was confirmed to be cancer (adenocarcinoma). A PET scan (also amazingly cool) indica...