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The Clark Family
About Dick
This section provides background on how my cancer was discovered and a few key dates associated with the 2-year journey.
In mid-August 2008, I was taking a shower when I coughed up a small amount of blood. I would probably not have gone to the doctor for that alone, but I already had an appointment for allergy problems. I mentioned it to the doctor at the end of my exam. He thought it was probably nothing, but recommended that I go for a chest x-ray.
An HOUR after the x-ray, he called to say that there was a mass and I should schedule a CT scan immediately.
That led to a visit to the pulmonary doctor, who did a bronchoscopy and a PET scan. On Sept. 10th, he diagnosed me with "non-small cell" lung cancer. The tumor is somewhat larger than a golf ball.
For perspective, I have NEVER smoked. Only 15% of those with lung cancer are non-smokers, and less than half of those are men. Needless to say, I am in the minority in terms of people that get lung cancer. Never the less, it is very real and must be treated aggressively.
On Sept. 29th I had surgery to remove the upper right lobe of my lung, as well as three lymph nodes. The surgery took 2+ hours. I was in the hospital for four days.
On Wednesday October 1 we learned that the pathology report was not good. In addition to the cancer in the upper right lobe of my lung, there was also cancer in at least one lymph node. The pathology clarified that the cancer is adenocarcinoma. While lung cancer is normally associated with smoking, about 10% of the people with this particular type of cancer are non-smokers.
Following surgery, I had chemotherapy from Nov 2008 - Jan 2009, then radiation in Feb & Mar 2009. Scans from May 2009 - Feb 2010 were "clean" with no cancer. On June 2, 2010, an MRI showed a brain tumor. The older updates to this blog track the progress during recovery from surgery, as well as initial chemo and radiation treatments. The more recent entries provide updates on the 2010 brain tumor and treatments.
In mid-August 2008, I was taking a shower when I coughed up a small amount of blood. I would probably not have gone to the doctor for that alone, but I already had an appointment for allergy problems. I mentioned it to the doctor at the end of my exam. He thought it was probably nothing, but recommended that I go for a chest x-ray.
An HOUR after the x-ray, he called to say that there was a mass and I should schedule a CT scan immediately.
That led to a visit to the pulmonary doctor, who did a bronchoscopy and a PET scan. On Sept. 10th, he diagnosed me with "non-small cell" lung cancer. The tumor is somewhat larger than a golf ball.
For perspective, I have NEVER smoked. Only 15% of those with lung cancer are non-smokers, and less than half of those are men. Needless to say, I am in the minority in terms of people that get lung cancer. Never the less, it is very real and must be treated aggressively.
On Sept. 29th I had surgery to remove the upper right lobe of my lung, as well as three lymph nodes. The surgery took 2+ hours. I was in the hospital for four days.
On Wednesday October 1 we learned that the pathology report was not good. In addition to the cancer in the upper right lobe of my lung, there was also cancer in at least one lymph node. The pathology clarified that the cancer is adenocarcinoma. While lung cancer is normally associated with smoking, about 10% of the people with this particular type of cancer are non-smokers.
Following surgery, I had chemotherapy from Nov 2008 - Jan 2009, then radiation in Feb & Mar 2009. Scans from May 2009 - Feb 2010 were "clean" with no cancer. On June 2, 2010, an MRI showed a brain tumor. The older updates to this blog track the progress during recovery from surgery, as well as initial chemo and radiation treatments. The more recent entries provide updates on the 2010 brain tumor and treatments.
Posts
7 comments:
Hi Dick,
All the very best wishes & prayers for you on Monday.
Please do let us know if there is absolutely anything which we can do to help throughout this journey.
Much love,
Connie & Peter
This is great Bryan. We all care about Dick so having a way of knowing what is going on really means a lot! In typical Dick fashion, I am expecting a weekly scorecard publishing the key metrics of his recovery, like weight gain, e-mail count received/sent ;-> Our prayers are with you! Mark Covas
Dear Dick,
Our thoughts and prayers go with you as you undergo this procedure on Monday. If there is anything we can do on this end, please do not hesitate to ask! It is so helpful to have periodic updates so that we don't have to bother the family as you recover from your surgery. We'll appreciate Bryan and Sharon's updates from time to time-
Get some rest, enjoy the extra attention from your friends and family and leave the rest to Him.
All our love,
Cindy, Bill and family
Dear Dick & Family,
Our prayers are with you all as you head into your surgery tomorrow.
Thanks for setting up this site so we can keep up-to-date.
Our Love,
Uncle Duane & Aunt Bettie
Dick, Sharon, Bryan and Leslie,
We're praying that you'll be surrounded by that "comfort blanket of prayer" throughout your surgery and healing. We'll be eagerly checking this site for progress reports. Call on us for anything you need, ok?
Love,
Steve and Mary Jane
Dear Dick and Sharon,
I will add my prayers of support to get you all through this. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Leslie
We(and I'm sure many others)have been praying for you,your medical team and your family this morning.
We appreciate Bryan's post of the update earlier today and are anxiously awaiting to hear that the surgery is over and all went well. Love and prayers for a complete recovery. Mike & MaryJean
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