No Visible Cancer

Friday, June 26, 2009

No Visible Cancer

On June 5 I had a PET scan as a follow-up to the CT scan I had in May. After a trip to Europe, I met with my oncologist on June 18 to confirm what Sharon shared in this blog earlier in June - no cancer! I have my next appointment in mid-August and we will decide at that point when to do the next scan. With lung cancer there is not a blood test than can identify cancer cells before they are visible on a scan, so the approach is to do periodic scans to confirm that no new cancer is present. Again, the good news is no cancer now, but there is always the risk of cancer reoccurring. So, your continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated.

I will continue to maintain the blog, but only as new information is available regarding my health and cancer. Hopefully that means I will be able to go 6 - 8 weeks at a time without posting. Be assured that on this blog, no news is good news.

It has been about ten months since the tumor was originally discovered. Needless to say it as been a challenging year, but it has been made easier with your concern, prayers, and support. Thanks for being there for us.

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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.

Dick Clark - Cincinnati

Friday, June 26, 2009