About a year and a half ago, a good friend of mine that I grew up with posted a farewell on Facebook.  He's an oncologist in south Florida who worked for MD Anderson for several years, and even headed up the clinic here in Florida when it opened several years back.  He specialized in treating pediatric cancer patients at the time, but when he went into private practice, he expanded his clientele to include all ages.  The reason he got into the field is because when he was in high school, he was diagnosed with leukemia.  He went into remission, graduated, and went to college at UF.  Prior to his diagnosis, he had an appointment to the Naval Academy, but because of the health issues, that was rescinded.  While he was at UF, he had a second bout with cancer, and like the previous diagnosis, he fought an even more aggressive form of the disease and beat it into remission.

 

After he graduated, he went into practice, and built a great career for himself.  Because of the cancer history, he was hesitant to get married because he didn't want to draw someone else into his world only to have cancer strike again.  Unfortunately, his plans to remain a bachelor were botched when he met a young nurse who just wouldn't leave the guy alone.  They married 20 years ago, and now are the parents of 2 beautiful kids. 

 

About 18 months ago, he started having problems with heartburn.  It started out pretty mild, but got progressively worse.  He was diagnosed with Barret's Esophagus.  The doctor he was seeing, knowing his cancer history, suggested some additional tests, at which time it was determined he was stage 4 with an aggressive form of esophogeal cancer.  The afternoon of his diagnosis, he came home and wrote his friends a farewell on Facebook, and sat down that evening and started writing hand written notes to his kids to mark each milestone in their lives (graduations, religious sacraments, weddings, etc).  He prepared himself to die based on the diagnosis he was given. 

 

If it wasn't for that wife of his, we'd probably be talking about him in the past tense today.  He's still around and doing quite well, and he's been cancer free for over a year.  After digesting the diagnosis, he prayed.  This is a guy who is really religious already, but he went to his parish priest, told him his prognosis and what his plans were, and the priest basically kicked him in the rear, told him to stop feeling sorry for himself, and to think about it from the position of the doctor giving the diagnosis instead of the patient on the other end.  Once he started to look at it as a doctor, he got on the phone with one of his friends at MD Anderson, told them what was going on, and the guy had him on a jet to Houston the next day for a consult.  His cancer was bad, and the surgery they had to do was dangerous, but it was a ray of hope.  He agreed to do the surgery and the subsequent chemotherapy.  It was brutal, but he had such a great spirit through the entire thing.  He's an Irishman, and he loves his craft beer.  He used that as an incentive as he underwent to treatments.  All the while, that wife he never really wanted to drag into his health issues became his anchor, doing whatever was necessary medically to help with treatments, and to keep things going at home.

 

Over the next several months, his health went from bad to worse, showed some improvement, then had a couple of setbacks.  The metastasis to the brain, lungs and bones was addressed, and they shrunk those tumors to almost nothing with radiation, and the chemo took care of what the surgery didn't remove.  He was tested, and once again his blood work was showing that he'd beaten cancer back again.

 

He's now almost 2 years removed from his ordeal.  He deals with this dreaded disease on a daily basis as he tries to help others overcome the obstacles as he did.  His family was planning a trip to Lourdes next week on a pilgrimage.  Last week was his wedding anniversary.  On the day of their anniversary, he announced on FB that his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and she was going in for surgery that very day.  She had the surgery last week, was home the next day, and they're facing her diagnosis in the same way they did his.  They're not letting it stop them, and they're taking an aggressive approach to beating the disease.  They'll leave for Lourdes next week with a renewed purpose now that they're both in the fight.

 

I've seen this guy go through one challenge after another where the prognosis was as bad as it could be, and somehow he's managed to keep himself above ground for more than 30 years now. 

 

Cancer is a scary diagnosis, but even the most aggressive forms in high stages have been beaten back.  It starts with the right mindset.  This guy and another friend of mine who was also diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer that she's been fighting for a couple of years now have shown me how grace and faith play such an important role in winning the battle.  In both cases, the patients have overcome some very dire prognoses and lived their lives with purpose. 

 

Paul, I can't begin to understand what's going on in your head as  you get these rolling beatdowns with one bit of bad news after the next.  But, I know that winning the battle starts with a willingness to fight this thing tooth and nail, and the spirit to take the punches and keep on laughing and smiling no matter what.  If you need someone to talk to, I can put you in touch with my oncologist friend.  I directed him to the girl I know who is fighting the colon cancer, and he really helped her through her trials and tribulations, and he even pointed her in the right direction for preferred doctors to treat her disease.

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