Diagnosis

It became official at 3:30 pm, July 30.  I have lung cancer.  There are two words I never thought I would hear a doctor tell me.  To try and keep my sanity and let people know what is going on, I decided to start this blog.  Since it is my blog, I have established a few rules:

1. Proper English, spelling and punctuation don't count.
2. Don't argue with me. 
3. Be positive.
4. I can say whatever I want. 
5. Remember, the voices aren't real but sometime they have good ideas. 

One question that several people have already asked is "how did this start?" In April I was on one of my bike rides and was headed back home when I got a tickle in my throat and a cough.  I did not think much of it and chalked it up to allergies.  The cough steadily got worse over the next few weeks until early May I had a bad coughing episode at work.  I called the doctor over at the health center and went to see him.  He diagnosed it as an upper respiratory infection and put me on an antibiotic for a week.  I started feeling better over the next week but the cough stayed.  

We took DeLayne's mom to Atlanta to see her family in mid-May and I felt good but still had the cough.  After we got back to Dallas the cough came back with a vengeance and I went to see my family doctor.  He ordered up a set of chest x-rays and diagnosed me with pneumonia.  I was prescribed another round of antibiotics and told to come back so he could check to see if the pneumonia was gone.  Ten days later I went back for my follow-up.  He checked me out and said that my lungs were clear even though I still had my cough.  I was told that is normal for pneumonia.  He wanted me to come back the first of July for follow-up x-rays to be sure that my lungs were clear.  He also told me that I could start riding again.

Over the next three weeks I continued to ride and noticed that when I rode, my airway opened up and I could breath much better.  On the morning of July 5th, I got up and went for an early morning ride.  I rode almost 20 miles and felt great.  Dare I say, I felt fast.  This was without a doubt the best I had felt in two months and thought that finally I was getting over this stuff.  Later that morning I went for my follow-up x-rays and doctor appointment.  I about went into shock when he came in and told me that not only did I still have pneumonia but it was worse.  He gave me a pulmonologist  name and told me I needed to see him as soon as I could.

The month of July has been spent seeing either the pulmonologist or going to the hospital for CT scans and biopsies.  The last biopsy confirmed that I have non-small cell carcinoma in my right lung.  At this point he does not believe that I would be a good candidate for surgery because of where and how the tumor has grown.  We will now start our search for treatment options.

This is me the day I found out.  The bike I am on is my road bike.  I started riding a few years ago after the boys started riding and racing.  I thought I would go riding with the boys.  That did not last long.  The goal finally came to just trying to keep them in site.  Thus far, the doctors are telling me to keep riding as long as I feel like it.  


The morning after getting the diagnosis I went for a ride.  I made sure to ride a little further than usual.  I figured if I could ride just a little further than usual it would be a small victory over the cancer.  After the last month, I'll take them where I can.


Well, there you have it; how it started and where I am now.  Check back for updates.  I promise to keep it as light hearted as possible.  I will try not to preach but God is already opening my eyes to many things so be prepared.  When I feel like sharing, I will.  And if you don't like it, see rule #2.


Thanks to all of my family and friends for the prayers and support.  Keep it up.