A Tale of Three Cities

Friends and Family,

To quote Dickens: "It was the best of times..." I have to stop there. There are no worst of times to tell you about. And not that I'm trying to one-up Dickens, but I'm going to tell you about three cities. 

CITY #1: SAN DIEGO: If it seems like only a month ago that I had my last CT scan, that's because it was. Due to city #2 in today's email, we were bumped to the earliest day that still fit in the clinical trial acceptable time frame. The news is, once again, thrilling! No growth! I've now been on this trial for 23 months, a full ten months longer than expected without growth. My plan: Set the record, and give others hope that they can do the same. Working on it! In the meantime, we are now visiting...

CITY #2: LAIE, HAWAII: Health care providers and survivors alike often bring up the issue of quality of life. As in, "Sure, (he, she, I) could try chemo, but would the quality of life be worth it?" To me, the answer has been an unequivocal YES every time. Chemo twice, two lung surgeries, radiation, a stunning period of 11 months being on absolutely no cancer meds while the cancer remained stable, and three really easy-to-live-with treatments (Avastin, Tarceva, and Tagrisso/AZD9291). There is NO POINT during this that I felt like the treatment wasn't worth the price of admission, even if the treatment had turned out to be ineffective. Actually, the second time I had chemo it didn't do anything, but it was worth trying. Life is precious, and a little thing like my body feeling like crap during chemo isn't going to change that.

I'm still trying everything I can do, and I have to say, my quality of life is spectacular. Today, Genevieve and I are celebrating our 20th anniversary of our marriage - happiness together beyond anything I could have imagined. I'm still in love, I still treasure my beloved, and I am grateful for every day together.

Sweetening the celebration even more, we are in Hawaii right now! 'Nuff said... Except it's not! Because this time, my son Mike, his wife, and three of our grandchildren are with us. Since they live in the Philippines, and I don't travel that far from treatment, seeing them is a rare treat. Nothing beats boogie boarding with the grandkids for a bonding experience!

My attitude has shifted over the past couple of the years, which is why telling you about   CITY #3: PORTLAND is a big deal to me. When I was first diagnosed ten years ago, I was thinking of my lifespan in months, not years. I was wondering if I had seen the seasons change for the last time. Since then, I have been blessed with the gift of life for much longer than I could have hoped. Combine this with being inspired by other survivors at the LUNGevity HOPE Summit in Washington D.C. for the past couple of years, and I am more motivated to do what I can for others. That's why I contacted the American Lung Association (ALA) last year, to see how I could help.

It turns out that there was a way to help. Last year they had their first Lung Force Expo in Portland, and they were planning another one for this year. I got on the planning committee, brought in other survivors, and since I didn't step backwards when they asked for volunteers, I ended up chairing it. Together with health care professionals, we put together an agenda that I really like for this year's conference. 

Not only that: Genevieve and I will both be speaking at the conference. 

Mark your calendars: LUNG FORCE EXPO

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2016 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Monarch Hotel.

Lung Cancer Survivor-Caregiver Track Topics:

·       Being Your Own Advocate

·       Immunotherapy

·       Questions to Ask Your Lung Cancer Doctor

·       Stress Reduction Techniques

·       Nurse Navigation and Palliative Care

·       Caregiver Support

I will be the M.C. and speaker for the Being Your Own Advocate session, and Genevieve will be kicking off the Caregiver Support session, by sharing her story as a caregiver. 

There is a separate track for health care professionals, which I also like. There are CEU's available for the professionals. Cost increases significantly for professionals after October 7th.

To sign up, go to http://lungforce.org/Expo. Deadline for getting the early-bird conference rate is October 7th. If you can't afford it, the fee can be waived.

So there you have it. Three cities, three different stories, three happy endings. Maybe not enough suffering for a classic like a classic Dickens story, but I kinda like it like that.

Love,

Dann