I’m sure that all cancer survivors have a soft spot, if not
total love, for the doctors and staff that worked together to save their
lives. I am no exception. So please indulge me a bit while I brag
on and promote mine.
Yesterday was my 18-month post transplant tests. It was the first time I had waited six months between bone marrow biopsies
and CT scans! I have to admit that
I was a little out of practice for enduring the discomfort of the bone marrow
biopsy. But it’s a small price to
pay!
While waiting for each procedure, I met and shared stories
with several folks. Cancer
survivors are very open. What was
interesting to me was how far they had all come. Two had come from Alaska. The husband had esophageal cancer and at the facility in
Alaska had been given a 10% survival chance. He called MDA and asked if there were any clinical trials,
which there were, and what the survival ratings were (54%) and decided to make
the trek to Houston. That was 12
years ago! His wife three years
later was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I guess you can imagine where they decided to come. She also entered a trial, and now they
both come back once a year for their “12,000 mile check-up.” :) They were a delightful couple in their
mid to late 60’s. I hope that in
12 years, we will still be coming in for my annual check.
There was another lady from California who had a carcinoma
in her stomach. They felt like
they had gotten it, but there was a possibility of it morphing into something
else. There was a slight
possibility of a stem cell transplant in her future. She was very scared about that, almost to the point of
refusal, so she and her son asked me a lot of questions. It was rewarding to be able to give her
first hand information from my experience.
Another lady came from Arkansas who had been diagnosed with
Melanoma and Lymphoma at 35. She’s
39 now and doing great! I didn’t
tell her about my buddy, Dave, because I didn’t want to discourage her. She took several of the same drugs that
he did early on. I obviously can’t
say that going to MD Anderson will always keep you from dying. Sometimes there’s just another plan. But statistically, MD Anderson saves a
ton of lives!!
Why am I mentioning these folks from Alaska, California, and
Arkansas (and another who drove over from Bastrop…)? Because I have met so many folks right here in Houston who
won’t drive across town to go to MD Anderson because it’s inconvenient! The group of us talking yesterday
laughed as we shared stories and called ourselves the “it’s way better than
dead” group! That may sound a bit
crass, but until you’ve looked death in the face you don’t always know what you
might be willing to do. And for
those who aren’t willing, I just don’t get it. We have the best of the best right in our own back
yard. For some cancers like breast
cancer that is so prevalent, several area hospitals have access to the same
treatment options. But for most
other cancers, MD Anderson is simply the place to be.
Heaven is going to be amazing. I just wasn’t quite ready to go. But I was willing to drive to MD Anderson!
