Medically Medically Reviewed by Neha Pathak, MD on May 24, 2021
In 2015, I was diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer, or NSCLC.
I’m a 62-year-old retired firefighter. I live in Piqua, OH, with my wife, Rhonda.
Getting a diagnosis was a delayed process. It started at an annual physical with my family doctor. I happened to mention that I had a lingering, nonproductive cough. This simple cough discussion led to a battery of tests.
Ultimately, in 2015, I was given a diagnosis of stage IV NSCLC.
The diagnosis was a complete shock for our family, as well as our community medical team. No one believed it was possible for a healthy adult male with a simple cough and no history of tobacco use to have stage IV NSCLC.
Along with Rhonda, I felt emotionally broken. Imagine the feeling of drowning while trying to comprehend a foreign language — and then being responsible for making immediate decisions that your life depends on.
I went to a community oncologist, who got a recommendation from a NSCLC specialist to perform comprehensive biomarker testing in my tissue and my blood. That gave us a detailed analysis of my cancer and my treatment choices. It was invaluable information.
I think it’s vital for every medical professional who treats this disease to conduct biomarker testing. It can make all the difference in living with the disease.
My NSCLC Treatments
My tests showed I was a candidate for targeted therapy. I’m now on my third targeted therapy, which I’m doing through a clinical trial. I take a simple pill every day. I’ve been progression-free for 3 years on this third round of oral therapy.
My disease has metastasized, or spread, to my bones, so I’ve also had five rounds of radiation. Every 3 months I have lab work, a CT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis, and a brain MRI. Periodically, I receive an injection to strengthen my bones. I also have a bone scan.
How I Navigate the Emotions of Life With NSCLC
Both Rhonda and I have had to develop coping skills to manage living with NSCLC. They include counseling, living in the moment — because future thoughts are crippling — and finding gratitude and joy each day.
Related Article ❯ Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer: What Is It, Exactly?
For Rhonda, education and advocacy for NSCLC families is an important way to do this. As an advocate, she champions the voice of the caregiver and helps people who are newly diagnosed. She also drives education and awareness for appropriate testing and treatments. She spends time every day advocating for and helping other families navigate this journey. She firmly believes it helps her deal with the diagnosis.
One of the biggest changes we made was our mindset from dying to living with NSCLC. We know the reality of this diagnosis, but it isn’t helpful to live in a constant state of thinking about death and dwelling on the negative aspects of all we have lost. Instead, we find gratitude for what we still have.
In between the downs of the journey, we work very hard at living a normal life. I remember one particular day that changed everything. I said to Rhonda,
“If I didn’t have NSCLC, I would buy a new combine.”
We decided to buy it anyway. Now, when we come upon new life choices,
we make a conscious decision to “buy the combine” despite having cancer.
It’s been a game changer for surviving the roller-coaster ride.
My Advice for Living Well With NSCLC.
We’ve found many ways to maintain hope throughout the journey with NSCLC. Here are some that may be helpful to you too:
Get help from your team. It’s vital to have a well-educated, diverse medical team that includes a specialist in treating your specific type of NSCLC. Undoubtedly, this will lessen your burden of decision-making.
Communicate. Every member of the family has a unique experience in a cancer diagnosis. It’s important for each person to express what they’re going through. I call Rhonda my caregiver because we share our cancer journey.
Children, including adult children, also are impacted by a family member’s diagnosis. It’s important to create opportunities to talk about their emotions, not only with each other but also with a professional or support group.
Related Article ❯ Treatment Options for Early-Stage NSCLC
Trust your gut. I recommend that patients and caregivers follow their
instincts. No one knows your situation better than you and your caregivers.
Question everything, educate yourself, and trust your gut.
Connect and share. We like to read about, meet with, and share with other NSCLC families. For example, Rhonda found a family who lives 15 minutes from us that has been living with the diagnosis for more than 10 years.
A NSCLC diagnosis can be isolating:
It’s helpful to find and engage with others who share your experiences.
Stay present. Future thinking and “what-ifs” have no advantage for your well-being.
Stay present and live in the moment. Make it a point to be grateful every day.
Look for inspiration. Reading about all the advances in testing and treatments gives us great hope. We also try to inspire others. We offer our favorite advice: Buy the combine.
Cancer Survivors Often Eat Poorly – Real Food for Life
Living Your Best Life With NSCLC (webmd.com)
What Does Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Mean?
Treating Early-Stage NSCLC: What You Need to Know
The 3 Main Types of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Breathing Exercises to Do During and After Treatment
Cancer Treatment: Should You Get a Second Opinion?
Choosing The Best Treatment Plan for Metastatic NSCLC
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE OR DEATH
I am always is Awe of 0ur Military. Law Enforcement. Fire & Rescue Personnel whom run toward an emergency and NOT take a two week vacation away from the flames..
Yellow Belly COWARDS!!!
Like so many words (e.g., racist) the Democrats watered down the true meaning of ‘impeachment.’ The Afghanistan debacle is what a truly impeachable offense looks like.
Will Biden/Harris fly the Taliban Flag on the World Trade Center on 9/11 ?
Would not doubt it! Both Anti-American. #BidenHarrisAdministration
Meanwhile, house and abandon US citizens in Afghanistan. POTUS is so weak.
Every President is tested early in his term (historical fact) and Biden failed — miserably, beyond belief. Worse than Bay of Pigs. Our adversaries are watching and I am embarrassed and sick for those left behind. Bigot Biden should have left a presence of soldiers in Afghanistan, like in Korea, Germany, and other countries, the troops were not fighting, just protecting.
Afghanistan was safer than Chicago. Period!
The Biden Administration is really happy that the Hunter story, complete with drugs, hooker & confession that Russians stole his laptop (#3), is off the front page.
Luckily for the Biden regime, most Americans have an attention span
of a goldfish….and if Billie Eyelash isn’t telling them to be concerned,
then they’re not going to be concerned.
“Leaving Ameri
cans behind for sure death — is an unforgivable dereliction of duty, which will go down in infamy.”
The Voice of Afghanistan welcomes Aryana Sayeed & Nazir Khara
Celebrated Afghanistan Pop Star Evacuates the Country
as the Taliban Closes In: ‘Our Dream Shattered’
By Lori Rozsa August 20, 2021 02:45 PM
Singer Aryana Sayeed told her 1.3 million Instagram followers this week that she was safe but “in a world of disbelief and shock” after fleeing Afghanistan in a crowded U.S. plane in the wake of the Taliban takeover.
“I am well and alive and after a couple of unforgettable nights, I have reached Doha, Qatar and am awaiting my eventual flight back home to Istanbul,” Sayeed wrote on Tuesday. “After I get home and my mind and emotions return back to normal from a world of misfortune and shock, I have many stories to share with you.”
Her husband and producer, Hasib, posted a selfie of the two of them aboard the cargo plane flying to Qatar, and then a photo of Sayeed asleep on a passenger flight later. “She fell asleep the moment she rested her head right after we got on the plane scheduled to fly us out of Doha, Qatar,” Hasib wrote about his wife. “I was just staring at her and remembering just how bravely and how fearlessly she handled the most recent, the most difficult and most dangerous moments of her life.”
Sayeed, 36 y.o., and her husband live in Istanbul but she also keeps a home in Kabul, where she was born. She became a judge on The Voice of Afghanistan in 2013 and has also judged on another talent show, Afghan Star. Masih Alinejad, a journalist from Iran who now lives in the United States, spoke with Sayeed after her flight to safety. “She’s safe now, she’s in Doha [in Qatar],”
Alinejad tells PEOPLE. “But she’s heartbroken.”
RELATED: Angelina Jolie Joins Instagram to Share Powerful
‘Letter Sent from a Teenage Girl in Afghanistan’
On Friday, Sayeed posted further updates to
her Instagram Story indicating she was going to Kuwait.
Alinejad says, Sayeed made great strides for Afghan women and she fears
the Taliban will turn back the clock and undo the progress she and other prominent Afghan women made in the past 20 years. “She was the one who broke three taboos in one day: singing solo as a woman, walking unveiled and walking into a stadium from which women had been banned, where women had been hanged and flogged,” Alinejad says. “She told me when she left Afghanistan ‘it was like our dream shattered overnight.’ “
Sayeed is one of Afghanistan’s most prominent female celebrities. For years, she had been criticized by conservatives and religious hardliners because of
the way she dresses and dances in public. In 2018, the Atlantic Council gave Sayeed its Freedom Award, saying there is “no greater expression of human dignity and freedom than making art, especially under the duress of war.”
RELATED: The Story Behind Moving Photo of Child
Sleeping on Afghanistan Escape Plane Under Airman’s Uniform
Sayeed was lauded for refusing to cancel a concert in Kabul in 2017 after authorities said they couldn’t guarantee her safety. “Her dedication to her cause at times meant she had to trade dresses for flak jackets and fan clubs
for bodyguards, she’s chosen to persevere, dedicating her music career to gender equality in Afghanistan,” Atlantic Council presenter Lydia Polgreen
said at the awards ceremony.
Sayeed assured her social media followers this week that she was safe:
“In one of my last interviews I said that I would be the ‘last soldier
to leave her homeland’. That’s exactly what happened now.”
The Biden Administration is playing on the Titanic deck.
Even though I have Uttermost (D)isdain for this Administration.
And it’s tough to watch Biden spinning LIES, to cover their a$$.
With His Narrative & Cover NOW blown.
TRUST us with the TRUTH ~ LIVES depend on it.
1. Taliban mocks America in a propaganda video that shows its fighters dressed up in US Army uniforms and gear (msn.com)
2. Celebrated Afghanistan Pop Star Evacuates the Country as the Taliban Closes In: ‘Our Dream Shattered’ (msn.com)
3. Former CIA counterterrorism official: How the US set itself up for failure in Afghanistan (msn.com)
4. Biden admin should ‘own up’ to not having plan for Afghanistan collapse: Rep. Meijer (msn.com)
5. Canada would consider accepting Afghan refugees on behalf of U.S., allies -minister (msn.com)
6. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers – Into The Great Wide Open (Official Music Video)
7. How did U.S. foreign policy mistakes lead to Taliban takeover? (msn.com)
8. Veterans of Afghan war react to Taliban seizing power (msn.com)
9. $85B worth of weaponry now in Taliban control (msn.com)
10. Why did the US fail in Afghanistan? (msn.com)