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As I share my experiences, both in physical deterioration and emotions it is my hope I can help and encourage other sufferers to remain positive and fight the battle, also provide important information to family members and friends who support those they love as they journey through this terrible disease.
Hi to the Steemit community! My name is Gary Wilson, and I live in Tauranga, New Zealand.
This is my first post on Steemit, and will certainly not be my last. I intend to contribute a weekly post to share my story with you on a personal, and openly transparent basis, as my life unfolds in this intense fight against advanced lung cancer.
At the moment it appears everything is stacked against me.
I know I need to remain positive with every thought and action. Failure to do so will spell the end for me. I would deteriorate rapidly. I know should I fail to remain positive, darkness and despair will quickly surround me.
I know there will be moments when emotions will catch up, and the inner pain will attempt to rip me apart. I will need to learn to manage these emotions carefully. I understand I must learn to remain strong, and encourage those around me to remain strong also. Together we must choose to cherish every moment we share together. To live so there are no regrets.
For me the immediate future will be like sailing through uncharted waters. There will be both bright and dark days ahead. I understand I will need to confront emotions and pain which will challenge me to the core, I will need to prepare myself for such times ahead.
My story begins 7 weeks ago. In the few weeks prior to this I had felt mild shortness of breath on two occasions. Apart from this I felt absolutely fine. I didn’t give it to much thought, and decided on a medical check-up in the near future.
Early one morning, I awoke to pains in the chest. Honestly, remembering the previous shortness of breath, now running into chest pains, I assumed I was having a mild heart attack. I ended up in the Emergency Department at Tauranga Hospital.
It didn’t take long for the medical staff to work out it wasn’t a heart attack I was suffering. They decided, as a precaution, to take a chest x-ray to ensure all was well. A short time later a doctor arrived and said they were not happy with the result of the x-ray and he had arranged for an immediate CT Scan.
A number of hours later the doctor returned again with the result of the CT Scan. He sat down next to my bed, looked at the papers in his hand, then slowly looked up at me. The expression on his face had already alerted me to the fact something wasn’t quite right. I wasn’t really prepared for what was to come.
The Verdict unravelling over the following week? A large tumour began in my chest. It spread from my left lung, into connecting lymph nodes, along my bronchial tubes, then up to a node on the right side of my neck, and over to the top of my kidney. Fortunately, a brain scan revealed no cancer present there!
Subsequent Bronchoscopy for tissue samples to identify the type of cancer came back as predominantly Small Cell (SCLC). This is the type of cancer you don’t want as it is highly aggressive, grows quickly, and can spread rapidly through the body. My Future? I was placed under the care of the Cancer Centre, Specialist Doctors and Cancer Team at Tauranga Hospital.
Being told I had cancer was only half the shock, the second part was their immediate assessment: The cancer was too far advanced for it to be removed surgically. If I didn’t start Chemotherapy straight away I had 2 months, possibly 3 to live. Should the Chemotherapy prove effective, my life could be extended a further 12 - 15 months. The future, forecast by my medical team, isn’t all that bright with simply darker days ahead.
To lay down and accept this news without a fight is simply not me. I will prepare a plan, and I will fight this cancer. Other people have survived news like this, I intend to be counted as one of them!
My treatments of Chemo will attempt to shrink, stun, and possibly slow down the growth of the tumours, and I will try every healthy option to increase my body’s defence. This will include special diets and various health products designed to build the immune system. I understand it will be near impossible to beat this type of cancer, but I believe I am up for the challenge to try.
I will share with you everything I do to combat the tumours; what health products, foods, and strategies to overcome negative emotions, everything which is proving to be effective in extending my time, and improving my quality of life. I will continually search for that magic bullet which will prove to hold my cancer in remission.
So let the story begin. I will be posting every week and you can follow me at: @garywilson
I will be more than pleased to respond to any comments, or questions you may have.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. Should you know someone who will benefit by following my posts, I would encourage you to pass this information on.
Again, a big HELLO to the entire Steemit community. It is going to be a pleasure to be a part of such a great movement of people.