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Although October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness, there are other equally dangerous cancers that, if detected early, can be put into remission.
George Wright is one of those lung cancer survivors. Yet even today, he continues to smoke. He just can not give up, even if he's under oxygen now, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But do not judge him, he says.
Wright wrote a series of articles on his battle for the Herald and News in 2009 and some of them follow here. Wright, originally from Malin, was 73 years old at the time of his cancer. Today, he is 82 years old. He was a tactical instructor for the air force early in his career (1955-1977) and worked at the Pentagon on behalf of the Chief of Staff. He worked in the small computer industry in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, with parallel shifts on the east coast. After that, he started working in several jobs before returning to Klamath Falls in 1987.
Here are some excerpts from his story:
On April 20, 2009, as I was spitting blood, I was given a scanner. My doctor discovered squamous cell carcinoma in the right lung, very high on the lobe. Personally, I thought it was a ball of hair. I was wrong.
On May 7, I met a radiologist and an oncologist. I discovered that it was an ugly little bugger and that surgery is not a likely option because of the tumor's position, ergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy are indicated. I was wondering if Medicare could tell me that the cost of treatment would exceed the value of my blue book and that I would simply choose to spend my total … If I did not treat carcinoma, I would survive for maybe a year.
This story is not unique. It is repeated across the United States with slight differences in detail and names of more than 200,000 annually, resulting in 160,000 deaths, writes Wright.
On May 12, at the Sky Lakes Medical Center, I was inserted into the area of my neck and shoulder, called the portico, a substance that was used to pour chemicals and other nasty nostrils.
How, as a Western man, hunter and red-blooded protector, would I be able to fire my rifle and shotgun with my right shoulder? shoulder?
I was disappointed to discover that the portal was not designed in designer colors and did not have a gauge.
After a battery of tests and chemotherapy treatments, Wright thought everything was fine, "until the wheels came off".
On June 2, I was barely aware when I went to the cancer center for a blood test. The oncologist has concealed my fuselage in the intensive care unit. I had enough plastic tubes in my body to make a decent drip system for a medium sized hobby farm.
The intervals between chemotherapy treatments are precisely 21 days, followed by a 40-day break and several tests.
By December, cancer no longer appeared on PET and today Wright's cancer is in remission.
During his ordeal, he had many words of wisdom for those who are in the same state and for those who know a patient with cancer.
"I do not pretend to be stronger or weaker against this adversity than any other cancer patient. We treat and treat trauma in different ways. Humor has always been part of my life, almost always impromptu and spontaneous, often to my embarrassment. The humor can often express a nuance better than a well-written prose.
"Mortality should not be a heavy burden; we carry it all, but please, please, stop and be kind to someone, volunteer for something, smell the roses and pick the daisies. It's what perfumes life and gives it meaning and texture. "
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