I Have Cancer But Still Very Thankful
“The mass I took from your neck is cancer.” These were the words from my surgeon who did a three-hour surgery on my neck the day before. “Cancer?” I asked. “Yes, you have cancer” was his reply. That was exactly fourteen years ago but those words I still clearly ring in my mind as though it was only said yesterday.
At sixty years of age then I was at the peak of my career as an emergency medicine physician and I thought I was in good health. I never missed a day of work for 41 years due to illness. Two years prior to the surgery I noted my right thyroid lobe was bigger than the left lobe and was slowly growing. Having lived in the Philippines and I have seen many people with humongous goiter (enlarged thyroid) I rationalized my neck mass was just benign. I run into a former classmate from medical school who was an endocrinologist who seem not too concerned about my mass or I may have tried to think he thought so. My hindsight tells me I was not very objective in my assessment of my problem because goiters are commonly due to chronic lack of iodine intake in the diet and in the US we have adequate supply in diet because our salt is iodized and secondly my mass was only on the right side in contrast in goiter enlargement is usually diffused.
I was at an alumni reunion that I helped organized when a general surgeon noticed the growth in my neck and he then told an ENT and also a thoracic surgeon about it and all of them came to me and advising me to have surgery. The thoracic surgeon further suggested that I have ultrasound and have a needle biopsy done and have the report sent to him.
When I got home I arranged to have the ultrasound and the needle biopsy done and the report came back negative for malignancy. I sent the report to the surgeon who still advised me to have surgery.
I arranged for some time off flew with my wife Edith from Texas to California in order to have surgery. After I checked into the hospital on the morning before surgery I was happy to know that the anesthesiologist for my operation was someone I knew in college. After he examined me, he ordered a chest x-ray then he came back and told me that the mass had pushed my trachea (wind pipe). Dr. Alfonso Miguel Jr. a thoracic surgeon who did my first surgery to remove the mass. He is now retired.
I wondered what caused my cancer. I have tried to eat right and exercise as best I could. The only thing I thought that I did that was not good for my body and immune system was my years of irregular sleeping pattern and being an adrenaline junky because of the nature of my job as an emergency medicine physician. My father died five years before I had my surgery, of pneumonia two years after he was diagnosed and had surgery to for pancreatic cancer, so could I have inherited some bad genes.
Every year nearly 8 million people die worldwide from cancer, and about a million of those are from USA. Many of these deaths are avoidable by prevention, early detection and by treatment programs. A brief overview of cancer shows there are more than 100 kinds malignant diseases in which cells in different parts of the body grow out control. Each group of cancer have their own peculiar characteristics, this explains why there is no single magic bullet to fight them, thus the treatment varies from one cancer to another.
To fight cancer it is important that we learn as much as we can about it. Learn about the about the common early signs and symptoms but keeping in mind that signs and symptoms may vary from one cancer to another depending on the type and the location the of the cancer. I had three physicians who were members of the group practice I was with that had cancer and all are still alive today, all in remission. Two of them had persistent cough they requested chest x-rays which showed chest malignancy, and another who had persistent flu like symptoms who requested a blood count which lead to the diagnosis of a malignancy in his bone marrow. Yes, Because of early diagnosis all of them are in remission. One of them lately finished number one in his age group in a national swimming competition.
It is also important to know your family’s history because certain transmissible genetic traits maybe related to development of certain cancers. Family members could be also exposed to the same carcinogenic substances be it in the food or environment. In my family’s case we were exposed to a known carcinogen DDT that in the 1950’s was sprayed to kill mosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria.
Other important measures are having regular medical checkups and screening for cancers, vaccination for carcinogenic papilloma virus in young women, dietary changes by cutting down of food products from animal sources and changing to more plant based diet, caloric control to prevent obesity and of course regular exercise.
For cancer, prevention and early detection is still the best approach. Today we have some effective treatments for certain kinds cancers, but still there is still vast number types that don’t response to treatment especially when they are in the advance stages and there many who also succumb to the toxic side effects of the anticancer drugs.
I thank God that after over 14 years since I was diagnosed and then being treated with I 131 radiation therapy two times, Gamma knife radiation therapy and three neck surgeries, I received a excellent report last month from my thyroid cancer doctor after reviewing my total body PET scan and blood work for tumor antibodies reports. Having to live with cancer made more careful about my diet and diligent in my physical fitness program. My body mass index (BMI) is 23 which is in the normal range as you could see in the chart below. I used my cancer diagnosis as motivation to live a healthy lifestyle but also to encourage others to do so. I am fully aware I am living of barrowed time but it has not stopped me from living a full and satisfying life and being blessing my family and to others.
Do not no wait for the grim news, “You have cancer.” Be proactive, do all you can to prevent it, know the early signs and symptoms, and have regular check ups. Remember, your health is your most valuable asset, take care of it. LIFE IS GOOD VALUE IT!
