Upper lobe of right lung removed August 2012. No chemo, no radiation. All still OK as of a few months ago.
The real story begins about 15 years before that, when I had been off the cigarettes about 10 years. I told my internist we hadn't done a chest X-ray for a couple of years. His response was "we don't do that any more." It seems that smokers with a positive chest X-ray continue smoking. When I reminded him that I was an ex-smoker, he requested that I cough for him. I complied, and he thought he should order a chest X-ray for Bronchitis. After coughing at my wellness exams for the next 4-5 years (and subsequently getting a chest X-ray) he called with the news that I might have a small tumor. After a number of scans and tests, we chopped off the upper right lobe (lobectomy) about a month later.
I am writing this to you 7 years cancer free. Why? I took charge of my health care. I urge you to take charge of your health care.
