Patience is a virtue....

Patience also comes in handy when you are a patient at a major medical center. For the last couple of days I’ve had a nagging cough. Given that I have cancerous spots on my lungs, I was told by my oncologist in NC that if I ever experience anything unusual with my breathing or anything odd associated with my lungs, I need to let them know immediately. So off I go to MD Anderson this morning first thing, thinking they would check out my lungs and in short order send me on my merry way. WRONG! They sent me to the emergency room instead. My recent encounters with the ER are nothing short of painful. Not in a physical way, but in a way that will test your patience. You have to wait and wait for what seems like enternity to finally see a doctor. I checked into the ER at 8:51AM and I was only the second person there this early in the morning. Great, I thought, I can get this done quickly. WRONG! Long, long, long story short, I checked out of the ER at 2:30PM. Between labs, xrays, an EKG, and 2 brief conversations with my ER doc, there was nothing “spectacular” on the xrays or my labs that indicated anything of immediate concern. Patience is a virtue…

I did (once again) meet some very nice folks here at MD Anderson. A gentleman in his early 70’s was wheeled into my (our) room around 11AM. His son was with him. We shared small talk until we both realized we were going to be there for a while, at which point we began talking it up big time. He has kidney cancer, it had spread to his lungs just as my cancer has, but he also is fighting diabetes, neuropathy in his feet from diabetes, and a stent that is leaking blood. But you know what? He had a wonderful attitude, joking with the nurse and doctors, making me and everyone else laugh. I so enjoyed his company. He is an excellent example of how your attitude can not only brighten up the day of others, it can also do yourself good. He was told 2 years ago that he had 2 months to live, was told to go home and “get his house in order”. He sought a second opinion from MD Anderson, and the oncologist here told him it didn’t look great but suggested he at least try chemotherapy to see if it could help. Here he his, 2 years later, putting smiles on faces wherever he goes, regardless of the personal issues he battles on a daily basis. If you are a past blog reader, you’ve heard me mention PMA – Positive Mental Attitude. If you walk around with a cloud over your head all day, you will get rained on and you won’t be able to enjoy the warmth and comfort of the sunshine. Some of us are caught up in our own world of gloom and doom. “Misery loves company”. Sound familiar? I encourage you to examine your attitude. PMA.

My next (scheduled) appointment is on Monday for CT scans and other tests. I should see my oncologist on Wednesday, and HOPEFULLY I will be flying back to NC on Thursday. I’m anxious to get back to see my wife and kids. More importantly, I want to see them because I may be flying back a week from Monday for a two month trip to Houston. It looks like I may be accepted into a phase 1 clinical trial that is showing promise in a variety of cancers. I’ll know more details tomorrow or Monday. Have a great weekend.

Till next time...Brian.