Living Strong with Stage Four - Getting the News

"The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives." - Albert Schweitzer

In early May of this year, just four months ago, I was hospitalized with pneumonia. Later that month, when I was admitted again, a CT scan showed I had a mass in the right upper lobe of my lung.

A broncoscopy showed the mass was cancer. Later, a PET scan revealed I had Stage 4 lung cancer, and it had spread to my lymph nodes, liver, and some bones.

When the doctor told me I had Stage 4 lung cancer, I was shocked. I have never smoked, I've stayed active and tried to live a good, clean life. Now I hear these strange words: Stage 4 lung cancer? It's a surreal feeling. This is happening to me?

"What are my prospects?" I asked.

"We can't cure it," the doctor explained, "but we can treat it. You can live two to three years."

As you can imagine, it was a quiet ride home with Kate. We got home and cried. She said she could not stand to lose me. I told her I am not afraid to die. Even so, in the next couple of weeks when I told people of my diagnosis, it was hard not to tear up and briefly lose my composure.

At 72 years old, my life and future had drastically and suddenly changed.

What now?

--by John Morrow