Surviving Life-Threatening Lung Cancer: Lessons Learned

My life has changed dramatically since my journey through stage 3B non-small cell lung cancer. I’ve learned, grown and lived my life more fully than I would ever have thought possible before the experience.

Living One Day at a Time

I can, and now do, live life “one day at a time” as often as possible. Our lives are precious and limited. Certainly, not every day am I blessed with sunshine, blue skies and spring flowers. There are days when I’m privileged to spend the afternoon with my best friend or hug my grandchild. However, every day provides me with something to be grateful for, something new to learn or teach to another.

Making Something Special of My Second Chance at Life

I want, and sometimes even feel the need, to make my second chance at life something special. Facing life-threatening cancer caused me to lose hope on several occasions. And yet, as I recovered spiritually at least twice, I knew that I could rise above so many, if not all, of life’s greatest challenges. In addition to not letting fear dominate me when life was difficult, I began to take on and even master situations that would have been overwhelming to me in the past.

Keeping My Body Healthy

I respect my body far more than I did before my diagnosis. Although I’m still striving for a better-balanced diet, I’ve come a long way. Although I liked to exercise in the past, I’ve moved on to the next level. Throughout my adult life, I’ve walked and occasionally hiked for pleasure and fitness. I now use my treadmill faithfully in inclement weather and walk outside when the weather is nice. More significantly, I’ve added more exercises. Alternate days, I lift weights, and once a week, I use a rowing machine as well as a stationary bicycle at the gym. I keep a regular bedtime, and most nights, I sleep seven hours. If I have a difficult night, I take a 20-to-30-minute nap.

Prioritizing Family

Realizing now the value of family members, both blood relatives and individuals who are so close to me that we’ve informally “adopted one another,” I am now making every attempt to maintain good relationships with all of them. Soon after reaching the five-year mark since my lung cancer diagnosis, I took on the role of cancer support person to cousins on both my mother’s and father’s sides of our family. I had not had a connection with either of them since we were children, so we were just getting to know each other as we started to share our cancer stories. It was challenging, but also rewarding.

Rising Above Serious Challenges

I now understand that I can become very ill, very weak, feel hopeless emotionally, or a financial failure, and yet climb back out of that hole, attaining comparative health and wealth. It took me one ominous physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually overwhelming night during chemotherapy treatment to lead me to the realization that I can’t and won’t give up on myself and even life itself.

Practicing a Dynamic Faith

I’ve learned that God’s power in my life is limitless. Going forward, I will never forget that my life is a miracle. I will never minimize God’s strength and his capacity to heal me and so many others who turn to Him in their hour of need. I changed churches, which led me to feel more fulfilled in my worship experience. I have become more actively involved as a volunteer in the cancer support group there.

Accepting That My Body Has Undergone Harsh Treatment

My body has suffered damage as a result of chemotherapy and radiation that has likely weakened it. Yes, it is disappointing that I will probably struggle more with other illnesses; my life expectancy could be shortened. However, there is so much more to be grateful for in my new normal life.

Am I Really Cured?

It’s hard for any patient with cancer to forget the day he or she was told, “I can treat you, but I can’t promise you that you can be cured.” Hence, anxiety about recurrence is typically in the back of my mind. Because of this, I prefer the term “remission” to “cure.”

And for me, the most important lesson I learned as a result of stage 3B non-small cell lung cancer was that it takes a long time to recover from life-threatening cancer and the treatment necessary to be cured. I had always been a very active person; I wanted and unwisely believed that I would finish treatment and get right back into my old life. I was very wrong, and now I know how important it is to walk, not run, out of treatment and into rest and recovery, then slowly evolve. In my new normal, I am wiser and more content. I am grateful to have become the person I was always meant to be.

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