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I live a very full, very active life. I'm 72 now and I still teach full time. I do it because I love it. In fact, I donate my salary back to the college. I'm here because I think this is where God wants me to be.
I decided to see Dr. Sarma at Virginia Cancer Specialists, who I had met and liked very much during my wife’s treatment. Dr. Sarma took immediate action. Step one: He ordered a full body scan. Unfortunately, it came back with bad news. Two of my daughters were with me that day when Dr. Sarma informed me that the cancer had spread to my liver and my lungs, and it was still moving rapidly.
He proposed different treatment options: higher risk with higher potential gain or lower risk with lower potential gain. I talked with my daughters and decided that I would go for a treatment with higher risk but higher potential gain. Soon after, I started on a form of immunotherapy.
Dr. Sarma planned another scan after two months so we could get an initial reading shortly after starting treatment. Later that spring, I met him in his office to review the scan. He shook his head and told me it was a miracle of modern science. The cancer wasn’t gone at that point, but it had made a major retreat throughout my body. The cancer was shrinking!
With that, I began to think about the upcoming summer. I decided to move forward again with my outdoor adventure plans. Soon, I was sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and kayaking the Susquehanna River.
I continued the immunotherapy for two years. Every six months, I would get new scans and they showed that I was in remission. Eventually, Dr. Sarma said that I could stop treatment and check-in every six months. In addition, I also get a full body skin check from an oncologist who specializes in melanoma.
Throughout my journey into “cancer world,” I was impressed with Dr. Sarma. He’s thorough and thoughtful. He answered my questions very clearly. He obviously knows his stuff.
Meanwhile, I learned to windsurf at 70. Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon I teach kids how to windsurf and sail. I also kayaked 444 miles on the Susquehanna River with one of my younger sisters, who’s 67. I have 25 grandkids, and she has 35. People got a huge kick out of seeing two old people on the river with 60 grandkids between them. This past summer, I did 560 miles on the Appalachian Trail, and I’m hoping to go back this next summer and finish. It’s physically demanding, but it’s also loads of fun. Everybody has a trail name on the AT, and mine is Grandalf (Grandpa + Gandalf, which is what my grandkids call me).
The point is, I live a very full, very active life. I’m 72 now and I still teach full time. I do it because I love it. In fact, I donate my salary back to the college. I’m here because I think this is where God wants me to be.
With that said, I’m not afraid of death. I love my kids. I’m not eager to die, but I’m not afraid either. My wife wasn’t afraid, even though there was still more that she had wanted to do. For some, staring at eternity can be scary, but not for us. Eternity is our real home. In fact, we did a natural burial where we actually dug our grave and carved our own tombstone. On it there’s a verse that reads, “The eternal God is our dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
For now, I’m peaceful, happy, and content. I feel very free and rested. I’d love to talk with others walking into “cancer world” to offer my support. I know this is the place I’m meant to be, and helping others going through something similar feels like the right thing to do.
