Sydney R. never forgot what she learned fighting for his life as a child he has over there 60, framing his views today as she fights malignant pleural mesothelioma.
never yield.
"If you are unlucky enough to get this disease (mesothelioma), then you better put your big-girl clothes and are ready for a fight," she said recently at his home in Katy, Texas. "It's the only way you'll make it through. You have to be aggressive." His name is withheld on privacy.
Sydney, 70, was only 9 years old when she almost died of acute rheumatic fever, an inflammatory disease that was killing 10,000 children each year in America. He left her hospitalized for six weeks while her parents prayed and nurses shouted at his bedside. They were about to lose another.
A damaged heart was the best they should hope ?? if she even survived ?? . According to doctors
Sydney heard the gossip, but she fought this challenge - a little girl hard that fought back, finally returned home, and stubbornly rejected the doctor's orders to rest in bed for few weeks [
"I still remember my father said at the time," If I can not go out and play, I might as well not even be here, "she recalls." and I I turned out OK. He taught me always to rely more on myself and God, as all other humans. Doctors are not all the answers. They are not on a pedestal. I'm a fighter. I've always been. And I always will be. "
Diagnosis Came with Gloom and Doom
Sydney was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in June 2011, 18 months after she knew something was wrong first.
she received 12-18 months living with a cancer center in Texas, who also said that there was little she could do to change the inevitable result. the news of her stunned, but also sparked his rebellious side, and a determination to beat the odds once again.
She learned all she could about mesothelioma, defying doctors, their salaries, their beliefs and goals. it asked each decision they made, and got the second and third opinion. it hurts feelings, but it did not hurt that her husband, Ed, was a retired anesthesiologist who was well versed in industrial health care.
They worked together. The man she has known for 57 years, shared four children, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren with, provided the perfect complementary piece.
This was not the time to say goodbye.
Sydney Kept Asking
They explored the clinical trial options. They discussed alternative treatment plans. She underwent numerous procedures, multiple cycles of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She had pleurodesis to treat pleural effusions, but that was not enough. She underwent the more aggressive pleurectomie to remove the cancerous lining around her lungs, but that is not enough either.
"I am an independent person frank, and that gave us an advantage," she said. "I have too much to live, and I'm certainly not ready to say," You win, mesothelioma. This would not have been me. "
When the PET scan in November 2012 revealed more cancer, she underwent a pneumonectomy, the most aggressive surgery available to remove his entire right lung and a piece of his diaphragm.
But unlike most patients, it does not need the respirator after surgery. she also removed the oxygen tube much faster than most. she started to walk sooner than anyone expected, on way into the hallway of the intensive care unit. She checks the hospital early.
That was seven months ago. it has now spent two years survival mark.
attack mesothelioma
"We attacked this monster (mesothelioma) with all the resources we could find," said Sydney. "I really feel like we strike a blow against mesothelioma. at first we really talked to do all this because I did not want to become a burden to my family. "
Instead, she became an inspiration for many.
Before mesothelioma, Sydney led a very active lifestyle. She played softball with grandchildren. she cut the grass with a push mower ??. she hiked, and biked. she had a workout routine to a much younger woman.
"One of my grandchildren told me after the last surgery, 'It's OK, grandma. I like dominoes, too. We can all slow down," she said. "We're not talking gloom. I heard enough of that before. We talk about how the day can be. We humor each other, too. "
Grandchildren Inspire Her
One of his grandchildren saw the lump on his return in March ?? complications of a broken wire inside it after surgery ?? and told her she looked like a golf ball. He asked about paint a face on it, and the addition of a bow.
another grandchild sought an experimental study at Rice University, where cancerous tumors have been destroyed with the help of magnets that could better target bad cells. She did not have the courage to tell him that it would not work with mesothelioma.
She has a grandchild active in ministries of students at Texas a & M, another game player at the Air Force Academy of the United States, and a third training to become veterinarian at Texas Tech. Two others already graduated and became teachers.
"I want to live long enough to see what all the grandchildren grow up to be," she said. "I now know that people can survive and have a good life after surgery. When people tell me it is terrible what I went through, I tell them, "No, it's not. I am still alive. "And I like the new normal. I'm glad mine was caught early enough. "
No Giving Up
Sydney was close to cancer before. His father died of lung cancer at the age of 58. His brother died of lung cancer, also in 08. the siblings grew up in Texas City, Texas, where factories and shipyards nearby chemical ?? both filled with asbestos products - are the likely reason for the high rate of problems respiratory among residents for decades
she never worked closely with asbestos, which is the main cause of mesothelioma cancer, but she believes the secondary exposure. caused cancer. And she has nothing but praise for the medical care she received in Houston, especially noted surgeon Kamal Khalil, MD, oncologist Gury Doshi, MD
"It's bad enough to get it, and it changes things, but it should not be the death penalty, many people think it is, "she said. "I advise others to push the envelope in search of answers. I know that if she returns, my doctors have a few more things they can try. I will fight this thing forever."
