Sporting a new attitude and nickname, Steve “Lance” Malcolm has put 5,000 miles on his bicycle. He rides 10 to 25 miles a day, every day.
This is a remarkable choice for Steve. Though he had not ridden a bicycle since childhood, Steve took up cycling after losing half a lung to lung cancer just four years ago.
As a cancer survivor, Steve has seized his opportunity for a second chance. In every way, it is a chance that came in answer to his prayers.
Steve and his wife, Nancy, agree that the difference between the old Steve and the new one is striking. The old Steve was unconcerned about health and fitness. If he played a little basketball or football with their sons, he tired easily. Like too many men, he avoided going to the doctor. And, like one in five Americans, the old Steve smoked.
Nancy, a non-smoker, couldn’t help worrying that tobacco might eventually take her husband’s life. Those worries intensified in 2000 when Nancy’s mother, a smoker, died of cancer and emphysema.
One morning in March 2002, Steve called Nancy at work, gasping in alarm, unable to catch his breath. He’d ignored a similar, shorter spell a few days before, thinking it must be the flu. Nancy advised medical care. This time Steve agreed.
Steve’s family practice physician, Steven Osborn, MD, of Methodist Physicians Clinic, examined Steve and promptly took an X-ray. This wasn’t the flu. The mass on Steve’s lung was nearly 3 inches in diameter, about the size of Nancy’s fist. The CT scans and biopsy that quickly followed confirmed Steve and Nancy’s fears: lung cancer.
Steve calls the diagnosis an answer to his prayers for help in breaking his 30-year smoking habit. “So be careful what you ask for,” he adds with a grin.
At the time, Steve smoked a pack a day. That week he quit cold turkey.
Cancer quickly reminded the Malcolms not to take any moment of life for granted. Drawing upon the faith that is so central to their lives, Steve and Nancy prayed for strength in facing the journey ahead. |
Steve remembers that his testing, diagnosis and treatment planning unfolded very quickly at Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center. “I was impressed by the speed of the process and by the concern and helpfulness of the physicians and staff,” Steve explains. “They took the time to walk us through everything and fully explain our options. Everyone was just awesome.”
Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center, a leader in the prevention and treatment of cancers of the lung and chest, offers a one-stop, multidisciplinary approach through its Lung/Thoracic Oncology Clinic. Medical specialists unite to provide convenient same-day examinations and diagnostic procedures that culminate in individualized treatment plans. A weekly treatment planning conference allows members of the team to jointly focus their knowledge, expertise and experience on each patient’s case for optimal outcomes.
Steve’s results were encouraging. The tumor, though large, was an early stage non-small cell lung cancer. Of the two types of lung cancer — small cell and non-small cell — Steve’s type is less likely to spread throughout the body. But because every lung cancer has a high risk of recurrence, Steve needed surgery and chemotherapy.
Steve was further encouraged when given the opportunity to participate in a National Cancer Institute trial testing whether outcomes improve when chemotherapy is given before, rather than after, surgery.
“At Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center, every patient is evaluated for eligibility in clinical trials that may be of benefit,” explains Tracy Dorheim, MD, medical director, Lung/Thoracic Oncology Clinic. “We are committed to doing everything possible for our patients, including providing access to cutting-edge clinical trials that advance cancer knowledge and treatment.”
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