The Story "This makes no sense!" We've now heard this phrase from three different doctors. It doesn't bring us any closer to an explanation or a solution, but at least it reinforces our belief that this shouldn't be happening. The Cough During the winter of 2009, Garett had a cold and a persistent cough. We assumed that Garett caught the cold from the boys. He exercised every day, and raced 37 miles in the Birkebeiner on February 21st despite having a cold. After the Birkie, Garett couldn't shake his cough, so he decided to take a break from working out to give his body a chance to beat the cough. For the first time I can remember, Garett was around the house in the morning, instead of working out at our health club before work. Garett's cough sounded especially bad at night. In March he scheduled an appointment after he coughed up blood. Pnuemonia A Physician's Assistant diagnosed Garett with pneumonia. The diagnosis was confirmed with a chest X-ray. We were told that Garett was not contagious to anyone unless he coughed directly on them. Garett was given a TB test, which later came back negative. A nurse gave Garett a gigantic shot of antibiotics, and was prescribed another antibiotic. He went back a week later to see his regular doctor, and showed no improvement. Our regular physician, a Doctor of Internal Medicine, increased the dose of the antibiotic and lengthened the prescription. Garett's cough improved but never totally went away, but he stopped coughing up colorful gunk. He thought that the coughing might be his body's way of ejecting the infection from his lung. Starting to worry.... Garett went back for another X-ray on April 20th, the pneumonia was clearing but was not all gone. The doctor ordered a CT Scan. Pulmonary Doctor Upon reviewing the CT scan, our regular doctor referred Garett to a pulmonary doctor at St. Mary's Hospital Outpatient Center. Garett saw a pulmonary doctor on May 4, 2009. He listened to Garett's lungs, and heard a wheeze. The doctor thought that there was something in Garett's lung, and suggested that Garett might have aspirated a foreign object. The Doctor asked if Garett could have chipped a tooth in his sleep or choked on food. At this point he did not suspect Cancer given Garett's age and that he felt fine other than the coughing. Bronchoscopy A bronchoscopy was done on Garett on May 8th, just before his 36th birthday. We celebrated Garett's 36th birthday and Mother's Day with a family brunch and a trip to the Zoo. Garett needed a nap that day, and I realized how much he had been sleeping recently. For as long as Garett and I have been married, he has stayed up later than me and woken up before me. Garett did well on 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night. It's getting scary On May 14, we met with the Pulmonary Doctor for the results of Garett's bronchioscopy. He told us that Garett had two types of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, in two of the three branches (bronchi) to his right lung. After getting this shocking news, Garett returned to work and I went home to relieve the friend who was babysitting our boys. It's getting worse On May 20, Garett had a PET scan. The Thoracic Surgeon We met with a thoracic surgeon, but he said that surgery would do no good since the cancer had metastasized. A thoracic surgeon splits open a person's rib cage to operate on the heart or lungs. We wish that surgery was an option, but we had to move on to the next available treatment. The Oncologist The next day we met with our Oncologist. The Oncologist went over the PET/CT scan and confirmed that Garett had Stage 4 Lung cancer. The stage 4 is because the cancer has spread beyond the lung. There are several small tumors in some bones and possibly in the liver. An MRI will be done on the liver, head, and spine to get a bigger picture. Chemotherapy Chemotherapy begins on May 28, 2009. New Scan On August 3 another PET/CT scan was done. It was "the same" as the first scan. So the Chemo is keeping the cancer from spreading. The current plan is to continue with the chemotherapy for 3 more 21 day cycles including today. Another Scan On October 7 another PET/CT scan. This one showed the cancer progressing with larger tumors in the liver and additional spine tumors. In other words, the cancer is spreading. We are now trying an oral chemo called Tarceva. We will try this for a while and get another scan.
GARETTFEST09--LUNG CANCER FUNDRAISER AUGUST 8 2009 This fundraiser was started by a friend because he wanted to help our family. Along with using the money for medical bills and family needs, we will be contributing a portion of the funds to the Jodi Lou Lung Cancer Foundation. Click on the photo below from the Garettfest09
Missed Garettfest? It is not too late to donate. CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION All contributions will be used for Lung Cancer awareness, research, and medical bills for Garett
Click here for Links to Griffin and Westin Photos Email me at garettkipp@aol.com
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