Just a year ago (June 2008) I found a painless lump in my groin. Two days later I was at the doctor. He scheduled a chest x-ray and ultrasound that day. Next day I had a CT scan. Before the end of the day I was scheduled for a surgical biopsy. That was a Friday, I had the surgery Monday. Wednesday I had a pathologist’s report (follicular B-cell lymphoma). The following Monday I was seeing my oncologist and establishing a treatment plan. Total elapsed time, two weeks.

I am a lucky guy. I have a bang-up medial team, a supportive family (especially my wife, who nursed me through five ugly months of chemo), faith in God, and great friends. My cancer is in remission. I have just completed my first series of Rituxan maintenance infusions.

I am a 60-year old male. I feel better today than I did before I knew I was sick. I think the indolent cancer was sapping my strength for some time without my knowledge.

I have learned a few things. I had a painless lump on my shoulder for months. My doctor said it was a cyst, and not to worry. He was very upset when the second lump showed up, and both turned out to be cancer. Luckily, the cancer is indolent, so the delay in treatment didn’t cost me my life. The oncologist says the treatment would have been the same if I had showed up six months earlier. Lesson: don’t ignore any lumps. Get a biopsy, even if you have to pay for it yourself.

Push your medical team. Take control of your treatment. I see a distressing number of people on this board and in my life who are letting their treatment run them. Do your research, understand your disease, ask a lot of questions, and don’t be afraid to put your foot down.

Maybe I have an advantage because I’m trained as a scientist and engineer, but I discovered my oncologist and I have different definitions of the word “cure.” My oncologist is uncomfortable discussing survival statistics and prognosis uncertainties, but these are things I deal with at work every day.

I have also learned I am on the cusp of being considered “old,” and the doctors operate under the assumption that I will die of something in the next couple of decades anyway. While this has not affected my treatment, it is somewhat disconcerting to me. I still plan to live forever!

Gotta go, but I will add to this.