Squamous Cell Skin Cancer - My Personal Story
My story with squamous cell skin cancer begins in 1990 at the age of 47. I was newly married, had a beautiful, newborn baby girl and a great new job. Life was great! Unaware to me, my life was changing in a way that I would soon find out. I was on my way home from the gym early one morning. I just happened to rub my neck and I felt a small lump that I had never noticed before.
...A good reason to do a self skin exam.
After arriving home my wife urged me to make a Doctors’ appointment, which I did. At the appointment, blood was drawn and the lump was examined visually. The blood test showed no cancer and I was simply informed to be watching it. The doctor said to return if it doesn’t go away. About a month passed with me not really thinking about it, it was still there. Suddenly one day, it started growing much larger, in just a matter of a few days. Not only was it growing but there was pain along with it. Not terrible, but bothersome.
Biopsy showed squamous cell skin cancer I returned to the Doctor and he referred me to a hospital clinic. The Doctors did a biopsy and showed it to be squamous cell skin cancer. They wanted to perform more tests and determine if this squamous skin cancer had spread any where else in my body. They admitted me to the hospital on a Friday and the testing was to begin first thing Monday AM.
I really wanted a natural cure. Coming from my background and strong leanings towards health foods and natural cures, I wasn’t very happy in that hospital. I wanted to begin investigating alternative cancer cures. My wife was there with me and we were talking about an alternative cancer treatment. One outstanding experience I had with healthy living diets was with one which was quite popular back in the 1960's, and still is today. It was called the macrobiotic diet for cancer. I wanted to be able to leave the hospital and feel more at peace in my own home. I persuaded the Doctor to let me go, for the weekend. My wife and I went to a bookstore and we bought a book on alternative cancer cures and another one called The Cancer Prevention Diet by Michio Kushi. It so happens that I knew Michio Kushi from attending some of his classes on the macrobiotic diet, in Boston, MA, back in the sixties. I followed his advice on healthy eating, for a while, then gradually returned to the mainstream American diet. I was, however, convinced that if I ever got really sick, this would be what I would do.
...Just a thought ...why wait 'til your sick? ...especially with a disease called squamous cell skin cancer
I read most of the book, while at home on Saturday, and made the decision to go with the macrobiotic diet for cancer, 100%. This would be my first attempt to fight off this squamous cell skin cancer. I believed that I could be another one of the cancer survivor stories I had been reading about. Of course, I called my Doctor right away and told him I wasn't returning to the hospital and what I planned to do. I then began my course of action.
Off to the Berkshires The first thing I did was go to Boston and have a consultation with Michio Kushi. Then I spent a week at the Kushi Institute in Beckett MA, located in the Berkshire mountains. I learned what to eat and not to eat, specifically for me, and how to properly cook it. When I returned home, my wife supported me tremendously and I began my daily regimen. She supported me to the point that she began the diet herself. I told her she didn't have to do this. It's is a very drastic change from the food we are accustomed to eating. She did it anyway. This was a tremendous support to me and we both benefited.
My walk and my thoughts Along with the change in diet I was told to, without fail, go out for a one hour walk every morning and again every evening. It didn't matter if it was snowing, raining, hot or freezing, just go! I did. My time spent walking was a great time to think. Sometimes I would imagine, that like a soldier, I was marching and defeating this squamous cell skin cancer with each step. It helped me not to quit. I got that idea from another book I read on the macrobiotic diet. It contained some general cancer survivor stories and as one surviver was following the diet he imagined that, as he was eating, little solders entered into his body and were fighting off the dreadful enemy. In the end, he won. So it did provide a source of strength in my way of thinking.
The lump grew larger Well after a few months, instead of getting smaller the lump grew a little larger. I had met with several macrobiotic counselors and I was told that this may happen. It could get worse before it gets better.
I was getting scared. I went back to the hospital and they recommended that I start chemotherapy right away. I agreed and they gave me one round and then a second in the following month. It wasn’t fun, but it did definitely reduce my squamous cell skin cancer down to the size of a pea, like it was when it first appeared. They wanted to operate at that point, and remove what was left. Again, being strongly opposed, I was feeling quite confident and encouraged to continue on with my macrobiotic regimen. I expected to see all of that squamous cell skin cancer disappear. That was my choice and that’s what I did.
More growth A few more months went by and again it started to grow. This time I was dealing with more than a bigger lump. I had a tumor on each side of my neck and it was appearing inside my mouth. In fact at that point it was oral squamous cell skin cancer. I went back to the hospital. The ENT (ear, nose & throat) Doctor told me it was now a stage 3 squamous cell skin cancer and they needed to operate right away. With a lot of support from my wife, I said, OK, let’s do it! It was now a lot bigger operation than it would have been when it was the size of a pea. In fact, the operation lasted 12 hours.
My previous decisions made me wiser today.Because maybe if I had let them remove the pea, all of this new growth still would have occurred or maybe that would have been the end of it. I don’t know. Who does?The fact is that squamous cell skin cancer made me take control of my health. That is something that may not have happened without such a serious experience. With the knowledge I have today, I probably would have let them remove it, realizing it's up to me to keep it away. These are decisions we all have to make, if facing some serious disease, and that's how it happened with me. I just want you to have the knowledge. I believe the operation was called a double radical neck dissection. The following day in my hospital room the two Doctors that performed the operation informed me that they were able to remove about 98% of it. The news was somewhat of a relief, but that 98% number left me wondering how much more can I take. I just pulled myself together and got ready for the next step.
On to radiation They went on to tell me that I need to follow it up with radiation to remove the rest of it. No hesitation this time. I just said, OK! They gave me a month to recover before starting radiation. It didn’t seem like I had recovered very much at all, but they said I was ready. The radiation treatments were extremely tough and they went on for 30 days. There was so much nausea, vomiting and sores in my mouth. But it was worth it to me when I heard the final news that all of the cancer was gone. Some of my neighbors later told me that they didn’t think I was going to make it through those days. In my own mind, I can say that I never thought like that. I knew there was another side. It was just going to take a long time. My wife continued to cook whole grains and fresh organic vegetables and I slowly was getting stronger.
Within a few months I returned to work. At first it was only a few hours a day, and gradually worked up to full time again. I went on to work for almost twenty years for that company (owned by my brother) and a few years ago, I retired. So I'm finding the time to do some things that I love; like working on this web site so more people can be aware and informed about skin cancer. My daughter who was born when it all began is in her second year of college and wants to go into art therapy for troubled children and adults. I have two beautiful grandchildren and they are a joy to me. They keep me young and make me laugh. So I’m here today to add my story to the long list of skin cancer survivor stories that have been told long before me. As I grow this website, I'll be providing more information about experiences as a survivor and the long lasting side of effects of the chemo, surgery and radiation. Truly, my story still goes on. I'll let you know a lot of things that I have done over the years to maintain my health in the best condition I can. If you're one experiencing skin cancer at any stage, improving your health is so important. If you want to ask me any questions, don't hesitate to Contact Me.
Gary Harmon Nashville, TN Squamous cell skin cancer survivor and Webmaster An Invitation To Tell Your Story
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