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Living with Lung Cancer - Theron Lang
For Dallas County resident Theron Lang, a motorcycle ride to north Alabama was a life-saver.
An avid motorcyclist for most of his adult life, Mr. Lang was making one of his many trips to his hometown of Moulton in August 2006 when he got caught in a severe rainstorm.
He returned home with a chest cold that would not go away.
After a few weeks, an X-ray from his doctor in Selma revealed a suspicious spot on the lower portion of his left lung. That December, he went to Montgomery for follow-up scans and a biopsy, which confirmed that the spot was lung cancer. Mr. Lang was referred to Dr. Cerfolio at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center in January 2007.
But Mr. Lang, 84 years old at the time, postponed his surgery for two weeks—“to get in one more week of deer hunting,” he says with a grin. Because his cancer was contained, no follow-up treatment was necessary. He spent a few days in the hospital, amazing the nurses and other patients with his quick recovery and mobility, before heading back home to Pleasant Hill and Dot, his wife of nearly 60 years.
Mr. Lang is part of a growing trend of diagnosing and treating elderly patients for lung cancer. "We are routinely operating on older and older patients," Dr. Cerfolio says. "Part of the reason for this is that people are living longer, but we're also finding that many of these patients were heavy smokers at one time, and even though they quit years ago, it's coming back to haunt them." Mr. Lang had smoked for many years before quitting in the 1960s.
Just a few weeks after his surgery, Mr. Lang returned to his normal activities—mowing the yard, cutting down trees that drop too many pinecones, and enjoying his motorcycle. A few months ago, he even rode it to see his great-grandson—himself a cancer survivor—play pee-wee football. Mr. Lang says he is almost back to full strength, although he gets tired “after about an hour or so of work.” What is his secret to remaining active? “I soak white raisins in gin and eat nine every day,” which helps with arthritis and other aches and pains, he says. “I ran out not too long ago and had to make a special trip into town to get some more.” And, of course, he made the trip on his motorcycle. |
