Although Elmer and his family were caught off guard by the diagnosis of lung cancer, they rallied and pulled together for the fight. Each person in the family plays an important role in Elmer's battle. Elmer's wife, Martha Lee, and their four grandchildren provide emotional support; they are his cheerleaders. The children, a son and two daughters, do the research and keep life organized. Everything is discussed as a family, and phone calls and email keep everyone including son Dan, who lives in Ohio, and daughter Diane, in Kentucky, connected and up to date. Nancy, the youngest daughter, lives near her parents. "The whole family is involved," Elmer says, and he likes that very much.
A routine physical exam several years back turned up lung cancer; it went into remission, but now, after three years, it is back."This isn't the end," says Nancy, "but the beginning of the next fight." Doctors at H.Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute suggested a clinical trial to Elmer and his family. "I was interested in getting into a program where I can help other people," Elmer says firmly.
Elmer has been in three studies since he came to Moffitt. The family likes the fact that the Moffitt team always has a plan of action that includes multiple choices for them to consider. "I wanted my parents to know they had options, they are not bystanders in this whole thing," Nancy says. "Clinical trials are a good thing, and people really need to consider them as one of their options." Elmer is more emphatic: "Clinical trials are the beginning of your future, not the end."
Nancy says it's important to go to appointments with her father. "My parents don't always hear everything the doctor is telling them," she says. "They're hearing one thing, and I'm hearing another. Together we get the whole story. " When Nancy can't go to an appointment with her dad, her brother Dan flies down from Ohio and steps in.
Elmer has good days and bad. Some days he's tired,some days he's sick, and some days he's tired of being sick. "As a caregiver you have to be more and more understanding," Martha Lee says. She knows how to nudge Elmer out of his bad moods and get him active again. So do the grandchildren. Elmer understands, too, and he encourages Martha Lee to take time for herself. "I don't want her facing this all the time.It is good for her to get away," Elmer says.
"For a long time this disease took over the family, but it is time to live again. You can't let it overtake you," Nancy says. The whole family is keen on spreading that message to other families going through the same experience. "If your participation (in a clinical trial) is going to contribute to people beside yourself, well, that's encouragement," Elmer says. "Besides people not understanding lung cancer, people don't understand what clinical trials are," says Nancy. Elmer, Martha Lee, Nancy and the rest of the family want to change that misconception.
<< previous story | next story >>
