Great News from Nancy!

A RED LETTER day for Nancy Gibson Tomlinson

By Jerry Gaudet

Nancy telephoned with her great news and then gave us this follow-up. We rejoice with her...

On Monday 3/9 I went in for a PET Scan and CAT Scan. Something
happened to the PET Scan machine and I had to go back and repeat the
test on Wednesday morning. Thursday I went in to my doctor for the
results. Now I have been living in fear for three months wondering if
the cancer in my right lung was growing and what kind of bad news I
was going to get.

Well all of the wonderful classmates in Charlotte, NC had been sending
up wonderful prayers; good thoughts; blessings and whatever else they
were throwing my way it gave me courage to walk in my doctor's office
ready to accept whatever the news.

He came through the door with a silly grin on his face and took his
seat - looked at me and Howard and said IT'S GONE! I said what do you
mean - IT'S GONE - he said IT"S GONE - My lung and the lymph nodes
were clear - the mass that was there 3 months ago is gone from the
lung and the lymph nodes. So my good friends Raphael (my archangel)
and God were definitely listening to all of you - so God bless all of
you and thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't have to fight
cancer.

I am not out of the woods yet because 6 years ago they gave me 5 years
to live (since no one had ever lived past 5 years with idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis) when I was diagnosised with IPF through open lung
biopsy. My children say I have 9 lives - maybe they are right but I'm
using them up fast. IPF is not curable - they haven't even found
anything to help it. They have no idea how you get the disease - it
turns your lungs to concrete starting in the bottom - working it's way
up. I have lost 2/3's of my lungs to the disease leaving me with 1/3
so I set myself goals for this 1/3 because typically people in the IPF
community refer to the last stages as no warning it is a "crash and
burn." So while I can deal with the pain (thanks to hydrocodone and a
great pain doctor) I will continue to exercise, walk the dog and to
dance because I love it and I refuse to give in to this awful disease.
I realize it will get me sooner or later but let's look to later.

MY NEXT GOAL IS THE REUNION AND SEEING ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL GUYS!!!!!!!

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful notes and e-mails. I plan to
answer each one of them as I can. Much love to all of you.. Nanc

(Nancy, your great news is contagious! I can't describe how good that makes me, and all the other CHS54's feel!! -Ed)