In the early 2000s, after I completed chemotherapy, we decided to embark on another trip to Tahiti. A couple of hours after takeoff from LAX, I got bored and wandered to the rear of the 747 cabin. Back there was a small podium with newspapers and magazines. Soon I was joined by a fellow passenger. We chatted for a while. He was an oncologist from City of Hope cancer center in Duarte, CA, and was staying at the same resort in Tahiti as my wife and I. I related my recent chemo adventure, radiation treatments, surgeries, and the mutated thyroid cancer I was still stuck with. He said, "I know your case, you're Dan and your oncologist at Hoag is Dr. V." I was like... whoa. Turns out my oncologist had presented my case before a tumor board. That's where oncologists from many hospitals present their toughest cases and seek opinions about treatment options. Because I had survived so long with both lungs full of tumors and the cells would no longer uptake iodine, he said my case was very interesting. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. I told him, "That's why I'm on this trip." Chemo did nothing, and no treatments were left I could try.
At the resort, he always came over to say hi, tell me the tours he took with his wife. Really nice guy. I'll bet he would be surprised to find out I'm still around nearly 20 years later.
Livin' large with a stoma.
