A Test In Patience

Welcome to week 4 of Thriving Not Surviving. Time continues to fly by since the initial diagnosis. It feels like I’ve lived with the cancer diagnosis for much longer than a few weeks.

This week was expected to be significant, but turned out fairly routine. We were scheduled to meet with our oncologist on Friday to determine a treatment plan. However, our oncologist wants to run additional tests from the initial biopsy, so our appointment has been postponed until this upcoming week. Apparently the initial biopsy results came back negative regarding the cancer biomarkers that would allow for targeted therapy. This is unfortunate, but our oncologist still believes that there is the potential for a biomarker and therefore the tests will be re-performed. We are also waiting to see if I am eligible for a clinical trial which includes a new type of cancer treatment for stage 4 lung cancer. We are still praying and hoping that I test positive for one of the cancer biomarkers as well as be eligible for the clinical trial.

My medical team continues to expand. In addition to the oncologist, we now have added a cardiologist and pulmonologist to my treatment team. Since the cancer in my lungs is advanced, there is the potential for complications with the heart and lungs.  I am very thankful that I have access to some of the best medical specialists around.

Patience is the hardest part of life right now. It’s extremely hard to wait for treatment when I know that I have an advanced form of cancer. From what I’ve heard from other cancer patients, the initial wait for treatment can sometimes be long and mentally grueling. However, it is very important to select the right type of treatment for my specific diagnosis.

It felt good to log a full five day work week; the first full week of work since February. Since I’ve been in St. Louis I’ve been working remotely from my parents’ house. The routine certainly helps and the feeling of productivity is empowering. I’m looking forward to maintaining a good working routine and interacting with coworkers and management as much as possible.

Thank you again for the continued prayers and support. Knowing that Maureen and I have an amazing support system gives me strength and has made the past few weeks easier. We will continue to keep you updated and let you know if there is anything you can do. Already you have done an incredible job with your prayers and well wishes. 

Still Awaiting Many Answers

As anticipated, this past week was much more eventful than the previous week. On Tuesday the KU Oncologist gave us the preliminary test results from the PET scan. I have a 3.4 centimeter tumor in my right lung, an enlarged lymph node on the right side of my neck, several more lymph nodes closer to the heart, and the area around the heart is cancerous. It was also confirmed as stage 4 Adenocarcinoma, a type of non-small lung cancer. Obviously these are not great results, but they could have been much worse and the cancer could have spread to other organs. KU did recommend an immunotherapy treatment, but we have made the decision to undergo treatment through Washington University (Siteman Cancer).

On Thursday we had appointment with our Washington University Lung Cancer Oncologist. After only a few minutes into the consultation Maureen and I knew that this was going to be our best option. Washington University has an entire team of Oncologists, Thoracic Surgeons, Pulmonologists, and researchers dedicated to Lung Cancer. If you are interested in additional information, I have provided a link to their lung cancer website. I truly believe that this is going to be my best chance of success. Additionally, it has been refreshing to be with my immediate family once again. You don’t realize the strength and courage that can be gained from being with family; especially when you have lived out of town for the past 6 years.

I will be in St. Louis for the next week for several other appointments and hopefully by Friday we will have the information required to decide on a treatment plan. At this point I’m unsure how my time will be split between St. Louis and Kansas City.

We are still awaiting the results of the Biopsy I had last Friday so our Oncologist is holding off on determining a treatment plan. We are hoping and praying that the Biopsy shows one of the biomarkers that would make me eligible for targeted therapy. This treatment is typically given in pill form and is programmed specifically for the type of cancer mutation. Many times this has better results than Chemotherapy and does not include the harsh side effects.

Given that I am a nonsmoker, in terrific shape, and have no family history of lung cancer it is impossible to determine the cause. Even more perplexing is that I’m only 28 years old. Our Oncologist put it best in saying that I basically “got struck by lightning”. These cases simply do not happen often.  The astonishing reality is that it is likely that I have had lung cancer for the past 3-4 years. It boggles the mind to think all of the things that I have accomplished during this time.

On Friday morning I had started to have pain in my left lung and was taken to the emergency room. After running a battery of tests the doctors determined that the pain was coming from a buildup of fluid in the left lung. I had 650 cc of fluid removed later in the day. The fluid buildup is from the lung cancer and until the cancer responds to treatment, there is always the risk for the fluid to return.

With the information gained this week I feel like a boxer in a fight with cancer. Unfortunately for the past few years I have been blindfolded and have had my hands tied. Not until I start treatment will this be a fair fight. However, I am very confident that my body will respond positively to whatever treatment is administered. I have already started to prepare emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally for this fight.

The support from everyone in my life will help in the fight as well. Maureen and I continue to be humbled and amazed by the support from everyone in our lives. I am not going to attempt to list everyone out for fear of leaving someone out, but you are all amazing. 

More Tests and More Questions

Fortunately, this last week was not nearly as eventful as the previous week. I have continued to settle back into daily life and into processing the news from the week before. On Thursday and Friday I underwent a PET scan and Biopsy. The results of these tests will hopefully be known sometime in the next week.

At this point we don’t have many more answers. However, after further discussions with doctors, it is likely that I have stage 4 Adenocarcinoma which is a type of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. The test results will give us much more information on this next week. Fortunately, I received a CT scan of my head when I initially entered the emergency room and that test showed that the cancer had not spread to the brain.

The most significant news of the week is that our KU Oncologist is referring us to the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. This is a world renowned center affiliated with Barnes Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. They have significant resources dedicated to lung cancer and our KU Oncologist thought it would be best for them to diagnose me. Maureen and I will be traveling to St. Louis on Wednesday, March 15 for a consultation on Thursday.  As many of you are aware, I was born and raised in St. Louis so this works out perfectly with being able to stay with family.

On another positive note, I was able to work remotely on Thursday and Friday. It was refreshing to be productive and focus on something else. I expect to return to work in a more expanded capacity this week in-between doctors’ appointments.

The ongoing support from everyone has been humbling and amazing. St. Therese (our parish) has done a phenomenal job in providing meals for Maureen and I. Additionally; the support from friends, coworkers, and other cancer survivors has been incredible. The next big milestone of this journey will be viewing the test results. These results will directly impact my treatment plan. Please continue to pray that the test results will allow for an effective treatment plan resulting in a full cure.  

For all the non-Catholics out there, Catholics will pray through those who have led exemplary lives and have gone before us (as in Rev 5:8 “the prayers of God’s people"). We are not putting them above God, but recognizing the life of virtue they led that we all aspire to as Christians as well as asking for their prayers, as we ask of yours (1 Tim 2: 1-5).

For all of the Catholics reading this, we have a very special prayer intercessor we would like you to pray through; Venerable Father Solanus Casey.  Venerable Solanus Casey was born and raised in the US. He was a very humble man who always had an “Attitude of Gratitude.” He always kept close, his faith and trust in God and he would always console and encourage anyone who came to him. He had a connection with the well-known Benedict Groschel, whom Maureen and I have both met. In order for Venerable Sonalus Casey to be declared a Saint by the Catholic Church, he needs two miracles attributed to him. We figured that if we are praying for a miracle and a miracle can help him and his story be more known, if God wills it, let it be! Please join us in praying:

Prayer for the Beatification of Venerable Solanus Casey

O God, I adore You, I give myself to You.

May I be the person You want me to be,

And may Your will be done in my life today.

I thank You for the gifts You gave to Father Solanus

If it is Your Will, bless us with the beatification of

Venerable Solanus so that others may imitate

And carry on his love for all the poor and suffering of our world.

As he joyfully accepted Your divine plans,

I ask You, according to Your will,

To hear my prayer for Greg Fiudo, that he may be fully and completely healed of Cancer,

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Initial Diagnosis

Welcome to the first blog posting of Thriving Not Surviving which will serve as a way to keep everyone updated. To be completely honest, I am typically a very private person and not used to sharing intimate details. However, as I continue to process the news over the past week I have realized the need for everyone’s prayers and support. Since this is my first time writing a blog I’m not completely sure how often it will be updated, but I will try for at least once a week.

To start off, I would like to recap the events of the past week. On Sunday, February 26 I was taken to the emergency room after having pneumonia like symptoms, chest pains, shortness of breath, and passing out in the bathroom. They ran a variety of tests and found what appeared to be pneumonia enveloping my entire chest. Additionally, there was a significant amount of fluid around the heart. They scheduled an emergency procedure to remove the fluid from around my heart. I also received antibiotics for the pneumonia on Monday and Tuesday. My condition began to consistently improve each day and it appeared that I had a very severe case of pneumonia.

On Thursday, March 2 they ran tests on the fluid that was around my heart and found that the cells in the fluid are typically found with lung cancer. Later that day Maureen and I received the news that it was lung cancer. On Friday we followed up with an Oncologist at KU and he confirmed that it is Stage 4 Non-small cell lung cancer. Obviously this was what we did not want to hear, but it is the reality of the situation. We are scheduled to have a PET Scan and biopsy later this week to identify the extent of the cancer and treatment options.

To say that this has been a tough week would be an understatement. I have continued to ask myself over and over again how this happened. Less than two weeks ago I was working out 5 times a week with ease. There is the saying that, “God will never give you anything that you can’t handle.” As I think about the battle ahead I know that I can handle whatever God has in store for me. I am far from a perfect person and I have fallen many times; however, my Catholic faith is something that I take very seriously and it constantly influences my thoughts, words, and actions. My faith is going to help get me through this.

In addition to my faith, the amazing support of family and friends from all aspects of my life will get me through this. I am writing this blog for you. The outpouring at our Church has been overwhelming. Over the past 5 years I have had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in the world at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. I do not consider you coworkers, but also friends. Your support has been incredible as well.

At this point Maureen and I are still determining what are support needs will be, but we will let you know. Right now prayers are the biggest ammunition that we have in this battle. I’m sure we have missed some people in our initial release of this information so please provide the link to this blog to anyone you think might want to know. It will also be posted to Maureen’s Facebook page.