Stories of Hope

Alice Kincaid Diagnosed in 1998 at age 70 Nonsmall cell lung cancer “I didn't want to be told any of the usual statistics because I didn't want those words hanging there.”

Before I begin, I want to dedicate my story to our beloved daughter, Shollie, who lost her battle with cancer within months of my diagnosis. She fought courageously and always with consideration for all of us who were suffering with her. She continues to be our inspiration.

When I was first diagnosed at age 70 in September 1998 with stage 1V NSCLC that had metastasized to the spine and was told it was inoperable, my first thought was "I can't accept this!" I didn't want to be told any of the usual statistics because I didn't want those words hanging there. So, from the beginning, I tried to allow only good thoughts to enter my mind. I'll have to admit that just before each scan, I would be a little worried. However, the good thoughts were reinforced when my daughter, Lori, simply commented "Mom, there are survivors in every kind of cancer!" And these words are with me still!

So it began---first, four weeks of radiation treatments followed by several weeks of rest for my body to recover (this was hard---I wanted to get started) and then a clinical study at Vanderbilt Cancer Center. In this I was given an experimental angiogenesis inhibitor (prinomostat) in conjunction with six chemotherapy treatments using Taxol and Carboplatin. I had complete trust in my doctors and the treatments and I believe this sort of attitude has a great deal to do with how well your body accepts the radiation, the chemotherapy, all drugs, needles and things that are part of it.

During all the treatments, I practiced visual imagery and believed that it helped. I imagined the radiation burning up the tumor on the spine and the chemo going in to my body and killing mutant cells. I visualized friendly wolves appearing in my lungs to eat up the cancer. I had been told it was nebulous so I had two of my wolves stretching it out so other wolves could come in and take big bites out of it. I also had them attack any scarring that remained. I know there are skeptics of this idea, but if I thought it was working, why not try?

My treatment included a CT scan a few days before each chemo, and the results were reported to us the day of each chemo. I cannot describe the excitement we all felt when told the day of the fourth chemo that the tumor had disappeared! To this day it has not returned and even the scarring is gone from the tumor in the lung and the one on the spine! We thank God for this every day.

The experimental drug's effectiveness was later found to be statistically insufficient to warrant further study so the manufacturer shelved it. I believe I may have been one of the ones it did help. Only God knows why I am so fortunate, but many factors other than the actual medical treatments, played important rolls.

Primarily, I think the prayers of my church family, my friends and countless others, my attitude and determination combined with the love, encouragement and support of my devoted husband and my children, produced these incredible results. I was included in prayer chains at home and away and I feel truly blessed by this. It has been almost four years since my diagnosis, and I feel good, am fairly active, volunteer at a hospital, and cherish each day!