Lyle Garretson

I've been a farmer and a businessman all my life. My wife and I have operated a trash service in Bolivar, Missouri for almost 40 years. When I got sick, I had no idea I had cancer. But the kind of cancer I was diagnosed with -- small-cell lung cancer -- is a fast-moving cancer that research shows has a life expectancy of approximately one and a half years from diagnosis. It's already been over five years since diagnosis for me, so I feel like I'm almost approaching miracle status.

In February 2004, I went to a hospital in a nearby city and was told I had pneumonia. I received antibiotics and went home. Over the weekend, I continued to have problems, including fever, cold sweats, chest pain and difficulty breathing. A second trip to the hospital resulted in a CT scan of my chest, with the hope that it would tell more than the original x-ray.

They found a tumor in the airway of my left lung. The plan of treatment was chemotherapy. I was told radiation wasnt an option, because the tumor was actually inside the airway. I did six months of chemotherapy with some success, but the tumor was back within two months after treatment. And, I had developed another tumor in the left lung.

During those two months between the end of my chemo and before I knew the cancer was back, I visited with a friend who was a patient at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Tulsa. The friend told me about the facility and also said he knew another patient there with the same kind of cancer as mine.

The patient he told me about had undergone successful radiation, so I knew it was an option at CTCA. When I learned my cancer was back, I called CTCA. I came the first time in November 2004 with an open mind to treatment options. I learned more in one hour at CTCA about my cancer than I'd learned in six months at Springfield.

Dr. Nader, my pulmonologist at CTCA, did brachytherapy radiation five times on the tumor in my airway and 25 regular radiation treatments on the second tumor. Dr. Ketterl, my oncologist, recommended chemotherapy in combination with the radiation.

I had great success with this course of treatment. After the third brachytherapy session, Dr. Nader told my wife and me that the tumor in my airway was decreasing quite a bit. I was then put on Tarceva, an oral drug that targets specific cancers as maintenance.

During one of my routine follow-up exams at CTCA in July 2008, I learned I had a tumor in my right lung. But this time it was non small-cell lung cancer, a completely different type from my original cancer. Radiation Oncologist Dr. James Flynn treated me with five TomoTherapy radiation sessions with success. I'm back on Tarceva as maintenance but I'm in remission again.

Although my original diagnosis in 2004 came with a fairly grim prognosis, I believe my faith, positive attitude, family and friends, prayers, and a determined staff at CTCA have been part of my success. This year, I added my plaque to the survivor tree for five-year celebrants at CTCA.

Life is sweet by just having it. The simple things are important  watching and helping my grandchildren grow up, seeing familiar faces every day around the community Ive lived in my entire life, getting out to the farm to enjoy what I love to do, spending time with my extended family and friends, and even the headaches remind me that Im still here and going strong! Research developments and new treatments are saving lives, but the "fighting attitude" generated by CTCA that is passed along to their patients is, in my opinion, the key ingredient to success.

Updated August 2009

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