Chuck Glenn

I began 2001 going about my usual active lifestyle in Norman, Oklahoma. I was a "young" 52 years of age. I worked long hours at Tinker Air Force Base in an industrial engineering position as a planner, volunteered and taught in the elementary ministry area of Norman's Trinity Baptist Church, fished, rode my motorcycle and played competitive sports.

Early that year, I was the only "old man" on a 4x4 basketball team of twentysomethings. My team, Glenn's Gunners, was the league champ, with a 20–0 record. However, I didn't feel totally well. I had chronic acid reflux, but a checkup showed I had perfect blood pressure and low cholesterol. My lab results were excellent.

Medication eliminated my acid reflux, and I felt better until one day when some popcorn got stuck in my lower esophagus and caused me great pain. My family physician ordered further tests, which led to an endoscopy and a stunning diagnosis—a stage III adenocarcinoma mass, measuring over 7 centimeters by 3 centimeters in my lower esophagus, extending into my stomach with several enlarged lymph nodes.

It was determined that surgery wasn’t an option, and I was advised to find a clinical trial (experimental medicine). My wife of 28 years, Ann, immediately started to search for the "best" place for treatment.

Just as we were heading to one of the country's premier cancer hospitals, the staff there halted my admission until further tests could be done. However, the first gastroenterologist who diagnosed me, as well as experts at a leading medical center, deemed these tests unnecessary. They even said the tests could lead to potential complications that could delay or compromise my treatment. In fact, we were told any delay in starting treatment could be fatal.

We didn’t know where to turn for treatment. All the research Ann did on the Internet about esophageal cancer was very grim and frightening. We knew we had to pray and trust God to lead us wherever He chose for me to be treated.

We’d never heard of Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) until Ann saw one of its television ads. She searched the Internet for more information about CTCA, and after intense prayer and a miraculous sequence of events (that’s another story), it was very clear I was supposed to get treatment at CTCA.

After we spoke with the Oncology Information Specialists at CTCA, they immediately began my admission process and scheduled appointments for me to meet with the appropriate doctors at Southwestern Regional Medical Center in Tulsa the following week.

From May-August 2001, we stayed in the CTCA guest hotel so I could have round-the-clock medical care. CTCA doctors used state-of-the-art treatment and were very positive and compassionate. They also treated the "whole person" through nutrition and naturopathic counsel, and provided emotional and spiritual support. The entire staff—from top to bottom—was kind and caring. Our impression was that their employment seemed to be more of a "calling" than a job.

We also had a prayer support team of thousands around the world that Ann kept updated almost daily through an e-mail report called "Chuck G.'s 23rd Psalm Walk."

My treatment consisted of three sessions of photodynamic therapy (PDT), a new treatment, at the time, for esophageal cancer. The PDT was performed by Dr. Ross Taylor, whom Ann and I came to love dearly. Dr. Taylor prayed for me prior to each endoscopy and continues to do so. My PDT treatment was followed by six weeks of radiation and six months of an effective chemotherapy designed by Dr. Fred Brunk (an absolute genius).

Due to the site of my cancer, I was unable to eat as I normally would, so I had PEG tube feedings for a while. Honestly, the treatment took its toll. I don't remember much about that summer; I spent most of it in bed and lost 47 pounds from an already, relatively lean body. Thankfully, Ann kept a journal detailing my walk through this difficult time.

While it was a very challenging time, I knew God was in control. He gave me an incredible peace. In fact, it was so overwhelming that even during the most discouraging and painful times, my blood pressure stayed absolutely normal.

I remember the day I was diagnosed, I pitched two softball games (and won both) before telling my much younger teammates to pray for me and find another pitcher. I told Ann and my son Tommy, "God has a purpose for my cancer, and we just have to trust Him whether He chooses to end or extend my life."

In June 2001, God gave us an unusual healing experience following the PDT—the cancer in my esophagus was gone. However, my physical condition continued to decline. But God gave us faith in the unseen, and, by God's grace and mercy, after two more months, only a "fragment" of the cancer remained in my stomach. By early October, I was cancer free and have remained cancer free since then. I finished my last chemotherapy treatment the last week of November 2001.

It was a difficult time in my life. I simply trusted God, without any questions about "why." Psalm 23 became my lifeline. Proverbs 3:5–6 became Ann's lifeline. I returned to work part time in August 2001, with Ann driving me there and back. By January 2002, I was back to work full time and driving myself. That summer I was also back playing softball, even in an “all-night” tournament.

My recovery defies all statistics. But I agree with Dr. Taylor that "statistics mean nothing to believers." I eat a normal diet, have regained all the weight I lost and have gone from being unable to swallow water without great pain to eating steak without any problems! I still ride my motorcycle and fish and have developed a love for snowmobiling. I recently retired from Tinker AFB and work part time for my neighbor's mechanical contracting company. Life is good.

I can't say enough about the doctors and nurses who cared for me at CTCA. I look forward to my checkup scopes with Dr. Taylor. It's always good to hear him pray for me. A couple times a year my esophagus has to be dilated (stretched) due to scaring from the aggressive treatment I received. But I consider it a minor inconvenience for a couple of days. That aggressive treatment saved my life.

Dr. Flynn and his staff administered my radiation so precisely that I’ve had no collateral damage to any of the tissues surrounding my cancer. I also had great confidence in Dr. Brunk because of his studious, unhurried, contemplative, kind demeanor. Equally important, the pain management staff, especially Dr. Calava, did everything possible to relieve my pain and never quit until they found an effective medication for my extreme nausea. And Mickey and Wanda in the Guest Services department were very kind and accommodating.

A cancer diagnosis, even one as dire as mine, does not automatically mean life is over. Life is not over until God says it is over. I choose to trust Him every day and be grateful for all He has done in my life. There were many times I could have given up. But if I had, I would not have been able to be best man at my son's wedding in 2003; I would have missed the last six years with my wife; and I would have missed the blessing of having my first grandchild, Brooklyn McKenzie, who was born on my birthday in 2006! And, I would not be able to encourage others in their cancer battle, including veterans of the Vietnam War like myself. I have so much admiration and respect for them.

Make no mistake about it—it is a battle. No one should fight it alone and it must be fought with doctors who are fully committed to winning the war. CTCA may not be for you; but it is worth your consideration. It certainly was the right place for me.

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