No words can describe how grateful I am to Carroll and all the other Team In Training runners. The time, dedication, and sheer punishment they endure preparing for the races and then running the dang things is awe-inspiring. And I can attest firsthand that the money TNT raises is crucial in the fight against blood cancers: in addition to the millions of dollars they have raised for cancer research, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society offers every patient in treatment financial aid that helps with costs ranging from hospital parking to chemotherapy charges. Even with good health insurance, you’d be amazed at how cancer treatment costs add up fast! And with the economy being what it is, with major budget cuts left and right, we surely can’t leave all the funding of cancer research to Uncle Sam.
I’m also humbled, touched, honored, and deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to BecauseBrothers in fall 2007 and to all who are digging deep now, when it hurts a bit more for many of us to part even with $20. One of the really good things about being diagnosed with leukemia has been the outpouring of support and encouragement I’ve gotten from so many friends, many of whom I’ve not been in touch with or seen for years (far too many years, in so many cases!). The cards, phone calls, and emails from high school and college classmates, grad-school friends, colleagues past and present, old neighbors and church friends, friends of siblings or of my parents—it’s been simply overwhelming, and during some of the rougher times I’ve taken great strength from hearing from each of you or seeing your names listed on BecauseBrothers.com. It is downright humbling to know so many wonderful people want to show their support in whatever ways they can.
For some of you the news of my diagnosis is fresh, I know. Quite a shock, eh? Me, Chip Rogers, with Stage IV Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia at the tender age of 46! It was a wee bit of a shock for me, too, in May 2007, when my first-ever voluntary “physical” revealed the tell-tale high white blood count of leukemia. I was pronounced “Stage IV” literally the day before selling my Oklahoma house and moving to Macon in June 2007. My Oklahoma doctor didn’t pull any punches when he said my situation was serious, urging me to see a bone marrow transplant specialist immediately. It was, shall we say, unsettling hearing that I could die within months if I didn’t get treatment. Not part of my master plan! None of it!
Fortunately, and with some string-pulling by the old man, I was able to get an appointment right away with the top-notch doctor we wanted at the Emory Clinic in Atlanta, and Dr. Flowers has been an ace from Day One. For a number of months all we did was a routine of tests to keep an eye on my marrow, and I was able to work, jog, hang out, do whatever, just as normal. Then last spring my hemoglobin levels started dropping and I felt some fatigue, so the doc decided the disease was progressing and we needed to get treatment rolling. I started chemotherapy at Emory in May, participating in a clinical trial that has great promise of prolonged remission for me and for other leukemia and lymphoma patients in the future. While I must say chemo is no small deal—these drugs are potent!—I was lucky not to suffer too many unpleasant side effects, and what was unpleasant usually passed pretty quickly. We had to stop treatment prematurely in the fall because my marrow wasn’t recovering between cycles like it should, but an October bone marrow biopsy revealed I was in full remission. This was quite good!
The months since chemo have been a bit of an adventure since my marrow still hasn’t recovered as well as expected, and when my blood counts reached an all-time low in early December things were looking pretty grim, to the point that we were gearing up for a high-risk bone marrow transplant, possibly within a matter of weeks. Then at last, in late December, my blood counts apparently started doing their best to rebound, and let me tell you, there was great joy throughout all my realm! It’s still something of an adventure getting CBC blood tests every two weeks—as of my last one, the white cells I need to fend off viruses and infections are still “critically low,” but on the whole it looks like things are stabilizing, and physically I’m going strong, feeling feisty and cancer-free! I gather I may need a blood transfusion or two in the coming months, and I’ve learned that surprises sure do happen, but as of right now, I’m loving life, feeling good, working up a storm at Macon State College, taking my husky for little jogs, absolutely ready for spring training to get cranked up. Go Braves! But much more, go Carroll! Go Team In Training!
With heartfelt appreciation,
Chip