Ronney and the cancer

One of my friends suggested I start a blog.  It will help me deal with cancer and I hope help other people in  a similar situation.

  My name is Ronney Moss.  I am a 48 year old flight instructor.  About a week after valentines 2013 I noticed a lump on my neck.  I waited a day or two to see if it was an insect bite or something.  When it did not go away and with the prompting of my lovely wife I went to see a doctor. 
  They said it could be cat scratch fever, a swollen lymph node, a cyst or cancer.  "How can we narrow that down?"  So they did a lot of blood tests.  All came back negative so we had an ultrasound.  IT IS A BOY!  I have since named him Limpoolio.  It was a "mass" about 3 cm in size.  I was refered to the Base ENT for a biopsy and CT scan.  The doctor took a "fine needle biopsy" which means they stuck a needle in my Limpoolio. 
"Does that hurt?"  no
second needle
"Does that hurt?" no
third needle
"Does that hurt?" if I say no will you quit poking me?

After that the good doctor stuck a camera on a flexistraw up my nose until it can out of my mouth.  That was quite disturbing.

From there I went to radiology to get a CT.  The technician said "I need to inject you with some flourescent paint; it will make you feel warm all over and like you peed your pants.  Would you like to use the bathroom?"
Why yes I think that would be a good idea. 
"I want to be a secret agent from Mars...demure, no athletic"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtoJBv-YHUo 
Unfortunately the technician had not seen the movie so I am sure he was thinking "Definite dain bramage on this one"

A few days later I was diagnosed with cancer.  That was quite a shocker.  It explains a lot.  I have been feeling very fatigued and I have a limpoolio.  I grounded myself, as in, I choose not to fly.  Prudent pilots preflight.  Part of the preflight actions is to inspect the aircraft and make sure it is airworthy.  Equally important is to assess the pilot's fitness for flight.  Accronyms are a great way to help recall information.  We use the IMSAFE checklist.  Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue and Eatting/Emotion.  Well I am Ill, definitely stressed out and full of conflicting emotions.  NOT the best time to fly.  Especially with low time students who don't know how to fly.  The fact that the primary site of the cancer was not known made it especially critical.  Is my inner ear the problem and I will loose my sense of balance?  Or worse?
  At that point all I knew was I had Squamous cell carcinoma.  This is a very general kind of cancer that originates in the skin but so general that it could be your skin proper, the lining of your mouth, intestine or other parts. 

  As an independent flight instructor my primary source of income was gone.  God is great!  The same day I was diagnosed the sale of our rental property closed and we were squared away for a period of time.  Thank you God!

  The next appointment was at the university hospital.  My good friend went with me.  This allowed my wife to take a break.  She started going with me as the seriousness became apparent.  This has been very exhausting.  She dropped me off and parked the truck.  After umpteen hours in the hospital while I was being poked and proded she went to the truck and fell asleep.  I did not know where she parked and she was sleeping through the cell phone calls.  I finally used the Onstar system to set off the alarm.  It was a rude awakening but proved the worth of the system.  Anyway my friend offered to go and it was great.

  The doctor said "blah blah blah surgery blah blah blah."  My mind was not very clear at that point but my buddy was still focused and taking notes.  Thank you.  (I am new to blogging and not sure of privacy protocols).  On April Fools day I had a tonsillectomy, biopsies of the tongue and scopes of the voice box, throat and bronchia.  They found the primary site of the left tonsil. I am not an expert on biology but the lymphatic system filters out bad stuff. It was doing its job and filtered out cancer. Limpoolio is a lymph node full of squamous cell cancers.  This is stage IV.  Stage 0= no cancer...stage V=dead.  So this is one of those good news bad news stories.  Good news we found the primary site and they are good at this.  In North Carolina treating cancers that smokers and dippers get is fairly common.  Stage IV is heavy. 
  Tonsillectomies make your throat hurt but that is only to be expected when you cut chunks out.  "All the ice cream you can eat”  is a cruel joke.  Mmmm tastes good…swallow (imagine, or remember drinking tequila, hot sauce, salt and fire). 
  I have discovered many helpful sites.  Livestrong.org is very helpful.  The survivor videos helped me mentally.  There are 10 million cancer survivors.  It is interesting that some of the gray beards in my life responded almost like "I remember my first cancer...it was in 1976...In other words buck up kid skin cancer, bladder cancer and prostate cancer have not killed me yet...GET OFF MY LAWN!"
 
  I am mightily blessed. The outpouring of love and support has been AWESOME! As I pass by the entrance to the Children's Hospital on my way to my appointment my perspective changes. Feel free to spread love to the Ronald McDonald House
http://www.rmh-chapelhill.org/ 
  Today is a great day.  Tell your loved ones how you feel.