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History |
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In May of 2005, Dan Waeger was living the life of any normal person his age. At the age of 22, he was working as the Assistant Golf Coach for both men and women's teams at Division I Wagner College in Staten Island, NY. In addition, Dan was pursuing his M.B.A. in Finance. In the midst of taking final exams, a persistent cough developed which made him short of breath. Not worrying, Dan continued with his daily regimen which consisted of a 3 or 4 mile run as he trained for the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon in San Diego, CA.
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Struggling to even breathe while at rest, Dan checked himself into the hospital on May 13, 2005. After being admitted to the hospital, physicians discovered that 1.5 liters of fluid had accumulated around his heart. After surgery on his heart to remove the fluid, Dan was diagnosed with cancer a few days later on May 18, 2005.
Cancer can begin in any organ or tissue of the body. The primary site usually takes the name for the part of the body or the type of tissue in which the cancer begins. In Dan's case, the site or origin of the cancer was unknown when he was diagnosed, and thus, was designated "Cancer of the Unknown Primary" or (C.U.P.). Cancer of the Unknown Primary accounts for only 3-5% of all cancers. After further testing in February 2006, Dan's diagnosis was changed to Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) -Adenocarcinoma. Today, 10-15% of all new lung cancer cases are nonsmokers just like Dan. As the child of parents who never smoked, and the youngest of 5 siblings who never smoked, Dan's lung cancer diagnosis was incredibly surprising.
After four and a half months of chemotherapy in 2005, Dan continued to fight the cancer head on. After initially experiencing strong results from IV chemotherapy in the Fall of '05, Tarceva was used and was unsuccessful in stabilizing the cancer. A combination of radiation and chemotherapy was then used during February and March of 2006. On March 31, 2006, Dan started on a different chemotherapy (Alimta), which has been given every three weeks since.
Alimta has been extremely successful for Dan!!! Scans throughout 2007 and 2008 revealed that his cancer is significantly reduced. He continues to be treated at Johns Hopkins every three weeks and will be for awhile longer. Dan can't thank his friends and family enough for coming to visit and hang out during his treatments.
Dan feels blessed for the love and support he has received, especially from his immediate family, and wants to do everything he can to help the cancer community. Dan believes that the young adult cancer community is extremely neglected in terms of support and wants to help those that occupy the dual role of cancer survivor and college student as he once did. Furthermore, lung cancer needs to receive more awareness and funding. The myth that people bring this awful disease upon himself or herself needs to be busted!
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NCCF is a Member
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via PayPal
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National Collegiate Cancer Foundation
P.O. Box 14190
Silver Spring, MD 20911
© 2008 National Collegiate Cancer Foundation. All Rights Reserved
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