A cancer diagnosis can put you on hold and turn your life upside down. Many people are afraid of the unknown and fighting an invisible foe. While each patient’s cancer journey is unique, the comfort that comes from hearing “you’re cancer-free” is a great emotion for any cancer sufferer.
“Cancer-free” is not something John Longbottom, 75, a musician from Etowah, expected to be part of his trip. Longbottom was in a South Carolina hospital for over 10 minutes without a pulse, less than a month after moving to Henderson County from Florida in 2019. When he regained consciousness, he was told he had stage four lung cancer that was incurable. When John went to Pardee UNC Health Care for a second opinion, he was advised that his cancer was not as advanced as he believed and was offered a treatment plan.
Longbottom described being cancer-free to a friend as a gift wrapped in barbed wire. “It feels amazing, but you do feel like you’re living in a shadow,” Longbottom said. “The waiting is difficult, and there is always the possibility that it will return, so I take it one day at a time.” Longbottom acknowledged that great advancements in cancer care and treatment had been made in recent years and that it is critical to “believe your oncologist, do the treatments, and don’t give up on your life.”
Longbottom recalled his visit at Pardee Cancer Center with surprise. “I was surprised by how each individual at Pardee handled me; I felt unique,” he remarked. “You walk in scared, and you’re handled in such a way that you feel better and more sure that they’re going to do their best.”
Pardee UNC Health Care features a comprehensive cancer centre that offers all of the services patients will require during their cancer journey under one roof. Pardee offers a seasoned and highly competent support team that guides every step of the procedure in addition to detecting and treating specific types of cancer.
