Franklin Whatley

<< All Lung Cancer Survivors

Watch Frank's Video Testimonial

"Thirty-three years being married was not enough, was it?" That was the comment I made to my wife as the doctor left the examination room after telling me that I had lung cancer in my left lung, that it was not operable, and that my life expectancy was probably in the neighborhood of six months.

The time was March, 1993 and the place, Albuquerque, N.M. My oldest son Jim, his wife Kari, and their 22-month-old son, along with my wife Nellie, had accompanied me to Albuquerque from Gallup, N.M. where Nellie and I were both teachers at Gallup High School. We were enjoying our teaching jobs and had no idea that the horrible "BIG C" was playing havoc in my body. Jim and his family had stopped in Gallup on their way from Ft. Lewis, Washington to Ft. Benning, Georgia.

The doctor scheduled a bronchoscopy for the following morning. Our daughter and other son arrived in Albuquerque just minutes before I went in for the test on Tuesday. It confirmed the previous day’s diagnosis. My family sprang into action, rented a truck, and we were packed up and on our way back to Tulsa by Thursday. That was a trip to remember, from snow and ice to a temperamental rental truck that did not run unless it wanted to. Including the rental truck driven by Jim, we had five vehicles in that caravan and we all communicated by CB radios. We found a channel that had no one else on it and we tried to keep up our sagging spirits with jokes, songs and games all the way across New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.

We arrived in Tulsa where our family doctor had made an appointment with a cardiovascular surgeon and a pulmonologist. The surgeon felt confident he could operate and take the lung, thus removing the cancer. Surgery revealed a ten centimeter primary tumor in the left lower lobe which was a squamous cell carcinoma. One hilar lymph node and two parabronchial lymph nodes were positive for metastatic disease. The surgeon reported that the tumor was attached to the heart sac and he peeled it from the sac like peeling an orange. I came through the surgery with no complications and by mid afternoon I was sitting up in ICU drinking a cup of coffee. And did it taste good.

Because of the positive lymph nodes the doctors agreed that I should have chemotherapy and radiation. We talked to the team of doctors at the hospital and they answered our questions but not to our satisfaction. I would add here that our daughter, La Nell is a nurse and she had coached us on the important questions to ask such as, "Is the chemotherapy administered through a port?" and "How is the body not being radiated protected?" and "What diet should be followed and what supplements should be taken?" There would be no port and there would be little protection from the radiation for the body. I could eat anything I wanted and supplements and vitamins were not needed.

This is where Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Southwestern Regional Medical Center (Southwestern) entered the picture. As I said, La Nell was a nurse and acquainted with CTCA. She made and appointment for me to meet some of CTCA's doctors. When I left the conference with the doctors at Soutwestern I had the reassurance that my body would be protected from radiation, a port would be installed prior to chemotherapy and I went home with diets and a sack full of supplements.

The following week, I began my radiation with Dr. Flynn. I was followed closely with examinations weekly and blood work each Monday morning. I finished six weeks of radiation. Minor tiredness was the only side effect I experienced. I was given a lotion to administer to the radiated spots just in case the skin was burned, but of course, it was not.

After completion of radiation, the port was inserted and I began my chemotherapy. To my great surprise, I gained 35 pounds, the most I had ever weighed, while receiving chemotherapy. I did not suffer nausea because medication was administered along with the chemo to prevent it. After the first dose of chemo, which was a giant one, I did have to have a platelet transfusion and had to stay in the hospital until my platelet count had risen. During the whole eight months of chemo, that was the only bad side effect I encountered other than suffering some loss of hair. I did not let the loss of hair affect me negatively. Nellie brought clippers to the hospital and we had a party while she shaved my head so I would quit getting hair in my mouth when I turned over in the bed. Then I had a friend paint me a cap that read, "CHEMO HEAD, NOT A SKIN HEAD." That brought comments, I might add.

If one has to suffer through cancer, then Cancer Treatment Centers of America is the place to be. Not only were the doctors great but the nursing staff was superb. The housekeeping staff could not do enough for my family and me while I was in the hospital and the dietary staff went out of their way to see that I had what I wanted to eat. Today when I return to Southwestern, I am treated as family and not just a mere patient.

At the first meeting with the doctors at CTCA, the five-year survivor tree planting ceremony was explained to me. My reply to that was, "Get my tree ready!" On May 7, 1999, I planted that tree and I remain cancer free thanks to God, the doctors and all the staff at CTCA.

Additional Information

When Frank was diagnosed with lung cancer, he was given six months to live. The doctors in N.M. told him there was nothing they could do for him. His children refused to give up on their father, and Frank refused to give up on himself. After "digesting" the prognosis, Frank’s family agreed, "No way, Jose. Tulsa here we come!" Frank and Nellie’s home had been Tulsa for years while they raised their children. Nellie says that when her children grew up, she and Frank left home! They traveled around and lived in other parts of the country. (That is how they happened to be in N.M. when Frank was diagnosed.)

Today, Frank is cancer free, living an active life. He and Nellie have retired to Lake Tenkiller, Oklahoma.

Frank still travels to Tulsa for checkups, originally coming back every three, four and then six months. Frank also travels to Southwestern periodically to refill his supply of vitamins from the CTCA Nutrition Shoppe. He believes that the nutrition and vitamins were critical parts of his recovery.

Frank’s granddaughter called him one day to ask him about the "Tree Planting Ceremony." Frank explained the ceremony to her and then she became upset that she had not been able to attend. Consequently, Frank and Nellie had a "Tree Planting Ceremony" in July 1999. All five grandchildren were visiting and Jim, the oldest son, dug the hole and all five grandchildren used the gold shovel to help Frank plant the tree.