{"id":4149,"date":"2018-10-19T10:43:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T00:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/?post_type=story&#038;p=4149"},"modified":"2020-08-17T16:03:16","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T06:03:16","slug":"davids-story","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/stories\/davids-story\/","title":{"rendered":"David&#8217;s story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"David McDonald: Changing the Face of Lung Cancer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5PW84BoBIuM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in December 2011 at the age of 49. This came as a total shock because I\u2019d never been a smoker and I didn\u2019t think I had any serious health problems. In fact, our family had a whole future planned. We were in the process of moving from Canberra to Darwin. We had new jobs to go to, we\u2019d purchased a house, the kids were enrolled in new schools, and our belongings had gone ahead of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/David-McDonald-3-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4154\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/David-McDonald-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/David-McDonald-3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/David-McDonald-3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/David-McDonald-3-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We were in final days of saying goodbyes, when chest pains and numbness in my limbs led to me being taken to hospital. Within 24 hours our plans were shot\u2014we weren\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We opted for non-standard chemotherapy based on evidence of improved results. This came at a huge financial cost and our medical expenses are well into six figures. The choice of treatment was rewarded, with scan results showing no evidence of disease after about 25 cycles of chemo. As I write this I\u2019ve now have had over 60 cycles of chemo and the cancer has shown no progression. People ask me how long I will be on chemo and I have to say \u201cAs long as I can cope with it.\u201d There is no end in sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The impact of chemo is harsh. I spend a few days every cycle bedridden with flu-like symptoms, nausea, rashes, gastrointestinal upsets, rashes, mouth ulcers and more. I have permanent peripheral neuropathy, joint pains, and memory loss. Life has become a long-term chronic battle. And not just for me, but for my wife, children, and friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the difficult things about living with cancer has been meeting others who have been diagnosed after me and who\u2019ve now died before me. There is so much loss and so much grief. But it hasn\u2019t all been bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I\u2019ve met some wonderful people on the same difficult journey\u2014in person and online.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/FullSizeRender-300x217.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/FullSizeRender-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/FullSizeRender-768x556.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/FullSizeRender-1024x741.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/FullSizeRender-1920x1389.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I have had my love for family deepened, my joy in living expanded, and my hope in God enriched. I\u2019ve had the privilege of being able to document my experiences and testify to the hope that I have living with a terminal disease, though publishing a book called&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.matthiasmedia.com.au\/hope-beyond-cure\">Hope Beyond Cure<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve learned firsthand not to take life for granted, but to number my days and to make the most of the opportunities I have to bring hope into the lives of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>If I had a choice, would I choose to have cancer? Absolutely not! But in so many ways I treasure what I\u2019ve learned and gained on this painful road.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sharing your personal experience with lung disease is a compelling and inspiring way for others to learn about and cope with their diagnosis. Your story may also encourage people to identify and act on symptoms they are experiencing, which may otherwise have been ignored.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/get-involved\/how-you-can-help\/share-your-story\/\">Share your story, here<\/a>.<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in December 2011 at the age of 49. This came as a total shock because I\u2019d never&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":2686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","condition":[14],"class_list":["post-4149","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","condition-lung-cancer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>David&#039;s story - Lung Foundation Australia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lungfoundation.com.au\/stories\/davids-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David&#039;s story - Lung Foundation Australia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in December 2011 at the age of 49. 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