RSS Feed
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Bayne Moore: cancer survivor
"I had already been thinking about getting a good physical, since I had read that men should get one once they turn 40," Moore said. His visit to the doctor came early, however. He and his wife, LeAnn, and their children, Marley and Malcolm, had gone to Washington, D.C. for a vacation. They did a lot of walking to take in the sites- the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, museums, the White House, and Arlington National Cemetery. It was during that time that Moore noticed a discomfort in his groin that was aggravated by all the walking. Not wanting to spoil the family's trip, he kept quiet about it. That was mid-November. By Thanksgiving, he was having trouble walking due to the pain and discomfort. He had told his wife about his condition after getting home from Washington, and she urged him to go see the doctor. Dr. Huey Kidd examined Moore and diagnosed him as having epididymitis, an infection of the epididymis (a convoluted duct that lies on the back surface of the testicle). The doctor prescribed a 10- day round of antibiotics to treat the infection. On Monday, December 11th, Moore went for a follow-up visit. The swelling had increased. So, Dr. Kidd referred him to a urologist. At 4 p.m. that Monday, Moore called Dr. Coleman Oswalt in Mobile to tell him about his condition and the referral from Dr. Kidd. Dr. Oswalt told him to come in the very next morning at 9 a.m. After his examination that morning, Dr. Oswalt told Moore and his wife that there was a tumor- a mass- and sent him to the lab for an ultrasound. The technician told Moore that he was to find the doctor as soon as the test was finished. All of this had started the wheels turning in Bayne's mind, and he realized his condition was serious. He had accepted that cancer was a very real possibility, but his wife, LeAnn, had not. When the test results showed the tumor as Dr. Oswalt had expected, she was not prepared for the news. "Being the person that I am, I expected to come back in a week or two for surgery," said Bayne. But he was surprised, too, when the doctor said, "I've got another surgery in the morning at 7:30; we'll do yours at 9:30." The doctor wanted the Moores to stay in Mobile overnight, but Bayne wanted to come home and give the news to his family in person. His children were participating in a Scholar's Bowl in Jackson, so after it was over he told them and his mother-in-law. He then made a call he was dreading, to his parents. "I knew my father would be upset, because his brother and sister both died of cancer, and so did his father and his uncle," said Moore. The Moores glossed over the topic with the children, just telling them that their father needed to have an operation. The next morning, they made the 115-mile ride from their home in Vineland to Mobile for the two-hour surgery. Their pastor and associate pastor, Bro. Scott Myers and Bro. Rob Jackson, were there with the family. Bayne's parents, James and Lauretta Moore from Linden, were there, as were his in-laws, Mack and JoAnn Pope from Vineland. A few friends also came by. The doctor had explained to Bayne that they would be performing a left orchiectomy. The surgeon removed his left testicle so cancerous cells wouldn't contaminate the surrounding area. The tumor was sent to a lab for testing, and the results confirmed that three different types of nonseminomas (cancerous cells) were present. All types of testicular cancer are more prevalent in younger men, but the nonseminomas are primarily found in teenagers to men in their early 40's. These days, doctors have a high success rate with treating testicular cancer, especially if it hasn't spread to the lymph nodes. The first physician Moore saw after his surgery thought he saw something on the follow-up tests that warranted more treatment. "He said it would be surgery or chemo, it was my choice," said Bayne. The Moores decided, however, to seek a second opinion. They scheduled an appointment with Dr. Graeme Bolger at UAB in Birmingham. That weekend, their church family at Pineview Baptist held a special prayer service for Bayne. The Moores went to Birmingham, where he underwent more tests and bloodwork. "Dr. Bolger came back and said, 'I think you'll like this,'" Moore said. He showed them the bottom line of the report- no metastasis. With the cancer having been contained in the testicle, the doctor felt there was no need for surgery or chemotherapy. He prescribed "surveillance only", or regularly scheduled check-ups and tests to determine if there has been any change. That was great news for the Moores. "I feel good about it, but just having had cancer changes your whole perspective," said Bayne. "It changes how you view life," he added. "When you're told you have cancer, it seems like life is falling apart. But knowing God and knowing how many people prayed for me helped us hold it together." Getting the diagnosis of cancer, he said, is something that "happens to somebody else". The reality of his own cancer has Moore urging others to get that in-depth physical he had been considering. As a triplet, he urged his brother Wayne to go ahead and get checked. He also has a sister, Jayne. An older sister, Donna, is a nurse who has urged the entire family to get checked out. A lot of people have asked him, he said, how he knew he had cancer. For Moore, the discomfort, swelling, and pain he was experiencing led to his seeking a doctor's advice. He's a self-employed forester and timber management consultant, so he does a lot of walking on the job, and walking caused a great deal of discomfort. He urges other men to go on the Internet and look for the steps to perform a regular selfcheck. (The self-checks would be in addition to a regular exam by a physician.) Moore says the success rate of treating this type of cancer is very encouraging. But, he said, it is sobering to know that the answers and types of treatment that have been developed came because others died from this disease. "The main thing is, don't ignore it" because you're embarrassed to talk to your doctor about such problems, Moore stated. Bayne Moore's wife, LeAnn, is the librarian at Thomasville Middle School and a member of the Relay for Life team there. Relay for Life is the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising event. Teams of walkers raise money through all different kinds of fundraisers and pledges for weeks before the Relay, then the 12-hour event is held from 6 p.m. one evening to 6 a.m. the following morning. Teams set up tent sites and camp out, holding all sorts of competitions throughout the night to make it a fun event for the entire community. This year's Relay will be held Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28, at Gates Drive Park. For more information about the Thomasville Relay, call Brittany Cahalin, the local event chairman, To learn more about Relay, call Britney Cahalin at 251-769-7467. For sponsorship information, call Julie Henson at 800-416-2949. If you would like to form a team, call Karen Dean at 636-2639. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)