On December 23, 2019 my life changed forever: I was diagnosed with cancer
A sinus infection that wouldn’t go away
Cycling Leads to Diagnosis
While training for my fourth Leadville 100 in 2019 I felt like I had continuous sinus infections. My primary care doctor treated me with antibiotics and steroids but I never felt any better. I completed the race in August of 2019 with stuffed up sinuses, bloody discharge, and full body fatigue. I returned to Wilmington, NC looking for answers.
Searching for Answers
After returning from Leadville I began training for the Cape Epic, a seven day mountain bike race in South Africa that was to take place in March of 2020. The feeling of a constant sinus infection did not go away. In October of 2019 an ENT performed endoscopic sinus surgery to reduce inflammation and open my sinuses. There was hope this would solve the issue of constant sinus infections and all of the symptoms I had during my race in Leadville.
A Second Opion
After my endoscopic sinus surgery healed a blockage formed in my left nostril. The ENT who performed the surgery insisted that with time the inflammation would go away and I would be healed of all of my issues. I knew something was not right and sought out a second opinion from a different ENT. Exploratory surgery was performed on December 23, 2019 to see what was causing the blockage in my left nostril. What the ENT found caught us all by surprise: a malignant tumor in my nasopharynx.
A Search for Treatment
After receiving the devastating news, friends and family helped me expedite the next steps in looking for treatment. A PET scan revealed the cancer had metastasized to my lungs - a devastating blow. We urgently moved forward using as many favors from friends as we could to get appointments with doctors at Duke University, Levine Cancer Center, UNC Lineberger Center, and Memorial Sloan Kettering. We were absolutely blown away with Dr. Jared Weiss at UNC and knew he was going to be the answer to getting this cancer under control. A lung biopsy was performed the second week of January 2020. And then came the results…the cancer was NUT Carcinoma.