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In April 2024, Linda Ray of Lincoln
was diagnosed with lung cancer. Initially, Ray thought she had
bronchitis, so she went to prompt care where she was told it would
just run its course. However, she kept getting worse.
On April 27, Ray started coughing up blood. The next day after
breakfast, she went to the ER to get checked out. Ray told Dr. Jane
what had been going on and the doctor ordered a CT scan. When they
were looking at the scan, Ray could tell from everyone’s silence
that something was wrong.
Dr. Jane told Ray there was a mass in her right lung that looked
cancerous and Ray asked if she could see the CT scan. Ray was told
to go to Springfield immediately to get a bronchoscope. The doctor
did not want the mass to rupture because it could be in her
esophagus.
Ray’s husband, Kevin, and daughter, Liberty Canady, went to St.
John’s Hospital with her to provide support. There, she had another
CT scan, MRI and bronchoscopy and discovered the mass was the size
of a peach. She also had the mass biopsied.
The biopsy showed cancer in Ray’s lower right lung. She was
diagnosed with adenocarcinoma stage 3b invasive endobronchial non
small cell carcinoma. Because Ray is a paramedic, she pushed hard to
get an appointment with an oncologist.
Ray was able to set up an appointment with Dr. Shaw at Simmons
Cancer Center in Springfield. She first saw Dr. Shaw in early May
2024 and he wanted her to have a PET scan to make sure the cancer
was not in other areas. The scan showed one spot in Ray’s esophagus
and another in her top right lung.
Soon, Ray began chemotherapy doing one treatment every two weeks
until she had six treatments. Within a week, Ray saw the
cardiologist, who told her it was time to start radiation. Ray began
radiation treatments in June and had sixteen treatments four days a
week for four weeks. She said the people at Springfield Memorial
Hospital were absolutely wonderful.
Unfortunately, when Ray’s treatments
were almost done, she got neuropathy from having chemotherapy and
radiation. Medicine helped relieve the neuropathy. Fortunately, the
chemotherapy did not make her sick.
At one point, Ray thought she was having a stroke, which turned out
to be a transient ischemic attack (TIA). It resulted in a hospital
stay.
Other side effects Ray had included osteoporosis and fractured
vertebrae in addition to pleural effusions causing fluid buildup
around her lungs. She finally got a drain put in to remove the
fluid.
There was a time when Ray wanted to give up and not go anywhere. She
was tired of chemotherapy and radiation.
After completing both chemotherapy
and radiation in July 2024, Ray started immunotherapy. She had
twelve immunotherapy treatments once a month for a year.
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Once all the treatments were done, Ray
had a CT scan that showed her tumor had shrunk to the size of a
walnut. Ray asked Dr. Shaw to show her the image and she said the
tumor looked like crumpled cellophane.
Since August 2024, Ray’s cancer has
been in remission. She said the three to five year mark is scary
because of the possibility of reoccurrence. Now, Ray only sees the
oncologist and gets a CT scan once a year unless there are problems.
There is a chance the cancer could metastasize somewhere else and
Ray doesn’t want the cancer to go to her brain.
Dr. Shaw is someone Ray highly recommends. When she told the doctor
how scared she was, he said, “we’re in this together. I’m going to
treat you just like you’re my mom.”
When Ray was having treatments, she had to have blood draws on
Fridays before chemotherapy on Mondays. Dr. Shaw would call to tell
her if everything was a go or if there was a problem and said to
call his office or email him if any issues arose.
As a paramedic, Ray had seen a lot of things like young people with
brain tumors. However, she said it is different being the person
taken care of and makes her appreciate what she has. Ray knows she
was fortunate to survive especially since one of Ray’s coworkers
recently lost her mother to lung cancer. Sadly, the woman’s medical
care was not as good.
In the past couple years, Logan County Paramedic Association decided
to do theme ambulances. One day, LCPA CEO Crystal Bale told Ray
there was a surprise, which turned out to be an ambulance with a
pink ribbon and the message saying all cancer matters. The main
reason they got the ambulance was because of Ray.
Ray is sad she had to give up her full-time position as a paramedic.
She loves taking care of people and said it has been hard to adapt
to not working at LCPA. She likes to visit her coworkers and is
still part time, participating in parades and trick or treating
events.
Looking back, Ray said, “I never realized how loved I was by family
and coworkers both of whom prepared meals and gave us gift cards.”
[Angela Reiners] |
