J.T. Buice
Tractors and Tumors
My New Part-Time Job: Professional Medical Office Chair Tester
Welcome to what I’m calling my ‘Medical Mystery Tour 2025’ featuring an impressive lineup of 11 doctor appointments in just two weeks! I have to say that the waiting room chairs at UT Southwestern are the most comfortable so far.
This coming week is particularly action-packed as I’ll be lying still in giant machines that look like spacecraft (complete chest MRI and head-to-thigh PET scan), meeting with two medical oncologists, making sure my heart is dancing to the right beat, working with a physical therapist, and hopefully getting my VIP access port installed for upcoming chemo treatments.
Last week’s adventures featured my amazing friends Casey and Claire, who joined my medical caravan to Waco and Dallas while my family was busy hosting a household production of ‘Strep Throat and Flu: The Musical.’
They discovered what might be a third suspicious lymph node at UTSW. This finding has us all wanting to fast-track the chemo before we hit the five-node mark, which would require more extensive surgery on my right side that could forever affect the right side of my chest and arm.
The PET scan on Tuesday will be a massive day of information gathering. Fun fact: These machines are so specialized and expensive that we don’t have one in Waco. I’ll be getting scanned in what is essentially a high-tech truck. The science behind it is fascinating: since cancer cells are basically sugar addicts, I’ll fast for a while and then drink a radioactive glucose cocktail. The scan tracks where this spicy sugar gets consumed, creating a map of potential cancer hotspots. It’s like GPS for tumors, helping us ensure the cancer hasn’t spread beyond the areas we already know about.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll be starting chemo within two weeks. Through it all, my spirits remain high, and God is good.
I am looking forward to making jokes about my nuclear personality.
May God’s grace continue to lead, guide and sustain you. It blesses me to see how the Lord is working in your life already. Praying especially for Nora and Beau…this is an opportunity for them to grow in their faith, but it will be hard. So thankful you have such a great support system. Your parents have such love for you and your family. Praying that you continue to be strong and courageous in the Lord 🙏🏻
You have a gift for writing in a way to draw others in to understand.
Three and a half years ago I read a book (Life Reconstructed by Kim Harms) which included a chapter titled “Open to the Front.” Frequent exams, which you, too, will experience tend to blurr lines of past modesty.
That aside, I believe your journey will indeed be helpful to others.
God bless your path and God guide your medical team & family.
(Sidenote: I was gifted that book by Chris Cornelius, another prayer warrior in your arsenal!)
Prayers for you on this journey!