Never tell me the odds: Meet @flusshund

TERESA: What brought you to Mayo Clinic Connect?

@flusshund: My doctor(s) didn’t prepare me for the long-term effects of chemo and radiation. I was looking for more information, and my parents had always followed the advice of the Mayo Clinic, so it was a name I knew and trusted for medical expertise and advice.

TERESA: What motivates you to take part in Mayo Clinic Connect?

@flusshund: I’m doing whatever I can to help keep people from going through what I’ve gone through. In particular, I try to help newly diagnosed lung cancer patients understand what’s ahead. I also know that I’m emotionally handling my stage 4 prognosis well, and I hope to be able to share that with others.

In terms of helping others not to have to go through what I’ve gone through, I’m also a lung cancer funding research advocate with GO2 for Lung Cancer, a civilian reviewer with the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), and a Patient Review Advocate with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC).

TERESA: What about Mayo Clinic Connect makes you feel comfortable to share and to be open with the community?

@flusshund: Firstly, the mentors and the moderators. They lead by example as their responses are always balanced, rational, and sensitive to the emotions of the person they’re responding to.

TERESA: What support groups do you participate in?

@flusshund: I participate in several online communities. In the Mayo Clinic Connect community, I focus on the discussions and members in the Lung Cancer support group.

TERESA: Tell us about a meaningful moment on Mayo Clinic Connect.

@flusshund: More than one person has replied that my comment was helpful and either relieved their anxiety or gave them hope. I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide comfort and positive feelings for the future.

I know cancer is a very emotional subject for many people all the time. I always hope members take my comments in the spirit I offer them. It’s gratifying to read that someone feels I’ve helped them somehow.

TERESA: What surprised you the most about Mayo Clinic Connect?

@flusshund: Honestly, the balance. I know that any type of cancer can be a very emotional experience. I work with a lot of talented engineers who are very logical in their daily work. Yet I’ve met a few of them who are cancer survivors and still have very strong emotions about what they’ve been through.

I believe the mentors have a lot to do with the calm, hopeful, and positive atmosphere I typically see in Mayo Clinic Connect.

TERESA: What energizes you, or how do you find balance in your life?

@flusshund: I’ve wondered why I seem to be dealing with my lung cancer so well. I believe part of my perspective is due to my supportive wife. I also believe that meditating for over 40 years, including attending a Zen center on the top of a mountain for formal training when I was 21 helps me maintain a balanced life perspective.

I also love my job as a NASA engineer. We are Artemis!

And I amuse myself by saying I will turn our one-acre plot into what looks like a botanical garden. I’ll never get there, but I love working on the gardens, the blueberry patch, the trees, etc.

TERESA: What do you appreciate the most in your friends?

@flusshund: Almost all of my friends are and have been very good at what they do.

TERESA: Do you have a favorite quote, life motto or personal mantra?

@flusshund: Lately: “Never tell me the odds.”

TERESA: If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see cast as you?

@flusshund: Are you kidding? George Clooney, of course!

TERESA: What do you love about where you live or vacation?

@flusshund: We live in a rural neighborhood. Both my wife and I love the quiet and being surrounded by nature.

TERESA: Puppies or kittens?

@flusshund: Puppies

Member Spotlights feature interviews with fellow Mayo Clinic Connect members. Learn more about members you’ve connected with and some you haven’t met yet. Nominate a member you think should share the spotlight.

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