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Site last updated 07/02/08

A Tribute to Thac Nguyen  

Thac was diagnosed with Stage IV non small-cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer in March, 2004.  When our family learned of this news, we were in utter shock and disbelief.  How could his complaints of severe headaches and arm numbness lead to a cancer diagnosis?  What did this mean?  What were his treatment options?  And scariest of all - what was the prognosis?  Coming from a large family (I am the youngest of six children), we all began to apprise each other of his health updates through emails, phone calls, and visits to the hospital.  Not only did my brother have cancer, but it had spread to many other parts of his body, including his lymph nodes, bones, and brain.  There had been no symptoms leading up to his diagnosis except for his complaints about severe headaches on one side of his head that were also accompanied by numbness in the opposite arm.  After Kaiser sent him to a variety of treatment options, including physical therapy and chiropractic care, they finally got the diagnosis right.  And this is when his battle began.

The doctors needed to determine exactly how much the cancer had spread, so they ran a number of tests - a cat scan, body scan, biopsy, and others.  With each new piece of information we learned, it seemed to conjure up even more questions than we had started with.  And we didn't know what we didn't know, which made it all the more frustrating.  We tried to obtain as much information as we could, and turned to family, friends, and the internet as a source of information. 

Thac needed to start on a treatment program immediately, since his cancer was so advanced.  His oncologist decided to go with a combination of chemotherapy and radiation, and attempted to explain his approach to the family just prior to beginning his treatment.  Although the oncologist attempted to explain this disease in simple terms, it was still very difficult to wade through the medical jargon and piece all our thoughts together - and we had even come to the meeting prepared with questions!  Thac seemed comfortable with his doctor's plan, so we decided to go with it and see what happened...

After about one month of treatment, Thac had to cease his chemotherapy treatment (Iressa) since it had caused detriment to his liver.  The doctors would continue to monitor his liver, but until it improved, would only continue with his radiation treatments (which were targeting the cancer in his bones).  This was an agonizing time for the family, as what we had thought would help him get better had ended up making him worse.

After several months of waiting for his liver to get better, Thac contracted pneumonia.  When it didn't improve, he was admitted to the hospital.  After many tests, the doctors discovered that the cancer had spread in an extremely aggressive manner throughout his whole body, even more than what had originally been detected.  It was at this point that the doctors declared there was nothing else that could be done - Thac was discharged to hospice care and passed away peacefully six days later at the age of 40.

I would like this site to serve a dual purpose - as a tribute to my wonderful brother, Thac, and as a source of information for anyone who would like to learn more about this insidious disease.  Please peruse this section of the site, and email me with any questions or comments.        

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