So I didn’t think as we rang in the new year that starting a CaringBridge site for my brother would be on my 2021 bingo card but here we are. On January 28, 2021 after an ER visit for something unrelated, Robby had a X-ray that showed what appeared to be a mass in his chest. CT scan further revealed a large (5cm) tumor in his upper right lung lobe.  He left the ER with a diagnosis of lung cancer until proven otherwise and instructions to see his primary care physician as soon as possible. He saw his PCP later that day who got him set up with initial visit with a medical oncologist the following week on 2/5. Although the diagnosis was certainly serious, we were somewhat relieved at the first visit when his oncologist  told us that this is the best way to receive a cancer diagnosis.  An incidental finding when you go to the doctor for something else.  The fact that blood work looked normal and he really hadn't had any symptoms were other reasons he gave us for optimism that we caught it early. One of the frustrating things we had to learn early on was patience.  Although the patient and their loved ones are immediately ready to initiate treatment plan, full work up and development of the best course of action takes time.  Tests, consults, waiting, more tests, more follow up appointments, more consults, more waiting... wash, rinse, repeat...that was life for the past 6 weeks. While the bronchoscopy and biopsy did confirm our fear that the mass was malignant, results from the scans brought some good news.  Both his PET scan and brain MRI showed no evidence of metastatic disease and that the cancer was presently localized to the single mass in his right lung. On the 2/19 follow up with oncologist we got the official diagnosis of non small cell adenocarcinoma.  As far as staging we are still uncertain other than he is either 2b or 3a which (thankfully) are both curable. From there 2 treatment paths began to development. Ideally, he would be a candidate for surgery first which would involve a right upper lobectomy to resect the tumor followed by chemotherapy to zap any remaining cancer cells hiding out. The other path would be to reverse things and start 4 rounds of chemotherapy over 12 weeks to shrink the tumor prior to surgery. We met with the thoracic surgeon at UT on 3/5 who told him the tumor was indeed resectable and based on his pulmonary function tests he was surgical candidate.  However, because of the size and location, he wanted the tumor board to meet and review his case. The surgeon called him shortly after the meeting last week to let him know that the consensus was that the best course of action would be to do chemo to shrink the tumor first and then reassess for surgery in a few months. So that is where we are today.  Early in the morning on St. Patrick's Day he will have his port put in at UT and have his first treatment later in the afternoon.  Appreciate all the prayers and good vibes that side effects are minimal and therapy goals are met.