Photo By Dustin Senger | U.S. Army Lt. Col. Flossie Lomax of Utica, N.Y., coordinates the first American Cancer...... read more read more
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar – Hundreds of service members participated in the first American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, June 8, to honor countless lives impacted by cellular insurgents that transform a host's body into a battlefield.
Cancer survivors, caregivers and supporters at the military base, a prepositioning site for Third Army/U.S. Army Central, started the 12-hour relay on a running trail at 7 p.m., after a dusty sunset in Arabia. The event ended in a bright, morning sunlight.
"It's important to raise awareness all over the world," said breast cancer survivor Ellie LeBaron, wife of the U.S. ambassador to Qatar, prior to the relay. "It reminds people to get checked and check themselves. Many cancers can be treated effectively if detected early. Cancer is not a death sentence – people do survive."
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Cotton of McDonough, Ga., grabbed his IPod packed with rap and funk music, such as TI and Cameo, put on his running shoes and received his survivor sash. He was one of several individuals in cancer remission leading the overnight relay.
"When I made it through cancer," says Cotton, "I got a second wind on life."
After 26 years of military service, the soldier had acquired three occupation specialties, anticipated a college graduation and advanced toward a warrant officer promotion – when he fell down; tired, sore and dying.
Cotton enlisted in the Army as a high school student eager to discover opportunity outside Atlanta's southern suburbs. He attended basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Aug. 30, 2004, a month after his 18th birthday. The combat engineer's first assignment moved him to Germany, more than 4,000 miles from home.
He transferred to the reserves after five years active duty. As a reservist, he completed training for a second military occupation in human resources. While activated with the Third Army headquarters at Fort McPherson, Ga., he deployed for a month to Kuwait in late 1990, ahead of Operation Desert Storm.
While in his mid twenties, Cotton enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program at Morris Brown College in Atlanta. He met Nicole Gibson of Hannibal, Mo., during an orientation course.
The classmates started dating, and then took jobs as mail clerks with the U.S. Postal Service. Cotton repeatedly escaped midnight shifts at the post office by continuously volunteering for activation orders at Fort McPherson. Eventually, they withdrew from school to focus on saving money. In April 1995, they married on a beach in Cancun, Mexico.
"We've gone through some stuff," said Cotton. "I should have been more responsible in my 20s. There have been a couple situations that I didn't think I'd get through – Nicole has always been there for me."
Cotton remained in the reserves and attended career counselor training. He remained mobilized after 9/11, while working toward a warrant officer promotion and building up his retirement benefits.
In January 2003, Cotton reported for a one-year assignment at Fort Bragg, N.C. He supported a soldier movement center for overseas contingency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearing the end of his deployment, he started complaining of a crippling back soreness.
"I'd often lied down on the floor," he said. "I had to keep giving my back a rest. I also started running out of breath easily. One of my good friends told me 'you need to go get checked.'"
The troop medical clinic persistently prescribed him Motrin, but the pain reliever hardly helped.
"I was sending soldiers overseas to war," says Cotton, "while beginning my own battle."
He returned to Atlanta in January 2004. As a father of three children, the soldier became involved in the Boy Scouts of America. He mentored eight Cub Scouts, which included his seven-year-old son. Frustrations mounted over constant aches, illnesses and general feebleness.
In late 2004, Cotton started working more at the post office. His usual strong stature became emaciated, as he lost nearly 20 pounds. Nicole expressed concerned about her husband's constant shortness of breath, fatigue and depression.
"Someone once said I looked like I had cancer," said Cotton. "I had no idea what cancer looked like."
The troop medical clinic at Fort McPherson referred him to Eisenhower Army Medical Center at Fort Gordon, a more than two-hour drive outside Atlanta. However, Nicole urged him to visit their Kaiser Permanente family physician at Southwood Medical Center in nearby Jonesboro.
Their physician in Jonesboro requested laboratory and other diagnostic tests to explain more than a year of chronic discomforts. Blood tests and biopsies revealed the source of his ailments in June 2005: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
"My oncologist said the survival rate was low for someone in his late 30s," said Cotton, who was diagnosed with leukemia roughly a month before his 38th birthday. "The doctor wasn't sure what would work because the disease is usually treated in kids."
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common type of cancer found in children, according to the National Cancer Institute. The disease affects immature white blood cells. Cell mutations weaken the body's resistance to infectious diseases and foreign materials. Red blood cell counts plunge, which limits oxygen availability. Patients may look pale and feel weak. Platelet counts also drop, causing patients to bleed and bruise easily.
"When the doctor called me to start chemotherapy," said Cotton, "I told him I can't. I'm going on vacation with my family to Florida tomorrow. I was tired of all the blood work. My kids needed a vacation – I needed one."
"Nicole called me up at the post office crying," he said. "She told me 'they found something in your blood, you could die.'" Heeding her plea, Cotton called his doctor to initiate a 72-hour observation period, a casual prelude to tough times ahead.
"The doctor tried all kinds of drugs and doses," said Cotton. "While I collected chemicals, my wife collected information. She always talked to the doctor."
He started receiving injections of chemotherapy and blood transfusions. Daily routines included a lineup of pills, some helped with nausea and discomfort while others countered protein degradation and a vitamin K deficiency.
Two weeks into chemotherapy, Cotton awoke in darkness, surrounded by the sounds of his children preparing for school. He couldn't see anything, and then a stabbing pain cramped his abdomen. Nicole called 911.
"The ride to Southwood typically takes 15 minutes but the pain that morning made it feel like an hour," said Cotton, commenting on his first ride in an ambulance. "I could feel every pebble. It was like four tires driving on their rims. The pain gave me a headache."
Emergency medical staff rushed him into the intensive care unit. Faint patches of light passed by, emitted from overhead fixtures, while they rolled him through corridors. He could hear his mother and aunt sobbing.
"The amount of chemo had caused temporary blindness and pancreatitis," said Cotton. "I could feel my wife's frustration in the ICU. She was telling people to stay positive or leave."
Cotton was confined to his home for six months, besieged by an elevated risk for sickness and bleeding. He surrendered his Peachtree Road Race entry and Cub Scouts pack.
Unnerving side effects constantly reminded him of the seriousness of his disease. His hair disappeared and his bodyweight plummeted. The treatment that helped him fight for life had also crippled him.
"Memory loss was the worst part," says Cotton, who had forgotten the names of several family members.
"I had to wear a helmet on my head for radiation. Just talking about it… I can smell it… like something burning in a microwave. I could feel my brain cells dying."
"I dropped to around 120 pounds," said Cotton. "That's when I started to think I wasn't going to survive." He started reviewing his will, life insurance policy and wrote messages to his family. But the treatment evolved and indicators for optimism became evident.
Cotton entered cancer remission in late 2007, when blood cell counts showed a drastic improvement. The probability of reoccurrence would diminish in five years, as long as plasma tests stayed consistent. He instantly revisited options for an undergraduate degree and professional development.
"I realized I could still die after making it through chemo," he said. "I started going through the goals I had been putting off."
Feeling full of energy, he requested an Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course in January 2008. Between two-week ANCOC phases in California, he traveled to Mississippi for Observer Controller/Trainer classes at Camp Shelby. After returning to Georgia, he bought a home in McDonough.
"I always wanted to do a Peachtree Road Race," said Cotton, referring to an annual 10-kilomter race that attracts around 50,000 participants. "It's like living in Atlanta and saying you've never been to a Braves game. If you haven't done the Road Race, you're just taking up space – move on." He finished the race July 4, 2008.
Cotton deployed to the Middle East in January 2010. He has served as a department of public works noncommissioned officer in Qatar, but will depart for Kuwait next month to finish his one-year assignment. The Gulf countries frequently exceed 100-degrees Fahrenheit – his wife sends e-mails that remind him to stay out of the sun.
"Marrying Nicole saved my life," says Cotton. "I have a great spouse and partner. When I was going through cancer treatment, I couldn't work for two years. My wife was my only support."
"I appreciate the Army recognizing cancer survivors and their caregivers," said Cotton, an hour before the relay at Camp As Sayliyah. He walked all night, until 7 a.m., taking occasional breaks to rest his feet and call home. Cotton says soldiers his age often keep up with those much younger, but his body has been through too much.
The Relay for Life is the world's largest movement to end cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. The society, headquartered in Atlanta, estimates more than 3.5 million people from thousands of communities gather for the global activity each year.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2010 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 51132 |
| Location: | CAMP AS SALIYAH, QA |
| Web Views: | 473 |
| Downloads: | 324 |
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