How Stage4Life came to be
How Stage4Life came to be.
In November of ‘24, my left shoulder was giving me fits. It really started bothering me when I would lift weights. Any pulling movement was fine. Pressing movements on the other hand… I thought it was tendonitis or a bone spur.
I was doing all sorts of band/mobility work trying to rehab it. The shoulder kept getting worse. Finally, in March ‘25, I went to an Orthopedist, thinking it was a bone spur. She did an X-ray and confirmed it was not. The next day, I found myself in a CT scan doing a survey from chest up.
The scan showed 4 cancerous lesions in my right lung, one in both shoulder blades, one in the left shoulder joint and one in the left collar bone. Nine days later and I’m getting a full body CT scan with contrast. Here’s what it found. All the tumors are small, about a centimeter - there’s just a bunch of them.
4 Liver
1 Pancreas
4 in Right Lung
Spine:
S1, S2, S3, L3, T12
Ribs 7 and 8
Shoulders:
Confirmed both Scapulas, Left Shoulder Joint, 2/3 of the distal Left Clavicle
Blood: There was circulating cancer cells (.5 milimoles) - meaning strong chance of metastasis.
The oncologist went over the protocols of a chemo pill everyday (Cabometyx) and an immuniotherapy infusion once a month of Opdivo. I had all the classic symptoms, weight and hair loss, nausea …. She also told me to expect some others like the tip of my tongue becoming very sensitive. The doc wasn’t kidding. Everytime I had something with cumin or hot spice, it would light my tongue up! It was like it was being stung by a jellyfish.
My finger tips became sensitive and the bottom of my feet, especially the left, absolutely stung, became calloused and bruised. It felt like I was walking on legos. The doc mentioned some lotions that would help with dry skin. Dry skin wasn’t the issue. I met a couple of survivors, where I work, and asked them if they had those problems. They told me to coat my feet in Udderly Smooth and a client told me to use Solandas.
I told my Oncologist about Stage4Life and she loved the idea. She told me that she wanted to be on our board, before I could ask. So, Stage4Life was born. Stage4Life is about bringing community, fellowship and hope to the cancer diagnosed and their supporters. It is taking support groups out of traditional facilities and having meet ups in a coffee shop, take in a baseball game, tail gating … Please follow us for the latest on meet-ups/events, living with cancer, and the supporters take, on Facebook, Instagram, Tic Toc, X and Stage4Life’s podcast. Make sure to bookmark this website - www.stage4life.org and share.
Thank you and can’t wait to hear your story.
Lee Gravlee - Founder of Stage4Life
Lee@stage4life.org
ps. That is not my shoulder in the X-ray; however, it is in the exact spot as mine and the same size.