Taylor Leddin (Host): Welcome back to the Well Within Reach podcast, brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Taylor Leddin-McMaster. And joining me today is Ray Balkcom, who will be sharing his story of his journey with the Riverside Cancer Institute. Thank you for joining us, Ray.

Ray Balkcom: Thank you for having me.

Host: Before we get into the questions, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Ray Balkcom: Well, I'm retired and happily married. Thirteen grandkids, all grown.

Host: Oh, wow!

Ray Balkcom: But I moved down here about 12 years ago. And I bought a retirement home over here behind Thomas Edison School.

Host: Okay. Yeah.

Ray Balkcom: And pretty much I don't do too much, man. Just maintain the house and do a lot of fishing, you know? So...

Host: Oh. Good. Well, this is a good place for that then.

Ray Balkcom: It sure is. There's a nice pond right back over there.

Host: Oh, well, perfect. So, you don't have to go far at all. So, your story starts just before Thanksgiving of 2025. What happened at that time?

Ray Balkcom: Okay. I was at home getting ready for Thanksgiving. I was prepping a brisket, and my wife was in the kitchen and I was sitting at this counter, we have a bar, and I started having tightness in my chest. And so, I told her, I said, "Let's go." She said, "Huh?" I said, "We got to go down to the hospital. I'm having tightness in my chest." They found two blockages. So in the case of the two blockages, they put two titanium stents in. And then, that's when they discovered I had a spot on my left lung, when they were putting the stents in.

Host: Wow.

Ray Balkcom: So, they had me to come back about two weeks later. I got a chance to see and meet Dr. Hamdan, a great guy. He told me, "Well, this is going to be a journey." So, I said, "Okay." He said, "I need you to stick with me on this." I said, "No problem."His plan was for me to first go to Rush, get these specialists. I went there. The specialist said the same thing he said. So, he was right on point, but he just wanted to make sure.

So, I drove to Chicago and seen the specialist at Rush. And he said, "Well, you know, Mr. Balkcom," he said, "If I were you, I would just have it done." He said, " Dr. Hamdan is a good doctor." He say he had worked with him many a times and many a years. So, I trust the method. When I did the radiation team first, I did six weeks of radiation. And then, I did three months, two months of chemo. And I did from November all the way up until, what, May of this year, the end of May, and I rang the bell out there in the hallway.

Host: Yeah.

Ray Balkcom: Yeah. And that's how it all got started. It was the treatments that I had to come in for, I got to know the guys back there in the back with the radiation center. Bill and all of those guys, those ladies, they're like everyday people.

Host: Yeah.

Ray Balkcom: But they're a little bit more than everyday people. They should have wings on their back. They make you feel like you're not sick. They make you feel like, "Hey, your problem is not a problem. We can take care of that. We'll get you back on your feet." And with that, they don't tell you it like that, but just when they come in and greet you with the smiles and tell you, "Hey, what you got going today?" You know, they're talking to you like nothing's wrong." And that's how you easily forget about your problem.

And then, once you get here so many time, you look forward to seeing these guys. You know, I know I looked forward to seeing them, you know? So even when I come in, sometimes I come in and drop in on them time to time. I still have treatments that I'm going through, but it's just to say hi and thank you, because there are places where people don't have concerns like these people. Their concern is genuine, just caring. It makes you feel really, really good to be here.

Host: Yeah. Yeah. It certainly takes a special heart to work in this field.

Ray Balkcom: Yeah, it does. Yep.

Host: So, I'm glad that you felt that care and that warmth when you came here.

Ray Balkcom: Yep. Yep.

Host: Going back a little bit to when you said they found a spot on your lung, were you experiencing any symptoms?

Ray Balkcom: Nope.

Host: Very surprised by that.

Ray Balkcom: Yeah, they were asking me the same question. "Did you feel any, like, shortness of breath? Just anything on your left side abnormal?" Nope. Not a thing. Because they said that it looked normal like a spot that just doesn't move or grow or whatever it was, and it had no telling how long I've had it.

Host: Yeah.

Ray Balkcom: And so, I didn't have any effects from it, but I was glad they spotted it.

Host: Absolutely.

Ray Balkcom: So, I went forward with the treatments and everything. And right now, I'm back to my fishing hanging out with the grandkids and the wifey and everybody. And I feel great. Like I said, if I could see these guys when I really want to and just say thank you and give them big hugs and stuff, you know, I know you're not supposed to do all that, but I would love to do it. I would, because that's how grateful I am because they just make you feel like they actually care. And I say that because not one day that I've came in here that I had a different reaction from any of them. It was always the same. It's truly a good hospital, man, with good people.

Host: I'm really glad to hear that. That's fantastic.

Ray Balkcom: Yep, yep.

Host: And yeah, I'm glad you're feeling better. And I appreciate you coming here today and sharing your story. And I hope the journey just keeps going up and you keep feeling better.

Ray Balkcom: Not a problem. I'll be here next month and the month after that, and then I'll swing by and knock on the window and say hi to everybody and go back out the door.

Host: Check in. Well, good. I'm sure you're looking forward to that day.

Ray Balkcom: Yep, yep, all the time.

Host: Yeah. Well, thank you, Ray, for joining us. You bet. We appreciate it. And thank you listeners for tuning in to the Well Within Reach podcast. To learn more about the Riverside Cancer Institute, visit riversidehealthcare.org/cancer.