When you first meet Patrick Connor, Vice President of Rental Product Sales for Warner Brothers Home Video, you would never think of him as sick. A well-dressed, 40-year-old executive, Patrick is a rock climber, a cyclist and a swimmer, and you can tell he is a man who takes care of himself. Patrick is also a veteran of several Ironman competitions. (The Ironman is a grueling triathlon where each competitor must swim 2.4 miles, then bike for 112 miles and finally end with a 26.2-mile run.) There is no hint that this athlete is suffering from cancer, or that he has only just recently finished four cycles of Chemotherapy. Here follows his personal account:

"I had a cold around March, but working my hours, training like I do...that kind of thing always happens. I figured with a couple of days rest, I'd get over it." He was in training for his next Ironman competition, and although he was able to keep his cold at bay for some time, it came back hard the first week in April and knocked him flat. He went to his doctor, who gave him some antibiotics. The cold went away, but came back within the next week. During that same time his right lymphnode, located toward the back of his throat, had become swollen. He returned to his doctor, received another prescription for antibiotics, along with instructions to see an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist should the swelling persist.

A week later Patrick was sitting in the office of an ENT, his lymphnode having grown to the size of a golf ball. The doctor quickly ordered an MRI and a needle biopsy. Two days later he had the results...cancer. More specifically, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL). "At that point, I knew nothing about Lymphoma, nothing about cancer. You know, it was just something I always heard of people being diagnosed with and it had never really hit home. No family or friends or anything [had ever had it]."

Non-Hodgkins' Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. It causes the cells to abnormally reproduce, eventually causing tumors to grow. Lymph nodes are part of everyone's immune system. These small, bean shaped organs' primary function is the production of B (cells) lymphocytes and T (cells) Lymphocytes, which help protect the body from infections and disease. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer in the United States and it is estimated that nearly 55,000 people will be diagnosed with NHL in the year 2000.

"So there I was," says Patrick. "And the doctor said it was Lymphoma, and that 'we have to go in and take out the lymph nodes to make a biopsy. Then you have to meet an oncologist....' I asked him if I could still do the Ironman run on May 20th. You see, at this time of my life, Ironman California is a big deal. This is my third Ironman. And he replied, 'Why wouldn't you?' So I decided to move ahead with it. I scheduled a meeting with an oncologist for that Monday and also scheduled the open biopsy and a bone marrow biopsy for that Tuesday." When they called to confirm his appointments for that coming Monday and Tuesday, Patrick had to take a moment before saying yes. "I had to think about it, because this was the point where I was really committing to the process." There was no turning back now.

Next week: Family and friends, surgery, triathlon and the beginning of chemotherapy.