George Barlow wasn’t going to let lung cancer slow him down

George Barlow’s father — a professional baseball player, a physically fit man who’d never been sick a day in his life — was struck down by a fatal heart attack. George was just 17 years old.

Losing his dad at such a young age had a profound impact on George. From that point on, he knew he wanted to live his life to the fullest so that when his time came, he’d have no regrets.

Over half a century later, George still lives life to the fullest. From owning multiple businesses to riding motorcycles to traveling the world, George, now 72, has never shied away from doing what he wants to do. So, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, George knew he would fight it the best he could and leave the rest up to fate.

“To tell you the truth, I wasn’t scared. I’ve lived a pretty full life,” says George. “In fact, some people say I was crazy as hell. I’m one to believe that you do what you can, and after that, you just leave it in God's hands.”

A routine lung cancer screening

A routine lung cancer screening revealed that George had lung cancer. The scan involves taking a low-dose CT scan of the patient’s chest. George was a candidate for a lung cancer screening because of his history of smoking, a habit he picked up in his 40s when he was dating a flight attendant with Air France.

“I would fly to Paris one week on her buddy program, and the following week she'd fly in,” George remembers. “We were at a Beaujolais wine festival, and I couldn't drink the stuff. So, she got me some cigars.”

George smoked for about 25 years.

“It was about a year ago in August that I quit,” George explains. “I bought a new Porsche and didn’t want the smell in my new car. I also wanted to be healthier.”

As it turns out, George was fortunate to find out he had cancer when he did. By the time lung cancer patients start exhibiting symptoms, the cancer is typically in an advanced stage, which makes treatment much more difficult. But, thanks to his primary care physician, Dr. Sherry Scheib at Sentara Dedicated Care Center, George was given a number of tests during his annual checkup, including the lung cancer screening.

“If I’d not had all these tests, I wouldn’t have had any symptoms for one or two years,” says George. “By then, it would have been too late.”

From diagnosis to recovery

Once George’s scan turned up something suspicious, he was referred for a biopsy. The biopsy confirmed he had stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in his right lung. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer and is highly treatable when caught in the earliest stage.

At this point, things moved quickly. George was referred to a thoracic surgeon, who advised that he would need a right thoracoscopic middle lobectomy — a minimally invasive surgery to remove the middle lobe of the right lung. The surgery was scheduled for a few weeks later, in early December. Thankfully, everything went very smoothly.

“I went into the hospital for this operation on a Wednesday morning, and they operated Wednesday afternoon,” says George. “Everyone with Sentara was phenomenal. You couldn’t ask for a better team.”

George’s surgeon successfully removed the cancer, and he was not required to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. George was also able to avoid additional medication. After leaving the hospital, George went to his home on Back Bay, near Pungo, a quiet, peaceful place where he could recover. He and his wife typically spend the holidays in the Caribbean, but this year he had to put his travel plans on hold.

“Normally, my wife and I spend every Christmas in the islands. We couldn’t go last year We had to stay pretty close to home,” says George. “But by the first part of the year, I was in pretty good shape. I could start getting out and doing things again.”

Making plans for the future

Now, nearly a year later, George has recovered and is making plans to travel again. He’d like to take his annual Christmas trip to the Caribbean this year, and he’s thinking about going to Europe in the spring.

While he says his lungs will never be quite the same as they were before his battle with cancer, George feels like he was lucky to have gotten the treatment he did when he did.

“I still wish I could do some of the stuff I used to do,” George says. “I used to hunt, but I probably won’t do that anymore. To this day, I still don't have the lung capacity I had, I get winded fairly easily but that’s not a bad deal for cancer.”

George plans to continue living his life to the fullest. He is especially thankful for his primary care physician, Dr. Schieb. He credits her with catching his cancer early enough to be treated successfully. He encourages everyone to get annual checkups and not to hesitate if there are any issues.

“I used to hate going to the doctor, but Dr. Scheib, she’s wonderful,” says George. “I would recommend keeping up with your physicals. If you have any problems, get them checked out immediately. That’s what saved my life.”


Early detection saves lives. Talk to your doctor about scheduling an appointment for lung cancer screening.