June 23, 2009 - 2:33 PM
By DAN BRANNAN
The Telegraph
ALTON - Every day when the sun rises, Alton's Bill Pierson conveys thanks for another day.
Pierson marked his 64th birthday on Father's Day and said he feels better today than he did 10 years ago, despite battling highly aggressive Stage 4 lung cancer.
"It astounds my friends when I talk about how I feel with the cancer," he said. "A lot of it has to do with a lifestyle change. The whole change, I think, is because of nutrition and exercise. The chemotherapy makes you feel downright nasty, but with impacting it with nutrition and exercise, my body does begin to rebuild itself."
Pierson was diagnosed with cancer in mid-February while working as dean of community and workforce education at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, N.C.
"I was astonished with what happened," he said. "When I was diagnosed with cancer in mid-February, the college community simply rallied around me, and across the board, some folks I hadn't met personally donated time to me so I could be on half-time sick leave.
"My fiancee, Donna Perdun, lives here in Alton. She worked for a telecommunications company in Oregon when we met, before I moved to North Carolina."
Once Pierson was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to return to Alton, Perdun's hometown, and seek cancer treatment at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He has undergone chemotherapy treatment at Barnes.
He said when he was diagnosed with cancer, he expected it, because he had a growth on his chest.
"I knew something wasn't right," he said. "I had an unbelievable sense of calm when my doctor told me. My first words to the oncologist were, ‘What do we do now?'"
Since the diagnosis, Pierson has been fighting back, and to date, it is working. His cancer has reduced, and he said he is feeling better than he has in years.
He also has worked with a physician in Fairbault, Minn., Dr. Mark Cochran, for nutritional guidance.
Each day, Pierson drinks a shake consisting of all green material: a lemon, half a grapefruit, half an apple, two stalks of celery, three leaves of Romaine lettuce, three Swiss chard and three leaves of curly kale. He blends the ingredients each morning and evening and consumes them in a 14-ounce drink.
Each day, Pierson's breakfast is fruit-based. At midday, he has a protein meal consisting of fish or small steak, fresh vegetables and salad.
For dinner, he consumes carbohydrates in either a sweet potato, potato or some type of pasta, followed by a fresh vegetable and a green salad.
"All of these foods we are talking about - with the exception of the protein and the carbohydrates - are foods that form acids in the body," he said. "So, the strategy is to neutralize the acids and keep the body in more of an alkaline state. Cancer doesn't live in an alkaline state."
The new Alton resident swims several times a week and has worked his way up to 70 laps each time.
"I also ride the bike as much as I can," he said. "I love the swimming. I swim at the YWCA. The primary reason for the swimming was to keep the respiratory system functioning at a high level, given it is already under attack with lung cancer. I started with 15 to 20 laps a day, and every day, I have tried to add two or three laps. I have yet to reach a point where I'm physically exhausted when I come out of the water."
Pierson has two adult children in Oregon, David and Victoria, and a grandchild, Oliver, 14 months old.
He said his fiancee has been extremely supportive during his cancer battle, as has his church, River of Life Church in Alton.
"I love churches that are spirit-filled," he said. "I have known the truth and reality of the Lord for a long time. Life tricks us into getting blase about things we don't pay as much attention that we should be. The River of Life people have just been a blessing. They have been as supportive of me as the folks in North Carolina."
Pierson doesn't consider the cancer a curse, but a blessing.
"I have found I have been so blessed, and I think I can say this pesky disease has been one of the greatest blessings of my life," he said. "It opened doors and unlocked parts of me that I had ignored for a long time. Without God's hand, I think I would be close to death already."
Pierson's plan is to keep training, eating properly and fighting the cancer.
"My goal is to eventually be cancer-free," he said.
dan_brannan@thetelegraph.com
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