The Blood Test He Took for Points: Kelley King's Cancer Story, Part 1

Episode 8 You're listening to the [music] Retirement Life Podcast, a place where we help you cast a vision for your retirement and take the next steps to live it. I'm Tony Hall here with my co-host Rc Arseneau. And each episode, we'll bring [music] you real stories, honest conversations, and practical ideas to help you build a retirement that's meaningful and life-giving. Let's jump in. Well, welcome back to the Retirement Life podcast. I'm your host, Tony Hall. I'm here today along with co-founder Madison Justus. And today we have a special guest with us. Um we're going to be talking in a two-part series about health and wellness in retirement. And we're going to hear a powerful story uh from another co-founder of the retirement life, Kelley King. And so Kelley, it's great to have you here. Glad to be here. Um as we get started, I'd love to just if you could just take a minute, introduce yourself. Um who are you and what do you do? I am a financial adviser. U been doing that for about 43 years. um father of three, grandfather of seven, and um part of the retirement life group. That's awesome. That's great. We really are glad to have you and and uh so glad for you who are listeners to be able to hear um today. Um Kelley has an amazing story to share and I think you're going to benefit from it. And so can you just tell us about your health journey over the last few years? Kelley, I I wish I could tell you how um intentional and and mindful I've been about my health over the last 65 years, but that's really not been the case. I thought way more about my finances and getting through the day than I did thinking about what my health would be like tomorrow, let alone 10, 20 years from now. Um, and so the truth is I really kind of stumbled upon this journey and um, I bought an insurance policy 15 years ago. I'm a licensed agent. I wrote the policy on myself through John Hancock, which is one of the companies I've I've used over the years. Couple years ago, about seven years ago, I converted it to a a permanent type of life insurance. And that had some other benefits. And one of the other benefits was a a program they called Vitality, which is a wellness program. And you can participate in that program. You can earn points. They will cover it'll they'll provide an Apple Watch for you, which is quite frankly the reason I did it. And um so you get points and you can get discounts on your insurance and and other things like that. That's awesome. Okay. So with the the point system, the goals that you have, um what what process did you go through? And then there's a big uh leap that we're going to take to you took a test that kind of revealed some things that you weren't expecting. Um and so with the Apple Watch and the test, get us get us to what um what happened there. So my goal was at the the Apple Watch. It wasn't really I thought well as far as health is concerned if I do the stuff they want me to do it's not going to be bad for me and you know it's working out and seeing your doctor and taking different tests. And so um I finally said I'm going to try try to reach that top level of platinum. And so I was trying to get points and I I read about a uh multicancer early detection test that they had and I thought I got points for taking the test. Um had I read the fine print and and and found out I didn't get points, I wouldn't have taken the test. But I I took the test which was a simple blood test. Okay. And they look for um the the test was called the gallery test. It's provided by Grail is the company that created it. And um I said I took the test for points. It was a simple blood test and it looks for 50 different types of cancer. Wow. And um I I could try to explain the the science behind it, but uh in the simplest terms, they they look at your DNA and they look at specifically at your dead DNA and they should all kind of look like they died peacefully. But if some of them look really different than the others, it's an indication that they might have been in a fight before they died, which is an indication there might be cancer. And if that marker shows up or signal shows up, then they will do some other tests and try to pinpoint the location of the cancer. Wow. And that you said that's the Grail's Gallery. That's the gallery test by Grail. By Grail. Okay. That's fascinating. And especially the dead cell markers. That is fascinating. So what happened? You took the test. What happened next? I took the test. They came to my house. They took a tube of blood. I didn't think anything of it. I thought I'm probably going to get some points for this. U went down to Florida to spend some time with the grandkids. And um I get a call. Well, I got an email said I was going to get a phone call from a woman, her name was Lily. She called me and said, "Hi, I'm Lily. I'm your patient advocate." I'm like, "What's that? I don't know what that is. And who are you calling from?" And she explained she was calling, you know, with the results of my test and she said in a in a voice almost like, "Are you sitting down?" Wow. Um, she said, "We found markers that indicate you might have cancer." And she said, you know, they thought it might be prostate or lung cancer. And I said, "Really? What should I do?" And she said, "Well, you ought to go see your primary care doctor and let them know and have them do some follow-up tests." Wow. Wow. That's jarring. I'm sure it um that's a lot to take in and you're there with your grandkids and all of that. So, um after catching your breath, uh what did you do with that information? I forwarded the test results to my primary care doctor. Uh set up an appointment with him. Um explained the test. He said, "I've never heard of it." And but he did order a lung scan and a PSA test. Mhm. Both came back within a couple days. PSA was lower than ever. Lung scan was negative. He said, "You're fine. Go live your life." Wow. You do not have cancer. Wow. So, good news. Good news. Yeah. That's great news. Okay. Uh so, that's the end of our podcast. Yeah. Well, but [laughter] the the rest of the story. No. So, then uh you get this news and then you're relieved. I'm relieved. And well, I I I followed up with um with Gra and let them know that those results and they called me up about two months later and said, "We really believe in our test. Will you take it again?" Wow. And I didn't really want to. It was kind of a a pain to go through it the first time. Not not that the test was hard. It was just Yeah. You know, more emotionally. So, I took it again and uh again went back down to Florida um before Thanksgiving and I I get a call two weeks later from Lily. Wow. And she said, "We checked out your your blood and we have reason to believe you have cancer." Wow. And she said, "This time she said, "And we think it's breast cancer." Wow. And at this point, I'm thinking, "Okay, am I on candid camera? Is this a [laughter] is this a joke? Are you crazy? Uh, but I said I said, "Let's pretend for a minute that I believe you. What should I do?" Wow. And she said, "Well, you need to go back to your primary care doctor and have him do a mammogram, but that probably won't show anything and have him do an ultrasound." So, I did that. I called my doctor, said, "Guess who called me again." And, uh, you know, he's rolling his eyes and um, but I finally convinced him to order a mammogram and an ultrasound. Wow. Which I had. And I went in and I had the mammogram, which is, you know, for guys it's it's different. Um, and the doctor came out and said, "Your mammogram is negative. We don't need to do the ultrasound and go home." I'm like, "Well, you know, I'm over here." It's only going to take a few minutes to do the ultrasound. Why don't you do it? And he rolled his eyes at me. He's like, "Okay, we'll do it." And um half hour later he's you know clicking and keeps going back to the same spot and he said you know you've got a swollen lymph node in your armpit and we want you to come back next week and have a biopsy. Oh wow. And so you go through that process, get the biopsy done and the results come back. A week later I go in for the biopsy. I um not only did I get a biopsy, I got COVID while I was in there for the for the biopsy. Wow. So, I'm sitting home, you know, week before Christmas and I'm waiting for this doctor to call and he calls me and said, um, we we did the biopsy of your lymph node and you have cancer. Wow. And, uh, we think it's breast cancer of origin, though it's found in your lymph node and it's stage two and you need to have, uh, chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. My goodness, man. I would just say personally um the question I have for you and just to let you know about myself if if anyone of our listeners know what the Inagram is, I'm an Inagram nine and um I am the nine uh the most nine. Um I'm a peacemaker and if you tell me to crawl under the table right now, I would probably do it. Uh just cuz I want to make sure that everyone is happy and you said peacemaker. I like a pacemaker. Oh, yeah. [laughter] This is this is a wellness episode, so I'm trying to stick with the theme. Um I'm a peacemaker. And so, I mean, when I hear that, um my first question is, what made you press on? Because for me personally, if I take this blood test and it comes back and I hear, "We think you may have cancer," I go to my doctor who I trust. I love I love um my doctor and and he comes back and says, "Hey, you're all good, Tony. Um I'm going to Disney. I'm going I'm at peace and I'm just going to like I'm good with that." So, what made you press on? What made you decide I'm going to move forward and do this again and then push against even the advice that I'm getting? Well, I didn't have that piece. I thought you what if this test is right and I'd really like to know. I'd really like to check this off and and and and just move forward and be done with it. But to to lay down that next night and wonder, you know, were they right? I wanted to get to the bottom of it. Yeah. Wow. That's amazing. So, Madison, um, so glad to have you here today, too. And, and hearing Kelley's story so far, what stands out to you as a nurse. I've never heard of this, um, test before. I think it's really cool that it exists. Um, like you said, you kind of stumbled upon it, right? Um, a lot of times we have to be very intentional to to be doing these kind of screenings. And I think I'm I'm hoping that this becomes the norm. I mean, it it probably saved your life. Um, and I think I think that's something that's exciting is we're kind of having this shift between treating disease to the focus is on prevention. Um, so like it it's not it's not normal yet, but I think I think it'd be really cool if it was the norm. Um, and Kelley, we kind of talked about this before, but um, you do have to be very intentional to do these kind of preventative care, health screenings and all of that. And, um, a lot of times we didn't want to. You said it was very uncomfortable. I mean, what made you want to do it again? You wouldn't want to, right? Um, who wants to go in for a colonoscopy or a mammogram? Nobody wants to do that. Um, but you mentioned um thinking through, you know, what what can I do today that my future self is going to thank me for. Um, this is definitely one of those things, would you say, right, Kelley? Um, so that really stands out to me as a nurse. Um, and and I think I'm also kind of with you, Tony. I don't know if I really would have continued to pursue it. My doctor says, "Ah, you're good." Yeah, it's a relief. I Yeah. And who wants to do that again, you know? Yeah. So, yeah. I think um and if you're listening like and and hearing all of this information, like I hope you know by now in the podcast like we care about the whole person as you're listening to this and as you're headed towards retirement or going into retirement um or in the midst of retirement. So, we do care that you're considering these things and and so Madison, again, what would you say, and I'm sure there are many, many people who are listening right now who would fall into this category who might be nervous just feeling nervous maybe hearing this story or about questioning their doctor in general. like um there's many times I've gone to the doctor and and he's told me certain things and I've I've felt uncertain or not sure what that means or whatever and and still and left feeling that way because I didn't push or I didn't So what would you say to someone who feels nervous about even questioning their doctor or asking for second opinions or pushing back in any way like that? Yeah, I mean there is not a single health care provider who could possibly know everything there is to know about your condition, whatever that may be. Um, every doctor has different skill sets and experiences. Um, I would say it's perfectly acceptable and even common practice to seek second opinions, especially making drastic decisions about your health. I think it it would probably even be encouraged to get second opinions. Um, if you're ever not satisfied with an interaction with your doctor, like you said, still feeling uneasy or uncertain, um, I think that that's a perfectly acceptable way to go is finding a second opinion or writing down your questions and following up with the same doctor to make sure that those questions are addressed. Mhm. Yeah, that's one of the things for me I I'm trying to get in the habit of now. I use my notes app when I'm going to the doctor. I have a list. I mean, there's so many times I walk out of my appointment and I think, I forgot to ask about that. I forgot to ask about that. And so, yes, if you're a listener, take notes. If you have a phone to do it on, if you have a piece of paper to do on, take it in and ask the questions that need to be asked or take someone with you will help you. Absolutely. Because when you hear the doctor say something, sometimes you go off on this tangent and he's still talking and and you're you're not even listening. Yeah. Well, Kelley, what what were the next steps for you um after hearing, okay, this is what's going to have to happen. Um for you personally, what were the next steps that that came after that? It was it was pretty rapid. This was at the end of December and um I changed hospitals and went to the James and uh specifically the Stephanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center and uh met with one of my three oncologists and um developed a plan for treatment and um in that same week um somebody had had let the folks at John Hancock know that um this test that they provided for me had uh found this and um so we had a phone conversation and they said, "Would you come up and talk to a couple of us about your experience?" And I said, "Sure." And so I I flew up to Boston and I thought I was going to talk to two or three people in their marketing department. I walk in a room and they they clipped a mic on me and put me in front of a couple hundred people for a half hour. Wow. Um but that's led to some u some [clears throat] opportunities to share the story. Yeah. um with some other groups and um I think you'll probably mention a video that was yes that was out. So, but the the the steps were get a treatment plan and um started 18 weeks of chemotherapy at the um end of January and then um a month off and then surgery. Wow. They were going to do a complete mastctomy. They didn't. They they ended up taking 20 lymph nodes and they found cancer in one of them. Wow. And then 25 rounds of radiation after that. Wow. Wow. So, a lot of trips to Columbus. Well, just to like I'm sure for a lot of listeners hearing you say I was diagnosed with breast cancer is shocking. Like I I know before I heard your story, Kelley, I didn't know that it was even possible for a man to get breast cancer. Less than 1% of breast cancer is Yeah. is men. It's amazing. So, but still, but it's still, you know, 2500, 3,000 men a year. Wow. But 300,000 women. That's amazing. Yeah, it's amazing. And just just a good reminder of checkups and, you know, and you could speak to that, Madison, but just the importance of making sure we're making efforts to to look at the the wellness of ourselves and and be proactive in that. And this test, well, I I believe it, you know, it could really change the change the world, but it is um FDA approved, um it is not a replacement for your other tests. You know, you should still do your other screenings and everything else. So, yeah, that's a good reminder. Yeah. Wow. Uh well, Kelley's story is is actually just getting started. Um Kelley, Madison, thank you both uh for being here. I'm actually so glad that we're talking about this. Um, for those who are listening, just to be able to hear and be encouraged to take the steps that are needed for wellness. Um, the next time we we we uh have this discussion, we're going to be speaking more directly to the why behind this whole story, uh, which I'm excited for you to hear, as well as some practical ways that you can take charge of your own health as you move into or are living out, uh, the years of retirement. But until then, thanks so much for listening. Uh, if you want to see the video that that um, Kelley mentioned, uh, that was put out on him there, there are two videos, I believe. Is that right? Well, there there's a there's a couple there's two versions of the one video that we're talking about. It's about a 4-minute video kind of just the testimonial. Awesome. Awesome. We're going to have those in the um description for today's podcast. So, uh if you go to um the uh YouTube page, it will be uh there and as well as wherever you're listening. Uh also be sure to subscribe. Uh, if you're enjoying the podcast, make sure to to follow and subscribe so that you are reminded whenever it comes up. And then follow us on our Facebook page. Um, I just want to say personally, thank you so much for listening. It really does, um, mean the world to us that you're listening. And I say that because, um, we really do want to hear from you. And so follow us on Facebook. Um, if you have questions or comments, you can um, put them there and and uh, and we will get to those as as quickly as we can. Um, that's at the retirement life on Facebook and um, you can find out what's happening as well as leave those comments. But thank you so much for listening and we look forward to uh, having you guys with us the next time. This podcast is intended for general information, [music] educational, entertainment purposes, and is not intended to provide financial, legal, medical, health, or lifestyle advice. Individuals should seek their own advice from a qualified professional. 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