With our fingers crossed, Vince started his sophomore year at the end of August. He was happy to return to his fraternity brothers at Phi Mu Delta. However, the doctors still could not come up with a diagnosis to encompass his symptoms. He seemed to be doing OK during the first two weeks back. However, one night he called me and told me his fraternity brothers and other friends were asking him why he did not smile anymore, why he did not sleep much, why he liked to talk so much. I could tell he was worried and upset about how his friends were reacting to him. Some people would say, "What's wrong with you? Can't you snap out of it?" Vince was feeling upset that others couldn't understand the emotional pain he was in. Of course, he didn't know what was happening to him either. He confided in me later he thought he had a brain tumor.

Vince also told me he felt periods of disorientation and confusion .For example, he said he studied all night for a test. The following day his mind went blank taking the test; he got a zero. Definitely out of character. There were other examples and his friends were asking him to explain his confusion. I could just hear his friends saying "Vince, get with it!". I could tell these events were scaring Vince - but he downplayed them

It was mid September when Vince's blood tests continued to show low potassium levels. After a visit to the University Health Center after a rugby game, Vince was sent to the local hospital emergency room because his ankles were swollen like "tree trunks" and his blood potassium was very low. The swelling was diagnosed as edema. We brought him home to get to the bottom of all of this. I noticed his face had become puffy. A visit to a nephrologist indicated Vince probably had Cushing's Syndrome; this syndrome results from a benign growth on the adrenal glands. This syndrome is rare affecting one in 1000,000 people.

The adrenal glands produce over 50 hormones including adrenalin, cortisol, and aldosterone. Many of these hormones control our behavior and emotional state of mind. Vince's emotional and physical symptoms were all consistent with the effects of unbalanced production of the adrenal hormones. The over production of cortisol also converts muscle into fat; this was cruelly ironic for Vince since his physical conditioning regimen strived to build muscle and reduce fat. But finally we had the answer- Cushing's Syndrome! A CAT scan would be taken to confirm this diagnosis.

Vince was in for a shock. We were all in for a shock. We were called into our doctor's office to find Vince had Cushing's Syndrome, yes, ---but also cancer. We were not prepared . We were devastated at this news- this mind-numbing, unexpected news. Vince looked up at the doctor and said " Well, what do we need to do to kill it!" The doctor explained that the tumor was larger than a grapefruit on top of his right adrenal gland. It also appeared to have spread to his liver from the scan. They didn't know what kind of cancer it was yet; some cancers are much more treatable than others are.

The next steps were a liver biopsy and consultation with an oncology surgeon. The liver biopsy revealed the nature of the beast-adrenal carcinoma . This was bad news because it was explained that this cancer is very rare and not very treatable. The visit to the surgeon revealed more bad news- the massive primary adrenal tumor had collapsed Vince's vena cave, a very large vein which returns blood from both legs to the heart-this was a cause of the edema in his legs! The surgeon recommended immediate surgery. My wife, Debbie, and I were scared out of our minds for him, but we put on a brave face. Vince's reaction was, "Isn't this great, they can operate. Let's get to it!"