#StroudStrong: WAFF 48 news reporter from Madison in the fight of his life
Editor’s note: This is part one of a two-part series about Allen Stroud’s determined fight against lung cancer.
MADISON – Allen Stroud will celebrate his 31st birthday on May 27. It’s a day he plans to look back on several years from now and remember the triumph he will hopefully soon experience. But, for now, the Madison native is in the fight of his life. Diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in March, he is doing everything he can to beat the odds and give others the inspiration through his personal story to fight their battles too.
Overall, life had been good for Allen. He has a loving family, a network of close friends, and he has been able to work his way into his dream job as a WAFF news reporter — everything seemed to be moving up. There were no real bumps in the road. Then, unexpectedly, a major bump would change his life forever.
“Who would believe that a 30-year-old would be diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer? Certainly not me,” Allen told the WAFF audience on March 28, when he announced his diagnoses. “Rest assured, I’m very encouraged and prepared for this fight. I plan to beat this and continue to live my life.”
Allen, who covers the Sand Mountain beat for WAFF Channel 48 News, began treatment for what he thought was pneumonia earlier this year. “It all started in December when I thought I just had a bad cold, something doctors later thought had developed into pneumonia,” Allen said. “I was on the air at the time and you couldn’t really tell anything was wrong with me, but things started to get worse.”
After going through a few doctors and undergoing various treatments and rounds of antibiotics, Allen finally had enough. Nothing was working and he had yet to get any clear answers to why he was not getting better. On March 13, he went to the ER at Huntsville Hospital Main. Within two hours after being admitted they had run a fully battery of tests, and Allen had his answer — or at least one of them.
Through a CT scan, doctors determined Allen had multiple blood clots in both of his lungs. They immediately started him on blood thinners and began further testing.
“I feel like they saved my life because of the quick response,” Allen said. “I was later told the blood clots had likely been there for several months. I had been walking around with blood clots and it would have been so easy for one of them to move and I would have been gone. That freaked me out more than anything.”
In a way, the initial scare of the clots and surviving that set Allen up to handle the next news he would receive a week later.
Allen then went through another round of tests, including a biopsy, MRI and ultrasound. “The doctors came back and said they found something in the brain, and that it could be cancer,” Allen said. “So, I had a warning. I had a heads up.”
Surrounded by his family at the hospital, the doctors told Allen he had stage 4 lung cancer and it had metastasized to the brain. He has one large tumor and seven smaller ones.
“My initial reaction was not fear or being scared, it was a quick reaction of ‘what do we do?” Allen said. “I prayed about it, obviously, but beyond that I was asking, ‘what are we going to do to beat this now?”
The doctors at Huntsville Hospital started Allen on radiation treatment to work on the tumors, and sent him to Vanderbilt to get a second opinion. There, he has been under the care of oncologist Dr. Leora Horn. “She is an excellent oncologist who has been dealing with this type of cancer for many years,” Allen said. “This is her specialty.”
At Vandy, they conducted a PET scan, where they learned more specifics on the type of cancer Allen has.
Allen learned the cancer has been developing for about a year or more. “That was shocking to me,” he said.
The type of cancer Allen has is a non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer. His developed from a specific mutation in the DNA Kras gene.
“I have been told that 5 to 10 years ago, this type of cancer was a death sentence,” Allen said. “But, they have done so many advancements with treatments that we could be looking at a lifespan of decades, and possibly remission. We should know more after all treatment is done.”
Allen started his chemotherapy on April 15th, and while there are good and bad days through it all, he is positive about his chances of beating it and becoming another “success” story. He completed his second round of chemotherapy on Monday. “Through Huntsville Hospital working with Vandy, I am very confident in what they are doing,” he said.
Since his diagnoses, Allen has received a tremendous amount of support. “I have always known that North Alabama is a very special place, but the kindness I have been shown is overwhelming,” He said. “The thousands of messages that have poured in online, letters to the station, cards, and personal stories of people who have had cancer, from those who are survivors sharing their stories — all of the churches who have made things and sent things. It has been overwhelming and very humbling. It takes my breath away every time. This is the most special place in the entire state. It’s been unbelievable.”
Allen is drawing strength from his family, church, friends and co-workers, who constantly cheer him up and encourage him in his fight against cancer. The hash tag #stroudstrong has now become a regular fixture on many social media posts wishing Allen the best and letting him know people across the state, and even the nation, are praying for him. “I have received support from as far away as Hawaii,” Allen said.
Closer to home, Allen takes special encouragement from lives he has watched his entire life — his grandparents, Wesley and Melba Stroud. They are cancer survivors. “I am thinking about them a lot right now, the fight they had. They are a great source of inspiration. They are still around and very encouraging,” he said.
“I am also looking above and remembering my other two grandparents in heaven, my guardian angels, Kelley “PaPa” and “Grandmommy” Atha Kirby,” Allen said. “I lost my grandfather in 2015 to a heart attack. I lost Grandmommy in 2008 to colon cancer. Losing her to cancer was especially difficult on me, but I feel her presence all around me through this fight.”
And, of course, Allen’s co-workers at WAFF have been a huge source of strength for Allen as he progresses down his personal journey to beat cancer. “Liz Hurley’s fight against breast cancer 20 years ago is a huge inspiration for me,” he said. “She has been so encouraging to me and cheering me on along the way.”
There are four people Allen is dedicating his cancer battle to: “My grandmother, Atha Kirby; former WAFF 48 News reporter, Susie Edwards, who died of liver cancer in 2010; former WAFF senior director Jon McAnally, who died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in August 2011. And most recently, a dear sorority sister of my mom, Jean Lowe, who lost her brave battle with breast cancer in October 2018. My ongoing battle is dedicated to each of them,” Allen said.
One thing is for certain as Allen continues to journey down his personal fight for his life – he intends to win. Secondly, he intends for his story to help others battling similar circumstances and encourage them to never give up hope. We will look more into that in part two of #StroudStrong in next week’s issue of The Madison Record.
There are four people Allen is dedicating his cancer battle to: his grandmother, Atha Kirby (above); former WAFF 48 News reporter, Susie Edwards; former WAFF senior director Jon McAnally; and his mother’s sorority sister, Jean Lowe. They all have lost their battles to cancer. CONTRIBUTED
Jean Lowe (center).
Jon McAnally
Susie Edwards
