Chaplain has hookup: 'Cable guy' fights cancer before joining Guard at Moffett Published July 18, 2014 By Airman 1st Class Amber Carter 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In 2005, a bout with acid reflux led David Schenone, consultant at a local cable company that serves Travis Air Force Base, to do something profound: Call his mom. Based on past family history, his mom recommended he see a doctor. My mom thought I should have a chest X-ray, Schenone said. "The doctor kind of laughed and shrugged his shoulders but decided to do the x-ray." The chest X-ray showed a spot on Schenone's right lung. He was told there was a 99-percent chance he had lung cancer and was referred to the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast and prostate cancers combined according to a statistic published by the American Cancer Society. While in the waiting room, I would see people who came in who had cancer, Schenone said. "Their skin was ashen, their hair was gone, their bodies were wasting away and many of them were on respirators. You really look death right in the face in those moments." The meeting with the doctor at UCSF revealed that if the cancer was in the lymph nodes, Schenone would only have about 18 months to live. The only way to for Schenone to know for sure was through surgery. An operation was scheduled two weeks later. "The surgery removed two lobes from my right lung and about nine lymph nodes," Schenone said. "After examining my lymph nodes, they verified they did not find any cancer there." The recovery process began and learning to function with two-thirds of his right lung was a challenge. "It was a very difficult time in my life and it took about a year," he said. "I needed to get better emotionally, physically, and exercise as much as I could. I started with just getting up, standing and walking across the room until I could take longer walks. It took about four or five months before I could move my body the way I wanted to." Schenone, being prior service Army and Air Force, decided that getting back into the service as a chaplain was on his bucket list and believed that was his purpose. "In order to become resilient and really get through tough times, you have to know your purpose," Schenone said. "You don't have to understand the whole purpose or the whole plan but you do have to understand that your life is valued for something. You have to believe inside of you that you are here for a reason and a purpose." He contacted a recruiter in the Air National Guard who told him that if he could get the waivers needed to commission he could go to the military entrance processing station. After waiting approximately 14 hours at MEPS, and not accepting 'no' for an answer, he passed the PT test and medical evaluation. In 2011, Schenone commissioned in to the Air National Guard and was placed with the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield. "Serving in the military, you begin to pour out of yourself something greater than just serving yourself, you're serving others," Schenone said. "Our unit motto is 'so that others may live' and I love it. Serving others is the great secret to life. It's the key to fulfilment in life. You can truly be fulfilled and happy by helping others and putting them above yourself." Schenone also serves the military during his civilian job as a consultant for a cable company that serves Travis Air Force Base and he is known by many Airmen as the 'cable guy.' "I may not be wearing the uniform, but I am able to serve those who I love to be around the most," he said. Capt. David Schenone is a cancer survivor, Air National Guard chaplain, and the cable guy for Travis Air Force Base. He is an example of resiliency and the warrior ethos that exists among Airmen. "Every day is a gift and I'm just living the dream."