Meet Paul Hall: The ‘Unicorn’ Managing Stage IV Lung Cancer

Watch Paul share his story

When Paul Hall, a bowling coach at Seven Hills High School, came down with a cough, he thought it was nothing but a summer cold.

“I’ve had those before,” Paul said. “This wasn’t dissipating.”

Once he began losing weight as well, Paul knew it was time to get checked out.

“They sent me for a chest x-ray,” he remembered. “The same day they called me back and said I needed to see the pulmonologist.”

It was at this point that Paul found out that his left lung had filled with fluid and collapsed – although it wasn’t until he spoke to his wife that he grasped the severity of his situation.

“She came over to me and said it’s not good,” Paul said. “She said ‘it’s stage 4, there’s no recovery from that.’”

Despite the bad news, Paul was undeterred.

“Okay well we’ll fight through this then,” he told her. “Because I’m not quitting”

Paul’s strain of lung cancer is extremely rare, with only one other case in the country at the time being similarly treated. That’s when he met his new doctor – and friend, Dr. Andrew Parchman.

“I call him my superstar,” Paul said of Dr. Parchman with a big smile.

The two of them went on to begin Paul’s treatment, beginning with chemotherapy. After a positive response, they switched him to a medication-based treatment.

The collaboration with Dr. Parchman was able to keep Paul calm about his treatment, despite the discouraging initial diagnosis.

“I believe the whole situation was harder on my wife and child,” Paul even went on to say. “Knowing they’re seeing someone they love deteriorating… I was living it so I wasn’t really noticing it.”

Paul was quick to embrace the new hand that life had dealt him, leaning into the rarity of his condition and ultimately earning a new nickname amongst his players and around the local bowling community. Today, Paul is affectionately known as ‘The Unicorn.’

“You would not believe how many jerseys I sold that there are out there,” Paul beamed. “And now it’s gone from Team Unicorn to Unicorn Nation!”

Paul has taken the energy that others have poured back into his recovery and has truly done his best to pay it forward. In April 2024, he hosted his third Unicorn Bowling Tournament to raise money for the Good Samaritan Foundation Cancer Patient Fund.

Paul said this about organizing the tournaments: “I’ve been treated so well at TriHealth, that I just wanted to give something back.”

The third installment of the tournament was a success, with Dr. Parchman in attendance and even throwing a few strikes himself!

So how is Paul doing with his condition? Hear it from him!

“It’s not in remission, it’s in a manageable state,” he said. “But everything’s pretty much back to normal and I feel great.”