I was first diagnosed in September 2005, and underwent chemo-therapy for 4 months, 6 sessions every 3 weeks. This reduced the lymphoma to baseline levels and I was declared in remission.
The correspondence on that thread have been very therapeutic for me, and I would like to thank again all those that have posted there.
There are a couple of things I would like to correct\update there:
I am now 65, and I am not really a survivor ... yet.
I'm back in treatment once again, and it is a rather intense\invasive\whelming, with one week in hospital, one week of continued effects of the chemo and one week to recover strength and blood counts etc before starting again. This is now the 3rd of 6 rounds of treatment, and it won't really cure me, just knock it back into relative remission for an indeterminate amount of time.
My form of cancer is incurable at this stage of medical knowledge, so in reality I am living with cancer as part of my life. This has been going on for 7 years now, and with treatment can go on for many more years. Hopefully a cure can be found before too long, or I die of natural causes due to other body function loss, many years down the road (dad lived to 91, gramp to 96, it's potentially in the genes ... ).
But there are also other people that are living with cancer, not just those of us (especially those that have posted on the other thread about their cancer) currently undergoing treatment, but caregivers, family and friends that live with the effects of cancer on their lives and demands on their time.
So I've expanded the coverage to include all these people.
Message 271 previous thread: Can I join your cancer survivor's club? I don't have the time/experience you have but I do plan on gaining it.
I was just (two weeks ago) diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. I've had a colon resection, spent a week in hospital and just today got my Power Port installed. I start chemo next week.
Today was start of my second treatment. My WBC and RBC were low so they reduced my oxaliplatin dose and got permission to get me a shot of Neulasta after my treatment is done. This will help my bone marrow to work a bit harder. Hope I don't get the bone aches they say can come with this shot.
I've had a few small side effects with this treatment. First bite syndrome and some cold sensitivity. All of my issues are due to the oxaliplatin so I'm not unhappy they reduced the dose. I also still off the Avastin as my incision is still not fully closed up on the surface.. Asgara "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now"
Curiously I've been humming that tune for a week now, and couldn't figure out why ...
Well I just had an interesting time ... my port started leaking blood all down my right side, and a small panic with the nurses and interns over the cause. Seems they were a little over concerned about blood clots and had thinned my blood too much - I was also bleeding back out of a needle location. That is all cleared up now, and I am back on schedule to get out of hospital on Thursday, starting the recovery process at home.
Overall I am in better shape than the last round, having learned how to control some of the side effects to minimize them, and I look forward to seeing how this affects next week as well.
This is the third round of six, and it looks like my biggest concern at this point is not having the last round interfere with voting in November.
I am doing good. I had my third of 12 treatments last week and side effects are manageable. Some first bite pain cold sensitivity while actively on chemo and for a few days afterwards. Worst effect is the fatigue. I spend my unplug day and the day after (every other Fri and Sat) dozing on the couch9.
Best news is I'm back to work. I came back this past Monday and have had no problems putting in 9 hour days. I am totally ready for jammies and couch by the time I get home
The only reason I'm putting in longer days this week is to help cover some hours next week when I won't be able to work the whole week.
I'm still in the midst of some fear for the future and for my kids but it gets better every day. I believe the doc is going to check my CEA marker again next week, hoping it continues to go down.
LOL, can I blame chemo brain for not noticing it was still in PNT? That does explain why I couldn't initially set it to being written in non-admin mode.
/sigh
Asgara "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now"
Holy shit! I just saw this. I was misunderstood in my post and from that RAZD you've concluded I too have cancer. I'm sincerely sorry for the confusion, let me explain.
I meant that I was, at that moment, smoking pot. Since you made the joke that I was always "inoculating" myself with THC, I found it funny that at the moment I was doing just that. And since THC fights cancer, I made the further joke that I was fighting it since we all carry it in our genetics.
I'd like to sincerely apologize to anyone who may have misunderstood, and to RAZD who so kindly pomoted a thread to lift my spirits had I needed it.
I hope I have not in anyway cause any offense to anyone who is battling cancer. I have lost a great friend to it and both grandfather and grandmother on my mom's side had it, and died from it. My grandfather died at a very young age from it. My mom, to this day, luckily, has not had any signs of it. She is 70 years old.
I'm sure anyone of us has a cancer story they can tell of a loved one who suffered, so I hope the thread continues forward.
Sorry again for the confusion. And to RAZD and the others in the fight, good luck to you.
I know it's hardly a serious cancer of the type RAZD has, but I am 99% certain I have skin cancer, but I can't afford to find out for sure, what with not being able to afford insurance and all. I have always had lots of moles and my birth mark on my back is just a giant mole. Well, late last year, I noticed what I think is a new one on my lower back and it had begun to itch. I finally had it looked at by my PCP and he felt the need to freeze it like you would a wart. He told me I need to see a dermatologist, but in the mean time, he said "if it just turns into a reddish/pink spot, it's fine, but if it comes back it's most likely cancerous.". Well, it came back.
"Science is interesting, and if you don't agree you can fuck off." -Dawkins
I am 99% certain I have skin cancer, but I can't afford to find out for sure
Man, you need to figure a way to scrape the money up and see a dermatologist now. Melanoma is nothing to wait on. Once it metastasizes it is hard to stop, but if you catch it early it is much simpler and cheaper.
Talk to the Dermatologist and work out a payment plan....you cannot afford to wait!!!!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy
Easier to suggest than to put into action. So far, all the dermatologists I've spoken with want a hefty payment up front. Food, electricity and rent kinda come first. I can't afford to wait, but I can't afford to go either. I just had surgery for something HPV related and very close to turning cancerous, but I had to tell the doc that if I had to pay up front, I couldn't do it, no matter how imperative it was to get it removed. The difference here is that it made my day to day life miserable had I not gotten it done. My potential skin cancer is unnoticeable so far, save for some moles, but they don't bother me. My credit is fucked and I am at the point where it doesn't matter to me how many more medical bills that I have because the ONLY way I'll ever be able to pay them is if I win the lottery.
Judge me if you wish, call me a scumbag for getting a procedure even though I knew I couldn't afford it. It's cognitive dissonance that I can deal with. Do I deserve to get it treated if I can't afford it? Who can say. It's something I wrestle with daily. I can't decide if I feel like people have a given right to be healthy if it comes at the (financial) expense of others. Does the doctor get paid anyways? Like I said, I wrestle with this internally every time I feel like I need/should go see a doctor. For example: I fucked my hand up one time last year and only went to the doctor after it continued to hurt for like 3 months. Turns out I broke the bone between my wrist and pinky finger. I didn't feel like I deserved to be treated since I couldn't afford it.
"Science is interesting, and if you don't agree you can fuck off." -Dawkins
I'm really sorry for your situation. You do deserve to be treated as every single citizen in this country deserves health care. It is such an obvious and important right, easily as important as national defense.
The scumbags are the polititions who claim to be compassionate but refuse to provide health care for everyone. They don't deserve to be Americans!
What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy
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