Cancer Support

[Genuine GA Peach]

I am so sorry that you and your family are dealing with this.

I hate cancer!

My very good friend lost her DH of 40 years to esophageal cancer. I also have a friend with 2 daughters; both have cancer

ex-stepmom - breast cancer (she's still a chain smoker and drinks a CASE of diet coke per day)

client - stage 4 melanoma

client - final stages of kidney cancer (they've been interviewing hospice folks for her)

mom's DH - melanoma & prostate cancer

me - melanoma (caught very early, nothing in the lymph nodes )

several friends and relatives lost to cancer over the years

[Genuine GA Peach]

www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/oliviaandelenatate/2011curekids

these are my friend's daughters. They are an amazing family.

BTW - this is NOT a solicitation for a contribution. Just a great picture of the girls and a summation of what their family has gone thru.

[Deleted]

Witchy, my goes out towards your husband and his dad.. This will be a difficult time for your family.. Everyone helping support the other will make help make your husband, and especially your dad feel extra special..

Cancer is an epidemic and has been for such a long time, claiming more victims right to life.. This is breast awareness season which makes us aware of cancers of every kind.. I would love to see the Nobel Peace prize awarded one of these years to "The Person Who Cured Cancer"..

May God allow that person to come to the platform, center stage.

Cancer has touched my family and many friends also..

[kent]

Oct 2, 2011 21:19:06 GMT -5 @insurancegal said:

Just learned my father in law has 1-3 months to live due to lung cancer. Thought this would be an important, helpful thread to start for others who have gone, or are still going through, this pain.

Iggy, I'm sorry to hear about your FIL. That said, try to remember doctors are "practicing" medicine. Mrs. Kent's sister was diagnosed with lung cancer over a year ago and she's still with us. She's not totally out of the woods just yet but she is doing much better - there's always hope.

You might want to check out the American Cancer Society Cancer Survivor Network at csn.cancer.org/

Lots of support there (and here).

[moxie]

So sorry, Iggy. I lost my f-i-l to pancreatic cancer. He lived four years from initial diagnosis and surgery (at age 57) which is almost unheard of. It came back with a vengeance though...he worked up until the day he went into the hospital, slipped into a coma and died within a couple days (he was told he had two weeks to a month to live)....age 61...6 months before retiring.

[moxie]

"me - melanoma (caught very early, nothing in the lymph nodes"


Please tell us your story, Peach. We get "full body checks" yearly...just had mine done last month. What did you notice? And how soon did you see a Dr.? Early detection is SO important...so curable...melanoma, that is. What treatments, if any, did you have to undergo? Thanks.

[weezybear]

Grandmother-cancer of the kidney
uncle- bone cancer
aunt lung cancer
another uncle lung cancer
another uncle lung cancer another uncle kidney cancer
Myclef Thyroid cancer 3 times

[moxie]

Iggy...sorry for the mix-up...that was Peach's melanoma quote that I copied...she had it...

[Genuine GA Peach]

Oct 3, 2011 17:56:26 GMT -5 @moxie said:

"me - melanoma (caught very early, nothing in the lymph nodes"


Please tell us your story, Peach. We get "full body checks" yearly...just had mine done last month. What did you notice? And how soon did you see a Dr.? Early detection is SO important...so curable...melanoma, that is. What treatments, if any, did you have to undergo? Thanks.

I had been to the dermatologist about some spots that were nothing, but he removed them for me so I wouldn't worry about them any more.

I had a flat mole on my shin that just started to look "different". I was thinking that I needed to have it checked, but waiting for the timing to be right at work (very stupid of me). There is a PA from another dermatologist's office in my spin class. The first time I wore shorts to class, she walked over and pointed at the spot and said, "you need to have that checked." I made the call for an appt the next day.

the PA at my dr's office removed the spot and I waited for the results. The PA called me back (which made me nervous...usually it's one of the techs in the office that call). She said it was melanoma. Man...I was a mess.

I was at work. Fortunately I have a great boss. I sent him an IM on the computer and told him the results and that I couldn't talk about it, but I'd be fine. He was very understanding and waited until I could talk without getting upset.

I don't usually take a lunch break, but that day I called a co-worker who is like a sis to me and asked if she could go to lunch. She's one of those people who just makes me feel that everything is going to be OK.

The original plan was to have the spot removed at the derm's office. Then they called back to refer me to a general surgeon and have the procedure done in her office. When the general surgeon called she said 'day surgery' and mentioned lymph nodes (gulp). I was really getting nervous. I asked DH to go to the consult with me because I have a tendency to tune out when I hit info overload.

we went to the desk after the consult to schedule the day surgery. The girl at the desk said they had open appts that week or the following week. I hesitated for half a second, and DH said, "THIS week!" (I think he was possibly more scared than I was. He has a good friend who fought melanoma for several years before he finally got an all clear.)

I scheduled the surgery for Friday Apr 1 (how great is that???)

The day started in nuclear medicine. They injected a radioactive substance in 4 sights around the area to track the circulation and figure out which lymph nodes to check. That was P A I N F U L. The stuff they inject kind of burns, but that wasn't the problem. On the shin area, there isn't much 'give' so it felt like my skin was being pulled off. The nuclear med tech was great (and he was HOT! Had an LL Cool J look goin' ) and told me in advance that it would hurt. He said to let him know when I needed a break. I made it thru the first 3 before I had to take a breather. Then it was just a matter of waiting for the stuff to be tracked as it went thru my veins. I was in nuclear med for probably just over an hour.

The next stop was pre-op for anesthesia, then I woke up in the recovery area. The surgeon took margins and had them tested until she had an all clear. I had a huge water-proof bandage that had to stay on for 72 hours. There was also a small incision on my groin where they took the lymph nodes.

When the bandage came off, I had a nicely stitched and stapled incision. I pretty much had to wear dresses because my pant leg hitting the stitches hurt. The staples were removed about a week before the stitches. Once the staples were out, the stitches started pulling. It was a long week waiting for the stitches to be removed.

I've been to the derm for follow-up checks every 3 months. Every time they've removed more spots. The first 2 places I had to go back for a skin punch. The next 2 didn't require anything further. My next appt is this month. I'm hoping I leave the office unscathed

[Genuine GA Peach]

mine was VERY minor, but I was still so scared. My heart goes out to all those folks and their families who have dealt with a cancer diagnosis

[Artemis Windsong]

I lost a Gramma, Mom and Dad to cancer. The middle brother is now finished with treatment and going in for a PET scan every month. He is on oxygen. I don't know how someone can go through as much as he has.

[kimber45]

Iggy, I am sorry you and your family has to go through this,

prayers and hugs from Kimber

[weezybear]

All the ones that I listed have died of their cancers

I almost died when they told me that I had cancer. I had visions of my aunt (whom I sat with in the late stages) floating in my head right away.
it wasn,t until after surgr=ery that I found out it was non evasive cancer, I had it twice aferwards again in my neck and underarm .
have been clear for some time

[dancinmama]

Iggy: My heartfelt prayers go out to you and your family.

I lost my dad three years ago (the anniversary of his death was Tuesday) to pancreatic cancer. He got his diagnosis a little over a year before he actually died. That year was extremely precious to me as I used it to spend A LOT of time with him. He died from an infection from treatment rather than having gone through the end stages of the disease. I guess I am grateful for that.

to you during this very difficult time.

[busymom]

DH just lost another relative to cancer this week. This makes it 2 relatives, and 1 dear friend to cancer just in 2011. Hugs & prayers to all of you that are currently battling this dread disease, or have someone close to you who is dealing with this.

[weezybear]

Hugs and prayers to the ones that have lost someone to cancer

[kent]

Update to post#6. I talked with Mrs' Kent's sister yesterday. She had just returned from seeing her oncologist who advised her she's not in remission just yet but well on her way. So, there's always hope.

[Deleted]

Hugs to all..

GG .. Thanks for allowing us to take a peek into your experience with your melanoma and its removal.. I felt like I was walking it out with you as I read your post.. Happy to know all is well with you..

[kent]

Oct 6, 2011 13:20:06 GMT -5 @insurancegal said:

kent

Thank you for being here, Busy, Dancin', Weezy, Kent, everyone.... I don't have any close friends here in town, so your presence means a lot to me.

Iggy You may not have any close friends in town per se but you've got us. You can read what we say and if you need to talk off line, you can always PM any one of us.

[Jake 48]

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Oct 3, 2011 17:36:10 GMT -5 @insurancegal said:

Thank you, Heart2 and Kent. I have heard of lung cancer reversing. I just wish DH's dad would quit smoking....

I lost my grandfather to lung cancer when I was a little kid. It was caught early enough that it could have been removed, but the other lung was too shot with emphysema for that option. He smoked right up to the end.
My father had prostate cancer about 10 years ago, caught early. He just recently had a spot of squamous cell carcinoma on his arm removed, also caught early.
I myself had surgery for skin cancers three times before I was 10 years old. The doctor told me to stay out of the sun, and I have.

[Genuine GA Peach]

wow, MDW...3 surgeries at such a young age! DH's great-nephew was having some spots removed the same time I was dealing with mine. He's around 13 or so and a fair-skinned redhead.

I haven't laid in the sun in well over 25 years. I did some pretty stupid things and had sunburns when I was a teen. I've NEVER used a tanning bed. I actually stopped laying in the sun because I noticed how it ages people's skin.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Wow Iggy! It may be that the chemo is upsetting his GI tract to the point where it can't even handle water. Hopefully an IV drip will clear it up.

[saveinla]

Oct 11, 2011 10:26:29 GMT -5 @insurancegal said:

Received one of "those calls" at 7AM today. DH's dad still isn't eating or drinking. He just wants to go home and have a beer and a cigarette. Family close by thinks he has given up. We all think he has a broken heart, for reasons I won't go into here. DH is going to go see his dad one last time.

Several weeks ago a group of individuals started giving me a hard time. I admitted I screwed up and subsequently apologized, but one in particular is getting a payoff for being "the victim". These women are sad examples of human behavior. DH's dad's demise puts things into perspective. Life is too short to worry about petty shit.

Witchy,

It's really hard to eat or keep anything down during chemo. My sister used to take sips of Ensure or Boost, since it was easy going down. I also used to feed her baby food and pudding cups to vary the taste. Maybe something like that if he cannot or does not want to eat anything else.

My sister passed away from lung cancer at the age of 37, 6 years ago and I still cannot talk about it.
She was not a smoker, so it was hard to diagnose and they did not find out until the very end.

[saveinla]

Thank you. Please give her an extra hug from me too.

[Genuine GA Peach]

we have a client in the final stages of kidney cancer. Her DH called today. She's not expected to make it thru the week. He's planned her funeral for Tuesday She just turned 60

[chiver78]

[kimber45]

Our wish is we don't want it to be anyone.


(((((hugs))))))

[weezybear]

Been through too many canceer deaths in the family
your righ that it shouldn' be anybody

[Deleted]

I pray there's a turnaround in every cancer case.. With God all things are possible..