Cancer

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Does anyone here have it? or is anyone afriad of getting it? There are many people I know who have it or had it.

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 22:58 (twenty-one years ago)

A predisposition to certain types of cancer runs in my family. Me, I gotta worry about prostate cancer in another fifty years or so. My sister, she's gotta worry about breast cancer.

I am much more worried about my heart being clogged with grease and giving out on me by the time I'm thirty-five.

― Ian John50n (orion), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:07 (twenty-one years ago)

there isn't much to do to prevent cancer, is there?

― A Nairn (moretap), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:09 (twenty-one years ago)

suicide

― JaXoN (JasonD), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:18 (twenty-one years ago)

the women in my family appear to be predisposed to cancer. the men seem to have a slightly better deal of it. i think heart attacks are more our thing.

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:47 (twenty-one years ago)

there isn't much to do to prevent cancer, is there?

no, there's quite a lot to do. beginning with not smoking and diet.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 23:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Cancer Prevention

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 00:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Prevent? Not as such. Lower the probability that you will develop cancer? Quite a bit.

― mouse (mouse), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:13 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, there's quite a lot to do to lower probability, but I always hear of people in excellent health who just happened to get it seemingly out of the blue.

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Right-o. I was just being snarky about the appalling misuse of the word "prevention" on the link gabbneb posted (and on a government website too, fershame).

― mouse (mouse), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:29 (twenty-one years ago)

Hmm, I take that back. Apparently that is an allowable use of "prevention". Back on topic...

― mouse (mouse), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:34 (twenty-one years ago)

There's a family tendency to prostate cancer -- helped kill my grandpa, almost killed my uncle, my dad was diagnosed last year but all seems well post-operation and treatment. I expect to eventually be diagnosed with it but the exponential growth in terms of detection and treatment ability means I'm nowhere near as worried as I would have been, say, even two decades ago.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:36 (twenty-one years ago)

at my last checkup, my GP told me i was just under the age threshold for a prostate exam.. i was like "yes!!" i wonder if she would have been the one to give it to me. she told me about checking for testicular cancer (apparently it's more common for young men than older men (viz lance armstrong), and about as common as breast cancer); i'm supposed to see if there's a hard pea-sized lump.. later on, after she made sure my legs were working and that my heart wasn't stopped, she was like "so are you sure that you know how to check your testes? do you want me to show you?" gulp "yeah i think i got it"

she was oldish and not my style but i'm sorry the whole setup i found intensely whoa.

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:52 (twenty-one years ago)

I had my scrotum ultrasound performed by an amazingly sexy woman in a white lab coat.

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:05 (twenty-one years ago)

my friend axi was diagnosed with lymphoma about 9 months ago. she underwent two chemo treatments when her docs discovered that her body wasnt responding to them. she just had one more final, incredibly radical treatment and im praying her body takes to it. if not, she onyl has a month or so to live.

its been really hard to deal with it -- especially with someone like axi, who was totally energetic and so young [she's only 24].

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)

:-( Jeepers. I hope all's well for her with that -- I can only offer my best wishes. :-(

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I always hear of people in excellent health who just happened to get it seemingly out of the blue

environmental causes, perhaps?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:05 (twenty-one years ago)

environmental causes, perhaps?

That doesn't really mean anything, considering any outside stimulus counts as 'environmental causes'.

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:11 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, it was really hard hearing the news about her body not responding to the treatments, especially since i saw her 2 weeks beforehand and she looked really great.

even harder is helping her figure out what to do beyond her life -- a few of us have talked with her about starting up a non-profit thats specific to the kinds of causes she supports.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:17 (twenty-one years ago)

That doesn't really mean anything, considering any outside stimulus counts as 'environmental causes'.

right, I was referring to 'any outside stimulus' as opposed to something you consciously ingest or inhale

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I think you'll find the answer as it happens, Maria -- that may be cold comfort now, I admit.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:32 (twenty-one years ago)

oh i know, thanks for your support ned!

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

As some here know my girlfriend had ovarian cancer (tumor the size of a volleyball) a few years back. It seems like every year there's a recurrence scare where the doctors say, "hmmm, that doesn't look good," make her wait for a few days to a month for tests, and then it's "oh, just kidding about that, you're fine." Obviously it's great that she's healthy, but that much waiting time before getting tests and results is just inhumane.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 23 December 2004 03:33 (twenty-one years ago)

tumor the size of a volleyball

fucking fuck fuck!!!

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 23 December 2004 04:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm kind of afraid of testicular cancer because I've got three things that increase my probability. I'm white, I'm in my twenties, and I live in Delaware (which has an amazingly high percentage of people that get cancer) I try to check for pea-sized lumps, but I'm not really sure what I'm looking for. I want to get a physical or screening or whatever, but have no health insurance right now.

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, 23 December 2004 05:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Delaware (which has an amazingly high percentage of people that get cancer

i'll bet it has nothing to do with the fact that it's the 2nd smallest, but 5th densest, state in the country, with ready access for much of the population to high quality medical care

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 05:16 (twenty-one years ago)

We're in Delaware. Hi... I'm in... Delaware.

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 23 December 2004 05:20 (twenty-one years ago)

though it probably has more to do with the fact that a large percentage of the state's population lives not far from a heavily-trafficked diesel trucking route

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 05:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Man, I just had to del.icio.us this thread.

― Dante, Der Führer (Sean3), Thursday, 23 December 2004 06:30 (twenty-one years ago)

"amusing and insightful" ?

― Andrew (enneff), Thursday, 23 December 2004 06:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, to me it is. I lish any good thread for future reference. I was also being 50% sarcastic.

― Dante, Der Führer (Sean3), Thursday, 23 December 2004 06:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Nairn, just check yourself. I was told that women get it drummed into their heads constantly to check themselves but men never do. She said it's a bit easier for women to remember - there's the monthly cycle that jogs the brane, which men don't have - so she's like "what's your birthday?" and i'm like "the 7th" so she's like "check yourself on the 7th" (and i'm like "is that a date?")

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Thursday, 23 December 2004 07:32 (twenty-one years ago)

well, i have had cancer twice (lymphoma)

the first time i got radiation and the second time they used this new biotherapy thing that uses mice cells that attach to the cancer cell receptors and kill them.

i have been healthy and active both times i was diagnosed. the best thing is to just remain positive i guess. looking back, i guess i was kind of a hard ass because it sucked and i was relatively calm and regular.

my advice is if you feel lumps, get them checked out.

― todd swiss (eliti), Thursday, 23 December 2004 07:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Fortunately I'd never really had much to do with cancer until recently. My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had minor surgery which seems to have sorted it. She has her last lot of radiation treatment tomorrow. Christmas will be a double celebration for sure.

― PinXorchiXoR (Pinkpanther), Thursday, 23 December 2004 09:21 (twenty-one years ago)

Nairn, just check yourself.

suggests a new ad campaign for the National Cancer Society

http://www.icecube.org/images/21.gif

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 14:12 (twenty-one years ago)

He's showing how to cup one's scrotum for a self-exam.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 23 December 2004 14:36 (twenty-one years ago)

my sister was born with a neuroblastoma on her spine. she's 22 now and fully cured. spent her first 5 years in a hospital. when they took out the tumor they damaged some nerves which in turn caused her to have no feeling in one leg and foot and walk with a limp and she has no feeling in her bladder. she's been caterizeing herself for 15 years. not fun.

― Big Baby Bingo (Chris V), Thursday, 23 December 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

that really sucks.

i have a little lump kinda below my hip, in that crease between your torso and leg. it feels just like the sort of thing that you're supposed to get checked out if you find it on a breast exam. but it's in such an innocuous place, and it's small, and i really really don't want to go to another doctor for reasons altogether unrelated to a silly little lump. i debate about asking my mom about it, because she's a nurse, but she might just tell me to see a doctor.

― JuliaA (j_bdules), Thursday, 23 December 2004 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

why is that an innocuous place? and why would you not ask a doctor or leave the diagnosis to anyone who is not a doctor?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 23 December 2004 15:00 (twenty-one years ago)

just had a colonoscopy. two polyps removed -- benign, thank god. a painless procedure thanx to demerol. have to get another in a year, no problem w/ that. prevention is key. both my parents died of "c" so I'm a bit obsessed. also had scare two years ago on prostate/bladder cancer but it turned out to be something else. bottom line: any suspicious lumps or bleeding, get 'em checked no matter how much you hate going to doctors, or how young you are.

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Thursday, 23 December 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't want to deal with it. but i probably should, i know. it'll probably end up being nothing, but it's best to know that for sure, i suppose.

― JuliaA (j_bdules), Thursday, 23 December 2004 15:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Do you have health insurance, Julia?

― You've Got to Pick Up Every Stitch (tracerhand), Thursday, 23 December 2004 18:42 (twenty-one years ago)

kind of. i've actually made an appointment, after a good bit of prompting from people, so, yeah, it'll get taken care of.

― JuliaA (j_bdules), Thursday, 23 December 2004 18:48 (twenty-one years ago)

juliaA, get it checked out. peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

― todd swiss (eliti), Thursday, 23 December 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Go, go, go to the doctor. My friend S., a healthy 35-year-old, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. Her doctors said "good thing you caught it this early." Post-treatment, her chance of recurrence is something like 2%.

― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 23 December 2004 20:48 (twenty-one years ago)

a friend just got diagnosed with a very very bad form (this is while he was waiting for a transplant, which he's now off the list for). i'm really depressed

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 23 December 2004 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't have insurance! where do I go go go?

― A Nairn (moretap), Friday, 24 December 2004 00:45 (twenty-one years ago)

vote Democratic

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 24 December 2004 00:58 (twenty-one years ago)

shit, sorry to hear that, slutsky. what horrible news.

my mom (nice to have a medical professional in the family in this sort of instance) took a look at my hip lump thing and it's a funky lymph nodey thing that happens sometimes, she was certain. good to know it's nothing.

if you don't have health insurance, and you really need to get something checked out, isn't there something you can do through your state dept. of human services i think? i know of someone who needs an operation who got some sort of medical card from them, i think, so he can get the op even though he's broke and uninsured. or something. i don't know any details about that sort of thing.

― JuliaA (j_bdules), Friday, 24 December 2004 01:56 (twenty-one years ago)

seven months pass...

another friend has a brain tumour, i just found out... argh... fuck you cancer!! FUCK YOU

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 28 July 2005 18:49 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...

I went to see the doctor today, and told him that my breathing, energy and stamina were all miles worse since giving up smoking. His attitude was basically "Well of course, what do you expect?" Apparently asthmatics can expect 5 or 6 months of bad health after giving up. I don't recall this being the case last time, when I gave up in 2001, nor has anyone ever told me this before. He thought he'd check me out with the stethoscope anyway, and after rather more checks than is normal he told me I should go for lung x-rays in the morning, as he was hearing wrong things in unexpected places. He didn't think it was lung cancer, probably, but best to check.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. I know what I am supposed to feel, but terminal illness has crossed my mind so many times since the depression hit me, and always as something desirable, an excuse to stop fighting, a licence to kill myself. I haven't been feeling badly suicidal of late, but there is a Pavlovian conditioning there, and I am still depressed, so that still sounds a reasonable enough way of regarding it. Obviously the likelihood is that there will be no such illness, and the check-up will show me as all clear, but it's a strange thing to think about.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 22 August 2005 19:23 (twenty years ago)

Be strong my man. You will be ok. I had cancer a few years back, it will make you stronger not weaker in the end. Then again you probably dont have it. In the case you do just remind yourself that it will be over soon. Thats what I did and it helped me get through the days.

― jmeister (jmeister), Monday, 22 August 2005 20:20 (twenty years ago)

all the best, martin.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 22 August 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

my kid brother is 26 and battling hodgkins. the new chemo ward he goes to looks down on the smokers section! stay strong, martin.

― kephm (kephm), Monday, 22 August 2005 21:06 (twenty years ago)

I know it's probably lame and contemptible to think this way, but I admit that I had kind of imagined that there were enough people here who I thought of as friends that I might get more than three messages of support/sympathy. I am now facing three days of moping (bank holiday weekend in the UK), so am fishing for more sympathy, I guess, embarrassing as that is.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 27 August 2005 08:51 (twenty years ago)

*hugs* to you Martin, I am sorry I didnt say anything when you mentioned it earlier (work's been insane), I really do hope it all pans out as nothing bad for you! You of all people just dont need this, do you? *hugs again*

― Trayce (trayce), Saturday, 27 August 2005 08:55 (twenty years ago)

FWIW as a story: recently, my dad was admitted to hospital with chest pains, they thought it was a blood clot on his lung. After extensive tests it all came up clear, in fact in the end they thought it mightve been no more than a muscle spasm/tear.

So these things often turn out for the best :)

― Trayce (trayce), Saturday, 27 August 2005 08:57 (twenty years ago)

Martin, I hadn't read this at the time, or I would have said something. How did you get on, did you find anything out, when will you find out?

It's a difficult thing to talk about, I know, perhaps that's why people haven't responded. I'm heading out shortly and will be out most of the day, but you can IM me if I'm on later and you want a chat.

(xpost, Trayce, the exact same thing happened to my boss last month).

― ailsa (ailsa), Saturday, 27 August 2005 09:00 (twenty years ago)

Martin, my best wishes are going out to you. Good luck.

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Saturday, 27 August 2005 09:03 (twenty years ago)

Martin, I know it's lame to say this, but usually it isn't cancer. That's what my doctor once told me after I went for a check-up. I for one sincerely hope it's not. When will you get the final result?

my kid brother is 26 and battling hodgkins.

My mother hand non-Hodgkin's which is probably nothing like Hodgkins. I think it's less aggressive. But I do know how hard it was to fight it (and another form of cancer). At the time I didn't realize the gravity of the situation - she was at one point 36 kilos and just barely holding on - now it makes me feel guilty for not grasping how bad she was. I was 12 at the time.

Cancer scares the shit out of me.

― nathalie's pocket revolution (stevie nixed), Saturday, 27 August 2005 09:19 (twenty years ago)

Pathetic confession time: I live with this daft fear I am beset with some form of cancer I haven't spotted. I smoke, I have a problem with drink and painkillers, I'm really a prime candidate for some form of ick. Every shoulder pain or chest stab or heart flutter, I'm convinced I'm slowly dying. I can't shake the paranoia about it :( At the same time, I think to myself "well, somethin' gotta do me in", with this resigned sigh, which is STUPID.

Does it change how I behave? No. Grr.

― Trayce (trayce), Saturday, 27 August 2005 09:27 (twenty years ago)

I stopped smoking because I was scared. Only smoked for about 6/8 months so not really addicted. It wasn't already a real part of me and my way of living. If I would know it wouldn't kill me, I'd be smoking three packs a day. I just love smoking. Stupid? I guess.

― nathalie's pocket revolution (stevie nixed), Saturday, 27 August 2005 09:34 (twenty years ago)

Yes, as it says, odds are that it won't be cancer, and it might well be nothing. I'm not sure exactly when I'll hear, nor how conclusive the answer will be, but it won't be before late in the coming week, and may be the following week.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Saturday, 27 August 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

yo martin, thoughts and wishes for all the best things going out to you.

― emsk ( emsk), Saturday, 27 August 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

Wishing only good things, Martin.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Saturday, 27 August 2005 11:42 (twenty years ago)

best wishes, martin

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Saturday, 27 August 2005 11:51 (twenty years ago)

Shit, Martin, I can imagine this must be pretty scary. I hope, and am sure it'll be fine.

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Saturday, 27 August 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

xoxoxox

― teeny (teeny), Saturday, 27 August 2005 12:12 (twenty years ago)

Bestest healthiest wishes.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Saturday, 27 August 2005 18:57 (twenty years ago)

Martin, part of my cancer involved a lung shadow, and I'm still here even though the first set of doctors told my mom I wasn't going to make it to my fifth birthday. Please stay cool - and go to a Turkish bath or a sauna if the asthma does not preclude because it will shift the clagg from your recovering lungs.

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 27 August 2005 19:42 (twenty years ago)

FWIW I think you are probably OK and it's just the confluence of the asthma and your clearing lungs going WTF?

― suzy (suzy), Saturday, 27 August 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

Martin, best to be thankful that your doctor is cautious and that the process is now underway to rule out the more worrysome explanations. That's the most likely result.

But to answer the first thread question, yeah, I've recently had something nasty plucked out of my skull. I'll just say I'm not likely to die of old age. :) Interestingly, it doesn't take long to adjust to this realization.

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Saturday, 27 August 2005 23:51 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

I finally got an informal quote of the results today, which is that I do not have lung cancer - I'm seeing my doctor on Tuesday, but I'm told there's nothing in the results to be worrying about. I guess I should be delighted about this, but there is only about 75% of me, tops, that is pleased - this is the depression, where a 'you're going to die' verdict would have had a real silver lining. At least I don't have another weekend of waiting and wondering and putting life on hold.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:07 (twenty years ago)

Phew! Sounds like good news!

― The Brocade Fire (kate), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:09 (twenty years ago)

phew! keep that 75% rockin', martin. and glad to hear it.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

best wishes, martin.

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

thanks for the update, keep on keepin on.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

that is good news, martin.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

oh wow, martin, i'm so glad you're going to be okay

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:56 (twenty years ago)

great news

― kingfish superman ice cream (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 16 September 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

Martin, that is good news. I also wanted to say your website of Japanese art is so beautiful. Thank you for putting it together.

― Jaq (Jaq), Friday, 16 September 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

i don't think we've ever talked on here, martin, but that's absolutely great news!

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Friday, 16 September 2005 15:39 (twenty years ago)

Thanks, everyone. I am trying to feel the good side of it and not make so much of the alleged downside.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Friday, 16 September 2005 22:28 (twenty years ago)

Martin! Fabulous. There is NOTHING worse than taking a battery of medical tests and waiting and waiting and waiting to hear what the outcome is. It is akin to torture of the worst kind. I think that there should be a law that the doc has to give you results w/i 24 hours.
As for your post up thread, this is the 1st I have seen of it or I would have been one of those posting that I am thinking of you. Rest assured that it's clear to me just reading, that You do have many friends here who care about you. As for me, tho we might never have met really, or interacted much, you are fun to debate with here, I enjoy reading your posts and I wish you all the best in the follow up doc visit. Keep us "posted" on your updated health report.

― Wiggy (Wiggy), Friday, 16 September 2005 23:58 (twenty years ago)

V. good news indeed, Martin. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 16 September 2005 23:59 (twenty years ago)

great news martin.

my brother is doing better. massive tumors shrinking. recent bad news is 6months of chemo is now going to be 8months, taking the 2additional months through half of flu and cold season, plus he's just a tad ocd about germs as it is. the little dude is just waiting and waiting to be normal again.

― kephm (kephm), Saturday, 17 September 2005 21:01 (twenty years ago)

Cancer can eat a bag of dicks.

― kephm (kephm), Monday, 19 September 2005 01:32 (twenty years ago)

Glad to hear it Martin. (Not sure how I didn't spot your update till now.)

― beanz (beanz), Monday, 19 September 2005 09:17 (twenty years ago)

― emsk ( emsk), Monday, 19 September 2005 09:18 (twenty years ago)

Good news Martin, I'm sorry you are not 100% happy with the outcome.

― Panther Pink (Pinkpanther), Monday, 19 September 2005 09:44 (twenty years ago)

Congrats on the good news, Martin.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Monday, 19 September 2005 11:20 (twenty years ago)

Yes, great news Martin. Very good to hear it.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 19 September 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

i have a person in hospice right now, breast cancer. after battling it for a decade (3 recurrences), it has finally reduced her to a little skeletal woman with no teeth and no hair. she has bedsores and is too weak to eat or go to the bathroom or speak--just laying there on morphine waiting to go.

cancer=horrifying.

― jxnx (jxnx), Monday, 19 September 2005 18:45 (twenty years ago)

My brother-in-law just died from cancer over the weekend.

We had been expecting it for awhile (he was given six months over two years ago) and the best you can say is that he's out of pain, but it doesn't make it any less shitty.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 19 September 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

:( sorry chris.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

My condolences, Chris. That sucks.

― M. White (Miguelito), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:19 (twenty years ago)

I'm so sorry, Chris.

― luna (luna.c), Monday, 19 September 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

That's lousy, man. My condolences.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Monday, 19 September 2005 22:06 (twenty years ago)

sorry to hear chris. :-(

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Monday, 19 September 2005 22:11 (twenty years ago)

Cancer is awful, I hate it so much. The treatment is terrible, and you can never really be free of it. I feel for anybody who's had cancer or lost someone because of it. If you're fighting it, or ever have to fight it, just try and stay positive. Sorry, this is awfully cryptic, but I'm okay (i.e. this isn't about me), just might not be in a posting mood for a while.

― jel -- (jel), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 15:51 (twenty years ago)

damn, Jel, I really hope this isn't as bad as it all sounds, or that it works out as well as it can, whatever it is.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 16:01 (twenty years ago)

best wishes jel.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

thirded. xoxoxo jel

― luna (luna.c), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

Oh Jel. :-(((((

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

jel-I for one really miss you posting here, and am sending my best thoughts your way.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 18:09 (twenty years ago)

A friend emailed me this week to tell me she has just discovered she has an advanced cancer. She has two young children and is six weeks pregnant with a 3rd which she'll have to abort before she can start chemo. I want to help her but we're thousands of miles apart and we'll be lucky if we ever see each other again. I can't stop crying.

FUCK CANCER.

― FUCK CANCER, Monday, 3 October 2005 08:47 (twenty years ago)

Oh no! I have heard about pregnant women having cancer a few times now. One had lung cancer but was able to still deliver the baby. She was already 6 months, I think, so they decided to keep the baby and then see about her. :-( She's actually still alive. But apparently won't lead a long and healthy life as most.

I am so sorry to hear about this. :-(

― nathalie, a bum like you (stevie nixed), Monday, 3 October 2005 08:58 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Okay so I've been feeling kinda shit in the head for a while now and had always kind of assumed that it was a mental hangover from my experimental youth and have just knuckled down and accepted it as the cost of such behaviour.

Recently however things have gotten much worse. I've started to feel physically really shit pretty much all the time.

Although I've barely touched a drop for months i've frequently woken up feeling like I've had a horrifically heavy night of drinking. I've also been feeling sick for no reason whatsoever.

Anyway, I'm not a paranoid or hypochondriacal person but went online and stumbled across this site:

http://virtualtrials.com/symptoms.cfm

I know it's pretty basic but I recognize all the symptoms except this one: "Problems with weakness of the arms, legs or face muscles, and strange sensations in your head or hands."

I haven't talked about how I've been feeling to anyone but I've decided to book an appointment with a doctor. I'm not really sure what I'm doing though. I'm thousands of miles away from home and family, the friends I have here are not really close enough to deal with something potentially (although I realise it's still very unlikely) so mammoth. I don't think I'm afraid of this but still, it's something of a head-fuck.

I've decided to post logged out because well, at the moment it's nothing right? Will log in once I have an answer either way. Probably just find out that I'm a nutter with a dodgy tummy.

― verymuchnotloggedin, Wednesday, 16 November 2005 01:48 (twenty years ago)

If its any consolation, a friend of mine had an aneurysim in her brain a year or so back, and I really think you will KNOW if you have something like this. The important symptom is the numbness/loss of limb control, as it is a bit like a stroke.

That said, any severe headaches should be seen to. And are you saying youve had seizures too? That is very worth checking!

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 01:51 (twenty years ago)

i hope you are okay but you really should doctor it up.

― jeffrey (johnson), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 05:53 (twenty years ago)

I always dissuade people from googling for information because one always seems to come across a site which tells you you have cancer. (I speak fromexperience: I still do this, even though I know I should just wait what the doctor tells me.) But on the other hand it's better to be (too) vigilant and check it out by a doctor. I sincerely hope it's something far less critical.

― Nathalie is in Da Base II Dark (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 16 November 2005 07:12 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

She's having surgery today (round about now if I've got my time zones right) to remove her breast. Then she has more therapy in the coming months. She's being unbelievably positive and brave and all the stuff that sounds cliched until you know someone actually going through it. She truly is amazing. I feel guilty for crying because I know the rest of us should try to be as positive as she is but even typing this has started me off again.

Anyway, I know you're not reading this, but I'm thinking of you.

― Another Logout Out Ilxor, Thursday, 16 February 2006 17:14 (twenty years ago)

good luck and good thoughts for your friend.

― firstworldman (firstworldman), Thursday, 16 February 2006 17:58 (twenty years ago)

another friend has it.

last night i dreamt i visited my friend who last year died of cancer in the hospital. he was really happy to see me. i woke up pretty sad

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:00 (twenty years ago)

Totally good luck and good thoughts. Man, cancer scares the living shit out of me, too.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:24 (twenty years ago)

my dad has a bit of it in the prostate, and for some reason they keep waiting to operate. i know it's slow-spreading and all, but i wish they'd just taken it out when it was found back in mid december. instead they're waiting until after their trip to senegal, and the surgery won't happen til the end of march.

― tehresa (tehresa), Thursday, 16 February 2006 18:35 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Sad news there in the last thread revive -- I hope it all worked out somehow.

Meantime, something more positive:

New federal statistics provide powerful evidence that the sharp drop in hormone use by menopausal women that began in 2002 caused a dramatic decline in breast cancer cases, according to an analysis being published today.

The statistics show that the number of breast cancer cases being diagnosed began falling abruptly after concerns emerged about the safety of hormone treatment and that the decrease persisted into the following year, strengthening the case that the trends are related, researchers said.

"At first I didn't believe it -- it was so astounding," said Donald A. Berry of the University of Texas, who led the analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "But it really looks like it's a story that holds together."

The researchers estimated from the findings that about 16,000 fewer cases of breast cancer are being diagnosed each year because of the decrease in hormone use, a stunning reversal of a decades-long increase in cases.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 19 April 2007 14:13 (eighteen years ago)

wow, that's great

― Surmounter, Thursday, 19 April 2007 16:51 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, that is great. I only wish they'd realized this sooner. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago after being on hormone replacement therapy for nearly 15 years. Thankfully, it was caught early and she's doing really well.

― ENBB, Thursday, 19 April 2007 17:09 (eighteen years ago)

A friend of mine from college was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall and will finish up chemo on May 10. She elected to do a bilateral mastectomy, and now she's lost all her hair AND her fingernails. She's 34. And a friend of a friend - also my age - was also diagnosed with breast cancer recently; she had a mastectomy but hasn't done anything else because she's pregnant and she wants to have the baby.

All of this REALLY sucks. I hate cancer. But it's good to hear that the decrease in HRT is having a positive effect. And ENBB - I hope your Mom kick's cancer's ass.

― Sara R-C, Thursday, 19 April 2007 17:41 (eighteen years ago)

no real cancer in my family that I know of, thank god, but that doesn't really mean anything I suppose.

this is a horrifying photo essay that just won a Pulitzer; warning, it is very, very difficult to look at but it was possibly the first time the horror of cancer really hit home for me.

― akm, Thursday, 19 April 2007 18:49 (eighteen years ago)

akm - I work near a very famous cancer institute and a children's hospital. I'd never really seen kids with cancer before I started working there and the first couple that I did brought me to tears on the spot. It is so shocking to see. That photo though, while difficult to look at, is extrememly beautiful in a lot of ways.

― ENBB, Thursday, 19 April 2007 21:19 (eighteen years ago)

that photo may be, the rest are not (there are 12 photos there)

― akm, Thursday, 19 April 2007 21:21 (eighteen years ago)

hooray doctors making people sick following the advice of pharmaceutical companies

― Shakey Mo Collier, Thursday, 19 April 2007 21:26 (eighteen years ago)

fuck cancer

― onimo, Thursday, 19 April 2007 23:06 (eighteen years ago)

one year passes...

A friend of my mom is visiting to bid farewell (in case she dies). The cancer came back after nine years. :-( It's not terminal. At least we hope not.

― Nathalie (stevienixed), Friday, 2 January 2009 14:57 (seventeen years ago)

I almost have to give credit to Gabbneb for somehow making a thread about cancer even worse than the disease itself.

― өөө (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 2 January 2009 15:38 (seventeen years ago)

what a character

― Jordan Sarging (Brohan Hari), Friday, 2 January 2009 15:40 (seventeen years ago)

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