F*^$ Cancer

[miami_fan]

Sorry for your loss CW.

[AnalBumCover]

So sorry CW.

[chesapeake]

Sorry for your loss, CW.

[Kodos]

I'm sorry for your loss, CW. Glad you got there in time to say goodbye. Best wishes to you and your family as you mourn her loss.

[JediKooter]

Sorry to hear this CW.

[GrantDawg]

Sorry to hear, CW.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[bhlloy]

I got a Leukemia diagnosis pretty much out of the blue yesterday and will probably start intensive chemo tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long and scary month and beyond, doubly so during COVID.

[bhlloy]

DOLA - sorry for your loss CW and what your wife is going through Jon. Your wife’s story is very similar in some aspects to what my mom went through.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I got a Leukemia diagnosis pretty much out of the blue yesterday and will probably start intensive chemo tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long and scary month and beyond, doubly so during COVID.

Holy shit. Good luck. Im sure you will beat but take great care and ask for a marijuana prescription

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I got a Leukemia diagnosis pretty much out of the blue yesterday and will probably start intensive chemo tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long and scary month and beyond, doubly so during COVID.

Wow you must be in shock bhlloy. what kind is it? I hope its very treatable. You are in my thoughts tonight.

[JediKooter]

Damn bhlloy, sorry to hear that man.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I got a Leukemia diagnosis pretty much out of the blue yesterday and will probably start intensive chemo tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long and scary month and beyond, doubly so during COVID.

Damn - that's less than optimal. Good luck!

SI

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I got a Leukemia diagnosis pretty much out of the blue yesterday and will probably start intensive chemo tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long and scary month and beyond, doubly so during COVID.

I wish you the best of luck and you make a full recovery. KICK CANCER'S ASS!

[thesloppy]

That sucks! I'll echo the hopes that you kick its ass.

[PilotMan]

Joining in with the voices of the others bhlloy to go and kick cancer's ass!

[bhlloy]

Thanks all. Waiting on a final diagnosis and a transfer to City of Hope, but believe it's AML. Should be beatable but waiting for cytogenetic tests to confirm which type - certain mutations have much better/worse outcomes and a different treatment regime.

The science on treatment has come a long way in the last 5 years, so I'm trying to stay positive. I really appreciate this community and it helps to talk about it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I really appreciate this community and it helps to talk about it.

Then you talk about it as much as you need.

Beat its ass, that's what matters.

Whatever helps you keep punching it in the mouth, then that's what you do.

[MizzouRah]

I'm with everyone else, KICK CANCER'S ASS!!! This is a great community here to support you!

[Kodos]

I’ll join the chorus of KICK ITS ASS. But I’m sorry you have to go through this.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I got a Leukemia diagnosis pretty much out of the blue yesterday and will probably start intensive chemo tomorrow.

It’s going to be a long and scary month and beyond, doubly so during COVID.

Wow man, will have you in my thoughts for sure. You got this.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just gonna c&p the message that goes to my wife's cousins & a few friends. FOFC gets the friends & family version.

In case anybody wonders about the level of medical detail I include, there's like 3 nurses among the recipients. If I don't do enough specifics, I'm invariably going to get asked, so it's easier to just put it in there.

-----------
A super long Mary-Ellen update, as her first visit with sarcoma doctor was today.

Considerably more positive than negative meeting overall.

He confirmed that it was the same adenosarcoma that she had back in summer (her leg had basically the "child" tumor of the original "mama"
tumor)

For any lingering particles of cancer that are probably in/around the hip, she'll have a course of radiation therapy soon. That'll be done here in Athens, working closely with her Emory doctor's guidance.

Beyond that, he is NOT recommending any chemotherapy at this point. ("We don't even know if it helps this type, we have a lot of options open IF there's even anything else in there")

Doctor says we know two things about her specific cancer: 1) it likes her bones, and 2) it likes to hide

She currently has both clear CAT scan and clear bone scans already, but because it hid so well last time he's ordering a PET scan asap ("It won't hide from me"). He's also starting Progesterone treatment as a possible preventative. (it already failed tests for estrogen therapy).

After a couple of scans, we'll see if anything might be hiding AND we'll have a headstart toward knowing if the progesterone works or not if anything is there.

He's also ordering a "bone fortifier" shot, to make it harder for any future tumor to attack bone.

Al in all, a more encouraging visit than we expected. Easy to see why he's considered one of the best in this specialty, and we're confident that she's in good hands.

Radiation is never fun, but we knew it was almost certain to be on the agenda. Beyond that today was more encouraging than we had any hope it might be.

As always, we appreciate your continued concern and support.

edit to add: Maybe the best summary of today was this exchange
She asked point blank "am I gonna die from this?"
Doc's answer: "You'll die from something. I don't see any reason for it to be this"

[Lathum]

No chemo seems like a good thing. Continued good thoughts

[Thomkal]

Loved that answer from the doctor at the end Jon!

[sterlingice]

Seems like good news

SI

[rjolley]

Thanks for the update, Jon. Glad it was more good news than bad. Hope everything continues to go well.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Loved that answer from the doctor at the end Jon!

I can't do justice to what a ... character? trip? something? ... this guy was.

It was a little like meeting Dr. House but without the quirks or snark. The guy does a little bit of that scarysmartgenius thing where you almost talks to himself while he's talking to you and you realize that his mind runs at a different speed that most people.

[Kodos]

Sounds positive overall. Will continue praying for her full recovery.

[tarcone]

Good news.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I can't do justice to what a ... character? trip? something? ... this guy was.

It was a little like meeting Dr. House but without the quirks or snark. The guy does a little bit of that scarysmartgenius thing where you almost talks to himself while he's talking to you and you realize that his mind runs at a different speed that most people.

I might have walked out if it was Dr House with the quirk or snark

[Breeze]

Good news for sure. No Chemo, plenty of options for treatment. Very positive.

[tarcone]

Happy things are going your way. Stay positive.

[MizzouRah]

I pray every night for everyone.

[JediKooter]

Does sound like good news Jon and hope for all the best.

[JediKooter]

My turn. Was diagnosed with skin cancer a couple of days before christmas and have surgery scheduled this coming Monday. Doctor says it was caught very early, but, still not very assuring to me for some reason, probably just the pessimist in me. I feel bad about even posting this because it's not close to what others have been going through here lately in this thread. Anyway, not looking for sympathy or anything like that, just wanted to say if something seems weird with your body, don't hesitate to go get it checked out. The sooner the better.

[Thomkal]

Jedi, and that's exactly why you should be posting about your skin cancer. No one here is immune to cancer, and a lot of the time it does sneak up on people. Thought for sure my dad, who spent many hours in the sun in his life, was going to get skin cancer, but even though he had several pre-cancerous moles removed, he never got it.

So I am glad they caught it early, and I hope you have a complete recovery from your surgery.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

My turn. Was diagnosed with skin cancer a couple of days before christmas and have surgery scheduled this coming Monday. Doctor says it was caught very early, but, still not very assuring to me for some reason, probably just the pessimist in me. I feel bad about even posting this because it's not close to what others have been going through here lately in this thread. Anyway, not looking for sympathy or anything like that, just wanted to say if something seems weird with your body, don't hesitate to go get it checked out. The sooner the better.

As soon as the diagnosis include a word starting with "C", the trauma of it gets damned real afaic.

Kick its ass, recover like a champ ... but you belong in this thread as much as anybody, so post as you see fit.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JediKooter

My turn. Was diagnosed with skin cancer a couple of days before christmas and have surgery scheduled this coming Monday. Doctor says it was caught very early, but, still not very assuring to me for some reason, probably just the pessimist in me. I feel bad about even posting this because it's not close to what others have been going through here lately in this thread. Anyway, not looking for sympathy or anything like that, just wanted to say if something seems weird with your body, don't hesitate to go get it checked out. The sooner the better.

This post may be the nudge someone needs to pick up the phone tomorrow and make their own appointment to get checked out. There is great value in that.

Ditto the last line in JIMGA's post.

[Breeze]

JK, sorry to hear about the diagnosis, I completely understand what that's like. Thankfully, you caught it early. Here's hoping that you take care of it now and it never bothers you again.

[MizzouRah]

So glad you caught it early and posting is what we are here for, kick it's ass. I pray all goes well with the surgery.

[tarcone]

JK, my Dad has skin cancer. His is the “best” kind to get. It shows up every couple months. He gets it cut out. It heals and he is fine. It’s not the greatest thing but he has no other issues. Hopefully, yours is of the same sort.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Jedi, and that's exactly why you should be posting about your skin cancer. No one here is immune to cancer, and a lot of the time it does sneak up on people. Thought for sure my dad, who spent many hours in the sun in his life, was going to get skin cancer, but even though he had several pre-cancerous moles removed, he never got it.

So I am glad they caught it early, and I hope you have a complete recovery from your surgery.

That's a very good point about posting. I was hesitant and that's why it took me so long to even post anything. You mentioned your dad about him being in the sun his whole life and the type that I picked up is usually from exposure to the sun or lots of UV lights. The part that has scratching my head is, I don't go out in the sun all that much and I definitely don't use tanning beds. So I've been pretty much baffled how I got it. If anything I would have expected it on my ears or back of my neck or nose, instead it's on my forearm.

Thank you! It does mean a lot to me and I really appreciate it.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

As soon as the diagnosis include a word starting with "C", the trauma of it gets damned real afaic.

Kick its ass, recover like a champ ... but you belong in this thread as much as anybody, so post as you see fit.

It did indeed. It went from (during the biopsy) it's more than likely just something that's not healing like it should and some prescription ointment should do the trick and because of the holidays you may not get the results back for a couple of weeks. To that Friday, hey we need to set up a date for surgery to remove it. Definitely heard the needle scratching across the record on that one.

Thank you Jon! I will do my best to kick its ass and I hope your wife continues her recovery as well!

Originally Posted by miami_fan

This post may be the nudge someone needs to pick up the phone tomorrow and make their own appointment to get checked out. There is great value in that.

Ditto the last line in JIMGA's post.

That is a very good point! I admit, I am super stubborn about going to the doctors about stuff and usually wait until I just can't take it anymore. Funny enough though, the thing on my arm I only brought up during a physical and the doctor took a picture of it and sent it to the dermatology department. Originally, the spot on my arm was about the width of a pea and looked like an age spot. I accidentally scratched it and it bled like crazy. Then, it never really healed and that spot that was pea sized grew to about the size of a nickel and looked more like a bruise. So it never healing right prompted me to say something during the physical.

Thank you man! I do really appreciate it!

Originally Posted by Breeze

JK, sorry to hear about the diagnosis, I completely understand what that's like. Thankfully, you caught it early. Here's hoping that you take care of it now and it never bothers you again.

Thank you Breeze! That's what I'm hoping for too and hopefully it will be just this. Time will tell.

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

So glad you caught it early and posting is what we are here for, kick it's ass. I pray all goes well with the surgery.

I am glad too it was caught early that is for sure. Thank you MizzuRah, I do really appreciate your kind words!

Originally Posted by tarcone

JK, my Dad has skin cancer. His is the “best” kind to get. It shows up every couple months. He gets it cut out. It heals and he is fine. It’s not the greatest thing but he has no other issues. Hopefully, yours is of the same sort.

Oh wow. That is great though that there has been no other issues, really glad to hear that. I think the good news is, it's confined to just the upper part of my skin. Keeping my fingers crossed that's for sure haha!

[Kodos]

Hoping it turns out to be a very treatable form of skin cancer, JK.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Hoping it turns out to be a very treatable form of skin cancer, JK.

Thank you Kodos! I do too and if not, maybe I can get a cool robot arm out of it.

[Kodos]

Was it your left arm? I know truckers often get skin damage on the arm that they hang out the window on drives.

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Was it your left arm? I know truckers often get skin damage on the arm that they hang out the window on drives.

It's on my right forearm about 6 inches from my wrist. Oh, I've seen that and the pictures where one half of their face has aged way more than the other half. Some crazy stuff what the sun can do to you.

[bhlloy]

So a quick update.. after a week and a half of more than a few ups and downs (that led to me being discharged last Saturday and told to come back outpatient in the week as I was so stable, then basically being rushed back in with fever and suspected pneumonia on Monday) I start chemo in an hour or so...

Got some very good news about prognosis earlier in the week and then some news that put a dampener on that - basically the downside is I will likely need stem cell in addition to chemo whereas for a while it looked like that wouldn’t be the case - but just taking one day at a time right now. Overall the prognosis for cure is still better than not at this time if treatment all goes well.

Still appreciate the thoughts of everyone and this place as another outlet for my updates. And hope you are on the road to recovery soon as well JK!

[Honolulu_Blue]

Thanks for the update, bhlloy. Hang in there, man. We’re with you. All the way. Same with you, JK. Let’s beat this shit.

[tarcone]

Stay strong.

[Breeze]

prayers sent...

[JediKooter]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

So a quick update.. after a week and a half of more than a few ups and downs (that led to me being discharged last Saturday and told to come back outpatient in the week as I was so stable, then basically being rushed back in with fever and suspected pneumonia on Monday) I start chemo in an hour or so...

Got some very good news about prognosis earlier in the week and then some news that put a dampener on that - basically the downside is I will likely need stem cell in addition to chemo whereas for a while it looked like that wouldn’t be the case - but just taking one day at a time right now. Overall the prognosis for cure is still better than not at this time if treatment all goes well.

Still appreciate the thoughts of everyone and this place as another outlet for my updates. And hope you are on the road to recovery soon as well JK!

Sounds like a heck of a roller coaster ride man. Thanks for the update and I really hope that it's a quick recovery for you too.

Thank you! Surgery is here in a little more than a couple of hours.

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Thanks for the update, bhlloy. Hang in there, man. We’re with you. All the way. Same with you, JK. Let’s beat this shit.

Than you HB! I really appreciate it!