F*** You, Cancer! Catch all

Rahmen wrote:

Thanks Groan and I hope your Mom continues to improve as well. Strange internet hugs all around.

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Rahmen wrote:

My sister met with the oconologist yesterday and learned that they believe the surgery was so successful that they think she's 100% cancer free. There will be lots of follow-up and monitoring but they don't think she'll even need chemo or radiation (or more specifically that the potential benefit is so slight comparably in her situation to not be worth the tradeoffs).

F you Cancer.

Awesome news.

Great news, folks.

Mom update

the left upper lobe mass measures 32 x 29 mm in diameter (45 x 36 mmon prior study. Right upper lobe mass mesures 40x25 mm (49 x 31 on prior study). There is one new solid pulmonary nodule mesuring 5mmposterior inferiorly in the right upper lobe. The other previously seen slall bilateral sall ill-defined groundglass nodules in both upper lobes which are likely inflammatory in nature.

Impression:
Interval decrease in the size of pulmonary masses in bothe upper lobes, no significant change in mediastinal and right hilas adenopathy, however significantly improved pleural effusions. New 5mm nodule in right upper lobe is indeterminate and will be reassessed on the next follow up.

Big words = yay news!

That is great news. Those seem like pretty hefty drops in size for those 2 masses. One is a 43% drop and the other is a 35% drop.

fangblackbone wrote:

That is great news. Those seem like pretty hefty drops in size for those 2 masses. One is a 43% drop and the other is a 35% drop.

Yay! math!

I like those numbers.

Actually my math was wrong. So I calculated volume correctly (4/3pi*minor axis^2*major axis)and got:

A 54% decrease and a 47% decrease!

[size=7]btw I love excel[/size]

That is so great to hear Groan!

I enjoyed this novel approach:
http://fansided.com/2013/07/09/12-ye...

"Grant was diagnosed with the tumor in 2011, and decided soon after to nickname his biggest adversary after Ohio State’s greatest rival, the University of Michigan. And after much pain, struggle and chemotherapy, the doctors’ prognosis is good—Reed is beating Michigan.
"

My wife came today from the office bearing bad news: one of her clients has tested positive for cancer.

I have never seen someone with such a positive attitude when facing something so nerve-wracking.

He's started a blog detailing his treatment and attitude towards the disease, his family's support and and active participation, as well as the first few procedures he's been through since his cancer was detected.

It's in Spanish, but for those that can read it, even barely; it's an amazing testament of positive attitude.
It's only a few days old, so catching up, in addition to great writing, make it a very enjoyable read; all things considered.

While not the closest, this is my most recent encounter with the dreaded C-word. I don't know Eduardo personally, but my wife tells me he's one of the most upstanding people she has ever met.

Hope this post can add a bit of positive attitude.

http://lalolopez.tumblr.com/

Rahmen wrote:

My sister met with the oconologist yesterday and learned that they believe the surgery was so successful that they think she's 100% cancer free. There will be lots of follow-up and monitoring but they don't think she'll even need chemo or radiation (or more specifically that the potential benefit is so slight comparably in her situation to not be worth the tradeoffs).

F you Cancer.

Awesome!

On Saturday night, my mother drove herself to the ER because her foot was red, swollen, and giving her a painful burning sensation. The doctors diagnosed her with cellulitis and prescribed some antibiotics, but they wanted to keep her overnight because her platelet count was low. Yesterday morning, they took some more blood samples. Her platelet count was 33000 on Saturday night when she came in, and it had dropped to 7000 overnight.

She was diagnosed with leukemia. She's 56 years old. A bone marrow biopsy was done earlier this morning, and it sounds like we won't get results back until sometime tomorrow or Wednesday. I know leukemia is one of the more treatable cancers depending on the type, but I'm still freaking out about it. I don't think I really even want to discuss it until I find out specifics, but I needed to talk about it somewhere. I thought this thread looked like a good place.

Dyni wrote:

On Saturday night, my mother drove herself to the ER because her foot was red, swollen, and giving her a painful burning sensation. The doctors diagnosed her with cellulitis and prescribed some antibiotics, but they wanted to keep her overnight because her platelet count was low. Yesterday morning, they took some more blood samples. Her platelet count was 33000 on Saturday night when she came in, and it had dropped to 7000 overnight.

She was diagnosed with leukemia. She's 56 years old. A bone marrow biopsy was done earlier this morning, and it sounds like we won't get results back until sometime tomorrow or Wednesday. I know leukemia is one of the more treatable cancers depending on the type, but I'm still freaking out about it. I don't think I really even want to discuss it until I find out specifics, but I needed to talk about it somewhere. I thought this thread looked like a good place.

Yikes. Glad it got caught as early as it did (even if you guys don't know how early it is).

Best of luck and positive thoughts to you and yours.

Dyni,
Sorry to hear everything except that you found it so you can start taking steps to fight it.

My thoughts will be with you and your family.

Best of luck to you, your mother, and the rest of your family Dyni. Keep posting if you want to keep talking and let us know how things are going.

Mom's got a squamous-cell carcinoma on her lip. Biopsied last week, going in for surgery next Monday. There don't seem to be many details (plus Mom doesn't want to talk about it much.)

This hasn't been a great year for Mom; she hasn't really fully recovered from time in the hospital in late December.

Sorry Katy. Hope things go smoothly and hope she gets more comfortable talking with you about it.

The outpatient surgery today went fine according to Dad. Mom is already cranky about being on a liquid diet until later this week and a no-exercise restriction for a week.

Glad to hear things went well. Is booze allowed in the liquid diet?

I really hope it goes well, Dyni.

Well, I haven't posted much about my mom because I haven't had a lot of good news, but it looks like that's not likely to change anytime soon. We got the results of the genetics back about a month ago. She was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, with a mutation on the 7th chromosome. This is the bad kind. They told us 5 year survival rate was about 20%.

We finally got some good news when test results came back from my aunt that she was a 100% match for a bone marrow transplant. This was going to be a huge boon in the body's acceptance of the new marrow and gave us some much needed hope that the odds had increased.

After the 1st round of chemo, much of the leukemia had been wiped out, but some of it remained. She handled the 1st round very well, so they decided to give her a much stronger dose over 7 days and hope for remission before the transplant. She finished the 2nd round of chemo about 2 weeks ago. It was a lot rougher on her than the 1st, but she made it ok.

She had another bone marrow biopsy done yesterday and we received the results today. There are still about 20% leukemia cells remaining in her marrow. This means our odds have dropped to about 5% survival chance.

We have an appointment on Wednesday to discuss what comes next. Before I got there, the doctor asked her if she wanted to take outpatient chemo, which would basically equate to giving up and trying to live peacefully before she passes away. She wouldn't hear of that option, so she has decided to try an experimental chemo and an immediate marrow transplant. This chemo is 10 times the dose of the last one over a 5 day period. There is a good chance that she won't even be able to survive the chemo, but it is the only chance she has for recovery, so that's the one she wants to go with. She's always been a fighter, and it makes me happy to see that she hasn't lost that fighting spirit yet, despite the terrible odds.

They're sending her home until the appointment on Wednesday, so I'm waiting at her place now for the hospital bed to be delivered. I'm glad my brother and I will at least be able to spend 5 or 6 days with her in a comforting environment before the last ditch treatments.

I'm devastated that I don't have better news to report, and I'm trying my best to hang on to the slight possibility that she could still make it through this, but I'm having a really difficult time doing so knowing what I know. There's no one on this earth I'm closer to than my mother, so now I'm just trying my best to be strong for her. I'm also trying to figure out how I'm should to cope with this, as I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do. More updates later.

So sorry you've had such challenging news Dyni. We'll be thinking of you and your family.

It sounds like you are doing everything you possibly can. Take some solace in that. I'm sure it means a lot to her.

Hoping things turn around.

Sorry, Dyni. Hoping for better news for you both.

My thoughts are with you, Dyni.

Your Mom sounds incredibly brave, Dyni. I'll be thinking of you all and hoping this experimental method works wonders. ((((hug))))

(((((Dyni)))))) I'm sure your mom understands this is hard for you as well. Don't try to hide your feelings. You're all approaching something scary in a very brave way. What an amazing woman- she's taking this experimental treatment- which she know is going to be hard on her- probably not just for her own sake, but I'm willing to bet there is a part of her that is doing it so that maybe her experience can help others.
At times like this it's really hard to sort out your feelings or know what to say. Just try to be true to your feelings and say what's on your heart. Approach these hard times with love and understanding of yourself and the beautiful relationship you have with your mom. Just be present. Be there with her.
I'm definitely rooting for her and for you as well. She sounds like a tough cookie. Hoping for the best for all of you. <3

Much hugs, love, and support to you, Dyni.

Thank you all so much for the kind words. It really does help to read them after being trapped in my own mind all day.

My mom's under the knife again right now.

wordsmythe wrote:

My mom's under the knife again right now.

Only the best vibes being sent.