... anyone here ever dealt with having cancer?

I have close family members who have had it.

I work for a group of surgeons that do a lot of cancer cases.

PM me if you need info or just someone to talk to

[Snip - luv4u]

vipiha said:

[Snip - luv4u]

These bots really suck, especially on this damn topic.

To answer your question Triv, I was with my mom while she went through cancer and treatments until it took her life.

It fucked me up and I don't think I'm strong enough to go through what she did - radiation, chemo.

Hope you're alright

The truth: I've been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma stage 4. Stage 4 for HL is different than a blood cancer like lung, liver, eat. Hodgkins is very receptive to treatment. The Oncologist said we're going into this with a curative goal. She's going to "push [me] to [my] limit." I suppose it's a plus versus having non-Hodgkins.

Part of this has manifested as an open abscess on my neck and a hole under my ear. The abscess has been there since the first of June. It won't heal. They drain all the time, so I have to stay bandaged.

On the right side of my neck and face, my lymph nodes are engorged. Feels like I have tumors in there, but it's the nodes. Once I finally got a biopsy, that's when we finally had an answer. This was in early August, two months after the abscess opened.

I've been in the hospital before that biopsy, because my white blood cells were around 20,000 (which is maxed out). We had originally thought it was all an infection, but that biopsy finally gave us an answer.

This past Tuesday, I had a port implanted in my chest for chemotherapy. My chemo starts on Sept 12. I'll have 6 rounds of it, every 15 days. Then I'll have another PET scan, which will show the progress and we'll decide from there what to do. A PET scan is a more detailed CT scan, of sorts.

I never go anywhere, and my energy is zapped right now. It's too much to try and bandage up the sores and go out anywhere, and I can be completely devoid of stamina or energy in an hour or two.

I'm a veteran, so thank God the VA has covered all expenses. I've not paid for a thing thus far. The VA here in my town is just awesome. The doctors are very interactive, engaging, caring, and kind. The nursing staff are just awesome. I know we hear horror stories about VA hospitals, but this one is super nice.

I'm nervous and anxious about chemo. I really just wanna get it going. The nurse said after the first chemo treatment, I should see a big reduction in the swelling and engorged nature of the right side of my face. The abscess should heal, from the bottom (inside) up.

I cry a lot, just to get out the anxiety or sadness I feel. I'm not a doom and gloom sorta guy, so I'm optimistic. I'm pretty sure I'll get past it - I just wanna get the ball rolling more. But I'm less than a week away from chemo, so I'm just trying to be patient.

[Edited 9/6/24 15:46pm]

Best wishes on your treatment and a full recovery. My sister had to go through cancer treatment last year. This year she traveled to Chicago to celebrate life with myself, my son, and his wife. I hope the same for you and your's.

TrivialPursuit said:

... anyone here ever dealt with having cancer?

my father passed from cancer. wishing you well in your journey

Stay Strong! You Got This!

I kinda love that the Hodgkins Lymphoma ribbon is purple.

And ain't it the shit that I get my port implanted and start chemo - wait for it - during Hodgkins Lymphoma Awareness Month!

FrankieCoco1 said:

Keep trying to live your life and take enjoyment out of little things. It’s inevitable there’s going to pain in body and mind but be proud of what you’ve done, what you’re doing and what’s to come. All the best with things and ‘may you live to see the dawn’. 💜

💜 💜

Well, my first chemo appointment was today.

It was a 100% positive experience. I learned about the medications, what they do, where the nausea actually comes from, what to expect, and that I have 5 new (partly short term) medications to juggle.

I also realized that a "round" or "cycle" is actually TWO chemo treatments. So I have six cycles, which will be 12 chemo treatments, twice what I thought. But even that was a positive note to me. I'll be in chemo thru March 2025 probably.

I've been telling people, "Today I'm full of medication and education."

And now the hair is coming out. I figured it'd happen at some point. Started last night. My second chemo was just this past Thursday.

TrivialPursuit said:

And now the hair is coming out. I figured it'd happen at some point. Started last night. My second chemo was just this past Thursday.

I'm so sorry!

Is the chemo making you very ill?

PennyPurple said:

TrivialPursuit said:

And now the hair is coming out. I figured it'd happen at some point. Started last night. My second chemo was just this past Thursday.

I'm so sorry!

Is the chemo making you very ill?

I knew the hair was going at some point. Everyone's like, "What are you going to do?! Shave it?" I'm like, this ain't a movie. We're not having a kumbaya moment in the bathroom mirror or something. I'll wait until it's too patchy then just shave it I guess. I woke up with white beard hairs on my black pillow case this morning. So it's definitely coming out easily.

The first round of chemo was horrible. No nausea, but the fatigue is like being hit by a truck. Brain fog is huge. I had bad constipation but it's clearing up finally. I called my infusion nurse just bawling, "is it going to be this bad all the time?"

This second round (I had chemo last Thursday) has just been my regular naps. I hope I'm just handling it better than the first round. I went to the second chemo really dejected, high anxiety, crying before they ever took blood. She said down with me and said, "tell me what's wrong."

"I don't wanna do this. It's too horrible."

"Give yourself time to adjust. As you get better, your ability to handle it will get better."

I'm better now mentally.

My taste buds disappear for a few days. My tongue is metallic, like I've been sucking on dirty pennies. I can sorta taste sweet stuff, but anything savory is null. I had a piece of bacon on my tongue last night. Nothing. I can feel the texture or temperature, but taste is zero. It'll pass in a few days.

I've been thinking about you!

Hopefully things will start to level out for you!

Stay strong and positive.

Maybe some smoothies would help