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For anyone who is an esophageal cancer patient or survivor from one of our members @Chiefomni
He is the President of the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation and has a message and support opportunity for any EC patients or survivors. He said: I am an esophageal cancer stage III survivor of 20 years. I have been through chemo, radiation and surgery. We created the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation (ECEF)…
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Radiation pain
My last radiation was in early February but I still have pain. Just had follow-up CT-scan and pain seems worse. Is that putting burn on burn?
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Low Hemoglobin
Hi, Anyone had any experience with taking iron supplements and/or getting iron infusions? I was tested and it came out a little low so a choice was offered to me. Reading about it mentioned that PPI or antacids can prevent your system from absorbing iron and I've been on Omezaprole about a year for acid reflux. another…
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Have you noticed that "TeleHealth" services used to be a new thing but now everyone is doing it?
Before this coronavirus thing telehealth was just being explored to see if it would work and if patients would come on board with it. Now during this lockdown, I see ads on TV every day from medical facilities offering it. Have any of you done this?
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Cancer is very scary, we get lots of questions everyday about how to deal with fear over different c
What would you say is the biggest or scariest issue about cancer for you, and how do you cope with it? Is it the fear of treatment? Fear of losing your hair? Disfigurement? Possibly dying? Losing your job? The fear of the unknown?
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A friend of mine's father had cancer, stage IV, on hospice, and was going downhill fast
He kept telling everyone he wanted some peace and quiet and for everyone to leave and leave him alone. The family had been trading shifts staying with him and nobody wanted to leave him alone. Somehow, he convinced them to give him some time. When they returned from their time away he had killed himself. A few years ago…
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Just in case any of you have been swept up by the inept suggestion that you should all start taking
Study finds no benefit, higher death rate in patients taking hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/21/health/hydroxychloroquine-veterans-study/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1dh9YGdleehWm43vO0Ne7WUHjG8E8DtBFrFVekfsse3CwfzMxc-kga1mw
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Has anyone had experience with Keytruda
I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on December 13, 2018 through an endoscopy/biopsy. From December through February 2019, I received 28 radiation treatments concurrent with 6 chemo treatments. I declined surgery due to age (85). On May 31, 2019, an endoscopy/biopsy showed that the cancer was gone and on September 23,…
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Have you seen the dreaded "Out Of Network Service" stamped on your insurance paperwork?
It gets frustrating dealing with medical bills and the insurance that is supposed to be paying for them. You buy a policy that says it will pay XYZ if you have ABC happen to you. But then when you get your "Explanation of Benefits" from your insurance company you see that a large portion of charges were not covered because…
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Hopefully, I will be finishing radiation in the coming month. After I'm done I feel like I want to t
I'm lost as for something to do for them, give them, etc. Ideas? I think a box of chocolates or a dozen donuts just misses the point.
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Someone asked me how it felt to be a "cancer victim"
I stood there for a minute taking that in before saying anything. I didn't know what to say, but I don't feel like a victim. I wasn't robbed at gunpoint late at night at a CStore. I guess I would prefer a patient. What do you call yourself? I have never thought about it.
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Very funny and smart comedian talking about life during virus
We all need to laugh now. He is very funny! Ted Alexandro – Stay At Home Commedian https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk_ISGajfxk
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Time for a check up
I haven't been back to the doctor since one week after I got out of the hospital. I had a surgery scheduled for April 1 but it got canceled. I set up a check-up appointment to look at my neck to be sure there's nothing bad going on. I have pain on one side of my throat when I swallow, and on the other side, it hurts when I…
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Has anyone on ACT (Adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, Taxol) chemo regimen used the cold cap to prevent h
I'm starting chemo toward the end of next week and I'm trying to decide whether or not to use the cold cap to prevent hair loss. From some research, it looks like it doesn't work very well when Adriamycin (or doxirubicin) is one of the chemo drugs. If the cold cap doesn't work with Adriamycin, then I won't go through the…
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Covid-19 testing, have you been tested?
There is a reference to "those with underlying health conditions", which refers to people like us and others with similar serious health conditions. It seems to me that we should be some of the first ones tested. Nobody has suggested that I get tested, my treatment facility does a temp check but that's it, no mention of a…
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I went to my doctor today for a normal checkup. I was wondering if there would even gbe a doctor the
Doc was there, nurses and a few patients, but that was pretty slim. They said because all elective surgery was canceled they had far less to do. I see them talking about how much money the hospitals are losing because of no elective surgery. It must be a real money maker.
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If you want a pet scan done just to ease your mind but your doctor says "you don't need one" What ne
I don't think you can even just walk in and order one even if you pay cash. If the doctor doesn't order it then it can't be done, right?
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It's National Sense of Smell Day!
Does that mean I will get mine back today?
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covid-19
the whole world is in crises mode, now saying we have no control. I feel like welcome to my world Cancer diagnosis showed us that we were not in control of anything or any aspect of our lives. we try hard to follow the rules, to stay afloat. we all know that the world keeps revolving. That life is forever changing. we know…
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life
do you feel like giving up? there are days and moments that I feel like giving up, whats the use? what is the purpose of my life.? why did God put me here? Why all the pain and suffering? My grand children keeps me going.. my heart aches for them like the mahalia Jackson lyrics"the troubles of this world' And no I don't…
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With all that we have going on in trying to get our treatments, office, calls, surgery, etc
and now trying to keep from getting this stupid virus, do you feel like you can still be thankful for anything? Is there anything that gives you joy still? It seems like things keep piling up on us. What do you have to be thankful for at this point in your life?
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Are you making use of takeout/home delivery restaurant services?
Greg mentioned maybe getting takeout from Cracker Barrel on their way home from Vanderbilt. Great idea to treat yourselves. I have been hesitant to do takeout because not sure how safe it would be. I finally caved yesterday and got a sub at our locally owned quick stop. It is one way we can help support local business. Not…
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Our Guest Blog Post today is from @Gumpus61. He was his wife's caregiver for several years. Today, h
If you have read any of his other posts about life as a caregiver for your wife, you know he has shared the honest truth about life on the inside. Most of us know about one side or the other, patient or caregiver, he shares some of both. Today is a piece looking back at the years of fighting, after having a year to…
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Chyle leak?
Hi! It’s been a while. I have been sort of offline for a while. Helping in some other areas. I am currently in the hospital. Went in for a C5 C6 repair. Sort of related to my radiation and prior cancer surgeries. Well I sprung a Chyle (lymph) leak. Apparently it is very rare in head and neck surgery but does happen. So I…
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Does anyone have any experience with fasting before chemo?
Does fasting before chemo make it more effective?
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Supplies
I have a lot of Ostomy supplies I can’t use. Paste, those ring things, stoma powder, etc. is there an organization I can donate them to rather than throwing away?
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Anesthesia
In my last three surgeries, I have woken up in my hospital room, not remembering the recovery room at all. Has this happened to anyone else?
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Just Finished a Webinar where they said Stress is Really Hard on Immunity
Some of you know I took aromatherapy certification classes awhile back - I've kind of gotten away from it all for the last year or so, but today the place I took the certification class had a Webinar on COVID19 and essential oils. One of the presenters covered the biology of cells, specifically the virus cells. Her…
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Have you ever heard these two phrases "it takes a village to fight cancer"
or "when one person in the family gets cancer, the whole family gets cancer"? That's usually the way it goes. I wrote an article describing my family's cancer experiences through my diagnosis. Even though they aren't the ones that are taking the treatments, our family and friends are feeling the effects of our cancer. Take…
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One of my local TV stations has a segment they are running every hour on the hour
They call it your Coronavirus Update. It's an update about the number of cases in our area. It seldom changes, but the number keeps going up because of all the new testing being done. I think it does more harm than good because some people are just sitting around stressing over it.
