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Procedure or Surgery | CT scan
Dr.s saw something on my CT scan & admitted me to the hospital. What it is is since I cannot swallow, all the mucus is gathering at my vocal cords & it showed up on the CT scan. Overnight stay for nothing & no formula either. Released, went home & promptly passed out in the floor. Just needed to eat. I am also now full…
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Side Effects | Dumping syndrome
I didn't know. When they fed the formula in the hospital, I almost immediately had to go to the bathroom. They eventually sent me to a nutrionist who gave me a recipe to make my own "formula" at home. It did not work to well. I went from 115 lbs to 68 lbs in 6 months. Then I fell & broke my hip. Ortho doc said it was…
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Side Effects | Too many to count
1st go round was lack of taste. took about 6 months for that to come back. Some hair loss at nape. 2nd X OH BOY! I had a temporary stoma. Didn't like that at all. It was removed before I left the hospital. Scars everywhere. I have 1 scar from my hip to my knee where they took a strip of meat to put in my throat. A have a…
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Radiation | External radiation
Was able to work for the 1st week, then I started foaming at the mouth like a rabid animal. Also nightly gag fest. Thick saliva.
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Procedure or Surgery | Surgery
Surgery went fine, but they did not tell I would never eat again. That was glossed over. I wish they had given me worse case scenario so I would have been better prepared. Also they placed a stoma on top of a blood clot. Kept coughing up blood clots.
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Nerve Pain from portacath (removed 8 years ago!)
My 14 year old daughter has been cancer free for 8 years now. About every 3 months she has massive nerve pain where her portacath was located in her chest. It hurts and bothers her so much that she doesn't sleep much at all for the entire week. We are wondering if there is anyone else who has dealt with this. Not sure if…
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Adrenal insufficiency
Dr. Just called and said I have adrenal insufficiency. What could this mean?
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How bad do you have to get before you are considered disabled?
I am still able to work now, but if these side effects continue to compound and if something else pops up that makes me unable to work I could be in real trouble. We don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, I work a real job for a living and if I can't work I have a problem worse than the cancer. What,…
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Targeted therapy
I've been on Kadzyla infusions every 3 weeks and side effects are minimal for the first 5 infusions. I'm eternally tired but don't know what treatment is to blame - probably all.
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Radiation | Proton Radiation
Had to stop treatment for 8 days because burns were so bad. The good news is that skin recovers quickly!
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Chemotherapy and HerceptinProjeta target treatments
Few side effects until the last 2 infusions. The 6th infusion was awful - wiped me out and it took nearly 8 weeks to recover
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I had the best surprise yesterday. Some old friends got together and dropped by to see me.
A group that we all went to school with years ago and have kept in touch with ever since. All of them stopped by our house out of the blue and presented us with 2,500.00 in cash to help with expenses getting back and forth to dr., and treatments, co=pay, etc. I was overcome with emotions. I don't think I've ever felt that…
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Port or not?
Should I have a port incerted when I have my surgery. Chemo doctor said I was having only 3 sessions. So is it worth putting a port in or just using my veins.
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I am still seeing people that I've known for years that didn't know I have been diagnosed
When I tell them about it some of them just get a blank stare in their face. Some say that they don't know what to say. I can tell that they are not comfortable talking about it. This seems strange to me. I am the one with the cancer, not them so they shouldn't feel bad. What do you say to people when you can tell that…
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If you lost your taste, how long did it take to lose it?
Then, after treatments are over how long will it take to come back? I have mostly lost it now and that makes eating just a going through the motions thing. I don't even want to eat anything either. My appetite has left with the taste.
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Procedure or Surgery | Abdominal hysterectomy
I had stage 3 ovarian cancer that had wrapped around my colon and spread all around in the abdominal cavity. I had 3 rounds of chemo and one of those drugs ate up my colon. This is just a snapshot of a long hard year.
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Celebration | Finished treatment
I am now a candidate to have my ostomy reversed and the first appointment with that doc is 1/10/2020
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Today's blog post has some good information and resources for financial assistance
Lack of money to pay for the never ending expenses is a side effect of cancer that we can't get away from and there's no pill we can take to fix it. Help is what we need. Here are a few resources, and a link to our existing resources page that has tons of places that offer help in different forms for cancer patients.…
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Thoughts on medical or recreational marijuana?
I was just reading the comments on alcohol consumption and that started me thinking about mj. Medical is very difficult to get in Northern New York. There's, like, one dispensary up here and it's miles and miles and no doctors are authorized to prescribe. I personally think every oncology unit should have someone in staff…
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If you successfully reach the end of treatments...
How often do you go back to your doctor for checkups to monitor if you are having a recurrence? I am not liking the idea of not seeing my doctor every month.
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When you first got your diagnosis, could you feel or see your cancer getting worse while you waited?
My latest diagnosis started almost a year ago. I knew there was something going on in my neck and I asked for it to be scoped several times. Each time there was nothing there, but the symptoms have progressively gotten worse. Just in the last week, the pain that I have has doubled or even tripled. I had no pain in the…
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Do you have to do any of the "leg work" in filing your claims, or does your facility/doctor's office
We have heard from some people that they are being given some what of a run-around in getting their claims filed and are being asked for itemized bills and other documents. How is your claims experience?
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In case you arent aware, do not let your life or health insurance lapse while you are in treatments
You will not be able to get new insurance for several years after treatment ends and then the options are few. I recently had a conversation with a fellow cancer patient who thought she could drop an expensive life policy and pick up a new one with another company. NO.....That would be sort of like waiting to buy…
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Celebration | Finished treatment
February 2019
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Chemotherapy
Weight loss 17lbs. Hair loss. Loss of appetite, diarrhea for a week after each treatment. Food had a metallic or super sweet taste.
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Radiation | External radiation (Proton beam)
43 radiation treatments likened to a bad sunburn
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Hormone therapy
Loss of muscle tone and strength. More emotional
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Some good words to remember on days that you doubt:
Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, just remember how far you have come. Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome. Then raise your head up high, and forge ahead. Because these difficult roads, will lead to beautiful destinations. ~ Unknown
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If you know who the legendary rock band Rush is then you know who the drummer is. Neil Peart
Shocking news today that he passed away today from brain cancer. They quit playing and touring 3.5 years ago. At that time it was said that Neil was the one that wanted some downtime. There hasn't been a peep out of anyone, anywhere about him being diagnosed. I have no idea how they were able to keep it quiet. From one…
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Ruth Ginsburg Health Update - Good News
Did you just hear or read that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsburg has gotten good news after treatment for a tumor on her pancreas? No Evidence of Disease - NED. Greg, I immediately thought of you. In 1999, she had colon cancer. In 2009, she was diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer. After a fall in November 2018…
