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"Sloan-Kettering? How do you spell that? What city is it in? It's not showing up in our system."
This is not the way I wanted to begin my Adventures in Cancerland.
The diagnosis had been confirmed on Monday. That big lump in my groin that the doctors insisted on calling a "mass" was not, as initially suspected, a hernia. It was instead an enlarged lymph node, a manifestation of non-Hodgkin's T-cell lymphoma: cancer.
Hi Mike!
Thanks for the great article. I was just diagnosed with bladder cancer on June 18, 2009-Going in to find out what stage it is on the 30th. You wrote everything I'm feeling and thinking. Stay positive is easier said than done. I'm not as brave as you, I haven't told anyone yet. I'm trying to sort this out first. You gave good advice. Hope it works out for both of us. But you are right-we're only renting space here-all of us-cancer or not. I trust in God and believe he has a plan for all of us. Try Him-he wants to talk! He has been my only comfort. We have a long road ahead of us-I'll be thinking of you.
Best,
#1 - Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:46 PM EDTI don't know that I'm brave. Others call it dumb or say I'm in denial. I just think you have to live today and do what you have to do. Tomorrow will take care of itself whether we want it to or not.
Hang in there.
Tell someone....it will help. You need hugs and compassion and someone elses strength to gather from. Tell your funniest friend and don't be afraid to make fun of cancer and say to hell with it. When your ready, laugh and laugh hard at cancer. It doesn't have you....you have it. Decide now to take control of it and let cancer know who's boss. Don't give it anymore power than it already has. You've got the faith and you can do this!!!!! I wish you so much luck.
Mr. Celizic: I was diagnosed with metastatic pappillary cancer or thyroid cancer just about six weeks ago. I never ever imagined that anyone would ever tell me that I had the "C" word. I did the only thing anyone could do, I passed out, and then threw up. I couldn't believe that this was happening. I am only 41. I own my own business. The business is growing. I'm planning for the future. But most importantly, I have a husband and three small children. When I was told that I had cancer, there were two things that went through my mind. The first was that there's no room in my schedule for this, and the second, that struck me seconds later, was whether or not I was going to live through this.
I felt numb going through the testing, the biopsies and the diagnosis. I've tried so hard to find my faith and to be positive, but it is not an easy thing to do. When I was first diagnosed, I immediately went to the books and the computer to read, read and read. I'm an attorney. It's what I do...research. But reading scared me. So, instead of reading about the cancer and the mortality rate and the statistics regarding treatment and curability, I started looking for inspirational and positive literature, but nothing has grabbed me, until I read your article this evening.
Even though our cancers are different, I related to everything you said. I, too, have not kept my diagnosis a secret. I'm talking. It's what I do best. Some people give comfort; some do not, but I believe it is only because they don't know any better. And I choose to listen to those who provide comfort.
I'm having surgery on Monday. I am so afraid, but, I know that there are no other options. I need to get this out of my body. So, I say, bring it on.
I wish you the very best. Know that you are not alone in this whole process. This is a setback. Before I knew I had cancer, I was only moving forward (at high speed). Since learning that I have cancer, life has stopped. But, come Monday, life is going to move forward again. I believe that this has happened for a reason. Maybe to slow down, or to prioritize a little better. Regardless, the "C" word has changed my life.
#2 - Wed Jun 24, 2009 10:56 PM EDTI'll be thinking of you, Chris. You sound like one tough lady.
So sorry this is happening to you. I am an 8 year survivor who was not suppose to live. I found the worst time was right after the diagnosis, before any treatment began. Once treatment was started it was as if a lot of weight was lifted from my shoulders - something was being done - I was fighting. It was as if I could breathe again. So much can be done in the ways of treatment today - dear folks, dig your heels in, keep all those upcoming appointments, be a good strong role model to those around you (you may even convince yourself!), keep on moving and find joy in little things. Cry, rage, hug, love and then go on - I have found having cancer is an enormous life altering event but there is life after cancer and it is so sweet! Peace
#3 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:37 AM EDTThanks so much for the uplifting thoughts, Carol. I'm lucky because everything's moving fast. No time to think. I like that.
I have had a personal war going on 24/7 with cancer since my friend, Steve Loudon, died of bladder cancer last year. What follows in this blog are far and away the best weapons against cancer that I have found to date.
First, it has been discovered that a body temperature of 105 degrees will kill cancer throughout a person's entire system because cancer is a fungus (a specie of Candida yeast) that is highly sensitive to that temperature.
So now there are six cancer clinics in Germany where they have high tech machines that raise one's body temperature the required amount to destroy the cancer fungus (even in your bones) while you nap—www.hyperthermia-center-hanover.com. I have read that it is painless, has no serious side effects and costs relatively little compared to the conventional approach of chemo, surgery and radiation--two of which actually cause cancer.
The second cure, discovered by Dr. Tulio Simoncini in Italy thirty years ago, has a 90% verified cure rate and is used widely in hospitals and clinics there. Dr. Tulio uses inexpensive sodium bicarbonate injected at 5% solution into the appropriate blood supply leading to the infected organ or organs (by knowledgeable doctors, of course) to destroy the fungus since it is chemically an acid substance while the sodium bicarbonate is powerfully alkaline. It can also be taken to the cancer by direct injection as one easily treats breast cancer, for instance, or inserted into the place where the cancer lives as in quickly killing bladder and colon cancer, swallowed as one deals with stomach cancer, nebulized for lung cancer, etc. Cancer fungus cannot live in contact with bicarbonate of soda (or magnesium or potassium bicarbonate either). You can go to www.cancerfungus.com for a quick overview of all this and also read Dr. Simoncini’s book, “Cancer is a Fungus” for much more information including contact data for all the hyperthermia clinics in Germany.
Were I a cancer victim, I would grab an Italian or German speaking friend along with a copy of Rosetta Stone’s course in speaking Italian or German, hop a jet for Rome or Germany and get my very likely sure-fire cure while enjoying the beauties of Europe again and learning a new language. But that’s just me; I enjoy living and living healthy. And I’m willing to wisely spend and do what I have to in that pursuit.
Steve opted for conventional treatment, so my friend died wretchedly as I warned him he would.
#4 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:56 AM EDTYes, Farah Fawcett went to Germany...and she is dying. Alternative medicine is one thing, this type of treatment is questionable. If this has been being performed with such great results for so many years, how come it isn't universally done?
I would be extremely wary of such claims. I feel for your loss, but if these alternative treatments were as effective as claimed, there wouldn't be a Sloan Kettering.
i wish the nanotech that robert freitas talked about was a reality today
#5 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 5:30 AM EDTThe next great treatment is always available just after you had the standard treatment. Ain't it the truth?
Sucess, Mike!
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April. I've gone through the breast-saving surgeries and so far, so good, although this whole lymph node thing is pretty sore. Now I'm in the healing phase before radiation therapy and then chemo.
What makes my case a bit stranger than most, maybe, is that two years ago I moved to The Netherlands to be with my boyfriend after trying to make this long-distance thing work for eight years! The Dutch use the same procedures as the US and I feel very comfortable about my treatment here.
This diagnosis came while I was studying for the exam they have here (language and culture) and due to this, I had to drop out of school temporarily. Thank heavens the medical personnel speak English, but I've had some interesting experiences with auxiliary staff whose English wasn't quite up to par. To be fair, their English is very good compared to my Dutch! I can't imagine what this sort of thing must be like for people I go to school with who speak limited Dutch and no English at all.
One reason I'm thankful I'm here for this is the insurance system. Everyone is required to have medical insurance. You pay for it on a sliding scale, from what I've been able to learn. I was always one of those people who either worked a small home business for myself or worked for someone else's small business. I was inbetween - couldn't afford $400+ per month (and the deductible and 20% you generally have to pay), but made too much for Medi-Cal, either full or partial.
I know the taxes here are crazy high, but when you're diagnosed with a serious (and costly) disease, your attitude about that changes quite a bit. So far, no bills in the mail and we've only laid out about 10 euros for saline solution!
#6 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:28 AM EDTWow! It sounds like you're coming through with flying colors, Cathy. Long ago, while studying in Austria, I had an encounter with the medical system. No one spoke any English back then. It was "interesting." Also basically cost-free.
I was diagnosed with lymphoma 7 years ago after having the same symptom of a swollen lymph node in my left groin. Southeast Georgia Hematology and Oncology did an excellent job of counseling, staging, and treating me. They were also like an extended family since I was working and living 5 hours away from my wife and daughter at the time.
I was lucky that it was caught early and I was clean after 6 months of chemotherapy. (Mike you WILL need your hat. I managed to get my head sunburned twice before I learned!)
It has changed my outlook on life and the way I live. I live with more intensity and realize that every day is a gift in some way.
I have been 'clean' for 6 years now, but I still a bit nervous everytime I get my annual PET scan and checkup.
#7 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 6:49 AM EDTThat's very encouraging, Wade. I wouldn't mind losing the remaining hair on my head if the chemo would also get rid of the hair in my ears. Any chance?
Only for a little while! When my hair came back, I had more than before. The upside was that for a while there I was getting the "Senior Discount" without asking! (and I was only 52!)
Mike,
Your article captured my own thoughts and feelings when I was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma back in 1996. I was getting ready to retire from the U.S. Air Force and wanted to have a couple of lumps checked out - one under my chin and a new one (like an upside down hard pimple) on my face near my right ear. The one under my chin was just a cyst (which I had for almost a year and had sought treatment before - I wanted it dealt with before my retirement date). The other bothered the dermatologist who decided to take a punch biopysis (sp?). Thought he could clean it out, if it was what he thought - it didn't look right to him and he decided to wait for the results. I retired and he took the initial results and sent the sample to another lab for confirmation and then examined the slides himself before he finally called me with the news.
Unlike you, I could not tell my new coworkers at my new job. Why - the day I started work someone who I had met several times at my last military assignment, slumped over at his desk while typing at his keyboard with an aneursym that killed him in less than a day. After about a week passed, I was assigned to pick up his job and moved into his desk. Both my supervisor and our Manager agreed that it was probably best not to subject the office with my news considering the circumstances. I had just signed paperwork for a new house only two weeks prior - so one question I asked the Oncologist was whether we should cancel building the new house. He said no - we should live our lives - while he couldn't guarantee anything, he suspected I could live for at least 5 to 7 years.
Turns out I was Stage One, but unique in that for my cancer no one was ever diagnosed at Stage One because it usually waxed and waned for four or five years before anyone sought treatment. Eventually the Cancer team at Walter Reed decided to try radiation without chemo. It's been almost 13 years since the last radiation treatment (9 July 1996). We enjoy our house and our lives together.
I have maintained annual checks for a number of those years. I am late for this year - and have what feels like a strained groin muscle in my left leg for the past two weeks. My former doctor at Walter Reed was reassigned last year and not looking forward to starting with a new one for my annual checks. But after reading your story today, I'm going to call for that appointment. Nothing has come up in the past and I suspect nothing will come up this time. But only one way to keep T-Cell Lymphoma at bay - get it checked.
Good luck to you and I will keep you my prayers!
#8 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:05 AM EDTGet that checked, Joe. You gotta keep enjoying that house.
Best Wishes, Mike!
I, too, am a double cancer survivor and I think youfound the same answer as I did for the second one: Tell people and let them help, do the research, and go to a primary center.
The story I tell about he first one is that the day my appendix ruptured was the luckiest day of my life! After I recovered from the operation, chronic diarhea sent me to a GI doc who ordered a colonoscopy. He found no reason for my symptoms but removed a 1 cm polyp and said it probably wasn't anything to worry about. Two weeks later I got the call: "I have to see you". The polyp was malignant. I was most fortunate because at age 42 and with no symptoms, the canser was 'cured' and I could go about my business except for annual re-checks. Had my appendix not gone boom, I would have had an extensive cancer even if I went for my first c-scope at the recommended age of fifty.
My second one was prostate cancer. Due to BPH sysmptoms (I'm just about your age), my doc had been monitoring PSA for several years. When it took a serious jump this year, it was off to the urologist and a positive biopsy. I chose Brachytherapy (radioactive seeds) and went to Johns Hopkins - the best place you never wanted to go to.
This is my tale of two cancers, but the message is how I handled them. The first one, I freaked out even though I was already cured by the time I found ot about it. I told very few people about it and even felt guilty that I had cancer but didn't have to go through any radiation or chemo. I obsessed on what could have or would have been and spent the better part of six months wth my head spinning. I developed insomnia and had nightmares. After several years, I began to talk about it and even began to badger my fifty something friends into getting a colonsoscopy. I felt much better and felt my experience was a chance to help others avoid a dread disease.
My head was in a much better place for the prostate diagnosis. I attacked Google, I told all my friends, sought out acquaintances who had the disease and went to three NCI centers for consultations.
The difference is amazing. I'm very positive about my choices, I've learned all I can, I've done what I can and went to the best place available. I can talk to my friends and family about it without embarrassment. I sleep at night (except for several dashes to the bathroom) and now I just have to let those little seeds do their thing.
The four points Dr. Arnot told you are seriously good advice and my own experiences back them up. Thanks for sharing them and your story. Your candor and positive attitude could well save many lives (including your own!) and a lot of misery.
Best Wishes for a speedy return from this unexpected detour on the road of life!
#9 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:16 AM EDTThanks, Jim. I just heard from an old friend who had pretty much the exact same experience as you with the prostate. It's very treatable, and once you get it, it's usually gone. Good luck.
I have had cancer twice myself...once in 1996 and again in 1997. Breast cancer. I asked my oncologist to remove my second breast after my first mastectomy because I didn't want to wait "for the other shoe to drop" and was told it was not "medically warranted". Even though my mother was also a bi-lateral breast cancer survivor. Nine months after finishing my first 8 rounds of chemo, I was diagnosed just before Christmas with cancer in my other breast. Merry Christmas and get me a different oncologist because this one didn't do right by me and my family. Another 11 cycles of chemo, a broken marriage, and 2 daughters who also live with the fear of having breast cancer, I am alive and dealing with the fear that it will come back again. Even though you may beat it, the fear of it's return lives with you for the rest of your life. Every ache could mean something, every change in your body could be "IT"again.
The damage to my body from 19 cycles of chemo is extensive...joint damage from the steriods given to protect them, destruction of a normal digestive system (difficulty metabolizing carbohydrates....leading to diabetes), thyroid not functioning because of radiation damage (16 weeks of it will do that, you know)...but I AM ALIVE, I was able to see my children grow up to be come productive adults. My youngest is training to be a doctor.
I guess the best medicine for anyone going through this Hell on Earth of cancer treatment is....Look cancer in the eye and say "no, you aren't going to take me! " And always stay happy and upbeat. Even when you may be throwing up or confined to home because your blood counts are too low to go out....say to yourself "Life is good and I am going to live it!"
Mike, good luck and if you need a friend to talk to in the middle of the night when sleep just will not come....I am there for you...just call!
#10 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:20 AM EDTYou sound like a tough and extraordinary lady, 'Mom.' And thanks for the offer of an understanding ear.
I am only 27 and have already been through one round of cancer myself. I was diagnosed with melanoma when I was 25. Mike, I don't know if you are a religious person, but I am. I will be praying for you and your family. You are right that cancer can be a liberating thing. When you stare death in the face, the little things don't seem to really matter anymore. I am far more open with people than I ever have been in the past. I was fortunate to recover from my cancer, and am making the most of my second chance on life. I used to be overweight, sloppy, and just plain miserable. I've since started going to church regularly, exercising, and trying to be a genuinely more happy person. I've dropped over 30 lbs since I started exercising, and actually ran a 5k two weeks ago. I never thought I'd be able to do that. I am really looking forward to next month when I have my annual physical. I am hoping the docs tell me my bloodwork is completely normal and that I'm totally healthy. It sounds like your doctors are already taking good care of you, so I wish you all the best.
#11 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:44 AM EDTThanks for showing that cancer can be a positive thing - if you make it be, Michael. Keep up the work on your fitness. Eight years ago, I took off 60 lbs by walking more and eating less. Haven't put any of it back on. It's really not that hard to do.
I was diagnosed with colon cancer July 2005. At first I followed the Celizic tradition and told no one. As I had returned to college and intended on finishing, this was difficult. I had colon resection surgery August 10th and was back in class on the 28th. Over the last year, I decided that it would help me and possibly others to deal with it openly. Since I am an artist, the way to do that is expose myself in my work. It really does help. Good luck with your treatments, Mike.
#12 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:06 AM EDTWow, Debbie! Can't believe you were back in school that quickly after that surgery. I was out four weeks after the prostate surgery. Can't imagine 18 days.
Mike... I was also diagnosed with cancer, but decided to do some research before I jumped in to the traditional burn, poison or cut it out approach. I took the time to learn about how your diet affects your health & cancer. What you put in your mouth everyday is not a "quack" approach, but a common sense alternative. Cancer is your body dealing with toxicity caused by years of eating food that is grown w/ pesticides, cooked until the enzymes are killed, loaded on cancer causing hormones from animal fat & protein, overly processed and has TONS of chemicals added. EVERYDAY people eat whole plant based foods for success in overcoming cancer, heart disease & more. Not my opinion: The China Study details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer & examines the “nutritional confusion” produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, & opportunistic scientists. The N.Y. Times recognized the study as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” and the “most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.” www.thechinastudy.com & see videos of others who have successfully overcome disease: www.rawhealth.info
#13 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:51 AM EDTThanks for the information.
Mike,
What a great story, one that people who have been diagnosed can relate to.
My story is two, being first diagnosed with chorodial melanoma (cancer of the eye) in 2003. After a routine check up just months earlier, there was a black spot in my vision with strobe lights(yes just like at the old disco's) flashing after waking up one morning. After being looked at by several doctors for hours, it was determined that it should be looked at by a specialist. Anyway not knowing what to expect, it was the doctor that broke the news about the cancer in my eye. Treatment would be two options, enucliation (removal of the eye) or radiation directly sewn to the tumor in my eye, with knowing that my vision would be affected and deteriating but saving the eye. I took the later. The rate of treatment was 90 plus percent, The treatment went well, killed the tumor and flattened it.
Come December of 2008, right before Christmas, I again awoke to some pain in the eye, nothing unusual, until I looked in the mirror and the eye was swollen shut. Better have it checked up on. Back to the hospital where I still have been being treated for the prior. Only to find out, that another tumor was in a different part of they same eye, 5 and 1/2 years later and again feeling the whole scenario of thoughts from prior, what is going to happen now. The part of this, my oncologist was going to let me move on after the 6 year mark and consider me cancer free. Funny how things work out in ones life. Anyway the only treatment was enucliation of which has been done in early January 2009.
Every day I am reminded of this disease and what it has done to my life, I will be considered a patient for life, for however long that is, but will enjoy it as I go.
Best of luck in your treatment and recovery. Please share the rest as you move forward, I will surely be reading.
#14 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:51 AM EDTWhat a great attitude, GMan. I'm finding life doesn't care about fair.
Dear Mike,
I want to add to this growing list of support for you. My husband and I are each survivors- he continues to watch for new melanoma spots after a horrific battle in 2000-2001 and I am a "chronic" cancer patient, battling lung carcnoid. Each of us has a story, as you know, that tears up one's emotions at a primevil level, wears out the family finances (even WITH good insurance) and ages the body quicker than need be. Your ability to write effectively will be excellent therapy for all patients (and medical personnel who treat us). We will keep you in our prayers.
#15 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:49 AM EDTThank you, Laurel, and all the best to you and your husband.
Mike - I wish you the very best! I'm six months "cured" from b-cell lymphoma. Your friends, family and health care professionals will get you through this!
#16 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:54 AM EDTThanks, Dave. You anywhere near South Bend?
Indy.....but need tickets to ND-Wash. game!!!!
Wish I could help, which reminds me: I need to go to an ND game again. Haven't been to one since the last game in the old stadium, the day Lou Holtz quit. Covered that as a reporter. Haven't sat in the stands there since my senior year.
You'll be in remission by then...plan on making a game!!
Mike, my husband was diagnosed with cancer last Fall. Initially it was believed to have been a lymphoma, but it was determined to be Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma, a very rare cancer that it often misdiagnosed as lymphoma. Due to the rarity of this cancer we had a very difficult time finding a doctor in the US with experience treating this type of cancer, but were fortunate enough to find one at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX (thanks to the internet). He has completed the chemo and radiation and his last PET scan was clear. We coped by talking about it to our friends, family, and clients. I've coped by journaling my experience, which helps sort through the myriad of emotions and random thoughts. We have come out of this with a stronger faith, a stronger marriage, and a life with focus. It has been a gift.
#17 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:09 PM EDTThank you, Teri. I'm looking at this the same way - a gift. (I do intend to take it back to the store and exchange it for something I actually want.)
Let me know how that works out for you!! Teri
You're on my prayer list, Mike! I am in remission 16 months now having gone through treatment for diffuse Large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. I consider myself very fortunate with early diagnosis and excellent treatment by a skilled oncologist in Lansing, MI. I enjoyed your first installment and look forward to reading more installments that will take us down the road to your remission!!
#18 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:11 PM EDTThanks, Linda. "Remission" - that's the word I want to hear.
Good luck with this ill news. You sound like you're getting good advice. I discovered I had Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC) from a garbled path report which I browbeat a nurse into reading to me over the phone when I couldn't get anyone to call me back. It didn't take Google long to decipher that Murgle Cell carcinoma was really Merkel's, and that the single most terrifying statistic was that 44% of everyone diagnosed with the disease dies within 5 years, regardless of the stage at diagnosis. So much for the notion that malignant melanoma is the nation's most deadly skin cancer. The statistic is pretty scary. I went to Ochsner's Cancer Institute in New Orleans, and 1 1/2 years later, I'm still here. However, each PET scan is a new adventure in discovery. The best thing you can do for your own health is educate yourself. Reading medical literature isn't rocket science, honest! Be patient, get a good medical dictionary, and ask questions of your healh-care provider by the thousands! I met my oncology surgeon with a double folder packed full of the latest medical literature, and was hugely relieved to find that he was reading the same literature I was, and that the regimen of re-excision and radiation he undertook was precisely the most agreed-upon protocol for treating someone in my position. What I liked most was his brutal honesty: "The fact that you don't have sentinel lymph node involvement and tha there's no sign of metastasis at this point doesn't mean the genie isn't already out of the bottle." I continue to review the literature, continue to take heart from research in Washington State and at Pennsylvania, but also recognize that my days may be numbered. I'm not afraid to die, and I'm not angry with God. At least I had some warning of the limitations upon mortality, and can decide what in my life is most important to me (my wife and family!) and live my remaining days accordingly. Good luck. My advice, even if unsolicited: take the long view, but live each day. Tomorrow may not come for either of us.
#19 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:14 PM EDTHow true, Arp. This is just a reminder to live the days we have as well as we can.
Mike,
I was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. I was of the tell very few ilk. I always found myself trying to reassure those around me that everything going to be fine rather than getting support from them. It got very tiring and finally one evening I had a monster pity party and cried on my boyfriends shoulder. I felt better after that.
I, like you, didn't sit around and let the disease control my life. I controlled how the disease affected my life.
Good luck with your journey. I will keep you in my prayers.
#20 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:16 PM EDTThank you, Mares. And good luck with yours.
Mike,
Welcome to the club. By the way the initiation ceremony is the pits. I was fine in October, 2008, but by the end of December I had come down with severe anemia. I figured it out when I couldn't put the Christmas boxes in the attic without getting exhausted. I was not making any red cells. The Oncologist suggested waiting eight weeks to see if I would start again spontaneously (maybe a virus). No such luck. I have now had ten transfusions and they are keeping me alive. I asked at the hospital whether the tenth one was free, but they said I didn't bring my punch card so no such luck.
So I've been diagnosed with Myelodisplastic Syndrome (MDS), but the most straightforward of the different types. I am taking Revlimid which is a cousin of thalidomide. It is supposed to get the red cells to crank back up. The prognosis is good. In the meantime, while checking out the cause of the drop in red cells, I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocitic Leukemia. Would you believe that there are only 15,000 cases of each of these diseases diagnosed a year, and I have both (why not the lottery instead?).
I thought I was handling all of this pretty well until yesterday when I caught myself talking about my cancer as if someone has it -- kind of a body double. So I'm not there yet on acceptance, but I find that telling my friends the straight info and getting their support has given me great comfort. My doctors will make me well, but my friends will get me through it.
Hang in there. And to all of you survivors who have written in, thanks, it helps to hear your stories. The best to all of you.
#21 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:19 PM EDTYou hang in there, John. I'm with you on the lottery analogy. If you're going to get something twice, that's definitely the way to go.
Hi Mike... I was also diagnosed with cancer but before I went down the traditional burn, cut or poison approach I took the time to learn about diet, health & cancer. What you put in your mouth everyday is not a "quack" approach, but a common sense alternative. The cancer is your body dealing with toxicity caused by years of eating food that is grown w/ pesticides, cooked until the digestive enzymes are killed off, containing cancer causing animal fat & protein, and overly processed w TONS of chemicals added. Well it doesn’t have to be that way and you CAN reverse your cancer and clean up the toxins in your body. I did and EVERYDAY in most of the world, people eat whole plant based foods and have less cancer, heart disease and autoimmune problems. For success in dealing with you cancer, or heart disease & more read The China Study. It details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes and cancer & examines the “nutritional confusion” produced by powerful lobbies, government entities, & opportunistic scientists. The N.Y. Times recognized the study as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” and the “most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease.” www.thechinastudy.com & see videos of others who have successfully overcome disease: . Best of luck on your journey. Don't believe what the medi/pharma industry is telling you. As the father of medicine, Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine, and let thy medicine be food.”
#22 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:30 PM EDTEven people who do everything "right" get sck and die. Some populations may have less cancer, but there are no societies that have no cancer. In Hippocrates were alivetoday, he'd watch his diet, but if he got sick and diet didn't work, he'd see a modern doctor. Besides, if I have to give up my ribs and kielbasa, I'd have no interest in sticking around.
I LOVE your attitude! I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Dec. 4th at the age of 35....then found out that I was pregnant on Dec. 9th. One of the rougher weeks in life!
I've found some great doctors (some of their office staff leaves something to be desired....I go with the hope that they are too busy being good doctors to deal with it!). Who knew that you can't have a margarita while pregnant but can have a drug called CyTOXIN injected directly into your veins to kill off fast growing cells (Oh say, like a baby!) and all will be fine? I'm now 33 weeks pregnant with a healthy girl, made it through 5 rounds of chemo so far and am on "vacation" till after the she is born. Then I'm back at it for another year. Whew!
People ask if I "cured" or "in remission". As far as I'm concerned the day they took out the lump is the day I no longer had cancer. Like you said you aren't fighting cancer you are treating it. All this other mess is just insurance, like you have for your beloved car. Personally, I'd rather just pay out a little extra money but you don't always get that kind of choice in life. So I continue with the joys of being a wife, Mom (we also have a 6 year old), daughter, sister collegue and friend even if it is bald......and the irony that I'm one of the few pregnant women who is happy to be in their third trimester!
Thanks so much for sharing your story with such a positive and uplifting spirit. All my best!
#23 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:31 PM EDTYou are awesome, Dawn. Let us know when your daughter joins the party. She's got a great mom.
Hey Mike,
I am a 24 year old graduate student at Penn State University and I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Acute T-Cell Lymphoma back in September of 2006. It definately was a struggle to get through the 2 1/2 years of treatment due to my cancer being stage 4. I was a senior in college when I was diagnosed and ended up finishing school on time with my peers. I had enlarged lymph nodes in my neck and arm pit, a mass in my chest, and fluid around my heart. I never let my mind wrap itself around me having cancer and I always kept a positive attitude and ultimately beat it. I always lived by this quote I heard "I have cancer, but cancer does not have me". I was told I was cancer free that next year and I finished treatments in January of 2009. I am healthy, loving life. You too will get through this, it is just another obstacle life has given you, and you will over come it. Good luck with everything. I will keep you in my prayers!!!
- Sarah
#24 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:47 PM EDTThanks, Sarah. Great motto to live by - emphasis on 'live.'
Hi Mike,
My thoughts and prayers are with you. I was diagnosed at age 38 with breast cancer. The word came only weeks before Christmas and a month into my second semester in graduate school. Like one of the other survivors said in an earlier post, with two small children, a full time job and graduate school, I had no time for cancer. I finished the semester as I went through two lumpectomy surgeries and began chemotherapy. I took the next semester off to go through five months of treatment. There's no question that treatment was one of the toughest challenges I've ever faced. Like others have said, the hardest days were the earliest days when I was trying to swallow that word "cancer" and trying to understand why it was happening to me. I remember feeling really tired, even before any treatment started. Once I went through treatment I was in fight mode. Even in fight mode, however, I went through bouts where I couldn't see that there would one day be an end to feeling sick. I hated the feeling of being physically sick. I felt deeply the loss of the life I knew prior to having cancer, the life where the strongest drug I ever took was Ibuprofen for an occasional headache and the most I thought about what I ate was will I like it or not.
The end of July will be two years since I finished chemotherapy. I finished radiation that October, two weeks before I returned to school. In May, I graduated with my master's degree. This summer I'm celebrating life, and my academic accomplishment, with my children and husband, even as we've faced some of the economic challenges others are facing. I guess that through everything I've learned to take each day moment by moment as much as possible. Some days I'm better at that than others.
Though our cancers are different, the feelings you expressed, candidly and with humor, resonated as I recalled my own journey. Thank you for sharing.
#25 - Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:55 PM EDTYou are an inspiration to me, Christina. Thank you for sharing a remarkable story.
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I intend to do that. My insurance pays 90 percent after the deductible. I'm figuring I'm looking at $50-$100,000 debt load from this.
I have cancer. Melanoma to be exact and it is metastatic and the doctors did not give me much hope. i went thru the surgeries, radiation and interferon. Interferon is a hell within itself. Slept 21 hours a day. My wife said get off it is is killing you. I have explored the non conventional treatments and found that with the research, you have the same chances as the conventional without all the side effects. You may have one that is treatable, but you need to make sure your immune system stays up and that you change your lifestyle. I did and the last report from both the conventional and non conventional was the same. They both said, I don't know what all you are doing but keep doing it. Knowledge is power they say, and in healthcare, it is a must. I am reading a book on non toxic cancer cures and they have four "A's" to follow: Attitude - positive, Advocate - have a support system with one person with you to be a second set of ears, Advice - get a doctor who will listen and knows more than just cut, burn and poison, and Action- get going on a course and see how it works, change if it doesn't and read everything you can on it. I am now in remission, never cancer free, but I have brought it under control and not by continuing the poison route that destroyed my immune system rather than building it up. I was told after I quit that chemo and interferon on work on about 3% of cancers. I am no expert on cancer, but I think I have learned a heck of a lot more than most doctors know about it.
I'm totally inspired by reading your account of cancer diagnosis and how you are dealing with this news. I pray you will have victory and healing! Please continue to share your thoughts through each step of your journey. My breast cancer diagnosis was over 10 years ago. Suddenly each day was a wondrous gift, and an opportunity to be totally in the moment. I learned quickly to place great value on family and friends, and appreciate the simple things that had been taken for granted most of my life. My thoughts and prayers are sent your way.
My husband -- also a Mike -- was diagnosed with prostate cancer 2 weeks ago. Before I got online and started reading about it I went back to my previous brushes with cancer: my dad was diagnosed when he was 80 and lived 4 years doing nothing but taking megadoses of vitamins; a neighbor of his diagnosed just months earlier than he was had surgery and chemo and didn't even outlast the first round of chemo; and my son who died 2 days after he came into this world of Wilm's Tumor.
Thankfully, once I calmed down and realized that in the last 15 years technology has grown and evolved exponentially and being diagnosed with cancer now isn't an automatic death sentence.
I realize my experiences with cancer are nowhere close to yours as I have been nothing more than an 'onlooker' having never experienced it personally. And in the words of the last doctor we talked with, "If you have to have cancer, this is the best one to have." Uh, doc let's revisit that if you are ever diagnosed with it. That said, even though I have never met you, I have the utmost respect for you for discussing it publicly and staring it straight in the face and not giving up.
While I am a child of the sixties, I never subscribed to the 'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade' mentality -- my life and outlook seems more akin to the original phrase: That which does not destroy me makes me stronger. Continue to celebrate life to its fullest!
Hello Mike,
Sorry to hear about your cancer. I would recommend looking into macrobiotics ~
Centers:
Kushi Institute ~ Michio Kushi, www.kushiinstitute.org
The Cancer Project ~ Dr. Neal Barnard, M.D. www.cancerproject.org
Dr. Keith Block ~ Block Medical Center ~ www.blockmd.com 877.412.5625
Dr Sherry Rogers ~
Books:
The Cancer Survivor's Guide ~ Foods that help you fight back
Macrobiotic Approach to Cancer by Michio Kushi
The Cancer Prevention Diet by Michio Kushi
Modern Day Macrobiotics by Simon Brown
My Crazy Sexy Cancer by Kris Carr and Sheryl Crow www.crazysexylife.com
Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy by Dirk Benedick
My Beautiful Life How I Conquered Cancer, Naturally by Mina Dobic
Recalled by Life by Dr. Anthony Sattilaro
Recovery by Elaine Nussbaum
All my best to you in your healing journey!
Deb
For me, it's B Cell Lymphoma. My previously indolent case transformed to a more aggressive type about 5 years ago. Spread from my spine into my chest. Ultimately a vertebra fractured and the reason for all my back problems showed itself on a long put off MRI. Chemotherapy (CHOP) plus the monoclonal antibody Rituxan, every third week for 18 weeks. Then 4 weeks of radiation. It's back to indolent now.
The beginning of this article reminded me again of the James Bond novel I had read as a teenager. James' unsuccessful attempt at a haiku also came to my mind when I was going through the wake-up-call stage:
" You only live twice: Once when you're born And once when you look death in the face."
The day before I shaved my head, I rented a Mercedes Benz convertible and drove the PCH to Newport Beach. I don't think I've turned away from many things since that I would have later regretted missing. Neither have I made a bucket list, found any special new purpose, nor departed from the values or goals that shaped my life before this happened.
It's intense. If you're lucky you get through the treatment and back to a normal, if different, way of life. As much as I wanted to think my trip to Cancerland was temporary, it's never completely out of my mind. I don't expect it ever will be.
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