To be truthful I am not sure God wants to hear much from me but hopefully your intercession on my behalf will help. Thank you
Just prayed for you, Geekbabe. I believe and have personally seen God do the miraculous, so that's what I'm praying for. Keep us updated!
I am currently on the new drug Opdivo. LOL. They were hooking up an infusion days after FDA approval.
I had genetic testing done, I have have no actionable mutations, what I do have is mutations in P53 and APC... Neither of which give a favorable prognosis. The good news? Four rounds of Opdivo gave me 60% shrinkage so I either am positive for PD -1 or just have cancer with a high mutational burden. At any rate, it isn't in organs yet. I have gained six pounds and am trying to stay hopeful that this drug helps me till the next one comes along. I was not looking forward to my next round of tx with traditional chemo.
I think that can be true of chemo as well. With both, either the treatment kills all the cancer cells or it leaves them poised to roar back after treatment ends, when your body is exhausted and your immune system damaged. That is why the newer, better targeted, less debilitating drugs are so exciting. Although radiation can be extremely targeted too. Friend of mine had esophageal cancer due to acid reflux. Down here it's considered more or less untreatable, but he has an in at the Mayo Clinic. They burned all the tissue off of his esophagus, down to bare cartilage in staged treatments, with time between to allow healthy cells to recolonize the stripped sections.My Oncologist has said that in many cases radiation hurts more than it helps. She did say she can and would radiate any tumor causing me difficult with swallowing or breathing. She also said if a node or two progresses on Opdivo but the rest were stable that she would radiate in that situation.
Time to complain a bit, I am kind of tired of painful procedures, being poked, prodded, scanned etc, I am grateful for treatment but it seems like all I do is get treatment and struggle to keep working.
I would like to have some fun too. Thanks for listening
Was scared to see what I find when I clicked on this thread and I'm glad to hear you're still with us and the fight strong in you.
You got this!!
LOL! Thanks
Time to complain a bit, I am kind of tired of painful procedures, being poked, prodded, scanned etc, I am grateful for treatment but it seems like all I do is get treatment and struggle to keep working.
I would like to have some fun too. Thanks for listening
Take a day off, hit the beach, go for a drive, get some fried clams or a lobstah roll. Whatever will take you away from everyday and make you laugh or smile.
To be truthful I am not sure God wants to hear much from me but hopefully your intercession on my behalf will help.
Cancer patients who reported higher meaning, purpose, and spiritual connection in life also reported better physical health, as did patients who reported more positive religious or spiritual explanations for the cancer (versus a sense of fatalism or anger towards God)
You might have heard of this:
http://nypost.com/2015/08/10/belief-in-god-really-does-make-you-feel-better-study-suggests/
What I know from personal experience is that the lack of any belief in God and afterlife can be unbearably painful for someone facing death. If one doesn't think of God when facing death. If one doesn't reconcile their own passing in some way, how do any of us live if not obliviously -- as we all move towards our own deaths all our lives. I mean no disrespect to atheists who have built a firm intellectual viewpoint without easy compromises and stick with them to the end with dignity, and I don't aim to convert anyone to a religion, but do think that that concept has bearing to oneself in questioning our lives and deaths.
To reconcile oneself to the certainty of loss of life (in whatever manner, theistic or otherwise) is not to give up the battle, but "rage, rage against the dying of the light" is bad advice.
The right to complain is one of the God-given rights Americans are guaranteed. It's, um, somewhere in the middle probably. Hey, at least this particular painful treatment reduces the discomfort of future treatments.
We're grateful I chose MGH as my hospital, they have been good to me there & the care is wonderful.
That makes all the difference in the world, that and luck/antibiotics. Infections around a port are freakin' serious.I changed the bandages last night, no more bleeding, mild swelling, minimal bruising. The folks at MGH told me I had the best doing the procedure & I think they were correct, port position is important, particularly for women. I can wear average undergarments without pain. He chose a smaller port so hopefully it won't stick out a lot once the swelling goes down. He also went the route to the right jugular to the SVC, said it was a straight shot & would involve less tubing, less chance of complications for me.
We're grateful I chose MGH as my hospital, they have been good to me there & the care is wonderful.
Just a quick note to update that I haven't been feeling great for awhile. My current dignosis is a pretty angry knot of lymph nodes in my neck. Adeniocarcinoma of unknown primary.
I am being treated at MGH, went there last week for PET and CT scan for staging and hopes of finding my primary tumor site.
If you don't smoke don't start, if you do smoke, quit and keep quitting till you stop.
That makes all the difference in the world, that and luck/antibiotics. Infections around a port are freakin' serious.
Best of luck with it. You'll be in our prayers.Still waiting for the steri strips to fall off around the port but so far swelling is going down, no redness or obvious signs of infection, the cut they made to access the jugular is healing well. So praying all goes well.
Sounds like things are on the up and up :thumpsup:At Christmas I was beginning to feel ill, by the time treatment started I was frankly symptomatic. Honestly I didn't think I would see Easter. Today I tire easily ( side effect of immunotherapy) but the huge tumor on my neck is so small we have to hunt for it.
We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary Aug 20th and are planning on a whale watching trip today. The whale watch is on my bucket list! Hoping for lots of breeches and fin action today!
So grateful to wake up each day,so grateful to have minimal pain and manageable side effects so far. Praying for a good CT scan later this week!
I heard your day on the water was mostly chumming...that sux. Sorry to hear you had a shitty day out there.
I LOVE being out on the ocean...flat water, rough water, crazy wild water...don't care. (but obviously, flat or mild swells is better/more comfortable)
Sounds like things are on the up and up :thumpsup:
I saw my first dolphins / porpoises in June and it was a magical experience. Whales are definitely a few levels above that at least.