Cancer.. i have it

[OverVolt]

Get some good sleep slag! Take care of yourself.

 

[darkswordsman17]

OP do you have someone to take you to and from your appointments and possibly anything else you might need? If not I know there's a bunch of ATOTers in the KC area. I'm probably a good hour and half away otherwise I'd volunteer to help.

Also, I want to thank you for both telling about your situation in good detail and keeping us up on it as I think it will benefit others, either members or possibly other people that Google it and might find this thread.

Hope the radiation kicks its ass and doesn't kick yours too terribly much.

Got my chemo port installed yesterday and a fentanyl patch which seems to work pretty well. Only woke up two times in the middle of the night and had a more restful sleep.

Just so long as its not Zane Johnson helping you, but then I think he's in Texas.

Noted. I have 30 patches.. they last 3 days each. I hope to only need to use a few and with the treatments starting monday, i hope the tumor will shrink enough to where most of the pain goes away quickly.

So.. these patches are the shit, eh? I've never heard of them before.

Zane OD'ed on that shit (has a thread where he told about it, they take the patches and then try to separate the gel and cook it if I remember right). It's something like 100 times more potent than Morphine or Heroin, but that might not be right. It's a strong opiate though so yeah definitely be careful and the less of them you can get by with probably the better (but make absolutely sure to keep tabs on them).

 

[slag]

Hang in there Slag!

I work in Radiation Oncology so I know first hand how tough the treatment will be. Unfortunately in your case, it's already painful to eat and it will only get worse. You're going to lose a lot of weight; and you'll hate going for your treatments somewhere around week 4.

That being said, I've seen the results and I'd not hesitate to have it myself should I need it. Do your best to keep your weight up by eating higher calorie food and get plenty of rest. Listen to your body. Also, don't do any strange diets; they don't help.

I have a swallow test today and am already having difficulty. I think a feeding tube is in my future.

 

[slag]

from wiki for you Fentanyl is approximately 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine and roughly 15 to 20 times more potent than heroin.[10][11]

Well, I had a chemo class/introduction on what to expect yesterday and they decided to take me off the patches because they take roughly 18 hours to start and 18 hours to leave the system and they want something more controllable.. so.. I'm now on oxycontin and oxycodone and not liking it. They are going to increase the dosage I think because I'm still in pain when on these drugs. One is a 12 hour release, one I can take every 4 hours. I still have the patches in my lockbox along with the lyrica and other stuff, and now the leftover hydrocodone and the new oxycodone and oxycontin. I'm a regular narcotics wet dream.

 

[slag]

Will you being receiving any CINV drugs for the chemo? It's really sad to hear when people can't finish their treatment because it's messing with them too much.

I'm not sure what that is.

Yesterday I received a bunch of NeutraSal saline rinse in the mail for my throat/mouth area. I also picked up 4 prescriptions for the chemo:
Prochlorperazine for nausea
Lorezapam for naseua, anxiety, and sleep
Dexamethasome (steroid) I take twice daily for 2 days after chemo
Famotidine which is a pepsid which will help my stomach acid.

This is in addition to the narcotics I'm taking. I never used to have to take any meds, just the occasional fish oil and vitamin C. Now I take so many pills its insane.

Also I'm taking a stool softener because my shit is all messed up (literally).

7 more weeks..

 

[slag]

OP do you have someone to take you to and from your appointments and possibly anything else you might need? If not I know there's a bunch of ATOTers in the KC area. I'm probably a good hour and half away otherwise I'd volunteer to help.

Also, I want to thank you for both telling about your situation in good detail and keeping us up on it as I think it will benefit others, either members or possibly other people that Google it and might find this thread.

Hope the radiation kicks its ass and doesn't kick yours too terribly much.



Just so long as its not Zane Johnson helping you, but then I think he's in Texas.



Zane OD'ed on that shit (has a thread where he told about it, they take the patches and then try to separate the gel and cook it if I remember right). It's something like 100 times more potent than Morphine or Heroin, but that might not be right. It's a strong opiate though so yeah definitely be careful and the less of them you can get by with probably the better (but make absolutely sure to keep tabs on them).

I'm very fortunate to have friends and family members in the area (3 sisters in KC), parents near Topeka, and lots of friends who will help ferry the kids around on days I don't feel well.

My goal in this was to show what is involved with the cancer diagnosis and what they give you. Its quite eye opening to see all the stuff you have to go through, the tests, the appointments, the drugs, etc. I am very fortunate to have good insurance as well and am able to afford the meds that are more expensive also. I don't know if Off Topic is the best place for this. Wonder if I should get it moved to another area?

 

[reallyscrued]

I have no words. The original post read like something out of a House episode.

Wish you the best.

 

[ThePresence]

That's not just frustrating, it's absolutely horrible.
Doctors need to take the time to differentiate between chronic complainers and serious issues.
Good luck man. We are pulling for you.

 

[manimal]

Well, I had a chemo class/introduction on what to expect yesterday and they decided to take me off the patches because they take roughly 18 hours to start and 18 hours to leave the system and they want something more controllable.. so.. I'm now on oxycontin and oxycodone and not liking it. They are going to increase the dosage I think because I'm still in pain when on these drugs. One is a 12 hour release, one I can take every 4 hours. I still have the patches in my lockbox along with the lyrica and other stuff, and now the leftover hydrocodone and the new oxycodone and oxycontin. I'm a regular narcotics wet dream.

are you in a MMJ state slag? I feel for you man, those pills are horrible, after my last surgery I said fuck it and stopped taking them two days after. I dont know how people enjoy these either man.

 

[Ban Bot]

I have a swallow test today and am already having difficulty. I think a feeding tube is in my future.

Hang in there, you are going to kick cancer's ass!

The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.
Moliere

All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.
Helen Keller

 

[Ban Bot]

are you in a MMJ state slag? I feel for you man, those pills are horrible, after my last surgery I said fuck it and stopped taking them two days after. I dont know how people enjoy these either man.

Same here. I had two craniotomies in 2012 and after the second I was off the oxy in 2 days. The stuff made me feel horrible.

 

[slag]

are you in a MMJ state slag? I feel for you man, those pills are horrible, after my last surgery I said fuck it and stopped taking them two days after. I dont know how people enjoy these either man.

No.. Colorado is, but not Kansas. I'll get through it. Even with the soreness today, I passed the swallowing test with flying colors.

 

[Geekbabe]

I'm not sure what that is.

Yesterday I received a bunch of NeutraSal saline rinse in the mail for my throat/mouth area. I also picked up 4 prescriptions for the chemo:
Prochlorperazine for nausea
Lorezapam for naseua, anxiety, and sleep
Dexamethasome (steroid) I take twice daily for 2 days after chemo
Famotidine which is a pepsid which will help my stomach acid.

This is in addition to the narcotics I'm taking. I never used to have to take any meds, just the occasional fish oil and vitamin C. Now I take so many pills its insane.

Also I'm taking a stool softener because my shit is all messed up (literally).

7 more weeks..

Dexamethasome is a devil of a drug, I think of all the drugs I have to take it's the one I dislike the most.

 

[slag]

Dexamethasome is a devil of a drug, I think of all the drugs I have to take it's the one I dislike the most.

Why? Does it dry you out? What does it do that you dislike?

 

[Geekbabe]

Why? Does it dry you out? What does it do that you dislike?

Dex makes it rough for me to sleep which isn't good the night before chemo or the day after. Dex also impacts my mood, making me quite weepy which makes a hard time even harder.

As far as the drugs go though, your Onc will work to get you off so many meds once you don't need them anymore. I'm now on an immunotherapy that is infused just like chemo.. I don't need to take any Dex, nor do I need nausea meds or stool softness. I do still need pain meds, I take the 5mg Oxcs and will be getting 12 hour release OxyContin for nighttime use. I also take a low dose of Klonopin usually in the mornings to help me cope with overwhelming anxiety.

 

[slag]

I see. I just found out today I can't take oxycontin or oxycodone. The Percocet in it is giving me chills, shakes, and general anxiety that really sucks, and does not remove the pain. I'm going to switch tomorrow morning to Norco 10/325 which is a step up from the 5/325 I have that didn't work as well as I would have hoped. Not sure what my long term pain med will be yet though.

 

[TheVrolok]

Why? Does it dry you out? What does it do that you dislike?

High potency steroids are, unfortunately, both really great drugs and really bad drugs. Can be wonderful for appetite stimulation, energy, pain control in some people, but also have significant issues causing anxiety, insomnia, confusion, agitation. Some people do well with it, some people don't.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'm very fortunate to have friends and family members in the area (3 sisters in KC), parents near Topeka, and lots of friends who will help ferry the kids around on days I don't feel well.

My goal in this was to show what is involved with the cancer diagnosis and what they give you. Its quite eye opening to see all the stuff you have to go through, the tests, the appointments, the drugs, etc. I am very fortunate to have good insurance as well and am able to afford the meds that are more expensive also. I don't know if Off Topic is the best place for this. Wonder if I should get it moved to another area?

That's good. And you've got a great attitude, which will help those close to you, in fact, it seems kinda common that the people close to a lot of people fighting cancer get more strength from them versus the other way around. It sounds kinda messed up, but it seems to hit them worse a lot of times.

Definitely and that's what I was meaning and I think it has real value and can hopefully help others. I know there's a lot of sites that you could go to that probably would have better information and people able to offer their own situations that would probably benefit you more (and please do maybe check that out just to learn as much as you can to hopefully help your doctor and your own situation), but it's also good to have it in places that aren't so focused and concentrated.

I think Off Topic is just because I assume it still gets the most traffic of any of the subforums on here. While it might fit better in Health and Fitness I think its best in OT.

I wouldn't mind the mods coming up with a new special tag or something for threads like this, "Real Life" or something so they maybe stand out a little bit. Actually I think that could benefit the forum overall if they would put all (the Social subforums, I'd also put maybe some of Highly Technical that doesn't fit into tech stuff too) but P&N back into OT, and just have special flags (maybe color coded) and a way that you could easily sort/hide the type of threads you don't want to see. And different topics would have different rules (meaning highly technical topics would have more strict guidelines). Er none of that is really pertinent to your thread here though.

 

[slag]

The day has finally come. In one hour, I start my chemo and start the road to getting better. I won't lie, its terrifying and yet calming at the same time. Yesterday felt like Christmas eve to me, knowing that in just one day, things would start to happen. It's been a 7 month roller coaster emotions and I have tears in my eyes right now as I type this. It's hard to explain what goes through your mind when its taken 7 full months to get to this point and finally there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Without a strong wife and strong family behind me, I think I could have easily become severely depressed and who knows what would have happened.

Today I have a full day of saline, chemo, and more saline followed up with my first radiation treatment. I'll be posting on and off from the chemo room as I will be taking my laptop with me in there. Who knows, you might even get a video or something if anyone wants to see what its like there.

I've put the numbing agent on my port already and taken the Pepcid. I'm eating a breakfast of cheesy eggs and coffee right now to get some food in me, and will be leaving here shortly for the hospital. Will check back in after a while. I think its important to mention that they won't let me drive to or from the chemo treatments so my wife is going to be my DD today.

Slag (Joe)

EDIT: First round of radiation done. woo hoo, only 32 more to go. Getting saline now..Will start the cisplatin at noon and it goes for 200 minutes. Then, another bag of saline and I can go home.

 

[NoCreativity]

Good luck. Hope everything goes well.

 

[edro]

Good luck buddy.

 

[werepossum]

Best of luck, Joe. I'm a thyroid cancer survivor myself. Remember to seek out a stoner friend, 'cause if you get nauseated from the chemo there's no better cure than smoking weed. Prolly give you the munchies too.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Threads like this make me realize how insignificant my problems really are.

All of the best!

 

[tcsenter]

My dad tolerated radiation and chemo (cisplatin and one other drug combined) really well, for lung cancer. He had some bad days but for the most part, only some moderate nausea and fatigue after each treatment that only lasted a day, sometimes just for several hours. Appetite was very normal most of the time. It wasn't the "you will wish you were dead" type of living hell that you hear or read about.

Find your bad ass and kick cancer's ass!

 

[Kaido]

First round of radiation done

Make sure to sneak a spider in there with you next time :sneaky: