Cancer sucks

[Kaido]

A 16 year old just found a method in which to test for pancreatic cancer that is reliable and cheap. The current test for pancreatic cancer costs hundreds of dollars.

http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/27/an-e...or-pancreatic-cancer-jack-andraka-at-ted2013/

but unfortunately for my friend his only symptom was a persistent flu that carried on for about a month. Once he started losing weight he saw his doctor and that was that.

Crazy that a kid found that out!

Also crazy how basic illness symptoms manifest themselves at first. Another friend was just diagnosed with sarcoidosis, which I guess is kind of like a lymphoma. Perfectly healthy, all of a sudden his ankles got swollen, so he saw the doctor and they discovered it. And it's usually not fatal unless it's by your heart, and of course it's right behind his heart :\

Stuff like this always puts life in perspective for me...my complaints seem so small compared to having to deal with a life-threatening disease or a death sentence, you know?

 

[sjwaste]

Damn, how do you go from fine one day to STAGE 4 the next day? Wasn't he ever screened for cancer before? Were there any warning signs leading up until now?

Did he just feel sick one day, go to the doctor and they said "Oh BTW, you have 6 months to live" ?

Pancreatic cancer is more or less asymptomatic until it's terminal. The people that beat it are the ones that get lucky and show some kind of symptom (related or unrelated) early in that general area of the body and imaging picks it up. Pancreatic cancer isn't necessarily "worse" than other cancers, it's just a lot harder to detect. At least, that's my understanding.

 

[MartyMcFly3]

Cancer is brutal. My sister had a bout with it in High School. She had to miss a good portion of school due to chemo and radiation. Fortunately she got it removed and has been clear since but that definitely took a toll on her, my family and me.

 

[Kaido]

how do you go from fine one day to STAGE 4 the next day? Wasn't he ever screened for cancer before? Were there any warning signs leading up until now?

Did he just feel sick one day, go to the doctor and they said "Oh BTW, you have 6 months to live" ?

Same thing happened to a guy at my work. Was perfectly healthy, did road bicycling (races), had trouble breathing one day and found out he had lung cancer (I think Stage 4). Boom. Ending up having to take an early retirement to go through treatments, but it was basically one of those "you have 6 months to 3 years", possibly sooner, possible later, but it doesn't look good sorts of things

 

[Zodiark1593]

Damn, how do you go from fine one day to STAGE 4 the next day? Wasn't he ever screened for cancer before? Were there any warning signs leading up until now?

Did he just feel sick one day, go to the doctor and they said "Oh BTW, you have 6 months to live" ?

Some cancers can have few to no symptoms until advanced stage, and sometimes even metastasis (cancer breaks off and invades other, remote areas). Apparently, quite a large percentage of survivors are those whom have gotten a lucky screening at the right place, right time.

 

[Exterous]

A close family friend was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer 2 weeks ago. He has between 4 weeks and 6 months to live. In the span of 2 weeks he has gone from living on his own and being independent to a shell of himself. He has asked my parents to live with them in the interim because he does not want to die alone.

God damned heart breaking He is 49 and will not see 50.

That really sucks to hear. The random time frames of pancreatic cancer are hard to deal with. My father recently finished his 'quality of life treatments' and has an unknowable amount of time left to live. Basically check every so often and update from there.

It is very tough but - at least from my perspective - I would prefer to know ahead of time. A close friend of mine found out his mom had it and within 6 days she was dead. Not even a week to deal with it. We found out my father had it early and have been able to spend a lot of quality time together and get plans made.

I wish you, him and his family the very best of luck dealing with this. It is a terrible time but I hope that you and they are able to make the most of it

Pancreatic cancer is more or less asymptomatic until it's terminal. The people that beat it are the ones that get lucky and show some kind of symptom (related or unrelated) early in that general area of the body and imaging picks it up. Pancreatic cancer isn't necessarily "worse" than other cancers, it's just a lot harder to detect. At least, that's my understanding.

Late detection is a big part but also surgery to remove pancreatic cancer is one of the riskiest and most complicated of the cancer surgeries. Even for those who are candidates for a Whipple procedure the 5 year survival rate is a measly 20%

 

[LegendKiller]

Yeah, it does. Just lost my dad to esophageal cancer a month ago. Early detection is key.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Damn, how do you go from fine one day to STAGE 4 the next day? Wasn't he ever screened for cancer before? Were there any warning signs leading up until now?

Did he just feel sick one day, go to the doctor and they said "Oh BTW, you have 6 months to live" ?

The key to having a fighting chance against cancer is to find it early. Unfortunately pancreatic cancer often doesn't show symptoms until its almost already killed you.

My brother in law's father had diabetes and was up there in age. Being in his 70's as he was starting to show signs it was assumed that he was just having a diabetic episode of some sort. By the time his pancreatic cancer was discovered they gave him two weeks to live. He made it closer to four, but imagine getting that news... two weeks of very rapidly declining health is all you have to work with. Sad.

Cancer is terrible, sorry OP.

 

[Rudee]

I know someone who was recently diagnosed with MS. 36 years old. The person had an incident when they were trying to put their keys in the ignition of their car, and thought it was strange that they were fumbling with the keys for a bit longer than usual. Thought it was just a moment of clumsiness. Mentioned the new-found clumsiness to their Doctor, Doctor ran some tests... results came back as MS.

 

[ViviTheMage]

They gave my mom 4 weeks, she lives 2 more years ... but she did not seem to enjoy the last 3-4 months, as the chemo was pretty brutal.

 

[Rinaun]

They gave my mom 4 weeks, she lives 2 more years ... but she did not seem to enjoy the last 3-4 months, as the chemo was pretty brutal.

A close family friend went into the hospital several times for back pain. Instead of more pills for his 7th visit, they did a scan and found out he had cancer on I believe his liver; he had a decent chance compared to most whom catch it in the very late stages. He signed up for chemo ASAP and got his first treatment that week. After his first treatment he had 3 heart attacks in a two day period and passed away.

Things I learned during that experience:

Hospitals are a joke.
Chemo is no joke.

 

[SlickSnake]

What are you talking about? Crohn's doesn't compare to cancer in the slightest and is far from a death sentence.

Crohn's is sometimes misdiagnosed as colitis and the symptoms are similar and can cause severe inflammation and pain of the intestines in cases like my mom's. Her's was accompanied by other conditions and complications which also required removal of both breasts due to severe benign cysts and fibromyalgia. After about 7 years after the breast surgery, she was finally properly diagnosed with Crohn's and they also discovered after some biopsy surgery her condition had deteriorated to the point of cancer which had already spread throughout her lymphatic system.

Most of her intestines and part of her stomach was removed, along with parts of her infected lymph-nodes. She tried chemo and everything else she could, and died about a year later after her surgery from numerous complications and infections.

And I also believe her lifetime addiction to cigarettes caused or contributed to most of her medical issues. She was only 52.

 

[edro]

Coworker's 23yo daughter had lymph node throat cancer last year.
Had surgery, couldn't get it all.
Now it's back and she needs another surgery and chemo/radiation.

It almost brings me to tears every time I think about it.

Cancer is a constant reminder to live your life to the fullest.
We are only here for a short amount of time.

 

[iamwiz82]

Just got the call. He passed away this morning just after midnight. I suspect he had wanted to go at this point .

 

[Brainonska511]

Just got the call. He passed away this morning just after midnight. I suspect he had wanted to go at this point .

I'm sorry to hear that. My condolences to you and your family.

 

[dud]

I beat renal cancer in 09. It was scary. I still freak out anytime I get a random pain somewhere.

I'm curious ... do you continue to have renal function or are you on dialysis?

Please disregard if you feel this violates your privacy.

 

[edro]

Just got the call. He passed away this morning just after midnight. I suspect he had wanted to go at this point .

:'(

He only lasted 2 weeks?! Damn...

 

[Exterous]

Just got the call. He passed away this morning just after midnight. I suspect he had wanted to go at this point .

Thats tough man. My thoughts and best wishes are with you, your family and his during these tough times

 

[DougK62]

So did he end up living with your parents until his death? If so, then your parents are really awesome.

 

[MrDudeMan]

I don't understand how it kills you so fast. He lived for two weeks after it was diagnosed, right? I'm assuming he wasn't in terrible shape before the diagnosis because he would have gone to the doctor sooner most likely. That means he went from a doctor visit for a slight pain somewhere to dead in two weeks. That's incredibly fast, no?

 

[iamwiz82]

So did he end up living with your parents until his death? If so, then your parents are really awesome.

Just for a split second before he went to the hospital. They stayed with him every day though. It's been very tough on them; he was always referred to as their adopted son. We had already helped him settle most of his things, ended his rental property, etc. He pretty much just waited until everything was taken care of and then died.

I saw him on Saturday and he was doped up but didn't seem ill, other than the jaundice. For me I think it was his decision to die rather than to hold on.

 

[iamwiz82]

I don't understand how it kills you so fast. He lived for two weeks after it was diagnosed, right? I'm assuming he wasn't in terrible shape before the diagnosis because he would have gone to the doctor sooner most likely. That means he went from a doctor visit for a slight pain somewhere to dead in two weeks. That's incredibly fast, no?

He was completely mobile and and such on the day he was diagnosed. He went by himself because he didn't think it would be anything. The doctor initially said 4 months. The second doctor said 6 months. Once he entered the hospital the hospice nurse pulled my parents away and told them it would be as soon as 4 weeks just because he didn't seem to want to fight. It turns on she was optimistic as well.

 

[LumbergTech]

A close family friend went into the hospital several times for back pain. Instead of more pills for his 7th visit, they did a scan and found out he had cancer on I believe his liver; he had a decent chance compared to most whom catch it in the very late stages. He signed up for chemo ASAP and got his first treatment that week. After his first treatment he had 3 heart attacks in a two day period and passed away.

Things I learned during that experience:

Hospitals are a joke.
Chemo is no joke.

Hospitals are not all a joke. I am sorry for your loss. They don't always do the right thing, but sometimes they perform damn near miracles. My brother's surgeon saved him with a projected 5% chance to live through the surgery. I can't imagine what my parents must have been going through knowing that number. The University of Iowa hospital we pretty much lived in for the good part of a year was a new home to us and a sanctuary for him to recover in.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Sorry to hear. I hope you and your parents are doing ok.

 

[Harrod]

Sorry to hear. I had an uncle that died of renal cancer 3 years ago, he was initially giving 6 months to live, he lasted almost 3 years. Being around him during those last years taught me not to worry about the small stuff and to focus on whats important.