For those of you that have me facebooked, I ask that you please refrain from posting anything about this on my page. I would like to be the one to tell the loved ones that need to know about this. Thank you
So the last few weeks I have been having lots of stomache aches. Some were pretty severe. At first I thought maybe I was just eating something my body didnt agree with, but after they went on for weeks I went in to get it checked out. The biopsy showed that I have intestinal cancer. I go back in today for more tests to get a better scope of how spread it is and what my chances are, but I cant believe this happened to me. I'm 24, perfect health, I run at least 75 miles a week... I just dont understand.
I told my GF...she took it pretty rough. Much worse than I did. I feel really bad for her having to deal with this, esp since she has only been seeing me for 3/4 weeks. I have not told my family yet. I was going to see what the further testing today shows before I sit my family down to break the news. Part of me feels guilty about doing it...my parents were going to go to vegas this weekend for their anniversary. I think I might let them have their trip then tell them when they get back... I dont know.
Well I just had to get that off my chest...
When all of you wake up tomorrow morning I want you to be thankful for your health, dont take it for granted please.
*quick update*
Just got home. It is confirmed that I have cancer. From the preliminary tests they are confident that the cancer is fairly localized... which is a good sign. I will update more later, right now my GF is bringing me some dinner and spending time with me.
Thanks to everyone for your support. I received many PM's filled with kind words. I will address specific posts/questions asked later this evening. This thread made me feel a lot better...you guys are an amazing support group.
As far as my decision with my parents... they are not wealthy and rarely take vacation trips. They have been looking forward to this for a long time... I feel its the best decision to let them enjoy a few days together before I turn their world upside down. Also a factor in this decision is I do not have all of the facts/information yet to be able to properly tell them the situation I am in. Its hard to keep something like this from them for a few days, but I just want to see them happy for a bit before their world comes crashing down around them.
I am, however, going into the city this weekend to spend the day with my sister and break the news to her. My parents and my younger brother(who lives with them) will wait until Tuesday.
*elaborating on above update*
So they are fairly certain the cancer is only on a couple inches of my small intestine. They said they cannot be 100% on that until they actually open me up to remove that portion of my intestine. Still, that is great news to hear. The tentative plan (from how I understood it) is to remove the section of diseased intestine and then blast the area with chemo to get rid of anything that may not have been removed by the surgery. I believe the surgery will be fairly soon, when I get a date I will post it here. Again, thanks for the support everyone. You nerds are great
*edit*
I just saw the question asked many times...but I still have not answered.
From what I was told, the tumor was likely stage 1. They said they cannot know 100% until I am opened up. I was not sure what the different stages meant, so I asked and they said the lower the stage the smaller and less spread the cancer is. I guess stage 4 is the worst??, so I am blessed in this regards (although they do not know for certain)
*EDIT*
Phew....sorry for the lack of updates....been really really busy with this whole thing. They determined that the tumor was in an early stage so they felt that surgery immediately would be the best option. About a week and a half ago they opened me up and cut out the portion of my small intestine that the tumor was growing on. They feel they got it all. I have been eating nothing but pudding and applesauce for a couple weeks. My stomach is sore (as can be imagined) but every day it feels a little better. I go back in this Thursday for more tests to basically see if the tumor was completely removed and what the next phase of treatment is. I'm really excited about the news though, I feel much better now than I did a few weeks ago...
As for my parents, they were understanding that I waited to tell them. My mom said she wished I woulda told her earlier...but I knew she would say that. They had a nice time
Id like to thank the AT community for the support they have shown me... This thread really did help me get through the initial "OH SHIT" phase of learning my cancer. Lots of kind words and prayers from this board, and it did make a difference to me. I'm just now crossing my fingers for more good news Thursday.
You guys/gals are amazing. Thanks so much :beer:
So the last few weeks I have been having lots of stomache aches. Some were pretty severe. At first I thought maybe I was just eating something my body didnt agree with, but after they went on for weeks I went in to get it checked out. The biopsy showed that I have intestinal cancer. I go back in today for more tests to get a better scope of how spread it is and what my chances are, but I cant believe this happened to me. I'm 24, perfect health, I run at least 75 miles a week... I just dont understand.
I told my GF...she took it pretty rough. Much worse than I did. I feel really bad for her having to deal with this, esp since she has only been seeing me for 3/4 weeks. I have not told my family yet. I was going to see what the further testing today shows before I sit my family down to break the news. Part of me feels guilty about doing it...my parents were going to go to vegas this weekend for their anniversary. I think I might let them have their trip then tell them when they get back... I dont know.
Well I just had to get that off my chest...
When all of you wake up tomorrow morning I want you to be thankful for your health, dont take it for granted please.
*quick update*
Just got home. It is confirmed that I have cancer. From the preliminary tests they are confident that the cancer is fairly localized... which is a good sign. I will update more later, right now my GF is bringing me some dinner and spending time with me.
Thanks to everyone for your support. I received many PM's filled with kind words. I will address specific posts/questions asked later this evening. This thread made me feel a lot better...you guys are an amazing support group.
As far as my decision with my parents... they are not wealthy and rarely take vacation trips. They have been looking forward to this for a long time... I feel its the best decision to let them enjoy a few days together before I turn their world upside down. Also a factor in this decision is I do not have all of the facts/information yet to be able to properly tell them the situation I am in. Its hard to keep something like this from them for a few days, but I just want to see them happy for a bit before their world comes crashing down around them.
I am, however, going into the city this weekend to spend the day with my sister and break the news to her. My parents and my younger brother(who lives with them) will wait until Tuesday.
*elaborating on above update*
So they are fairly certain the cancer is only on a couple inches of my small intestine. They said they cannot be 100% on that until they actually open me up to remove that portion of my intestine. Still, that is great news to hear. The tentative plan (from how I understood it) is to remove the section of diseased intestine and then blast the area with chemo to get rid of anything that may not have been removed by the surgery. I believe the surgery will be fairly soon, when I get a date I will post it here. Again, thanks for the support everyone. You nerds are great
*edit*
I just saw the question asked many times...but I still have not answered.
From what I was told, the tumor was likely stage 1. They said they cannot know 100% until I am opened up. I was not sure what the different stages meant, so I asked and they said the lower the stage the smaller and less spread the cancer is. I guess stage 4 is the worst??, so I am blessed in this regards (although they do not know for certain)
*EDIT*
Phew....sorry for the lack of updates....been really really busy with this whole thing. They determined that the tumor was in an early stage so they felt that surgery immediately would be the best option. About a week and a half ago they opened me up and cut out the portion of my small intestine that the tumor was growing on. They feel they got it all. I have been eating nothing but pudding and applesauce for a couple weeks. My stomach is sore (as can be imagined) but every day it feels a little better. I go back in this Thursday for more tests to basically see if the tumor was completely removed and what the next phase of treatment is. I'm really excited about the news though, I feel much better now than I did a few weeks ago...
As for my parents, they were understanding that I waited to tell them. My mom said she wished I woulda told her earlier...but I knew she would say that. They had a nice time
Id like to thank the AT community for the support they have shown me... This thread really did help me get through the initial "OH SHIT" phase of learning my cancer. Lots of kind words and prayers from this board, and it did make a difference to me. I'm just now crossing my fingers for more good news Thursday.
You guys/gals are amazing. Thanks so much :beer: