Cancer SUCKS

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  • Isn't it just normal peripheral neuropathy??
    (Inasmuch as peripheral neuropathy is ever normal)
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    edited September 2018
    Galilit wrote: »
    Isn't it just normal peripheral neuropathy??
    (Inasmuch as peripheral neuropathy is ever normal)

    My oncologist suspects that I've got another vertebra that has (as it were) cracked itself up. It was getting much worse during my off-week from the Killer Chemo Pills.

    The good news is that his wonderful, caring nurse managed to get everything rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so that I can be in church on Sunday morning! I need to think of something nice to do for her.

  • Ahhh...well... yes ....that would be much more worrying if it was happening in the "off week"

    Super that you can get to the Choir! I was so sad for you over that!

    Counting down to my "off week"...

  • Had a long-postponed meeting with the Annoyingly Sweet and Efficient Little Social Worker. She is just such a collaborator the Whole Filthy Rotten System (a Catholic Worker / Dorothy Day phrase) while trying to be helpful. I just see her passing by and it sets my teeth on edge

    It went OK though
  • Oncologist asked me what was with my haircut (Marines).
    I started "I want to look..." and my Significant Other finished for me "... gung ho".
    Then he had to explain "gung ho" to the poor doctor of course
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I like "gung ho."
  • You like gung ho?
    I am gung ho
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited September 2018
    WTF business of your oncologist (on whom be peace and blessings, anyway) is your hairstyle?

    By 'Marines', I take you to mean an extremely short haircut.... as in shaven, but with a bit on top!

    FWIW, I think that sort of thing's rather cool (especially in cold weather - but there's always Hats).
    :wink:

    I don't have much on top - in fact, I don't have much hair at all, but I do have a nice solar panel...

    IJ

  • Yes.
    Men are funny about women with hair that is "too short" - I have had it all my life. But this is as extreme as I have ever been.
    If I am going to die I will do it looking gung ho!
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    Galilit wrote: »
    ...If I am going to die I will do it looking gung ho!

    I'd kind of like to have hair when I go, although I'm not sure what difference it will make; my family and executors are well aware that I've promised to haunt anyone who puts my corpse on display.

  • An update on Miss M, my granddaughter, now in her second year of high school and doing well. All her regular tests show that she is fine, no sign of the leukaemia. Tests in front of her for very many years to come. I miss Uncle Pete here. He enquired very regularly after her and was a big support through the years of treatment that she had.
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    Thank you, Lothlorien. May Miss M. continue cancer-free for the rest of her long life.
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    I had been wondering about Miss M from time-to-time and am very glad to hear she is doing well.

    How long do the tests continue for?

    I miss Pete too for his support through the quakes (he visited here during that time, but fortunately avoided any shakey days).
  • Tests? Years and years.
  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited September 2018
    Very good news re Miss M!
    :grin:

    Hopefully, she'll get used to the tests as simply a part of her life, which (please God) will indeed be long!

    Rossweisse - :lol:

    IJ
  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    Thanks Loth - I didn't realise that, but it made sense when I stopped to think about it. The on-going stress for children who have had cancer and their families must be great.
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I have another pelvis-repair procedure coming up on Monday. I'm praying that this time it does the trick; I'm having to give up an outdoor concert I was happily anticipating on Wednesday evening because I just can't walk more than a few feet at a time. It's tedious.

  • RooKRooK Shipmate
    Is a wheelchair an option?
  • It may well be, of course, (providing someone is on hand to help push it), but some people (and I'm not saying Rossweisse is one of them) do tend to see it almost as an admission of defeat, IYSWIM.

    IJ
  • RooKRooK Shipmate
    Absolutely, that's why I asked. Because it's her preference that actually matters.
  • Doc TorDoc Tor Admin Emeritus
    I see this as a more suitable conveyance for a valkyrie...
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    Ho-jo-to-ho!

    My friend offered to push me in a wheelchair, and I would accept - but I don't have one, and I have no way to get one in such short order. I just hope the pelvis-pieces-gluing thing does the trick this time. (I'm also hoping that my oncologist, whom I will see this afternoon, will have an idea about dealing with the horrible neuropathy in my right arm and hand besides "Deal with it.")

  • HuiaHuia Shipmate
    I hope your oncologist comes up with a way to deal with the neuropathy Rossweisse.

    I remember pushing my mother in a wheelchair down a crowded footpath and wishing there were swords on the wheels like Boudicca's chariot.
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    Having swords on the wheels would make a wheelchair a whole lot more interesting.

    My beloved oncologist (I really got lucky there) is going to look into what could be causing the neuropathy. I seem to have lost an entire vertebra to the bone-chomping cancer (as if I was not short enough to start with), and he thinks that could be the problem. It could be another cementing project. But we shall see.
  • I have to say that all this talk of cementing reminds me very much of a most useful DIY product we have here in the UK (you may be blessed by it in the US, too).

    It's called 'No More Nails', and comes in several forms:
    unibond.co.uk/en/diy-adhesives/no-more-nails.html

    It is said that, when the Universe ends, the only things left will be cockroaches and No More Nails.....

    Seriously, though, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some form of it is, indeed, used in surgical procedures! Best wishes.... :grin:

    IJ
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    The stuff they use seems to be something called PMMA, which appears to be a close relative of Plexiglas. It gives off heat when mixed abd applied, which helps to kill the tumors.

    Meanwhile, I'm having yet another MRI tomorrow morning, to see what might be causing the killer neuropathy, especially in my right hand and arm. With luck, it won't get in the way of my French lesson in the early afternoon.

  • Rossweisse, thinking of you.
  • It is nice to know Rossweisse, that you have already 'hardened up'. I wish you well with the neuropathy.

    Thinking of all who post here. And their hairstyles, and rocket propulsion units...

    And I can answer the question...

    'WTF business of your oncologist (on whom be peace and blessings, anyway) is your hairstyle?'

    Because they are human, notice changes and care about their patients. And connection is good. As is some talk outside of disease and treatment. I believe some actually have their own families and friends... <grin>
  • Patdys wrote: »

    And I can answer the question...

    'WTF business of your oncologist (on whom be peace and blessings, anyway) is your hairstyle?'

    Because they are human, notice changes and care about their patients. And connection is good. As is some talk outside of disease and treatment. I believe some actually have their own families and friends... <grin>

    Ah, now that was my rather knee-jerk reaction. Patdys, you are quite right, and I stand corrected.

    IJ

  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    If only hospitals had the equivalent of frequent flyer miles (frequent procedure points?), I'd be at the Platinum level by now. "Congratulations! Every 12th scan is absolutely free."

    (Thank you, Anselmina!)

  • I didn't take it terribly personally ... though I would not have mentioned it myself if I was a an oncologist (because "hair" is such a sensitive issue in that world); or if (as a patient) I noticed my doctor had a "new" haircut or had done a buzz instead of a comb-over
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    When you're obviously suffering from some Dread Disease (or, alternatively, pregnant), all sorts of people feel free to say all sorts of things about your appearance. Fortunately, I'm quick with a snarky comment.

  • RooKRooK Shipmate
    Rossweisse wrote: »
    Fortunately, I'm quick with a snarky comment.
    Everything before this statement was unnecessary.
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I have to be careful with medical personnel or others empowered to cause me serious pain, but it works reasonably well with most people.
  • :lol:

    I think there comes a time in everyone's life - whether it be through age, illness, or general dottiness - where one can say what one bloody well likes (and, hopefully, get away with it).

    IJ
  • :lol:

    I think there comes a time in everyone's life - whether it be through age, illness, or general dottiness - where one can say what one bloody well likes (and, hopefully, get away with it).

    IJ
    When I am an old woman...
  • It's taking a bloody long time to crawl out of The Black Hole in my so-called "off week" this month. It doesn't mean anything of course ...
    Yom Kippur tonight and tomorrow (dusk till dusk, you know) so that will give us TOTAL QUIET (she SHOUTED?!) which will be wonderful
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I have some (relatively) good news and some bad news: I've been having pins-and-needles problems with all my hands and feet, which have turned into serious problems with my right arm (which is, of course, the one I use all the time). Relatively good news: The MRI has led the docs to conclude that the problem is not caused by cancer, but by degenerative something-or-other in my cervical vertebrae. I am to have physical therapy, and I can start right away.

    Bad news: Other bits of my left hip have been cemented together, but a new and aggressive little lesion in the joint went untreated. The surgeon says he needs more and specialized pictures of it - and that if anything goes wrong, given the location, "You will never walk again. Ever." That's going to take some serious thought, prayer, and discussion.

  • Bishops FingerBishops Finger Shipmate
    edited September 2018
    O dear - yes indeed, good and not-so-good.

    Presumably most of the cementing has been successful to date? If so, hopefully the latest little lesion (BAD lesion! Down, Sir, DOWN!) can be treated similarly.

    At least you have a surgeon who doesn't pull any punches, though whether this is a Good or a Bad Thing is open to question, I guess. Personally, I'd rather be told about the worst-case scenario, but YMMV.

    I recall being warned by the consultant before my brain surgery that one of the side-effects might be death (!), and both he and the Nurse Practitioner were rather surprised at my un-fazedness.......

    IJ
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I'm another one who believes that the more facts I have, the better. I'm making up a list of questions for the surgeon when I talk to him in the next day or so. One of them is, "If this lesion is so aggressive, how long is it likely to be before I can't walk anyway?"
  • :flushed:

    Wow. That's one brave question!

    There was a time when Fell Diseases were talked about, if at all, in hushed tones, and certainly not within earshot of the Sufferer.

    I suppose this was to save the Sufferer unnecessary anguish of soul, but I personally feel that there was a certain dishonesty about this approach, albeit, of course, meant kindly.

    IJ
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I consider that approach extremely dishonest, and utterly unfair to the patient.

    The answer to my question seems to be "That depends." I'm probably going to have the procedure in a few weeks. In the meantime, he's giving me a course of steroids to ease the pain of walking. I hope it works!

  • Amen to that.

    IJ
  • GalilitGalilit Shipmate
    edited September 2018
    Oh steroids - you will be tearing things up and throwing things around left right and centre.
    Or maybe that's just me. I most times don't even have the excuse of steroids!
  • With me, it's Keppra (aka Levatiracetam, a common anti-seizure medication), and I'm on 2 g per day.....

    Fatigue, muscle weakness/pain, bouts of irrational and sudden rage....what's not to like?

    Nowt to do with the Big C, I know, but these bloody chemicals don't half Mess With Your Head.

    Mind you, I can do without the fits...

    IJ
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    I don't like steroids, but I like being in pain and largely immobilized even less. So I'll take 'em.

  • Nothing clever, just best wishes for all.
    And I reckon there first question the docs should ask is
    'How much information do you want and is now a good time'.

    And whilst I'm pontificating, I would hope most Oncologists and Palliative Care Docs really really enjoy a little snark.
  • I know the model is different in different countries but I really like that in my world that palliative care can be involved early and help people live well while they're having active treatment- 'and' rather than 'or'.

    And last thought, steroids can be good for bone pain and yeah, the side effects suck.
  • Oh indeed they do their job!
    It's just when they fall on "a certain personality type" ... to put it politely
  • RossweisseRossweisse Hell Host, 8th Day Host, Glory
    Well, today - being the first day of the course - should be the worst. That's something.
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