Resources and support for families dealing with cancer and serious illness

Elizabeth Collins60 said:My dear friends, I’m feeling a little lost here... unfortunately, we’ve lost another one to this cruel disease. My dad passed away this past Sunday, October 21st, at 1:30 PM. The tears just won't stop falling; honestly, I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that he’s gone and I won't see him again. I can't stop picturing him lying helpless in bed—that's not how I want to remember him. In my mind, he’s always out there in his stroller with our dog, just wandering through town while we grab a coffee. We have so many shared memories, so many beautiful moments, and it feels like he's still living inside me... even though every day gets harder and harder. But I don't regret anything. I gave him everything I had, staying by his side until the very end, and now I’m looking after Mom day and night. He was special, we had such a unique bond, and I was always his "little snowflake."

I am so sorry, mia.😢
Time will pass, and the sharp edges of this grief will eventually dull, leaving you with a quiet void and those beautiful memories that stay with you forever.
Lean on each other right now—you and your mom—mourning him together will make the weight easier to carry. Your dad will always be a part of you. Try to find a moment to breathe. Maybe in a week or so, you and your mom could take a little trip somewhere, even just a quick weekend getaway to clear your heads. I'm not sure if you're religious, but people often find peace visiting holy sites, like going to Lourdes; they say it acts like medicine for the soul.
Sending kisses and hugs to you and your mom. Keep being the powerhouse women you are.🙂

Hey there, my favorites!!
Just a quick check-in from Germany where I’ve started a three-week course of immunotherapy—those last six rounds of chemo absolutely wrecked me, honestly. Everything seems okay so far... the level of patient care here is night and day compared to what we have back home. My doctor was actually really happy with how I'm responding, so fingers crossed my next update is even better news. I just wanted you all to know that I am right there with you, heart and soul, through all those selfless battles you're fighting for your loved ones. For me, this forum feels like—"Good morning, I'm heading out to grab coffee with friends." Thanks for everything, guys. Dina

Grace Fowler said:Hey everyone!!
Just checking in quickly from Germany, where I've started my three-week immunotherapy round (those last six chemo sessions absolutely wrecked me). Everything seems fine so far... honestly, the level of patient care here is worlds apart from what we deal with back home. My doctor was really pleased with how I'm responding, so fingers crossed my next update is even better news. I want you all to know that even though I'm fighting my own battle, I'm right there with you in spirit, rooting for you in those selfless struggles you face for your loved ones. For me, this forum feels like—"Good morning, I'm heading out to grab coffee with friends." Thanks for everything. Grace

Come on, that's great🙂 . I'm glad you can find a little time to actually relax and breathe😍 . You're going to pull through this just fine, don't you worry, you'll see👍

Dear Mia,
We’re new to this forum, but regardless, our hearts go out to you. We are certain that you and your mother will find a way to navigate through these incredibly heavy moments. Try to find your strength, because life keeps moving forward whether we want it to or not. Your father undoubtedly loved you both deeply, and I’m sure he finds peace knowing you were right there by his side. He’ll be waiting for you where we all eventually meet.😘

Melissa Kim45,
thanks for the reply. We’ll be heading back into the kitchen in a few days. It can be difficult to find true empathy in this line of work, but deep down, I know there is enough strength within us to honor every single wish our patients have.
Best regards to everyone, 🙂

Laura Gomez10 said:Hey everyone
A close friend of mine is battling malignant melanoma. Three days ago, doctors basically gave up on her and sent her home, claiming she only has about 15 days left to live. It’s absolutely devastating. She’s only 26...
We heard about Dr. Branko Stakic from Belgrade who practices alternative medicine. During our conversation, he told us he might be able to use his treatments to halt the spread of those galloping metastases.
What I really want to know is if any of you have heard of him or have any experience with his work.
Thanks
p.s. here is the link to his website

http://www.cytomedica.com/0002.htm

I've used Dr. Stakic's therapy and my experience treating malignant diseases has been completely negative. It's totally ineffective. In my opinion, it's just a massive waste of time and energy for patients who are already struggling... and as for the doctor's greed? Honestly, there isn't much left to say about that.

Elizabeth Collins60 said:My dear friends, I’m feeling a little lost right now... unfortunately, I have some heartbreaking news to share because we lost another soul to this cruel disease, and my dad passed away this past Sunday, October 21st, at 1:30 PM. Honestly, the tears just won't stop flowing, and even though time is passing, it still hasn't quite sunk in that he’s gone and I won't see him again. When I think of him, I don't picture him lying helpless in a hospital bed; instead, my mind keeps drifting back to those beautiful days when he was in his stroller, our little guy, and we’d just wander around town together grabbing coffee. We shared so many incredible memories and such wonderful moments, and I truly feel like he’s still living right here inside me... even though it feels harder and harder to carry this weight every single day. But I don't regret a single second of it—I gave him absolutely everything I had, staying by his side until the very end, and now I’m spending all my time looking after my mom. He was such a special man, and we had this bond that was just one of a kind; I was always his little snowflake...

Dear Mia, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss.
I know there aren't any words in the world that can truly take away this kind of pain.
But you are so right when you say he lives on through you, because when you love someone that deeply, there is no real goodbye—he stays alive within your heart and through everything you do... even if this physical separation hurts so much right now.
May the love you shared give you the strength to keep going.
Sending so many prayers to you and your mother; I hope you both find the strength to get through this heartache.

It’s been a little while since I last checked in, so I wanted to reach out and say hello to everyone—and please know that even when I’m quiet, I’m still here, reading through all your advice and finding so much support in this community.
Things are looking pretty good on my end lately, and I’m really hoping they stay that way for the long haul.
Best to you all!

Grace Fowler said:Hello, my dear friends...
I am checking in briefly from Germany, where I have just begun a three-week course of immunotherapy (those last six rounds of chemo absolutely decimated me)... So far, everything seems fine... The standard of patient care here is worlds apart from what we experience back home... The doctor was quite pleased with my response, so I remain hopeful that my next update will be even more positive. Please know that I am with you all in spirit through your selfless battles to improve the lives of those you love most. To me, this forum feels like—well, like a "good morning, I'm heading out to meet my friends" kind of feeling... Thank you all for the support. Grace

You are incredibly brave and strong! Keep pushing forward and don't you dare falter... I am so relieved you are outside of the US and experiencing such a massive difference in care, as I have certainly felt that same gap myself... Hang in there! And please, do keep us posted on how it goes... I am genuinely curious to see what follows the immunotherapy... kisses

Elizabeth Collins60 said:Hey everyone, I'm a little out of the loop... sadly, we lost another one to this awful disease. My dad passed away on Sunday, October 21st, 2007, at 1:30 PM.

I am so incredibly sorry, Mia. I really hope you and your mom can find some peace and start healing soon, no matter how heavy things feel right now.

Nathan Bailey, it’s good to see you pop up here. I was actually scrolling through your old posts earlier wondering how your husband was doing.

Best, Dan 🙂

Hey everyone!
First off, my heart goes out to anyone here dealing with loss right now..😢

To lighten the mood a bit, we finally have some decent news. My dad went in for scans last week after finishing his second round of chemo (he’s fighting lung adenocarcinoma with brain metastases that were operated on back in early July; prognosis was originally 3-6 months)

And... the results are looking great. His brain is clear, no signs of metastasis, and the lung scans don't show a single shadow—it's like everything just backed off..🤷 It all feels a little surreal to me right now, but I know I have to hang onto this hope..🙄 Because miracles do happen!! But I'm a bit confused—if the results are this good, why does he still need to finish the chemo?!
The doctor said we should be incredibly pleased, though he didn't call it a miracle or anything; Dad still has two more cycles of chemo to go.. What do you guys think about all this?! Obviously, I am beyond happy, and this gives us the strength to keep pushing, but I'm also feeling a little lost..🤷

Hang in there, everyone. Stay strong.👍

Hello everyone,
My husband is finally being discharged tomorrow after wrapping up his fourth round of chemo. Honestly, looking at him is heartbreaking—his blood work is a total disaster, and he’s just... pale, weak, and completely drained. I’m reaching out because I could use any and all advice you might have on how to help stabilize his blood counts. Also, if you have tips for managing his digestion, please share them; he’s struggling immensely with regularity. It seems like all those prescribed medications are just backing everything up.
Hang in there, everyone,
electricgardener14

crimsonmason44 said:Hey everyone!
First off, my heart goes out to anyone here dealing with the loss of a loved one..😢

To lighten things up a bit, we finally have some actual good news. My dad went in for his scans last week after finishing two rounds of chemo (he was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma and brain metastases, which were operated on in early July; the initial prognosis was only 3-6 months)

And... the results are incredible. His brain looks clear, no metastases, and the lung scans show absolutely nothing—it’s like the shadows just vanished..🤷 It all feels surreal right now, but I know I have to hold onto this hope..🙄 Since miracles really can happen!! But I am stuck on one thing: if the scans look this good, why does he still have to go through more chemo?!
The doctor said we should be extremely pleased, but he didn't call it a miracle; Dad still has two more cycles of chemotherapy to complete.. What do you all think about this situation?! Obviously, I’m beyond happy, and this gives us the strength to keep fighting, but I'm also pretty confused..🤷

Hang in there, everyone. Stay strong.👍

He has to finish the full course of treatment for the exact same reason you have to finish an entire prescription of antibiotics, even if you feel totally fine after just two pills.
The ugly truth about cancer is that it’s a cellular-level battle. You can't see everything on an MRI, a CT scan, or an X-ray. A single rogue cell left behind is enough to start dividing again, causing the cancer to flare back up. That’s why you have to kill everything—both what shows up on the scan and what doesn't.
You should be incredibly proud and happy that after just two cycles, he's showing such a strong response. Keep doing exactly what you've been doing, because clearly, your current approach is working.
Sending tons of good vibes and endless support your way. News like this always makes my day better 🙂.

electricgardener14 said:Hi everyone,
my husband is finally coming home tomorrow after finishing his fourth round of chemo. His blood work is an absolute disaster—he’s pale as a ghost, weak, and just completely wiped out. I am desperate for any advice on how to get his blood counts back up and how to fix his digestion, because he's really struggling there too. All these medications they have him on are just causing terrible constipation.
Hang in there, everyone,
electricgardener14

So, what kind of supplements is he actually taking right now?
I feel like we’ve covered this ground extensively here; there is a massive variety of options available. The key is to pick a direction, stick to it, and have faith in the process. For me, personally, I put my trust in native propolis. A lot of people swear by Noni or Alou, but honestly, I think what will help him most is being back home and eating real, comforting food. Just focus on plenty of nutritious, strengthening meals.
For the constipation, you could try Donat, Senna tea, Dulcolax suppositories, or even just prunes soaked in water... there are plenty of ways. When I help my mom, I sometimes use liquid glycerin via a syringe.

electricgardener14 said:Hey everyone,
my husband is finally coming home tomorrow after finishing his fourth round of chemo. His blood counts are a total wreck right now—he’s pale as a ghost, weak, and just completely wiped out. I'm looking for any and all advice on how to get his blood work back on track and help with his digestion, because he's really struggling there, too. All those meds he's on have him totally backed up.
Hang in there, everyone,
Diana

Diana, you might want to try Ocean 21 from CaliVita. It worked wonders for my dad.👍
His blood counts stayed steady through his entire chemo treatment because he started taking this right at the beginning.
It's basically a blend of aloe vera, sea algae, beet, celery, broccoli, and stuff like that. It's mostly geared toward boosting immunity and fixing blood counts, and it actually helps with constipation, too—no issues there. It's similar to Noni or Aloe Vera, but honestly, I think this works better.
Along with the Ocean 21, maybe try some fresh beet juice, Co Q10 (also from CaliVita), and plenty of fruit and veggies if he can manage to eat even a little bit.

Sending you guys so much strength and courage on this journey!!😉

Hello to all the brave souls gathered here in this community.

My partner is only 24, yet he has been living with melanoma for five years now. We truly believed surgery had finally settled everything, and we were busy making all these big plans for our future together, but then a PET/CT scan from two weeks ago showed metastasis in the lymph nodes.
Even though I’ve spent these past few years living in constant fear of a result like this, knowing deep down that this exact scenario was always a possibility, I still can't find a way to accept it. It feels like my entire world just flipped upside down in a single moment, and suddenly nothing feels the same anymore—not even the colors or the sounds. Everything just feels different.
The only thing keeping me going, the sole reason I pull myself out of bed every morning, is this tiny shred of hope: the belief that he might actually be one of those lucky outliers who beats the odds in those grim little statistics. I am committed to doing absolutely everything within my power to help make that happen. That is why I am here, looking for any shared experiences, advice, or helpful information you can offer... anything at all that might provide some kind of support or guidance.

Hello to all the brave souls here in this community.

My partner is only 24, and he’s been fighting melanoma for five years now. We truly believed surgery had finally settled everything, and we were busy making big plans for our future together, but then a PET/CT scan from two weeks ago revealed metastases in his lymph nodes.
Even though I’ve spent these past few years living with the constant fear of a result like this, always knowing deep down that this scenario was possible, I still can't find a way to come to terms with it. My entire world just flipped upside down in an instant, and suddenly nothing feels the same anymore—not the colors, not the sounds, nothing at all.
The only thing keeping me going, the one sliver of hope that gets me out of bed every single morning, is the belief that he might actually end up as one of those positive outliers in the statistics. I am determined to do absolutely everything within my power to help make that happen. That is exactly why I am here—I want to learn from your experiences, hear your advice, and gather any useful information you can share. Anything at all could be helpful, especially if anyone has insights specifically related to malignant melanoma.

Starting today, I’m going to begin reading through this thread from the very first post, as I’m sure there is already a wealth of wisdom shared here.

Elizabeth Gonzalez55 said:Hello to all the brave souls on this forum.

My partner is only 24, and he’s been living with melanoma for five years now. We honestly thought surgery had settled everything; we had such big plans for our future, but then a PET/CT scan two weeks ago showed metastases in the lymph nodes.
Even though I've spent these past few years living in constant fear of a result like this—knowing deep down this scenario was always a possibility—I still can't wrap my head around it. My entire world just flipped upside down in an instant. Nothing feels the same anymore; even colors and sounds feel different. Nothing.
The only thing keeping me going, the reason I get out of bed every single morning, is this tiny sliver of hope: the belief that he might actually be the one to beat those stupidly small positive statistics. And I am going to do absolutely everything in my power to help make that happen. That’s why I’m here—I want to hear about everyone's experiences, any advice, or useful info. Anything at all that can help, especially if anyone has specific insights regarding malignant melanoma.

Starting today, I’m going to go back and read this thread from the very first post; I’m sure a lot of valuable things have already been shared.

Welcome to the group.🙂

First thing's first: forget the statistics and the grim prognoses. Life itself is one long, continuous battle, much like the one your partner is fighting right now. Just being by his side through this is already a massive victory. With cancer, you never truly know when it might resurface, but a recurrence doesn't mean it's unbeatable. Never let the demon see you falter or show weakness, because that's exactly what feeds it.
My mom is going through a rough patch, and yesterday I found myself defiantly singing along to music while doing the laundry. I’m holding up fine. You will be fine too. Just push back against it and don't let the dark thoughts take hold. Take it one day at a time, and try to keep your future plans focused on tomorrow rather than years down the line. We are here for you, so please keep posting. You'll learn a lot, and hopefully, some of this info will save you from wandering aimlessly through the maze of the American healthcare system, which can drain the very energy you need for the fight. Stay strong. 🙂

Elizabeth Gonzalez55 said:Hello to all the brave souls gathered here on this forum.

The person I love is only 24, yet they have been living with melanoma for five years now. We truly believed the surgery had settled everything; we had such expansive plans for our future, only for a PET/CT scan two weeks ago to reveal metastases in the lymph nodes.
Even though I have spent these past years living in constant apprehension of such a result—fully aware that this scenario was always a possibility—I find myself unable to reconcile with this reality. My entire world has been upended in a single moment, and suddenly nothing feels the same... neither the colors nor the sounds... nothing.
There remains only one slender thread of hope that compels me to get out of bed each morning and press forward: the belief that he might just be the outlier who falls into those tiny, optimistic statistical categories. And I intend to do everything within my power to tip the scales in that direction. That is why I am here—searching for experiences, advice, and any useful information... anything at all that might offer assistance in any capacity, particularly regarding malignant melanoma.

Starting today, I shall begin reading through this thread from the very first post, as I suspect much has already been shared...

Listen to Ivanna and be braver than you have ever been; be more resilient and persistent so that hope doesn't remain just a thin thread... Life has a way of surprising us and pulling the rug out from under us. Show yourself and your partner that every day is a fresh experience and a chance to realize that it is worth fighting back against even the darkest thoughts with a smile...

Hang in there... kiss

Hey everyone!

I’m still right here following along with all of you—reading your stories, crying with you, thinking deeply about everything, and laughing whenever I can... My mom is actually handling her treatments quite well, and she just finished her second-to-last session today. That means there is just one more round of chemo left before we move on to radiation. Honestly, I am just so incredibly happy seeing how well she's holding up through it all. We did run into a few hiccups with her low white blood cell counts—specifically those neutrophils—but ever since she started taking beta Glucan, her immune system has been fantastic, and we haven't had any delays with her chemo scheduled at all. So, I figured I'd share, because maybe this little bit of info might help someone else out there.

Sending so much love to you all! 👍

Elizabeth Gonzalez55 said:Hey there to all the brave souls hanging out in this forum.

My partner is only 24, and he’s been fighting melanoma for five years now. We really thought the surgery had finally cleared everything, and we were busy making all these big plans for our future together, but then—out of nowhere—the PET/CT scan from two weeks ago showed metastases in the lymph nodes.
Even though I’ve spent these last few years living with this constant shadow over my head, always knowing deep down that a scenario like this was possible, I just can't seem to wrap my mind around it. It feels like my entire world just flipped upside down in a single heartbeat, and suddenly nothing feels the same anymore—not the colors, not the sounds... nothing at all.
The only thing keeping me going, the one little thread of hope that gets me out of bed every morning to keep pushing forward, is the belief that he might just be the one to beat those silly little positive statistics. And honestly, I am going to do absolutely everything in my power to help make that happen! That’s exactly why I’m here—I want to soak up every bit of experience, every piece of advice, and any helpful info you guys can share... anything at all that might help in any way, especially if anyone has specific insights regarding malignant melanoma.

Starting today, I’m going to begin reading through this whole thread from the very first post, because I'm sure so much valuable wisdom has already been shared.

How was the melanoma originally discovered?