Support for families dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses (Part II)

The hardest part of all of this is watching my dad struggle to accept his own mortality... honestly, I’m sitting here tearing up just thinking about it right now. Maybe that denial is what gives him the strength to keep fighting, though. Today marks his third day following his second round of chemo. He spent the last two days feeling pretty miserable—not necessarily in a physical sense, but more of a psychological toll. Sure, he’s dealing with that general post-chemo exhaustion, but he tends to experience every single setback with such tragic intensity. Even a simple cold he picked up isn't helping; he's currently on antibiotics to clear it out. I was thinking about starting him on some immune boosters today, but I am genuinely terrified to even try. Is it safe to use native propolis and beta-glucan together? I desperately want to get rid of this cold for him as quickly as possible, but I have this nagging fear that by trying to nourish his immune system, I might inadvertently be feeding the cancer. This damn disease is relentless.

Robin Diaz4 said:The hardest part for me is watching my dad struggle to accept that his time is coming... honestly, I burst into tears just thinking about it right now. Maybe that denial is actually what gives him the strength to keep fighting? He’s currently on day three following his second round of chemo. The last two days were pretty rough—not necessarily physically, but more mentally. Sure, he feels wiped out after the chemo, but he processes it so tragically every single time. Even catching a cold hasn't helped; he's on antibiotics now. I want to start boosting his immune system today, but I’m honestly terrified to try. Is it okay to use native propolis and beta-glucan together? I desperately want him to get over this cold quickly, but I'm paralyzed by the fear that I might somehow end up feeding the cancer. This damn disease.

Tapatalk You Can. You won't be feeding it, don't worry. Both of those have proven anti-cancer properties.

Angela Wright said:Try to view this as your own personal genesis—a moment of catharsis. It isn't the hard facts themselves that weigh you down, but rather the denial and the refusal to face them. Once you reach that point of acceptance—where you realize things will unfold exactly as they must, and you choose to live right here in the present—life becomes so much lighter.
Regarding faith and "proof," I’ve gone through my own version of this catharsis. I realized that an invisible hand has been nudging me my entire life; everything happens for a reason, specifically so I could become the person I am today, possessing the insights I have now. There have been moments where life truly crushed me, but those very experiences made me a better person—and honestly, I wouldn't change a single thing. Life—whether you call it the universe, God, or Mother Nature—is incredibly pragmatic, yet everything is deeply interconnected. Everything is linked, and every action has an impact.
I truly hope you find peace. It's the most important thing of all.

Thank you so much for the advice and the support.
I completely agree that everything happens for a reason; I’ve had my own share of "shake-ups" and total resets, and I learned so much from them. Hopefully, I'll be able to take the lessons from this whole situation as well.

Robin Diaz4 said:The hardest part for me—honestly, the absolute worst part—is seeing my dad struggle to accept that life eventually has an end... just thinking about it brings me to tears right now. I wonder if that refusal to let go is actually what gives him the strength to keep fighting. Today marks his third day following his second round of chemo. He had a pretty rough couple of days—not necessarily physically, but more mentally. Sure, he feels that general exhaustion you get after chemo, but he experiences it with such profound tragedy every single time. Even a common cold hasn't helped; he caught one and is currently on antibiotics. I was thinking about starting him on some immune boosters today, but I’m honestly terrified to even try. Is it okay to use natural propolis and beta-glucan together? I want so badly for him to kick this cold quickly, but I am paralyzed by the fear that I might somehow be "feeding" the cancer by boosting his system. This disease is just cursed.

I actually started my husband on beta-glucan yesterday... He's been catching every cold going around since we started, and even the antibiotics aren't doing much to help.

My subconscious really laid out the current state of affairs to me last night, and honestly—it wasn't wrong at all..
I keep having these dreams about earthquakes—one, two, maybe three in a row. In the dream, I’ve just bought a baby, and I’m frantically trying to huddle under the door frame for cover, while my husband just looks at me and says, "Why are you hiding? Nothing's going to happen." And the thing is... nothing did.
It was incredibly vivid—that feeling of the very ground shifting beneath our feet. I find myself constantly searching for some kind of reassurance, some guarantee that everything is going to turn out fine. But he? He just has this total acceptance of mortality—this "whatever happens, happens" attitude. He's just completely convinced that we'll be okay, no matter what.

Dad’s hitting day three on that pain patch today, and predictably, he’s been feeling absolutely miserable all day long. 😢

It really knocked us both sideways... A nasty sore throat, a constant cough—just one of those mindless viral bugs, I suppose, that hit us both at once.
As for the little one, she was fine. She had a coughing fit one day, a bit of a runny nose the next, and then it was just gone.
Total coma.

We're in the same boat over here. My mom is dealing with this absolutely brutal cough, and I actually ended up heading to my doctor for a preventative checkup to see if I needed an antibiotic (which, for the record, I try to avoid whenever possible). Turns out, I’ve already developed a sore throat. It was a perfect little reminder of why I’m so wary of antibiotics—they absolutely wreck my stomach. As it turns out, Dad managed to pass his cold on to both of us. On the bright side, though, Dad seems to be putting on some weight. Slowly but surely...

It’s going around here—lots of viruses lately. We've just been sticking to honey, lemon, and tea to get through it. It's helping. I actually went through the exact same thing about ten days ago; I went in for a routine checkup and ended up finding out I had a sore throat and bronchitis.

Oh, great, so they're putting on the pounds!

That's great.

Hey everyone,
My mom had surgery on her left breast two weeks ago because of some changes they caught on a mammogram. They thought it was likely benign at first, but they couldn't rule anything else out—it was a BI-RADS 2/3. Well, the pathology report finally came back today, and here is what it says:

classic variant invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast
Nottingham histological score 6 grade 2
AJCC TNM pT2NxMx
lobular carcinoma in situ LCIS
Suspected positive resection margins in multiple foci
lymphovascular invasion is clearly not observed

Can anyone help me make sense of this? I mean, it feels like they caught it early, but it definitely doesn't sound harmless. My mom was born in 1955.

briskskipper71 said:Hey everyone,
My mom had surgery on her left breast two weeks ago because of some changes found during a mammogram. It was likely benign, but they couldn't rule anything else out—BI-RADS was 2/3. We just got the pathology report back today, and here is what it says:

classic variant invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast
Nottingham histological score 6, grade 2
AJCC TNM pT2NxMx
lobular carcinoma in situ LCIS
Suspected positive resection margins in multiple foci
Lymphovascular invasion is clearly not observed

Can someone help me make sense of this? It feels like it was caught early, but it definitely doesn't sound harmless. My mom was born in 1955.

It was caught in time. The lymph nodes aren't involved and, thank God, there are no metastases.
She might undergo some preventative radiation. After that, it’ll just be regular follow-ups.

So, I'm headed back in for surgery soon—they're going to take out the whole breast now—and then it’s onto Chemo. Maybe some radiation too, I guess... I'm just not entirely sure yet.

ruggedfox11 said:It’s viral season over here. We’ve just been hammering away at honey, lemon, and tea. Prosurge. I went through the exact same thing about ten days ago—went in for a routine checkup only to find out I had strep throat and bronchitis.

Oh, wonderful, more weight gain!

Just great.

How is everyone doing today? I’m finally starting to turn a corner, but Mom’s cold is getting progressively worse, and Dad ran a slight fever earlier this evening—though we managed to get that under control. Tomorrow is a new day!

I wasn't really sure where to post this, but since this thread seems to be the liveliest one around, I figured I'd just throw it out there and see if anyone knows what's up
Breast ultrasound results;

The skin and subcutaneous fat look totally normal.
The glandular tissue is pretty thin—just a small strip—which is basically expected for my age (37), especially with quite a bit of fatty infiltration taking its place.
On the right side, right near the upper quadrants, there's this elongated cystic zone, which mostly looks like ductal ectasia.
No suspicious or enlarged lymph nodes found in the armpits.
Involutive type
BI-RADS 2
Schedule a mammogram in the near future

Is there any reason to freak out?

Robin Diaz4 said:How is everyone doing today? My day is winding down already—mom's cold seems to be getting a bit worse, and dad had a slight fever earlier this evening, though we managed to get that under control. Tomorrow is a new day!

We’re all feeling a bit better this morning; I'm still hanging in there, but he’s really turned a corner, aside from a stuffy nose. Even my little one had that annoying low-grade fever—you know, that 99.0 range—but it broke the very same day.

It’ll pass! It's impossible not to catch a virus lately—one minute the sun is out and you're in short sleeves, then the next, it's pouring rain.

stormyfalcon68 said:I wasn't quite sure where to ask, but since this thread seems to be the most active one, I thought I'd check here—does anyone know about this?
Breast Ultrasound Results:

The skin and subcutaneous fatty tissue appear normal.
Given her age (37), the glandular parenchyma is reduced to a thin strip, showing significant fatty replacement.
On the right side, near the upper quadrants, there is an elongated cystogenic zone, primarily indicating ductal ectasia.
No pathological lymph node enlargement was found in the axillae.
Involutive type
BI-RADS 2
Follow up with a mammogram in the near future.

Is there any reason to panic?

No, based on the description, these are benign changes. It should be perfectly fine to just schedule a follow-up in 6 months.

wanderingcobra76 said:Nah, honestly, that sounds like a super positive change based on what they said... so just scheduling a follow-up checkup in six months should be totally fine...

Thanks, wanderingcobra76! 🙂
I mean, I thought I had it all figured out, but honestly, that little seed of doubt just won't stop nagging at me...

It’s been a while since I posted. Back in the summer of 2015, my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer. He had two massive tumors, and things were in bad shape—they'd likely been growing for about ten years, and his blood work was a disaster. It turned into an emergency surgery to remove the tumors and part of his colon.
He went through 17-18 rounds of Chemo, split into two protocols. Nothing worked. By the spring of 2016, we found out the cancer had spread to his abdomen and lungs.
Another major surgery in the fall of 2016. They had to "cook" the metastases and remove his colon, spleen, and part of his pancreas. Recovery was long and brutal.
The last CT scan showed some spots in the fatty tissue near his navel. He just had outpatient surgery for that a few days ago.

Basically, we aren't exactly thrilled. We know there isn't a permanent cure, but he’s hanging in there incredibly well. He’s walking, staying active, and isn't in pain. We're just praying he holds out as long as possible.

Dana Martin87 said:It’s been a while since I posted here. My dad was diagnosed with colon cancer back in the summer of 2015. He had two massive malignant tumors; things had clearly been neglected for a long time, probably growing for about ten years, and his blood work was a disaster. It ended up being emergency surgery to remove the tumors and a section of his bowel.
17-18 Two rounds of Chemo. No real results. By the spring of 2016, we found out the cancer had spread to his abdomen and there were spots on his lungs.
Major surgery followed in the fall of 2016. They did a "debulking" procedure to handle the metastases and removed his colon, spleen, and part of his pancreas. Recovery was a long, grueling slog.
The most recent CT scan showed some spots in the fatty tissue near his navel. He just had outpatient surgery for that a few days ago.

Bottom line: we’re actually pretty satisfied with where things stand. We realize there isn't a permanent cure, but he’s holding up incredibly well—staying active, walking around, and staying mobile. Most importantly, he isn't in pain. We’re just hoping he stays this way for as long as possible.

It’s a good thing they managed to pull off that debulking. Honestly, if they hadn't, I think Vedran would have given us hell on this forum for letting it get that far.

What exactly constitutes "cooking" anyway? :confused::