Posts by Joshua Kim69

Sophia Peterson69 said:Please, I need any info regarding ovarian cancer... both ovaries and fallopian tubes have been removed, and the surgery went okay, but the marker showed a value around 1000 or something, and now the doctors want to remove the uterus too. They say they're doing it preventively because it was caught early... if you have any experiences regarding what comes next or the chances of recovery, please let me know. Thank you so much beforehand.

Up in Indianapolis, there's actually a local association for women dealing with ovarian cancer called JA-KA.
Maybe try looking them up on Facebook; I bet they'll be more than happy to help answer all those tough questions you might have.

https://www.facebook.com/Udruga-%C5%...27328830711757

I'm really rooting for you and wishing you nothing but the best. hello!
Silva F.

Angela Wright said:Honey, please accept my deepest and most heartfelt condolences. I really just want you to find some peace in your heart and be able to lay them to rest in peace. I know things will never feel quite the same again, but I truly believe life finds a way to settle itself eventually, and you'll find yourself moving forward feeling so much stronger and braver than before.
Hang in there

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy J5 using Twitter

Thanks so much, dear. 🙂

Rachel Williams said:I am so incredibly sorry, Joshua Kim69. I really hope you can find some peace in knowing that they aren't suffering anymore, because honestly, everything they went through was just so much to bear.

Yeah, it was just so, so hard... and even though I know deep down that they're finally at peace now, it still just hurts so much, I guess. 😢

My husband passed away three weeks ago after fighting a really tough battle with small cell lung cancer 😢
He was first diagnosed back in September 2017. He went through six rounds of chemo, which actually helped shrink the tumor a little bit, and things seemed pretty stable by late April, but then just when he was supposed to start radiation, everything took a turn for the worse 😢
His head CT scan came back clear, and he stayed so incredibly aware of everything around him until the very end, though during those last few days, he reached a point where he couldn't even speak or swallow a tiny sip of water. They told me things were going to be difficult, but I guess I never truly realized just how hard it would actually be.
I stayed right by his side until his very last breath, and I honestly know that being there meant the world to him.

Rest in peace, my love...

ruggedfox11 said:Everyone has them, but... the wait times..
The Department of Social Services and Medicare are actually two totally different agencies with their own separate sets of rules, so Medicare doesn't really cover that specific kind of assistance.
I guess I should ask, though, which oncology costs aren't covered by Medicare (unless they have private insurance)?

That article mentioned it was more like support for those extra expenses, you know, like vitamins and stuff. So, I'm a little confused why they're talking about medical evaluations if you already have an official report from an Oncologist.

Robin Diaz4 said:Yeah... I guess that explains why nobody ever actually gets to take advantage of that option. Even when people find out about it, they usually don't live long enough for "someone" to actually approve it for them.
It’s just classic. Honestly, I can't stand how our system works.
It feels like a healthy person basically has to put in an order today just in case they might need it two years down the road, which is just crazy.

Sent from my Samsung using Reddit

Looking at all of this, I'm honestly not sure if EVERY cancer patient is entitled to this, or if it's just certain people. If everyone really does have the right—then I guess I don't understand why you'd have to go to the Department of Social Services instead of just dealing with Medicare. At the Social Services Center, there are all these censuses and different regulations, and it doesn't seem to me like there's any mention of paying $200 someone just because they happen to be fighting cancer. Plus, all that waiting is just ridiculous, because those costs hit you IMMEDIATELY, not a year later.

I was just looking through some info on how the government handles family care and support services, and I guess it’s actually pretty interesting to see how all those different pieces fit together to help families manage everything. It seems like there are quite a few different ways the state steps in to provide assistance, especially when you're dealing with long-term care or helping out a family member who needs extra attention, though I suppose navigating all those official channels can feel a bit overwhelming sometimes!

So, I actually managed to track down this link! I'm honestly not entirely sure if this was what we were already talking about in that previous post, but maybe it's what we needed?

I just saw something on Facebook saying that all cancer patients are entitled to $200 every month. Does anyone happen to know anything about this?? Here’s what it said:

Helga Možé
It's honestly pretty interesting—though actually quite sad—how none of the doctors, home health aides, or nurses have ever mentioned to us that cancer patients are eligible for financial assistance. It turns out that all cancer patients have a right to a monthly supplement of $200, regardless of how much they make in retirement or salary, what property they own, and things like that. I guess those who have tried to navigate this within their families know just how much every single dollar counts, because when you're in that situation, you're just trying to find any way possible to get by and ease the pain, whether that's buying different medications, supplements, vitamins, herbal teas, or other remedies. It’s just heartbreaking that some people never even realize this option exists; a staff member at the Department of Social Services told me about it today.
So, basically, all cancer patients can qualify for $200 per month, you just need to fill out a form and submit it to the Department of Social Services. You have to attach a few documents to the application, and once the commission approves it, you can receive that compensation. Sadly, I think it isn't retroactive, so it only starts from whenever the request is submitted.
I find it absolutely unbelievable that nobody mentioned this during these past five months—and I mean NOBODY, NO ONE, EVER, not in San Francisco or Chicago. My dad actually found out by accident through a casual conversation he had with someone at the hospital.
That’s why advocacy groups are so vital, because they step in exactly where the system fails to work. That’s why I decided to donate all the proceeds from the book to the League Against Cancer in San Francisco, since they really do patch up the holes left by the system, share information, and help patients and their families. So far, I’ve raised $2250, and I’ll be collecting for another ten days or so until I hand over the last few books (I know, you guys messaged me, and I'll get back to everyone!) and then I'll transfer everything to the organization's account.
The worst part is that when you're going through this, you aren't even angry—you just don't have the emotional capacity left for that kind of rage... I honestly can't fathom how anyone could do their job in such a negligent way.

urbanharbor15
thanks so much!! 🙂 😘

urbanharbor15 said:😛
...so, I stumbled upon this really beautiful response on Reddit about the whole grieving process, and I'll try to post some screenshots once I figure out how to do that, because honestly, reading it always helps me feel a bit better.

Unfortunately, my English is pretty much just at a high school level, so I was wondering if someone might be able to translate it, especially since you guys mentioned helping those who don't quite catch everything. I tried using Google, but the translations end up being kind of hilarious and don't make much sense.
I really hope this ends up being helpful for everyone who's mourning someone, not just for those of us missing our moms.
Thanks so much in advance!

urbanharbor15 said:Joshua Kim69, I just want to wish you and your wife all the best in your fight..

Thanks so much, dear! I'm wishing you such a smooth arrival for your little one and honestly, just so much happiness in your life.
Maybe reach out and let us know how things are going every once in a while.

Dear Rachel Williams and urbanharbor15!
I honestly find myself agreeing with every single thing Angela Wright said, and I just really want to send you both so much strength and nothing but positive vibes. I like to think your moms are in a much better place now, you know, somewhere without any more pain or fear.

As for me, I’m still right in the middle of this battle to help my husband recover. I’m really hoping that spring might finally bring him some improvement, though I guess we'll have to wait and see. He’s headed back for another CT scan on March 29th, so we'll hopefully get a better idea of how the chemotherapy has been working.

ruggedfox11 said:It could just be a virus, though maybe it’s also just a normal thing for oncology patients. Did the doctor say anything about it?
If they're taking any corticosteroids, those can actually lower white blood cell counts too, I guess.

Regarding meds, he's using Atrovent (along with some vitamins), but he isn't really taking Emaner anymore. The doctor mentioned that his CRP levels look fine, but that was pretty much it.
I suppose we'll just have to wait until the end of the month to see how the blood work looks and what the oncologist thinks, and he's actually heading to a neurologist soon because of some weakness in his legs.
They haven't called him in for the bone scan yet.

ruggedfox11 said:That could be it, since the bone marrow seems to be doing okay, though I suspect it might actually be due to the infarct, especially seeing those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes. What was the CRP reading like?

The CRP was done this morning and it’s just sitting at 5.1, which isn't too bad considering the normal range goes up to 5. I guess he's been coughing a bit more over the last couple of weeks, and he seems to get tired faster and feels a little less steady on his feet lately.😢
He still manages to finish his usual walk, though he has to stop and rest a few times along the way. He’s scheduled for another dose of chemo tomorrow as part of the fifth round, and then he’ll head in for a checkup at the end of the month, which will probably lead into his final session.

Quote: my Soul

ruggedfox11 said:It’s possible, since the bone marrow seems to be doing its job just fine, though I suspect it might be due to an infection given those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes. I wonder, what did the CRP levels look like?

I think maybe there’s a bit of an uptick in my CRP levels, though I guess it could just be some random inflammation or something, honestly. I mean, honestly, nobody has even bothered to reach out to him since he finally got discharged from the hospital, I guess.
So, today's the day we finally get those results back for the first time. I guess I just wanted to say DKS.:
So, looking at my blood test results, my eosinophil granulocytes came back at 1, which is right within that normal range of 0 to 7, so I guess everything looks pretty steady there!
It looks like my basophil count came back at zero, which seems to be right within the normal range of 0 to 1, I guess.
It looks like my segmented count came in at 41, which is just a little bit under that 44 to 72 range they usually look for, I guess.
It looks like my non-segmented counts came back at 3, though the reference range says it should be between 0 and 2... so I guess that's just a tiny bit higher than expected, maybe?
So, I was looking over my blood test results, and my lymphocyte count came back at 41, which actually falls right within the normal range of 20 to 46, so I guess everything seems to be looking pretty okay there!
It looks like my monocyte count came back at 13, though the normal range is usually between 2 and 12... so I guess it's just a tiny bit high, maybe?
It looks like my myelocytes came back at 1, though the reference range says 0... I guess that might not be a huge deal, but maybe it's something to keep an eye on?
I guess some of the neutrophils are showing up as toxic granulated, if that makes sense.

Joshua Kim69 said:blood test results
Erythrocytes 3.50
Hgb 107
Hematocrit 0.323
MCV 92.3
MCH 30,7
MCHC 333
RDW-KV 18.9
Platelets 227
MPV 7.0

The previous lab work was from December 28, 2017,
but today the white blood cell count was up to 8.6
Hgb 116
Platelets 351
(everything else looks pretty much the same as before)

I mean, how on earth is it possible that L would jump up that much in just five days? I guess maybe it could be because he had bacon again two days ago, but honestly, I'm just not sure if you can really trust that kind of shift... 😳

ruggedfox11 said:It’s probably because of the chemo. I guess the bones just need some time to recover, you know? But he won't get the injection for his white blood cells unless they drop below 3. They were giving him the shot when he was at 1.6. As for the little guy, maybe try some popcorn or even chicken feet, or maybe some bacon—not that thin deli bacon, but real thick bacon. It's possible those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes are just due to that toxic granulation.

Popcorn?? Are we talking about movie theater popcorn or chicken meat? I'm making polenta right now, and I pick up corn bread pretty often.
He was eating this really heavy, thick bacon—the kind you find at a local farmer's market—every single morning until recently, and then last week he was having breakfast with pork cracklings. He thinks it should all be the same thing, but I honestly don't think it is. A friend actually brought over some beautiful, thick slices of homemade bacon; it isn't from those specialty heritage pigs, but I'm thinking it might be okay.
They usually have chicken feet available at Tyson Foods every now and then, so I think I'll head out and grab some. He'll eat them, even if they aren't exactly his favorite.

When I first checked into the hospital, my neutrophils were sitting at 82%, but now they've dropped all the way down to 8.4, even though the normal range is supposed to be somewhere between 44 and 72. I guess I'm just wondering why there's such a huge gap?
Besides that, the lab report in my discharge papers mentioned that some of the neutrophils showed toxic granulation.

ruggedfox11 said:I guess I’d say the immune system is doing its job, maybe creating new cells and letting them mature; if we knew for sure it wasn't cancer, I might suggest it's just a virus, since with bacterial infections you usually see high neutrophils. Markers can definitely be elevated during an infection too, so they don't necessarily mean things are progressing.
What are the total white blood cell counts like? And the LDH?

blood test results
Erythrocytes 3.50
Hgb 107
Hematocrit 0.323
MCV 92.3
MCH 30.7
MCHC 333
RDW-CV 18.9
Platelets 227
MPV 7.0

ruggedfox11 said:Looking at the blood work, specifically the lymphocyte, granulocyte, and monocyte counts

The latest blood test results:
Neutrophils 8.4 (44-72)
Lymphocytes 68.0 (20-46)
Monocytes 14.0 (2-12)
Eosinophils 6.8 (0-7)
Basophils 1.0 (0-1)

Tumor markers: from October from December
CEA 4.0 4.6
CYFRA 21-1 4.4 6.0
NSE 110.4 17.7

I guess, what can I actually make of all this?