This is such an important thread. Not many people want to open up about this, and even fewer truly get it unless they’ve walked through that same hell themselves.
My father underwent surgery just a month ago for colon cancer. As I sit here typing this, I can hardly wrap my head around the fact that it’s ME writing about this... things like this just don't happen to me. It's like 😢
It was caught by chance during a routine checkup—thankfully, it was positioned in a spot where it caused symptoms. Those two weeks leading up to the surgery were hands down the worst of my life. Just absolutely terrifying. And it hit harder because my uncle passed away from throat cancer only six months ago; it completely broke him in just two months. So, seeing Dad go into a coma... it was devastating.
The surgery went okay, but the doctors found more cancer than they initially anticipated. They had to remove part of his bladder and some lymph nodes; most of the mass is gone now, though you can never truly say everything is out.
Anyway, we made it through the worst of it. He’s doing better, and they cleared out as much as possible. Now, he's heading into chemo to target those remaining traces, those stray cells... whatever is left.
He’s riding this rollercoaster between total depression and sudden bursts of optimism, while Mom is stuck somewhere between panic, relief, and pure madness... As for me, I’m acting like I’m fine, mostly because no one can see how much I'm crumbling inside. I am right on the edge. Every single day is just a cycle of listening to him, then listening to her, then listening to what this doctor says or what that specialist suggests. I’m constantly buying books, digging through the internet looking for any kind of optimistic prognosis, and staying glued to the phone because I have to be ready...
But I won't vent too much. Honestly, just being able to write all of this somewhere where there are people who actually understand what I'm going through means the world to me. 🙏
My father underwent surgery just a month ago for colon cancer. As I sit here typing this, I can hardly wrap my head around the fact that it’s ME writing about this... things like this just don't happen to me. It's like 😢
It was caught by chance during a routine checkup—thankfully, it was positioned in a spot where it caused symptoms. Those two weeks leading up to the surgery were hands down the worst of my life. Just absolutely terrifying. And it hit harder because my uncle passed away from throat cancer only six months ago; it completely broke him in just two months. So, seeing Dad go into a coma... it was devastating.
The surgery went okay, but the doctors found more cancer than they initially anticipated. They had to remove part of his bladder and some lymph nodes; most of the mass is gone now, though you can never truly say everything is out.
Anyway, we made it through the worst of it. He’s doing better, and they cleared out as much as possible. Now, he's heading into chemo to target those remaining traces, those stray cells... whatever is left.
He’s riding this rollercoaster between total depression and sudden bursts of optimism, while Mom is stuck somewhere between panic, relief, and pure madness... As for me, I’m acting like I’m fine, mostly because no one can see how much I'm crumbling inside. I am right on the edge. Every single day is just a cycle of listening to him, then listening to her, then listening to what this doctor says or what that specialist suggests. I’m constantly buying books, digging through the internet looking for any kind of optimistic prognosis, and staying glued to the phone because I have to be ready...
But I won't vent too much. Honestly, just being able to write all of this somewhere where there are people who actually understand what I'm going through means the world to me. 🙏