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Posts by ruggedfox11

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Raymond Smith53 said:I don't think I quite followed your point—not to be blunt, but no one just sits by and lets someone pass away without trying anything. It’s more about strategy. With younger patients—or those facing tumors that are actually treatable—doctors tend to go much more aggressive with therapy, assuming the body can handle the punch. But when dealing with older patients, or cases involving incurable metastases, the focus shifts toward quality of life and extending what time remains. The scans themselves aren't the whole story; they're really just tools for monitoring how the disease is behaving. And honestly, cancer shouldn't even be viewed as a "disease" in the traditional sense—tumor cells are forming in our bodies every single day; it's really just a matter of whether the immune system can step up and clear them out before they become a problem.

My husband had an experience that was truly heartbreaking. He was being treated for pneumonia, but because his primary diagnosis was small cell lung cancer—and he ended up in the wrong ward entirely—the neurologist essentially pulled the plug on his treatment. They just kept him bedridden and restricted, providing nothing but potassium supplements while essentially letting him slip away. It’s a harsh reality to face, but there are doctors out there who simply write patients off, refusing to lift a finger to try and save someone...
Joshua Kim69 said:That article mentioned it was more like assistance to cover increased costs for things like vitamins and stuff. That’s why I don't quite get why they’re bringing up medical certifications if you already have an oncologist's report.

There has to be a formal certification because every disability claim is handled differently—no two are exactly alike. It’s standard procedure for anyone seeking assistance based on their medical condition. And look, supplements or vitamins aren't strictly "necessary" in the eyes of the system, you know? Even when a cancer patient goes on medical leave, after a certain amount of time—I believe it's about 40 days—Medicare steps in to require a formal evaluation.
Whatever, man.
Joshua Kim69 said:Looking at all of this, I’m just really confused about whether ALL oncology patients are entitled to this—is it universal or just for certain people? If everyone is covered, then why would anyone need to deal with the Department of Social Services instead of just going through Medicare? The Department has its own income thresholds and specific regulations, and I don't see any mention of payments being made $200 to someone simply because they happen to be fighting cancer. And honestly, the waiting period feels like such a senseless hurdle—these costs hit you IMMEDIATELY, not a year down the line.

Everyone is eligible, but... the wait times...
The Department of Social Services and Medicare are two entirely different institutions with completely different sets of rules. Medicare doesn't provide this specific type of assistance.
But I have to ask—what kind of expenses for oncology patients aren't already covered by Medicare (assuming they don't have supplemental insurance)?
Joshua Kim69 said:https://www.usa.gov/caregivers

I managed to track down this link—though, honestly, I’m not entirely sure if this was what we were discussing in the previous thread.

I had heard whispers about this before, but an acquaintance of mine over at the Department of Social Services mentioned that you could be looking at nearly a full year of waiting just to get approval.
I am so incredibly sorry, Coco...
Hang in there.
Rachel Williams, I am honestly so sorry for you.

Hang in there, both of you...

It’s just so heartbreaking—I actually found myself tearing up reading this—and it immediately brought all those memories of my husband's last ten days rushing back to me.
urbanharbor15,

I am honestly so sorry to hear this...

Hang in there.
Ashley Reed98 said:Yesterday marked 16 months since my boyfriend passed away... Time really does fly—it feels like just yesterday we were sitting together at a coffee shop, just enjoying each other's company. He was gone almost overnight.

I still miss him so incredibly much; there’s this massive, overwhelming void inside me that hasn't filled up since he left. Luckily, I have my job to keep me busy during the week—which helps quite a bit—but when the weekend hits and I'm back home, the loneliness really starts to settle in. It's hard because even his "friends" seem to have moved on or forgotten him; nobody ever brings him up. That part is so painful for me. You just end up feeling completely stranded in all of this.

I know exactly how you feel..
My dear Rachel Williams, I am so sorry..
Unfortunately, everything just boils down to the LOM—which, if you ask me, is like trying to teach someone how to solve complex calculus when they haven't even mastered basic addition and subtraction. It’s truly tragic when specialists seem to lack even the most fundamental principles.
Personally, I never would have gone digging through the details surrounding my husband's passing if a surgeon hadn't brushed me off while I was there to have some moles removed—telling me it "wasn't malignant" and asking "what does a dermatologist know?" Even my own LOM was visibly shaken when she read the reasoning behind that refusal. It honestly feels like they aren't trained to actually heal people, but rather to just follow orders from the top... It's heartbreaking..

Hang in there.
Angela Wright said:Did you go?
Please, think carefully about whether this is actually worth it—you might walk away with insights that only serve to disturb you further and throw your entire life into chaos. It’s very possible you’ll feel the urge to file a lawsuit, but given the state of our legal system here in the States, the shortage of doctors, and frankly, how much of a joke the medical boards can be... I fear you'll only end up hurting yourself. You won't find justice or satisfaction; nothing will bring him back. Just look at how the Mascara case ended.

Here is my honest perspective, looking at this from a distance:
Objectively speaking—your husband was incredibly ill. In the situation he was in, you both fought for even just a little more quality of life, and honestly, the way you handled it was a beautiful example for others. A total remission would have been nothing short of a miracle. If they deprived him of something—like those antibiotics—then that was simply time taken away from his quality of life. Ultimately, he passed because of that damn diagnosis that put him in that state to begin with.
Those are the facts. No matter how painful and difficult this is for us, and no matter how much we feel the need to pin the blame on someone—because, for some irrational reason, it feels like blaming someone would make dealing with the reality easier—that is just the brutal truth.

Focus on yourself now. Try to achieve those things that perhaps you two dreamed of doing together. Move forward. You have to. It is much easier to accept things this way than to stand still while life pushes you forward by sheer inertia, leaving you just banging your head against a wall. And please, don't blame yourself for anything. You did everything you could, exactly how you were supposed to, with all the knowledge you had. Don't let your memories of your husband be defined solely by images of struggle and death. He was so much more than that, and you two were so much more than that! You owe it to him to remember him through the memory of your first meeting and your first kiss. Live for that, and live freely! If he loved you—and I have absolutely no doubt that he did—I am certain that is exactly what he would want for you.

Sent from my SM-J510FN using Reddit


I'm going this Thursday; I absolutely have to pick up the EEG results. I won't be filing a lawsuit or anything like that—I've already consulted with a lawyer and a court expert, and they told me quite plainly that it's pointless. At the end of the day, all you get is a piece of paper confirming whether they were wrong or not, and that paper won't change a single thing. But I do need answers. Getting those answers is my only way out of this endless loop, because right now I'm just spinning in circles. Only she can tell me why she didn't follow the prescribed treatment plan.
Here I am, still processing everything...

I haven't quite recovered from it all yet—the nights are still the hardest part. I can't stop seeing those images when I close my eyes, and the weight of the illness and death just stays on my mind 24/7...

What I’ve realized now is that his neurologist never even prescribed antibiotics for the pneumonia, despite repeated RTG scans showing inflammation and blood test results confirming an infection. They didn't even give him a transfusion; it honestly felt like they treated him more like an animal than a human being and just left him to die...

Now, I'm waiting for next week, and then I'm heading straight to the clinic to confront her and demand answers. She is the only one who can explain why she discontinued the antibiotics, and I’ll likely be looking into filing a formal complaint with the medical board...

It's just horrific, regardless of how you look at it. But I’m hoping that once I finally get the answers I deserve, I can finally find some closure and move forward...
Joshua Kim69 said:The CRP was tested this morning and it's sitting at just 5.1—not too bad, considering the reference range is 0 to 5. Over the last couple of weeks, there's been a bit more coughing, they're getting tired faster, and feeling a little less steady on their feet 😢
They still manage to finish their usual walk, though it requires stopping several times to catch their breath and rest. Tomorrow, they have another dose of chemotherapy scheduled from the fifth series, and toward the end of the month, there will be a follow-up appointment which will likely determine if they can move on to the final round of chemo.

It’s probably just a virus, but honestly, this could also just be the "new normal" for oncology patients. Did the doctor happen to comment on anything?
If they are currently on corticosteroids, those can actually cause white blood cell counts to spike as well.
Rebecca King72 said:Chicken feet? Why—please explain??? Like, actual chicken feet?? What's even in them? I'm assuming they're cooked? Is this supposed to help improve blood counts? As for bacon... I know about that—I've seen it firsthand, because several of my friends fighting cancer swear by eating bacon to help them through it. Please, could you clarify this bit... my son is dealing with severe anemia—his ferritin is down to 2—so if anything helps, we'll try it... Take care!

Both of them work to boost the white blood cell count—that’s been verified.
As for managing anemia, we used a blend of beets, carrots, apples, and honey, all paired together with B-complex vitamins (specifically B12).
Joshua Kim69 said:The previous lab results were from December 28, 2017,
but today the white blood cell count was 8.6
Hgb 116
Platelets 351
(everything else looks pretty much the same as last time)

How on earth is it possible for L to jump up that much in just five days? Could it be because he went back to eating bacon two days ago? I mean, you can't really trust 😳

It's definitely possible—the bone marrow is still functioning quite well—but I suspect the spike might have been due to an infection (given those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes). What does the CRP look like?
Joshua Kim69 said:Popcorn?? Are we talking about actual popcorn or chicken meat? I’m currently making some polenta, and I often pick up some corn bread.
He was eating bacon—the kind you get from the local farmer's market that they call "soap bacon"—every single morning until recently, and just last week he was having pork cracklings for breakfast. He claims it should all be basically the same thing, but personally, I don't think it's quite that simple. A friend actually brought over some lovely, thick, farm-raised bacon—not from those heritage black pigs, but I think it'll be perfectly fine.
I believe Tyson Foods occasionally carries chicken feet, so I'll head out and grab some. He'll eat them, even if he isn't particularly fond of them.

Yes, I definitely meant popcorn. Honestly, I was just as shocked as anyone when I heard about it for the first time.
Joshua Kim69 said: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

Because of the chemo—the bone marrow really needs some downtime to bounce back. However, they won't administer the injection to boost white blood cell counts unless they drop below 3. My husband was actually given one when he hit 1.6. Right now, the cock isn't eating much—just chicken feet and bacon (real bacon, not those thin strips of Canadian bacon you see everywhere). It’s possible that those elevated lymphocytes and monocytes are just a reaction to the toxic granulation.
Joshua Kim69 said:The most recent 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 November from December
CEA 4.0 4.6
CYFRA 21-1 4.4 6.0
NSE 110.4 17.7

What can I make of all this?

If you ask me—and I mean this sincerely—I’d say the immune system is actually doing its job; it looks like new cells are being produced and maturing. If we could be certain this isn't cancer, I'd lean toward it being a viral thing—usually, with a bacterial infection, those neutrophils would be higher. It's also worth noting that markers can spike during an infection, so they don't necessarily signal progression.
What was the total white blood cell count? And the LDH?
Joshua Kim69 said:Is there actually a way to determine how strong someone's immune system really is?
(I realize this might sound like a pretty silly question—honestly, I feel a bit foolish even asking—but I just had to reach out and see if anyone knew.) 🤦

You can get a good idea through standard blood work—specifically by looking at the levels of lymphocytes, granulocytes, and monocytes.
Quote: my Soul
Jason Nelson63 said:Do you think it’s actually necessary to go through with preventative brain radiation if everything comes back clear—meaning, if the scans show the brain is clean—especially since that primary tumor diagnosed seven months ago isn't even there anymore?

Regarding the supplements—I honestly believe they’ve made a genuine difference. If I recall correctly, the primary goal of chemotherapy is to halt the spread of the cancer, right? Well, after just two rounds of chemo, even the lung X-ray showed an incredible improvement... which is such a relief. Now, we're just waiting on the CT scan to see if we actually managed to clear the primary carcinoma from her system entirely within this 4.5-month window. Fingers crossed.

Take it from me—this isn't just a suggestion; it’s something I’ve learned through firsthand experience. Besides, that is exactly how the protocol is designed to work.
Jason Nelson63 said:Hello,

I was wondering if anyone might know which alternative therapies are worth considering when dealing with bone metastases—specifically in the sternum and the vertebrae.

To give you some context, my father was diagnosed earlier this year with advanced small cell lung cancer. It involves the entire left lung—mostly concentrated in the upper lobe and heavily along the interlobar borders—as well as the thoracic lymph nodes.
At the time, everything looked fine on the bone scans.

Just a week after the diagnosis, once we had the cytology results back, we started chemotherapy immediately. He’s completed six rounds now, and we’ve been running an alternative regimen alongside it—using things like chlorophyll, royal jelly, and medicinal mushrooms (we started with Mykosan, then moved on to Cordyceps and Maitake).
We just had a follow-up CT scan yesterday... and the results were incredible. The lungs are completely clear of carcinoma, the lymph nodes too... even all the organs and major blood vessels look clean.
However, the metastases mentioned earlier (the sternum and vertebrae) are still visible, though they aren't causing any symptoms right now. Honestly, no one would have even known they were there if we hadn't done that CT, since his previous scans showed nothing unusual in the bones.
That said, the oncologist is extremely pleased with how he's responded to the treatment so far.

Naturally, we are planning to treat those metastases with radiation, but much like we did with the primary tumor, we want to integrate some alternative support as well...
So, does anyone have recommendations for alternatives specifically targeting those bone lesions? Perhaps a different mushroom, maybe Reishi... or something similar?

All I can say is, I wish you the best of luck. Please, insist on getting a head CT and discuss preventative brain radiation if the head area looks clear—this disease loves to migrate to the brain.
Keep a close eye on infections, blood sugar levels, and thrombosis risks; please make sure to study the early warning signs of sepsis. I really hope your doctor is keeping a close watch on his LDH levels.
Again, wishing you strength. And honestly? Don't throw your money away on overpriced supplements. That's just my sincere advice.