Posts by Maria Allen6

Well, that doesn't sound particularly good. What we're looking at is an "accumulation" within the nodes where nothing was present before, which suggests that the tumor has likely spread—meaning we're dealing with metastasis, or secondary growths.

Unfortunately, colon cancer is such a brutal fight, especially when you're dealing with one of those aggressive strains. Even if you manage to catch it early on—and I know this all too well because I lost my grandfather to it—it’s still an uphill battle. If your father-in-law is already aware of the situation, it implies the metastases haven't reached the brain yet, which means... Well, there's really no point in me going on about it, since at this stage, much can't be changed. My heart truly goes out to you.

Look, Belodin isn't going to solve this for you if we're talking about an allergy, especially since you're constantly getting your hands on that allergen every single day. It’s just the reality of it. If this is something new, you really need to sit back and think about what you've recently started using with your hands—maybe it's a new brand of hand soap, a different dish detergent from the grocery store, or something along those lines...

Linda Fox2 said:So, what’s the next move?

Look, that’s just how the system works. That is precisely why you were asking who to contact for a second opinion in the first place. In American hospitals, everything is strictly driven by protocol, and frankly, there is a certain level of resistance—not just in small local clinics, but even among specialists within the massive university hospital systems—when it comes to transferring a patient unless there is an absolutely undeniable medical necessity. Ultimately, the choice rests entirely on your shoulders; you’re the one who will have to live with the consequences of whatever path you take, not us.

So, honestly, it’s hardly any surprise he was feeling so completely drained. I used to struggle quite a bit myself with chronic insomnia, though these days I don't have that issue where I have to "force" myself through a massive 13-hour sleep marathon just to function—and that's without touching a single pill. If I were in his shoes, I’d probably try timing my rest to hit that eight-hour mark just to see how much actual, quality sleep those "chemicals" are really providing him.

And listen, you all. A second opinion when dealing with a tumor is never a bad thing. In fact, it’s actually encouraged, but the real issue here is that there isn't even a first opinion established yet. At least, that's how I've gathered it, unless I've somehow completely missed something.
Now, the logical next step would be to head in for a colonoscopy to figure out what kind of course of action should actually be taken. This whole situation has spiraled a bit too far. It's honestly strange that he hasn't been feeling any symptoms or discomfort.

My observation regarding the wait times wasn't actually a direct shot at them—because if you ask any patient or their family, they’ll tell you everything feels like it’s moving at a snail's pace—but rather at the people who were supposed to have everything scheduled and ready on time. To be specific, I completely get why there's a delay with the PET scan; it all comes down to the logistics of handling radioactive tracers that decay incredibly fast. In our area, we rely on Pfizer to deliver these, and they only send a handful—maybe seven or eight doses a day per machine—simply because of the material's half-life and the fact that the entire procedure takes quite a while to complete. I’ve been through the PET scan myself, I've done my homework, and I know exactly where the bottleneck lies. On the other hand, getting a standard CT scan is usually a breeze without any issues. That’s really the heart of what I was getting at.

To be perfectly honest with you, this set of results is a complete mess. If we’re going to sit here and debate whether something is "operable," we actually need to know where the primary tumor is located. Did they include any more detailed information at the end of the report? Based strictly on what’s presented here, I can't pinpoint the origin—though, if you ask me, the liver seems to be the most heavily affected area—but unfortunately, it looks like it has spread everywhere. Lungs, lymph nodes in both the thorax and lower regions, the liver, the bones... looking at these findings, the most significant changes are in the abdomen, so the primary tumor is likely situated there. Tumor markers themselves aren't exactly the gold standard for reliability, certainly not at the onset, and even less so once everything has started spreading. It’s incredibly difficult to target chemotherapy effectively against metastases when you don't even know what exactly is metastasizing. I have to say, speaking as a layperson, this situation looks extremely grave to me. I'm still struggling to understand why there was such a massive delay; from what I can gather (unless I'm mistaken), you only had a standard CT scan done rather than a PET scan. In my experience, for emergency patients, a standard CT is usually performed almost immediately—which is precisely why one should insist on hospitalization in severe cases if the doctors don't suggest it themselves. At least, that was certainly the case for me, but I suppose that’s the least important part of this whole ordeal right now...

feralridge3 said:Could someone give me a translation? 😁
In the right hemisphere of the cerebellum, there is an area of high signal intensity measuring up to 10mm on the FLAIR and T2 sequences.
Should I be worried?
I'm seeing a neurosurgeon tomorrow with these results; honestly, I haven't been sleeping well lately.
It’s hard to believe it's already been 10 years since they first found the tumor and I had that first surgery.

You'll have to go over everything with the neurosurgeon. Honestly, making prognoses is a thankless task at best, and when you're talking about the brain, it gets even more complicated. As for the sleep issues, that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with this.

Rebecca Rivera3 said:I'm scared. I truly admire everyone who has managed to recover, but I honestly don't think I'll be one of those success stories. I just went through a hospitalization, and since my medication still isn't quite right, all the symptoms are still hitting me hard.

The thing is, who has actually "cured" schizophrenia? Let’s be realistic here; there isn't some magic pill waiting to make this go away forever. I have friends living with this diagnosis, and from what I've seen, nobody is truly "cured"—it just varies in intensity from person to person. Some people deal with it constantly, while others barely notice it, but at the end of the day, if they find the right prescription, they can live perfectly normal lives. I want to believe in you, really I do, because you seem to view this as something that can be overcome, and I admire that optimism. We just have to find that specific cocktail of meds that works, and then you'll be fine.

Linda Fox2 said:Alright, I get what you're saying. It seems like everyone is looking out for him now. My husband mentioned that during the early checkup, the doctor had already put in a recommendation for Prosur.

We just need to hold out until we finally get that CT scan, though everything feels like it’s moving at a snail's pace. He was admitted to the hospital this past Saturday, yet he’s still waiting on the CT after more than ten days.

That is an incredibly long wait. Is the machine broken or something? And what exactly do you mean by "abdominal markers"? Please be specific about which markers you're referring to. There is no such thing as just "abdominal markers"—that's far too vague a term to be useful.

Joshua Kim69 said:A lot of people told us that cancer feeds on sugar, so we cut it out entirely. We’ve been sticking to organic fruits and vegetables, organic blackberry juice, local honey, and homemade bacon and lard... He hasn't dealt with much nausea (up to this point), and he eats several small meals throughout the day. For me, the most vital thing is that his breathing has improved, so I'm assuming the tumor size might be shrinking. He’s moving around quite a bit too, whether it's going for walks or just finding something to occupy himself with out in the yard or the garden (nothing strenuous, obviously).

Those are the typical proponents of the ketogenic diet—where all the energy is derived from fats. Some of them take it to such an extreme that they actually end up opposing chemotherapy altogether. Most of them are perfectly healthy individuals who have only ever read about tumors in a book. Since there is no definitive proof that it helps, nor any proof that it makes things worse, the choice rests entirely with you. As for the specific mechanisms by which cancer feeds and survives, frankly, we still don't know. If we truly understood those mechanics, we would already have a cure. Carbohydrates are certainly a suspect, but whether the cancer is feeding on carbohydrates as such is still something we haven't figured out. Regarding everything else, the main thing is just to keep him moving. Everything seems fine right up until a person stops being active...

Joshua Kim69 said:What is there even to say? My husband ended up staying at the clinic today for his second round of chemo. It’s small cell lung cancer. 😢
Right after that first session, we came home and immediately stripped all the sugar and white flour out of our diet; he’s been taking baking soda (about a teaspoon once or twice a day), drinking aronia berry juice three times a day in small servings, plus multivitamins, Vitamin C, and a B-complex. I make these green smoothies—usually a mix of banana, apple, kale or chard, some parsley, a touch of honey, and a squeeze of lemon or maybe a tangerine—and then I use the juicer for beet, carrot, and apple blends. He eats bacon, garlic, tomatoes, and plenty of steamed or boiled vegetables, along with boiled turkey or organic chicken, and today his oncologist actually prescribed Prosuro twice a day. He had lost quite a bit of weight before the diagnosis and the chemo started (dropping from about 165 to 143 lbs), so he’s feeling pretty weak on his feet, though he can still move around. He spends a good amount of time outside in the sun during the day, and we take short walks in the evening, though he tires out incredibly fast. We have one of those vibrating massagers for the feet and back, so he uses it on his feet several times a day, though I honestly can't tell if that's actually helping or doing harm. I’m thinking about calling a physical therapist to see if they can help strengthen his legs and guide him through some exercises. (My husband is 74.)

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I really don't see the point in cutting things out of your diet unless your oncologist explicitly tells you to. Personally, I was eating just about everything while I was going through chemo. I mean, I was drinking Coca-Cola when it helped settle my nausea, and I ate plenty of vegetables. The only thing I avoided was alcohol, mostly because I didn't want to put any extra strain on my kidneys. Now, granted, I didn't have small cell cancer, and our doctors actually told us to pack as much nutrition as possible into our systems and to keep moving to prevent blood clots in the legs. I managed to put on 33 pounds in seven months. Currently in remission...