Commenting on my stomach being a bit smaller. I just got the most disgusting remark from a cashier: "Oh my god, where did your belly go? Who knows WHAT he did to you?!"
I told one woman straight up that I’m way too big for that—I don't have a single stretch mark from any pregnancy (honestly, all the weight goes to my hips and glutes because even though I gain weight easily, I won't let it show)
Just hold on to the fact that you gave it everything. You fought with superhuman strength... you really are a lioness. Hang in there through whatever comes next... 🙂
ruggedfox11 said:Tears are flowing, laughter is fake, life isn't some fantasy... What's the point? Look, I'm not a saint, but I've read everything I could find about hoarseness during radiation (it shows up, supposedly as a side effect, both in personal accounts and medical literature). So, I tell his pulmonologist that he’s starting radiation, that he’s scheduled for a CT, and I bring up this hoarseness to ask what we can do to treat it while he's undergoing radiation. And her response? She says it can't be a side effect of the radiation, but rather that the cancer is pressing on the vocal nerve and there's nothing to do except push through with chemo after the radiation is done. Now you tell me what to think... If that nerve really is being squeezed, wouldn't it make sense that he'd be hoarse constantly? I'm losing my mind here... I desperately hope she's wrong. I'll find out this weekend when he's off radiation for a bit... Anyone have experience with this?
Sent from my D2005 using Twitter
The battle you're fighting is beyond anything I can imagine. Please, just keep fighting... and kudos to you for staying positive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.🙂
My cycles have always been short—usually around 24 days. My luteal phase is brief, but everything was fine. I managed to get pregnant without any issues after trying for a few months, though the pregnancy ended up being high-risk due to a hematoma.
Right after that pregnancy, my cycles went back to their old pattern, and they stayed that way until this month. This time, I got my period on day 25, but now I’ve been bleeding for 10 days straight. I saw my OB-GYN on day 7 because I had a scheduled checkup; he did an exam and said there's some kind of imbalance going on. He mentioned if this continues for another week, we might have to use hormones to stop it. Since I live near the coast, the temptation to go swimming is huge, but I hate bathing while on my period anyway. Still, I don't want to mess around because we are planning for another pregnancy. What would you do if you were me? I should mention that things have been incredibly stressful lately.
Jacob Williams7 said:He had surgery on Friday, and now we’re stuck waiting about twenty days for the pathology report. Honestly, I don't get why it takes this long. We still don't know if it's metastasized or not. And they aren't even touching the one on his forehead until July. So, there's no way to tell if this is still early stage or if things have progressed. Just praying to God it hasn't...
Fingers crossed. My mom had to wait at least 15 days for hers too, PhD.
The only question is... does the PhD need to confirm if it's a primary or secondary tumor?
this piece of crap is still somewhere... they suspect another site at the Mayo Clinic... heading to the oncologist now... the doctor is certain it isn't a metastasis from the eye, he just can't believe it...
My mom had her follow-up today after surgery, and the PhD specialist arrived. From what I’ve read, things look okay. Her liver panel came back clean, but the bone scan picked up something at the base of the right rib and in the teeth, so they recommended an X-ray of the 11th rib and a skull radiograph from two angles.
The doctor told her it might be nothing, but she needs to get them done before coming back for the next checkup. I’m biting my nails because I wasn't even there—her sister was—and she should have just asked him straight out... I mean, if they saw radiopharmaceutical uptake in those two spots... I don't want to be pessimistic, but still...
My mom just had her eye removed due to ocular melanoma. Between fighting for her life and everything else, losing the eye has been a massive blow. I want to make sure she gets the absolute best prosthetic possible.
I’ve been reading about Dr. Popijač in Savannah! Is he considered the best in the field? And does the process involve getting a temporary prosthesis first before moving to a permanent one? Can someone walk me through how this works and what the best course of action would be?
My husband just had surgery for a deviated septum and they scorched his nasopharyngeal area (I forget the technical term)... The day of the surgery was rough. The next day—which is today—he was doing okay this morning, but by this afternoon, man... he can barely walk. He’s dealing with general weakness, and don't even get me started on the nasal pain, though I guess that's expected. Even after showering or taking a short walk, he hasn't felt any better; if anything, he feels worse. I called the doctor, and he administered a Sulumedrol injection (my husband is an atopic patient and passed all the allergy testing related to anesthesia, so those were fine), and they put him on Klavocin because he hit a fever of 99.5.
Robin Diaz4 said:We all held out hope for a miracle, but it just didn't happen... The cancer simply took over and tore everything apart in just a few days. That's the short version of the discharge papers. Toward the end of chemo, it actually looked like things were improving, but once that last cycle was delayed due to his platelet count, it was game over. The cliché that Dad didn't suffer long and wasn't in pain after the diagnosis offers little comfort. Extra time? We didn't get any...
Regardless, this forum helped me navigate the endless unknowns of this disease (there were so many), kept me from falling for the various charlatans trying to profit off our grief (again, far too many), and allowed me to avoid draining the people around me with a topic they don't have the strength to face. Don't hold it against friends who distance themselves during times like this (it happened a lot)... they'll help when and if they can. And in any case, remember to take care of yourselves so you don't end up sick too (like I am now). My thoughts are with all of you. I truly wish you nothing but the best.
ruggedfox11 said:I think it's because someone has to wait a certain amount of time before they can run specific tests...
From what we've seen, oncology patients always have open slots specifically so they don't have to wait forever...
But try calling the Mayo Clinic; I know they accept those emergency referrals.
That's the plan. The follow-up appointment is in about 10 days, so it would be ideal if she could get these two tests done beforehand, since the pathology report will be ready by then too. She already had a bone scan and a liver ultrasound—those are the primary sites for this cancer's metastasis, so we'll prioritize those. We're heading to the Mayo Clinic.
Hey... maybe I’m just out of the loop here, but...
It’s driving me crazy. They’re discharging my mom from the department today, and now she’s expected to handle all the scheduling herself for things like bone scans and stuff... I assume they're waiting on insurance approval... but since she isn't from a major metro area like Chicago, she wants to get everything handled up here where her specialist is based...
Why couldn't they just coordinate everything through the hospital?...
Robin Diaz4 said:Hey everyone, my dad is gone... it’s too hard. It feels like "someone up there" didn't give us a fighting chance... Thank you to my (not so) distant friends for the advice, the help, and the support when I needed it most—you know how much that matters.
Wishing everyone out there fighting their own battles all the luck in the world. I'll be back once I can pull myself together enough to write something... maybe it'll help someone else. Love to you all.
🙂
so sorry....
mom just had surgery. diagnosis was a vascular tumor... now we're waiting on pathology results. how long does that usually take?
Angela Wright said:Honestly, I missed the previous post. She had her husband watching over her the whole time, and he had to step outside too. I don't have all the specifics—she didn't say much to anyone. She passed away about five years after the diagnosis, though I'm not sure if that was the direct cause.
Unfortunately, those are the same grim prognoses I see everywhere—five years max... she's in surgery right now... just waiting...
I posted a bit ago about my mother’s ocular melanoma, but nobody really responded. It doesn't matter, I guess... she’s going in for surgery tomorrow. The tumor is just too large for radiation, so they have to remove her entire eye...
Keep everything crossed that the rest of her health stays clear... I don't think chemo will be necessary, but I just hope it isn't too late🙂
Greetings, everyone. It’s never easy coming back to this thread, and I see I’ve picked the absolute worst possible timing to join the conversation. First, my sincere condolences to those hurting.
On another note, has anyone here dealt with ocular melanoma? My mother was just diagnosed last week. We’re heading to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester tomorrow to see Dr. Vukojević, because there isn't anything they can do for us back home in Miami.
Any insight or experience at all would be appreciated...
Jamie Rivera78 said:Look, I’m telling you again—I haven't needed any treatment for over 30 years. Not a single attack in three decades. Nothing is choking me. For me, that’s what actual recovery looks like. Look, I get it—everyone loves to label things. Sure, technically speaking, asthma is a chronic condition, but honestly? I don't walk around feeling like some "chronically ill" person. It’s just my life, not my whole identity.
Everything you said holds up. I've dealt with gastritis my entire life. I don't call myself chronically ill either, but I have it, and one day it’ll flare up on me again... if I eat a little better and stay calm, the symptoms vanish... then suddenly, boom...
Anyway, glad you're feeling better. I really hope things turn out the same way for my daughter. 🙂
I was told that if Asthma is diagnosed before age three, it tends to go into remission as you get older... basically, you just deal with an attack every few years here and there, and that's it.
I have a friend who had it just like that as a kid. He’s a smoker now—which is almost unthinkable, right?—but he’s still an asthmatic. Most of his symptoms vanished since his was allergy-driven; the allergies cleared up, so while he's technically still an asthmatic, it's much milder because he stays on top of treatment and keeps it under control. Maybe for you, that counts as being cured, which is great if you aren't gasping for air anymore. But at the end of the day, it's a chronic condition.
Michelle Thomas38 said:I don't know who told her that, but she can absolutely have a normal vaginal birth—unless there are other medical reasons for a C-section, I mean. It has to be something completely unrelated to asthma...
I’ve been dealing with this for ages—constant treatments, several rounds of testing, and a mountain of hospital stays due to bronchitis and bronchial asthma, which eventually shifted into allergic asthma. I’ve spent plenty of time in seaside clinics too, living off Ventolin and various other inhalers and meds... yet I still had two kids, naturally, without any complications whatsoever. Plus, just ten days before my second birth, I was literally hooked up to IV drips and inhalations just so I could actually make it through the delivery, since my asthma decided to flare up right at the worst possible moment. So, my take? If everything is being managed and treated properly, there shouldn't be any real obstacles to a natural birth when you're dealing with asthma.
Andrew Peterson2 said:Did you hear she won't be able to have kids?
Anyway, there are actually more natural ways to handle this kind of stuff... Like living by the coast or up in the mountains. On my first day of vacation, I felt like I really needed my Ventolin, but I hadn't brought it with me—so the doctor told me to just hang tight and let the sea air settle things down. She was right, honestly. After that, I didn't even need it once we got back from the beach, at least not right away. The problem is, I can only manage about 10 days of vacation max, but I read online that if you want it to actually do something for your lungs, you need to be out there for months. You know, to stop the breathing issues from coming back constantly.
I can't quite remember my exact allergy percentages or whatever. I know it's dust, feathers, pollen—I think—dust mites, and some other stuff I can't recall... I had testing done when I was a kid, but I'm 29 now.
As for sports, I'm definitely not built for the high-intensity stuff that leaves you winded instantly. Like running, for example. But trekking or steady, easy cycling? That’s fine. When I'm at the coast, I absolutely love hiking—just walking. There are plenty of jerks at the beach, sure, and lots of steep stone steps, but I handle them without any trouble. With enough motivation, I could probably do it for hours... 🙂 In a way, it works for me—good for the head, the body, and probably the lungs too. 🙂
Regarding meds, I mostly just use Ventolin as needed. Usually at night—it has a way of waking me up because I can't sleep when my breathing gets heavy. I was prescribed Qvar, where I take two puffs every single day until the canister is empty, and after that, I don't run into breathing problems nearly as often.
I have a friend with Asthma whose heart function has weakened from long-term Ventolin use. They suspect her heart might not handle a natural birth, but thankfully, she’ll have a C-section.
Regarding the ocean, I'm glad it helps you. We live about 10 meters from the water. 😁 We're on the beach every morning and evening, and we walk along the shore even in winter. She was doing great in July; she didn't cough once and we weren't using Fentanyl patch then. But after the first big storm hit, she had such bad obstructions that we didn't sleep for three days because of her choking. So, in terms of the long term, the ocean doesn't help us at all.
The point is, we get hit by these massive, harsh winds. We're tucked in a canyon surrounded by mountains, a river, and the sea... if it were just the sea, it would be better, but it's humid here and the wind is brutal.