Support resources for families dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses

slypuma said:God help us... I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow's PET CT comes back clear and there's nothing to worry about. Does the report come out right away, or what?

It's happening as soon as tomorrow. Good luck with everything!

quietpuma19 said:Hi everyone! I could really use some help—this is regarding lung cancer. The appointment was supposed to be at the end of this month, but nothing has happened yet. Do you know if surgeries are still being performed despite the strike? It's at Dubrava Hospital.

Since malignant diseases are emergencies, surgeries are still moving forward regardless of the strike.

It’s getting harder and harder for me to keep checking this thread...
Dad’s been stuck in the hospital after spending four nights in the ER over the last ten days. He’s dealing with abdominal pain, hasn't eaten anything in days, and he's just incredibly weak.
He's on an IV right now while they run some tests.
I guess I'm just hoping the results come back okay and that he actually starts feeling better.

Nancy Lee

I really hope your dad starts feeling better soon so you guys can get back to just enjoying being together. I find myself missing that so much—just those simple, shared moments with my wonderful mom. We had so many plans, so many walks we wanted to take, all those little heart-to-hearts... It feels like it was all snatched away so suddenly, and honestly, I'm still struggling to come to terms with it.

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My father received his diagnosis today🙂

It’s small cell lung cancer... there aren't any metastases yet, but they've referred him for a brain scan just to be safe.

I am reaching out to ask for anyone's experiences or any meaningful advice you might have. From everything I have read, this is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, and it is most commonly found in smokers—which, unfortunately, describes my father perfectly.

🙂 I truly feel like this is the worst possible news he could have been given.🙂

Hey Jane Doe, I’m so sorry to hear about your dad’s diagnosis. I don't know a ton about that specific condition, but I've seen people on Reddit talk about getting really solid care here, so I'm rooting for him to pull through this. I know things are rough right now, but wishing you guys nothing but strength and luck for everything ahead.

I’ve mentioned this before regarding a friend's mother who was diagnosed with microcellular melanoma. She went through the full gauntlet of chemo and radiation, and now she’s been in remission for three years already. The bottom line is that there are no metastases, so getting started on treatment immediately is absolutely critical.

Angela Wright, I don't know much about that situation. Could you give me some more details?
Jane Doe, my dad is dealing with that damn microcellular stuff too. It’s been about a year and three months since his diagnosis. Everything seemed fine for the first year, but lately, things have taken a turn. Even when he was first diagnosed, he had those spots on his lymph nodes that would basically come and go. It looks like the last round of radiation might have finished them off, but now his lymph nodes are so swollen he hasn't been able to eat anything for a few days. He's in the hospital now. They're talking about doing a PEG tube. Apparently, it's just a temporary fix to get him some nutrients since he can't swallow, at least until the swelling goes down enough for him to eat on his own. He’s being indecisive about the whole procedure, though.
Jane Doe, it’s tough, but you just have to keep fighting. Fight every single day.

Michelle Cook83 said:Since cancer cases are urgent, surgeries are still being performed regardless of the strike.

That’s what I had hoped for, too. However, we don't live in New York City, and my surgery was supposed to happen at the end of October in NYC. No one has reached out to me, and when I followed up, nobody could give me a clear answer on the timing. Time is just slipping away.
I'm wondering if anyone else is facing similar delays?

Dad just finished his consultation with the neurologist, and he’s got great news—his brain scans came back completely clear... 🙂 🙂
At least for now. We haven't found any signs of metastasis anywhere else... 🙂

I have to admit, I am absolutely terrified about the possibility of the cancer spreading. He starts chemotherapy this coming Monday. Please, keep us in your thoughts and prayers...

Hang in there. I’m sure your dad is going to pull through and recover just fine. How old is he now?

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Jane Doe, good luck!
Where are you getting treated?

Hey there, fellow fighters. Checking in from the USA.

Three years ago, my mom had a mastectomy and went through the whole gauntlet—chemo, radiation, Herceptin. For the longest time, things were looking good. Then, she started complaining about pain in her arm. We did all the regular checkups and tumor markers, and we kept telling ourselves everything was fine, just some random nerve stuff or whatever. But then, everything changed overnight. She took a sudden turn for the worse—her mouth started drooping to one side, she couldn't fully close one eye, and she had this constant ringing in her ears. They rushed her from the ER to neurosurgery, and the MRI results... honestly, it was the worst day of my life. Multiple brain metastases (around 5 or 6). One of them is 18 mm and caused enough edema to press against healthy tissue, which explains the physical symptoms. The others are tiny. Surgery isn't an option, and the doctor's prognosis—given they’re looking at whole-brain radiation—is a maximum of one year. Though, he doesn't know how tough we are. Right now, she's on medication, her mouth has straightened out, and her eye is doing better. Despite all this, she is incredibly strong, both physically and mentally. She's moving around, eating normally, talking, even making jokes about herself, even though she knows exactly what the diagnosis is. I promised her, and I promised myself, that we aren't backing down. She made the same promise. They’re supposed to start whole-brain radiation maybe as early as this week, but I’m hesitating. I’ve been reading up on Gamma Knife and CyberKnife and how successful they can be for cases like this. I’m also terrified of the side effects from whole-brain radiation. Why blast her entire brain if something like Gamma or Cyber could target the spots without all that collateral damage? I can easily pull together the funds for treatment in Turkey (where the surgeons are top-tier).

For anyone here who has been through this: What would you do if you were in my shoes? I'll take any advice you can give.

Thanks in advance for the replies. And just remember: WE DON'T SURRENDER!

I’d definitely suggest seeking out a second or even third opinion from a specialist who deals specifically with cases like this. Best of luck!

quietpuma19 said:That’s what I thought too—but we aren't in New York City, and the surgery was supposed to happen at the end of October in NYC. So far, nobody has reached out. When I tried asking around, no one could actually give me a straight answer on when it might happen, and the clock is ticking.
I'm wondering if anyone else is dealing with this kind of thing?

Ugh... seriously?! They really should have contacted you by now. Have you tried calling them to see what's going on?

Michelle Cook83 said:Goodness... that's quite a lot to deal with. They really should have reached out to you. Have you tried calling them directly?

No, because everything here is handled through the doctor. I'm actually thinking about calling them myself since I haven't received an answer regarding the delay or why I haven't been called in yet. They mentioned it was due to a strike, so I was wondering if anyone on this forum has any insight into whether delays like this are common for procedures where every single day counts.

quietpuma19 said:Not really, because everything here goes through the doctor. I’m thinking about calling them directly since I haven't received an answer as to why there's a delay or why I hasn't been called yet. They're claiming it's due to a strike, so I was wondering if anyone on this forum has any actual info on whether people are facing delays with these kinds of surgeries where every single day matters.

Forgive my bluntness, but honestly, I just don't get people like you! You have a crystal clear view of the situation—you fully grasp the risks involved in waiting—and yet, here you are, coming to an online forum looking for some kind of advice on how to handle the wait... Look, for heaven's sake, pick up the phone, send an email, or drop by the office the day before yesterday and hunt them down until things start moving! Do you seriously think anyone out there gives a damn about us? Do you think they'll just check in to see how we're doing? Get it together, people. Be assertive and stop acting like someone is somehow obligated to call you!

Jeremy Morales9 said:Hey there, fellow fighters. Checking in from the USA.

Three years ago, my mom had a mastectomy and went through the whole gauntlet—chemo, radiation, and Herceptin. Everything seemed fine until recently when she started complaining about pain in her arm. We kept up with the checkups and tumor markers, and everyone insisted everything was okay, just some random arm pain. Then, everything changed in an instant. She took a sudden turn for the worse; her mouth started drooping to one side, she couldn't fully close one eye, and she had this constant ringing in her ears. They rushed her from the ER to neurosurgery, and the MRI results were the worst day of my life. Multiple brain metastases—about five or six—with one being 18mm, which caused enough edema to press against healthy tissue and trigger those physical symptoms. The others are tiny. Surgery isn't an option, and the doctor gave us a prognosis of maybe one year at most with whole-brain radiation (though he doesn't know how much grit we actually have). Right now, they have her on medication, so her mouth has straightened out and her eye is better. Honestly, she’s a powerhouse, both physically and mentally. She’s moving around, eating normally, talking normally, and even cracking jokes at her own expense, despite knowing the full diagnosis. I promised her—and she promised me—that we aren't backing down. We might start whole-brain radiation as early as this week, but I'm hesitant. I've been reading extensively about Gamma Knife and CyberKnife and how effective they can be for cases like this. I'm terrified of the side effects from radiating her entire brain; why subject her to that if a Gamma or CyberKnife procedure could target the spots without all that collateral damage? Of course, I'll easily pull together the funds for treatment in Turkey, where the surgeons are world-class.

I'm asking anyone here with experience: What would you do if you were in my shoes? Any advice at all is appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any replies. Our motto: NO SURRENDER!

The criteria for Gamma Knife is usually tumors up to 1cm, and CyberKnife up to 2cm, provided there aren't too many other smaller ones.
Jane Doe is a major complication, unfortunately. I really hope the radiation does the trick. You should definitely seek a second opinion abroad—you can even do that via email.

quietpuma19 said:No, because everything here goes through the doctor—I’m actually thinking about calling them directly. I haven't gotten a straight answer as to why there's a delay or why I haven't been called in yet. They're claiming it's due to a strike, so I wanted to see if anyone on this forum has any actual info on whether people are really being put on hold for these kinds of surgeries... especially when every single day matters.

I know from firsthand experience that they don't make you wait for procedures like this—my surgeon told me exactly that just last month. There is simply no waiting! I honestly have no idea why they haven't reached out to you if this is an urgent situation. It doesn't make any sense to me.

Hey everyone... Guess who’s back with some killer news!
I finally got the surgery out of the way! And get this—the doctor told me that, from everything they saw, it wasn't even cancer.. 🙂 I'm just waiting on the official pathology report from the lab to be 100% sure though..

Man, I am seriously relieved...

Lisa White54 said:Hey everyone... I've got some great news to share!
I'm out of surgery! And the doctor told me that, based on everything we're seeing, it looks like it wasn't cancer after all... 🙂 I'm just waiting on the final pathology report from the lab to be 100% sure..

I am just so incredibly happy...

It's going to be fine, just stay strong 🙂