Support resources for families dealing with cancer and other serious illnesses

Greetings everyone. My wife was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer back in her third month, and they had to remove everything the very same day. Honestly, after the excruciating pain she was in over those last two days, I was at my wits' end—she was practically screaming in agony. There was absolutely no doubt about the cancer diagnosis; she’d had pains in that area before, but they usually responded to standard painkillers. We just didn't realize this kind of evil was lurking there, and eventually, the pills just weren't enough. I called 911, and the paramedics arrived around 5:15 AM. I'm so grateful they took us seriously and showed up so quickly. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital and operated on that same day (she spent three days in the ICU; huge thanks to Dr. Goluža and the nursing staff there). Afterwards, she moved to a facility where she underwent 28 external and one internal radiation session at 25gy—which meant about two and a half days in isolation—plus four rounds of chemotherapy. Currently, she’s feeling wonderful. We still have to figure out the follow-up schedule, but for now, things are looking up. I want to take this moment to express my deepest gratitude to the abdominal surgeon at Mount Sinai and the Chief of Oncology-Gynecology for such a successful surgery. What can I even say to those of you currently fighting this? Please know you have our full moral support, no matter what. Don't back down! May God help you! Hval

this sounds completely bizarre to me

http://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/nep...ma-article-3641

Taylor Morales31 said:Hi everyone. My wife was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer during her third month of pregnancy. We had the surgery to remove everything the very same day, mostly because the pain over the last 48 hours became so unbearable I didn't know what to do—she was practically screaming. There wasn't any doubt about the diagnosis; she’d had localized pain before, but we just managed it with standard painkillers. We didn't realize how truly vicious this thing was until it hit this level. I called 911, and the paramedics arrived around 5:15 AM. I'm so grateful they took us seriously and responded so quickly. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital and operated on that same day (she spent three days in the ICU; my thanks to Dr. Goluza and the nursing staff there). Afterward, she went to a facility for radiation—28 external and one internal session at 25Gy (which meant about two and a half days in isolation)—plus four rounds of chemotherapy. She’s feeling quite good now, though we still need to schedule her follow-up appointments. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the abdominal surgeon at Mount Sinai and the Head of Oncology-Gynecology for such a successful procedure. To anyone else out there fighting this: please know you have our full moral support. Don't give up. May God help you. Thanks.

At what stage was the cancer detected?

Amanda Miller69 said:At what stage was the cancer discovered?

Stage two—initial phase, according to my wife (Ca cervicis uteri (C53)). LAP median infra et supraumbilicalis. Abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral adnexes. Grade II squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. She told me her doctor said she showed up just two days too late; it would have been too late. It all started with this sudden, violent shivering—like she was freezing from the inside out—and in less than forty-eight hours, she looked like a walking corpse. The pain just kept climbing and climbing. I felt completely helpless, just spinning my wheels, calling 911...

edit: Actually, looking back, it was closer to a day and a half. And another thing—I couldn't help her at all. Honestly, I couldn't even touch her because the pain was so intense. One more thing, though... I realized how much of a cruel joke this whole situation was when I saw the pack of cigarettes I’d left for her. They were still untouched. From the sheer agony she was in, she didn't light a single one...

Taylor Morales31 said:Stage two, initial phase, according to my wife (Ca cervicis uteri (C53)). OP March 17th. LAP median infra and supraumbilicalis. Abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral adnexa. Grade II squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. She mentioned her doctor told her she arrived just two days too late—it all started with sudden, violent shivering, basically chills, and in less than two days she looked like a walking corpse. The pain just kept intensifying; I was honestly at a loss, just frantically calling 911...

edit: actually, it was closer to a day and a half. Also, one more thing: there was absolutely nothing I could do to help because I couldn't even touch her without causing more agony. And if you want to know when I realized how truly dire things had become, it was when I noticed she hadn't even touched the pack of cigarettes I’d left out for her when this started. Because of the pain, she didn't light a single one...

The only silver lining here is that she was in enough pain to warrant medical attention; otherwise, that kind of cancer often goes undetected until it's far too late.

So, somehow I found myself ending up in this thread.
Yesterday, after just two months of dating, my guy called me and told me he has lung cancer. He said his doctor told him yesterday that he might only have a year left to live... and all because he was careless and didn't stay consistent with his treatment.
What hurts most is that in those two months, we went through more together than some couples do in two years; it was just that intense.
Of course, I was completely blindsided, and it hit even harder when he told me to just forget about him and stop reaching out.
Even though I told him I’d be right there by his side, he simply won't have it. It broke my heart even more when he said he doesn't have the strength to fight anymore—that he's given up and sees no point in trying.
I honestly don't know what to do..

Taylor Fox6 said:Honestly, I just found myself getting sucked into this thread.
Yesterday, a guy I’ve been seeing for two months called me up and dropped the bomb: he has lung cancer. His doctor told him yesterday that he might only have a year left to live... and apparently, it’s all because he was careless and didn't stick to his treatment schedule.
The worst part is, in just those two months, we went through more together than most people do in two years of dating. It was intense.
Of course, I was in total shock, and it hit even harder when he told me to forget about him and stop looking for him.
Even though I told him I’d be right there by his side, he just won't have it. It crushed me even more when he said he doesn't have the strength to fight anymore—that he’s given up and sees no point in trying.
I don't know what to do..

Good grief😢...what kind of therapy was he on, and what exactly was the diagnosis?
I happened to read your post on another thread, and I have to be blunt: everything you wrote about him sounds pretty bizarre and frankly, incredibly shady on his part.
Are you 100% certain he's actually sick, or is this just some elaborate excuse to dump you? Seriously, you meet all kinds of people these days who will spin any lie imaginable just to get exactly what they want.

I think there are three possibilities here: either he’s just furious with himself because he messed up too many times, or we've reached that point where nobody wants us around because we're simply fed up with everything—or at least, that's how he perceives it. Then there's the "polite" way out, where he leaves you without actually saying it, which is honestly just stupid. Why overcomplicate something as simple as "I'm sorry, but I don't want to be with you anymore"? Or, perhaps most cruelly, he claims he didn't want to cause you pain, even though, let's face it, you're going to suffer regardless of his intentions!

I find it hard to believe he’d actually resort to excuses like this just to justify a breakup; I mean, this isn't exactly a joke. In my estimation, he likely just doesn't want to be tied down to someone else when there's no telling how much longer he can hold it together—he probably thinks he's sparing her the heartache. People can certainly find a hundred different reasons to end things, but I have truly never heard anything quite like this before.

Amanda Miller69 said:I find it hard to believe he’s actually the type of guy who would use something like this as an excuse to end things; that just feels like a cheap shot. Honestly, my take? He probably just doesn't want to be tied down to someone else when he has no idea how much longer he can hold it together, and he's trying to spare her the heartache. People can dig up a thousand different reasons to call it quits, but I have never heard anyone pull a stunt quite like this before.

I don't know, I just find it bizarre when someone plays both sides—acting hot and cold, asking for things via SMSom, and then suddenly deciding they don't want them anymore just because they're sick.

Taylor Fox6 said:I'm jumping into this thread too.
We’ve only been together for a month, but in that short window, we've packed in enough experiences to feel like we've been a couple for an entire year.
And yeah, I'm a skeptic.
And yeah, I don't trust him either.
Oh yeah, I told him.
So he’s actually going to send me an SMS telling me to just forget about him? Seriously?
And then, after all that back-and-forth—all that endless, tedious dithering—he finally calls me up. He has the nerve to tell me it’s not over yet, but then follows it up by saying I need to stop being so suspicious.
So, he actually had the nerve to text me on Wednesday night asking me out on a date. This was right after I laid all my cards on the table and told him exactly how I felt about him. And get this—he tells me he didn't even believe me all this time. He claimed he thought I was just playing games when I told him how much I cared about him and that I'd fallen for him.
He said it again yesterday—he’s still sitting there waiting for an answer to his question (whether I’m actually going to marry him or not).
I don't accept those kinds of half-baked excuses—not unless I'm looking someone straight in the eye. So now, I'm just counting down the days until the weekend. Once he's back from his trip, we'll see if he actually manages to scrape together enough courage to face me. Apparently, he's too terrified to ask me anything directly.

Angela Wright said:I don't know, it just feels a bit strange to me—holding someone in this hot-and-cold limbo, asking them out via SMS, and then suddenly deciding you don't want them anymore just because they're sick.

Honestly, this thread has somehow morphed into a discussion about relationship drama rather than actual illness. I mean, seriously... if a person is sick, fine, let's talk about the medical side of things. But we shouldn't be pivoting to whether or not someone wants to marry them based on their health status.

Amanda Miller69 said:Seriously, this thread has devolved into relationship drama instead of focusing on the actual illness... if someone is sick, fine, but let's talk about the disease, not whether or not someone wants to marry them.

So, what you're saying is that sick people just don't get married?😕 In my view, when people actually commit to that step, they should leave the door open for the other person to decide if they can handle staying by a partner's side through an illness.
I brought it up because, frankly, the whole story about the illness feels incredibly shaky after reading that post in the other thread.
Does a woman really need to go through all that suffering just for it to turn out to be a complete fabrication? That’s why I asked if she was absolutely certain the diagnosis was legitimate. We all know the emotional rollercoaster involved when we’ve dealt with these kinds of diagnoses indirectly. Now, imagine someone you love just cuts you out of their life over a phone call because they're "sick," only for it to be revealed as a cheap trick to get rid of you. It’s ugly, and it's unfair to her, and it's insulting to people who are fighting real battles.

Angela Wright said:Are you suggesting that people with illnesses just don't get married or have partners?😕 In my view, when someone is willing to take that leap, they usually leave the choice up to their partner to decide if they want to stand by them through the illness.
I was quoting her because, frankly, any discussion about this specific illness feels a bit hollow after reading that post in the other thread.
Does a woman really need to suffer that intensely only for it to turn out to be a complete fabrication? That’s why I asked if she was actually certain about the diagnosis. We all know the emotional rollercoaster we go through when we're indirectly dealing with a diagnosis like that. It’s devastating to think someone you love could just cut you off via a phone call because they think you're sick, only for it to turn out to be a manipulative trick to get rid of you. It’s a nasty situation, and it isn't fair to her, nor to those who are genuinely struggling with health issues.

Not quite; I think she drifted away from the actual subject of the illness itself, which is exactly what you pointed out in those last two sentences.

says:
Honestly, I find myself unexpectedly caught up in this discussion.
Just yesterday, a guy I’ve been seeing for about two months called me up and dropped a bombshell: he has lung cancer. He told me his doctor gave him maybe a year to live, all because he was careless and didn't stay on top of his medication.
What really stings is that in just those two short months, we went through more milestones than most couples do in two years; it felt incredibly intense.
Naturally, I was completely blindsided, but what hit even harder was when he told me to just forget about him and stop reaching out.
Even after I promised I’d be there for him, he simply refused to let me in. It broke my heart even more when he admitted he doesn't have the strength to fight anymore—that he’s just given up and sees no point in trying.
I am at a total loss...

How well do you actually know this man? For all you know, he could be married with a whole family back home, and this might just be a convenient way to push you away.
The first couple of months in any relationship tend to feel like a whirlwind of perfection.
Some men will go to any lengths to manipulate a situation.
Furthermore, it’s medically highly unlikely for an oncologist to give such a definitive one-year timeline. I truly hope God grants him peace, and I wish you strength as well.
As for what to do, I honestly think your best move is to focus on your own life and keep moving forward.

I just wanted to pop in here for a second because I don't want this thread to be nothing but bad news all the time... 🙂

My mom just finished her second round of scans following her surgery and treatment—and honestly, the results came back great again! 🙂👋🎉 🙂🙂

That’s awesome Maria Fox!
I am seriously riding that wave of good news with you, especially since my own mom just got some solid results back too... a full year after her surgery and all those treatments, her scans—CT, colonoscopy, everything, plus the markers
🙂

... but honestly, even though I’m keeping my mouth shut and acting totally fine (because she’s finally starting to breathe again and actually feels optimistic about the results), I just can't shake this nagging feeling in my gut... See, the marker levels are technically still within the "normal" range, but they’ve been creeping up steadily through three different tests since the surgery. Her next checkup isn't until December, which is basically six months since the last one, and I can't help but wonder if her oncologist should have scheduled something sooner, maybe at the three-month mark... or at least sent her in for more imaging, like a chest X-ray or a PET scan or something...
😕

Maria Fox said:I thought I should check in here just so this space isn't filled with nothing but bad news...🙂

My mother just finished her second round of follow-up scans after the surgery and therapy, and once again, the results are looking positive...🙂👋🎉🙂🙂

👍🙂

Does anyone happen to have a copy of Dr. Braus's diet, or does anyone know where I might be able to track it down?

I mean, you could probably track it down in some old library or maybe at the Graska bookstore over in New York City if you're lucky enough to find a copy... just give it a shot and see if they'll let you borrow it. It’s been out of print forever, so it's a bit of a needle in a haystack...

Sam Murphy33 said:Does anyone actually have, or know where I can find, Dr. Braus's diet plan?

Honestly, just forget about it—trying to heal yourself using nothing but juices is a total waste of time...
I’ve already seen people try everything from mushrooms and shiitake to those biota juices, and let me tell you, it's all crap.
That old guy Brojs in that book doesn't even give you actual, concrete recipes with specific measurements—it's just some outdated nonsense that doesn't even make sense..
It's basically just leading you down a dead end
I mean, Noni, beta Glucan, shiitake juices and mushrooms, biota juices (per Brojs), IP6 with Inositol... all of that stuff is like throwing money into the wind when it comes to fighting cancer—it's been proven, trust me.
And they just push these products through "so-called" doctor recommendations, purely so they can profit off of someone else's misfortune.