Resources and support for families dealing with cancer and serious illness

I’m going to be off the grid for about five days since I’m heading down to Miami for the holidays. So, to all my dear friends here, I want to wish you a happy and blessed Easter. May the hope this season brings give you the strength to endure whatever personal trials come your way until the very end.
Love to you all

Amanda Miller69 :
Thanks so much! If you’re a donor and have an insurance card, please head over to 3 Petrov Avenue. Just let them know at the counter that the donation is for Zdenka Košćec's surgery, which has already been coordinated with the Mayo Clinic.
If you don't have an insurance card, you'll need to go to the Mayo Clinic around 7:30 AM and check in with Dr. Plenković in the transfusion department. She’ll draw your blood and confirm your blood type right then and there. Just mention it's for my mom's operation (the one I mentioned earlier). Once you have the confirmation, take it over to Petrov to donate. The surgery is scheduled for a week from today.
I can't thank you enough!

Amanda Miller69, I'm B negative, so if there's any way to have blood sent over from Miami, I would love to help out.

Angela Wright said:I’m going to be away from the forum for about five days (heading down to Miami for the holidays), so I wanted to pop in and wish all my wonderful friends a happy and blessed Easter. I hope the hope this holiday brings gives you the strength to push through whatever struggles you're facing right now.
Kisses to everyone!

Angela, you're basically a Miami local!😲

Kate Ramos40 said:Angela Wright, you're from Miami!😲

Yeah,😍 born there, but I've been living in NYC since I was six.🙂

Kate Ramos40 said:Amanda Miller69:
Thank you so much. If you are already a donor and have your medical ID card, please head over to 3 Petrov Street. Just mention at the counter that this is specifically for Zdenka Košćec's surgery, which has been coordinated with the Mayo Clinic.
If you don't have an ID card, you'll need to go to the Mayo Clinic early tomorrow morning—around 7:30 AM—to see Dr. Plenković in transfusion medicine. She will draw your blood and determine your blood type right then and there. Make sure to mention again that it's for my mother's surgery (mentioned above). Once you have the confirmation, you can take it over to Petrov to donate. The surgery is scheduled for a week from today.
I am eternally grateful to you.

Amanda Miller69, I am B negative, so if there is any way to have blood sent from Miami, I would be more than happy to help out.

I'll check in with the folks at Petrov. I was at the Mayo Clinic today with my mom, seeing Professor Majerović and Dr. Kekez, who will be performing the surgery. They pointed out a young woman on the ward who has the exact same condition as my mother; she’s already had the procedure and looks and feels fantastic. The doctors walked us through all the possibilities. When I asked about those cases deemed inoperable, they explained there was only one woman, and even then, her CT scans were borderline (my mother's results are actually quite clear). He also noted that while the surgery is risky—out of eight people, two passed away due to complications (God forbid)—it lasts about 10 to 15 hours and involves removing the peritoneum (which, by the way, covers about 5 square meters—can you believe that?) along with portions of the organs within it. Somehow, hearing all of this actually calmed me down a bit. I have a feeling everything will turn out alright; I just need to get through the day itself. Please keep us in your thoughts.👍

Angela Wright said:Is it okay to give birth?😍 I was born elsewhere, but I've been living in NYC since I was six.🙂

I felt like I caught a glimpse of some secret connection. 😉

Amanda Miller69 said:I'm going to double-check everything at the clinic. I was at the Mayo Clinic today with my mom seeing Prof. Majerović and Dr. Kekez, who will be performing the surgery. They showed us this young woman on the ward with the exact same condition as my mom—she already had her surgery and looks absolutely fantastic. He walked us through all the options, and when I asked about the cases where surgery isn't an option, he mentioned there was only one woman, and even then, her CT scans were borderline (my mom's scans look totally fine). He did warn us that the surgery is intense; out of eight people, two passed away from complications (God forbid!), and the procedure lasts about 10-15 hours because they have to remove the peritoneum (which is about 5 square meters, can you believe that?) along with parts of the organs inside it. Honestly, hearing all that actually calmed me down, and I have a gut feeling everything is going to be just fine. I just need to get through that big day. Keep your fingers crossed for us!👍

Amanda Miller69, definitely go ask those questions; I would really appreciate the help. Love that optimism of yours!👍

Kate Ramos40 said:Amanda Miller69, you absolutely have to look into this; I could really use the help. Honestly, props to you for staying so optimistic. 👍

I already asked, but unfortunately, it’s a no.🙄At this point, optimism is pretty much all I've got left.🙂

Amanda Miller69 said:I asked, but unfortunately, it's a no go.🙄Optimism is really all I have left right now.🙂

I'm so sorry,🤷 I really thought I could be helpful here.

Angela Wright said:I won't be around the forum for about five days or so, as I am heading down to Miami for the holidays... so, my dear friends, I wanted to wish you all a happy and blessed Easter. May the hope this season brings provide you with the strength to endure your own little crosses until the very end...
Kisses to everyone

Wishing you all the best and a lovely holiday season... kisses

Kate Ramos40 said:I'm sorry,🤷 I really wanted to be helpful here.

Regardless, I appreciate you😘A good number of people from my company (T-Mobile US) reached out to me. I went ahead and sent an email to the entire firm—no shame in that—so I'm sure we'll have enough.🙂I just hope it works out.🙂

Linda Peterson37 said:Look, my dad’s been fighting a brain astrocytoma for a long time too. When he first got diagnosed, they labeled it Grade II, but things have progressed since then.
Anyway, I’ll help you out with whatever advice or experience I can, just like everyone else here who actually cares. But it would be super helpful if you could give us some specifics—like when the tumor was first found, if you've had surgery yet, if there's been a recurrence, stuff like that.
Ask me anything. Just shoot.

I know there are so many genuinely good people on this board. My astrocytoma was discovered back on February 29th.
The standard medical plan is chemo and radiation, and if that manages to shrink it down, then we look at surgery. Right now, it's located bilaterally in the frontal lobe, so doctors aren't recommending surgery at this stage. On top of that, we're doing homeopathy plus sticking to a really solid diet.
When was your dad's diagnosis, and where is he being treated?
Sending love to everyone!

cosmicsurfer7 said:I know there are plenty of wonderful people here. I was diagnosed with an astrocytoma on February 29th.
The official medical recommendation is chemotherapy and radiation; if those shrink it, then surgery becomes an option. It’s located bilaterally in the frontal lobe, so they don't recommend operating at this stage. Beyond that, we're looking at homeopathy plus a proper diet.
When was your father diagnosed, and where is it located?
Kisses to everyone!

My dad was diagnosed back in 1998, and he had surgery in June of 1999.
Back then, the tumor was right frontobasal, but now—after a recurrence found in December 2006—it's right frontotemporal.
After the first surgery, he went through radiation and chemo, though that didn't start until six months later due to severe pressure sores.
Now that the recurrence has hit, it isn't operable, but we aren't letting that discourage us or make us fight any less. Honestly, after the initial shock and disbelief we all felt when we found out Dad's cancer had returned, I felt this inexplicable surge of strength. I want to learn everything, read everything, buy everything, and do anything possible to help him. I'm talking about various alternative cancer treatments; we've tried many things and are still using several. I've mentioned some of them in previous posts, but if you need to know anything else, just ask.
Personally, I believe diet can be a huge help, especially macrobiotics. There is a great book, Michia Kushia - nutrition against cancer, which I think is well worth reading.
I hope the chemo and radiation help shrink your tumor enough to make surgery possible. I believe the chemo and radiation will help my dad enough to allow for surgery too. Regardless, just keep fighting.
Just ask whatever you need to know.
Best regards to all!

Linda Peterson37 said:My dad’s diagnosis first came out in 1998, and he ended up having surgery in June of '99.
Back then, the tumor was located right in the right frontobasal area, but after a recurrence popped up in December 2006, it's moved to the right frontotemporal region.
After that first surgery, he had to go through radiation and chemo, though we couldn't start that until six months later because he was dealing with some really bad pressure sores.
Now that the recurrence has happened, they're saying it isn't operable, but honestly, that hasn't discouraged us from fighting. Not even a little bit. I guess once we got past that initial shock and disbelief—which hit all of us hard when we found out his cancer was back—I just felt this weird, inexplicable surge of strength. It made me want to learn everything I could. I'm constantly reading, researching, buying things, and trying whatever I can to help my dad. We've looked into all sorts of alternative cancer treatments, and we've tried a lot of stuff, some of which we're still doing now. I've mentioned some of this in older posts, but seriously, if you need to know anything at all, just ask.
Personally, I really feel like diet makes a huge difference, especially macrobiotics. There's this great book, Michia Kushia - nutrition against cancer, that I think is totally worth picking up.
I'm really hoping that both the chemo and radiation will shrink the tumor enough so they can perform surgery. I truly believe that for my dad, the chemo and radiation will work to get it to a stage where surgery is an option. Either way, just keep pushing forward with courage.
Just ask away about whatever is on your mind.
Sending love to everyone!

Thanks so much, dear. I'll definitely ask... Have a wonderful day!

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE CELEBRATING!

Hey everyone, Happy Easter!
I’ve got a situation, mostly involving my dad. Most of you have probably been through this already, so I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction. My dad is going through chemo after surgery for stomach cancer; he’s on 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin. It’s hitting him hard. He’s been dealing with constant nausea and vomiting—mostly just bile at this point—for five days straight. We’ve tried Thorecan, Zofran, and Kytril, but nothing is working. He can't eat a thing; even the thought of food makes him sick, and I honestly don't know how we're going to make it through the rest of this treatment. He’s even starting to feel nauseous just pulling up to the Mayo Clinic or thinking about the IV drips. I heard marijuana can be really effective for nausea. Does anyone have experience with it, specifically with tea? I'm wondering about dosing and how well it actually works. I feel terrible even asking this, and honestly, a little embarrassed. But what do you all think?

Hey there!
I feel terrible that I can't really offer much advice regarding the nausea—I mean, Zofran always worked wonders for me, but honestly, that was only when I was getting it intravenously right at the start of chemo. I'm crossing my fingers that you guys find something that actually helps him...
Grace Fowler

Greetings to everyone from San Francisco. Unfortunately, I have been offline, and even yesterday, when I truly intended to check in—I simply couldn't 😢 (pleasant holidays arriving slightly behind schedule)

On Friday, there was an episode of "second opinion" on PBS—the topic was chemotherapy and navigating life alongside it, including ways to manage nausea and such. Sadly, I wasn't able to catch it, but my mother watched... just to be cautious, though also because the fight continues regardless of the outcome. I hope you all managed to tune in.

That evening, for the first time in quite a while, I saw genuine fear written across my mother's face. There was a movie playing on PBS about a young man battling leukemia. Initially, I insisted we watch it together, hoping to prevent her from drifting into a false sense of euphoria that everything was fine... but once I saw how nauseated she became by the whole thing, I spared her the need to relive everything she has endured...

I wish you all immense courage and nothing but good news! Stay strong and keep fighting... kisses

Linda Hill29 said:Hey everyone, Happy Easter!
I’m dealing with a situation—well, it's actually my dad's situation. Most of you have probably been through this already, so I’m really hoping someone can point me in the right direction... Dad is going through chemo right now (after surgery for stomach carcinoma) and he's on 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin. It's hitting him hard. He's been dealing with constant nausea and vomiting for five days straight now—mostly just throwing up saliva at this point. We've tried Thorecan, Zofran, and Kytril, but honestly? Nothing is working. He can't eat a single thing, the mere thought of food makes him sick, and I have no idea how we're going to make it through this treatment cycle. It's even getting to the point where he feels nauseous just pulling up to the hospital or even thinking about the IV lines and infusions... I heard that marijuana can be really effective for nausea. Does anyone have experience with that? Specifically with tea—like, what kind of dosage works and how much does it actually help? I feel terrible even asking this, it's a bit embarrassing... but I really just need to know what you guys think.

Marijuana, huh? Yeah... When I was doing my own chemo, my godmother called me to tell me she read somewhere online that smoking weed basically neutralizes the nausea. It cracked me up—she said apparently you're supposed to smoke a cigarette about 20 minutes before the treatment starts. I could just picture myself telling the doctor, "Hold on a sec, let me finish this smoke first" 😂.
She didn't mention anything about tea made from the stuff, but she did mention hearing that ginger is amazing for stopping nausea. Like, really great for these kinds of issues. Apparently, it's even good to chew on some while you're actually getting the treatment. So, maybe give that a shot? Might actually work. Luckily, I didn't deal with those specific issues during my chemo, but even today, if I see someone on TV hooked up to an IV, my stomach turns... so I guess that's just a totally normal human reaction.

Linda Hill29 said:Happy Easter, everyone!
I’m facing a real struggle here, specifically regarding my father. Most of you have likely navigated this territory already, so I am hoping someone might offer some guidance. My dad is currently undergoing chemotherapy following surgery for gastric carcinoma; he's being treated with 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin. He is having an incredibly difficult time. For five days now, he has been dealing with constant nausea and vomiting—mostly just saliva at this point. We have tried Thorecan, Zofran, and Kytril, but nothing seems to touch it. He can't eat a single thing; even the thought of food makes him sick. I honestly don't know how we are going to make it through this treatment protocol. It has reached the point where he feels nauseated just arriving at the hospital, or simply at the mention of IV lines and infusions. I've heard that marijuana can be quite effective for nausea. Does anyone have experience with this, specifically regarding tea? I'm curious about dosage and actual efficacy. I feel a bit ashamed even asking this, but I really need to know what you all think.

My mother went through the exact same chemo regimen. For her, the nausea lasted about 14 days after the first cycle. She made it through. Try looking into homeopathic tablets designed for nausea and vomiting. Fresh ginger sprouts can also work wonders, much like raisins. After her second cycle, she didn't deal with many side effects at all. Try to get him out for walks—get him some fresh air, ideally in the woods or somewhere at a higher elevation. It will do him good; you'll see. We used to take my mom hiking in the mountains. She would always come home completely exhausted, but it truly helped her.

I’ve been putting off posting this for a week now... as if stalling would actually change anything.
My dad (55) was diagnosed with lung cancer last week. Based on what we know so far, there's a chance it might actually be linked to melanoma or hepatocellular carcinoma.
He’s scheduled for a transthoracic puncture this Thursday, so we still won't know the exact "type" of cancer we're dealing with until then.

I honestly don't even know where to start thinking about this...
Someone suggested that if he's healthy enough for surgery, he should have it done at a top-tier facility like the Mayo Clinic. Does anyone have recommendations for specific doctors there?
We're originally from Seattle...

I don't know... I have a hundred questions swirling around, but I can't seem to articulate a single one. It’s like my brain has just gone numb.

Thanks, everyone..