I can't believe it—24 years old and this actually happened!

Kimberly Davis52 said:I’m just torn... they say there are no atheists in foxholes, but seriously—what kind of god looks at a genuinely good person and hands them cancer?? WHICH ONE?

I get it... but it hits different when it’s someone you love. When it's you? You just want to live, plain and simple. You just keep hoping.

A rather melancholy thought.

Health isn't actually the most vital thing we have. It’s something else entirely—something far more elusive. And I don't mean wealth, nor does it mean family.

Faith!?! But the real question is—does ANYONE actually believe in anything 100%?

It isn’t even about faith.

But fine, let’s not turn this into a guessing game. It doesn't really matter. I was simply thinking out loud.
The person who actually understands what I’m getting at certainly won't be posting in this thread. And the one who does understand will likely agree with me that it's the only thing that matters.

I could lose my limbs, my sight, my hearing, or my ability to speak. But if I possess THAT, nothing else is required. I don't have it. It is an incredibly difficult thing to attain. In fact, you could divide it into two distinct categories. The first, which is more significant, is possessed by more people—perhaps around 1% of the global population. One might say I have a version of it, though not entirely. The second category is held by a mere 0.1% (or even less) of humanity. And they tend to keep it strictly to themselves.

Hannah Scott69 said:So I went ahead and checked out the survival statistics right away, and honestly, they look pretty decent since the specific type he’s dealing with tends to have a better outlook.

Wait, which type are we talking about, and what kind of stats are you looking at?

AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia)
is actually more manageable than ALL.

I pulled these stats from a medical textbook.

The numbers look decent, but the disease usually resurfaces within two years. Honestly, it all comes down to luck.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you... just try to be a steady friend to her... and stay by her side as much as you possibly can through all of this...

Wishing you the best of luck...

thanks Sam Gonzalez67

ps. off-topic... why does it say you're overweight under your handle? You can't see there are way worse things to worry about. That's hardly an issue. If people actually care about you, that's what matters.🙂

Hannah Scott69 said:thanks, Sam Gonzalez67

ps. just a bit of an off-topic thought here... I noticed that little note under your username about your weight, and I honestly don't get why you'd put that there, because if you look at everything else people deal with, being overweight is really such a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, and besides, as long as the people around you truly care about you, that’s really the only thing that actually matters...🙂

I'm actually at a point right now where I'm kind of hoping to gain some weight myself... 😉
and as for what you said about there being much worse struggles out there, especially when you consider something as heavy as leukemia, I definitely know exactly what you mean by that... 😢

I can tell you from my own experience what it’s actually like dealing with this stuff. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was 21. Look, it isn't a death sentence, but the cancer risk creeps up every single year you're dealing with it—and this is a lifelong thing. It messes with your life, too; when I'm in an active flare, I'm basically housebound. People love to say, "Oh, she's so strong," which sounds nice and all, but honestly? You don't really have a choice. You either learn to live with it or you lose your mind. When I first got hit, I blamed it on abandonment issues, mostly because I didn't want to admit to myself that I couldn't do everything I used to do. Eventually, I realized how stupid that was. I still have friends who have adjusted to my bullshit (I don't miss the ones who walked away), and I've met new people who know exactly who I am from the start. I just adjusted my pace to match what my body can handle and kept moving. I really hope that girl fighting leukemia pulls through. A friend of mine beat leukemia back when he was a kid, and he's totally healthy now and raising a daughter. Since I deal with health issues where diet is everything, I'm convinced that the way we eat today—all that processed junk—is one of the main reasons people are getting sick so much earlier now (stress is the other big culprit). I have plenty of info on ulcerative colitis, but I'm pretty sure the same goes for other conditions, especially cancer. If anyone else here is dealing with ulcerative colitis or Crohn, or if you just want to learn more about these things, check out
http://com4.runboard.com/bforumcruc

To: Kate Jackson68,
You really have to experience illness firsthand to truly empathize with others.
Just because we aren't battling cancer doesn't mean our own struggles aren't just as heavy.

When you actually get sick, you find out who your real friends are and who you can actually count on.
Everyone tends to assume things are easier for you than they actually are. The truth is only known by us—those living through it—and the families who have to stick by our side through it all.
Wishing you the best.

🙂 😉 😎

Jamie Clark74 said:Just because we aren't all dealing with cancer right now doesn't mean we aren't struggling just as much as those who actually have a diagnosis.

honestly how do you even wrap your head around thinking something like that is actually true

swiftbison7 said:How on earth did you come up with a theory like that?

It’s obvious you don't realize how much pain exists in other conditions, or how many people struggle with multiple illnesses at once.
Can you even wrap your head around living with chronic pain 24/7? Dealing with a CPAP machine just to sleep, or being physically limited to walking maybe a block or two before needing a break?
Then there's the exhaustion—not sleeping for 40 hours straight, only to crash for 12, or lying awake until 4:00 AM every single night.

Honestly, it's hard to truly grasp how heavy that is.
Some people face cancer and go on to live completely normal lives, while others suffer immensely... I suppose it all comes down to luck.

🙂 😉 😎

Jamie Clark74 said:Can you even wrap your head around living with chronic pain 24/7? Dealing with a CPAP mask every single night, barely being able to walk more than a block before collapsing,
not sleeping for two days straight only to crash for twelve hours... or staring at the ceiling until 4 AM every single night because sleep just won't come?

A kid, only nine years old, dealing with cancer pressing against his spine (I don't know the exact details, I had my own ordeal at 11), could barely move his fingers, taking fluids by the spoonful or through an IV depending on how bad he felt. They had to use a catheter to clear mucus from his airways because he was too weak to blow his nose, and he was completely paralyzed from the waist down. He spent all day in agonizing pain, getting maybe a tiny bit of sleep here and there.

I think he would have realized he’d witnessed a miracle if he managed to survive more than a year after the diagnosis.

But your pain? That's hitting hard right now. I totally get it.

🙂 😉 😎

Jamie Clark74 said:obviously you have no idea how much pain people deal with from other illnesses and just how much they suffer when they're fighting multiple things at once!
can you even wrap your head around dealing with chronic pain 24/7, having to sleep with a CPAP machine, or barely being able to walk more than a block or two before you're wiped out?
then there's the whole thing where you might go 40 or 48 hours without sleep only to crash for 12 hours straight, or just lying there wide awake until 3 or 5 in the morning every single night.

it’s honestly just too heavy to even process, right?!
so many people beat cancer and get back to living their lives totally normally, while others really struggle through it... I guess it all just comes down to how lucky you are.

🙂 😉 😎

would you actually want to trade places with someone battling cancer?

I highly doubt it, so honestly, you've got it way easier.🙂 😉 😎

swiftbison7 said:would you swap places with someone suffering from cancer?

I don't think I would. Honestly, God help you, because you're going through much worse.🙂 😉 😎

My apologies to everyone dealing with cancer. I’m perfectly healthy right now, but once I deal with more significant illness and hardship, I'll know better... sorry...
One thing is certain: sitting in waiting rooms with seven different specialists and a primary care doctor, you always feel like there's someone else in the room facing an even tougher fight.

Sorry, I'm totally off-topic here!

🙂 😉 😎

Look, I’m sorry if I sparked this whole debate. Honestly, I wasn't trying to play judge and jury on whose illness is worse. They all suck. Period. I was just trying to share what I’ve been through and point out that when you're sick, you don't really get a choice—you just have to figure out how to live in a body that isn't working right. A lot of people dealing with life-threatening stuff or chronic pain act all brave in public, but once they're behind closed doors and nobody's watching, they're falling apart. So, if someone close to you is struggling, please just show up for them. Don't matter how "well" they seem to be handling it; half the time, that toughness is just a mask for being terrified. People who aren't sick often get awkward around them. They're scared of saying the wrong thing, so they just shut down and stop talking about it entirely, even when the person actually needs to talk. Trust me, the best thing you can do to get past that awkwardness is to just be real and talk openly. That's why support groups are such a big deal. It's where you find people who are in the exact same shit as you, where you can actually vent or even make dark jokes about your condition without anyone judging you or missing the fear hiding behind your smile. I'm speaking from experience here. It makes things easier.

Kate Jackson68, I’m proud of you. You know you’ve made it because you’re still standing despite everything. Self-pity hasn't helped anyone, and when it comes to Crohn, look at Anastasia—she showed the world how much you can fight this thing while still maintaining incredible energy.

Luckily, I'm healthy. I know it's a grind getting used to a chronic condition—basically a lifelong sentence—but you have to find your footing. You don't really have another option.

You know, you sometimes get this feeling that life is just playing some cruel joke on you. A buddy of mine had this girl he was seeing—she was from Boston and he was a local New Yorker. They were both just twenty-three back during the chaos of the early '90s. She was trapped in the middle of all that war zone madness in Boston, unable to step foot outside, while he was doing everything humanly possible to find a way to get her out safely. Honestly, the poor girl managed to dodge sniper fire more times than I can count.

After the United Nations pulled back their massive presence and the European Union observers finally cleared the way, they managed to get her out. Everyone was celebrating, thinking the nightmare was over and they could finally start their lives together. But then, just a few months after she arrived here in Washington, D.C., she got diagnosed with breast cancer that had already spread to her lungs. It was brutal. After a few months of grueling radiation and chemo, she passed away in the winter of '94. She was only twenty-five.

It really makes you wonder what kind of twisted hand fate is dealing us.

Cordelia said:I suppose I can offer a little perspective on dealing with chronic illness from my own experience. I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was 21. It isn’t a death sentence, per se, but the cancer risk climbs with every year you live with it—and it is lifelong. It really messes with your day-to-day life, too; during a flare-up, I’m basically stuck at home. When people call you "strong," it sounds nice, I guess, but the truth is you don't really have much of a choice. You either learn to manage the condition or you lose your mind. When I first got sick, I think I blamed it all on a fear of abandonment, though maybe I just didn't want to admit I couldn't do everything I used to. Eventually, I realized how silly that was. I still have friends who have adjusted to my situation—and honestly, I don't regret losing the ones who couldn't handle it—but I've also met new people who know me exactly as I am now. I've just adapted my pace of life to what I can handle and kept moving. I truly wish that girl fighting leukemia the best of luck. A friend of mine beat leukemia as a kid; he's perfectly healthy now and is a father himself. Since I deal with health issues where diet is critical, I'm fairly certain that our modern diet and the junk food we eat today are major culprits in why people are getting sick so much earlier now—stress is a close second. I have plenty of info on ulcerative colitis, but I suspect the same logic applies to other illnesses, especially cancer. If anyone else here is dealing with UC or Crohn’s, or if you're just curious about them, take a look at
http://com4.runboard.com/bforumcruc

Maybe try frankincense... specifically boswellia serrata.