Thankfulness

Cancer is a horrible disease! Every form of it has a different genetic makeup. Much more investigation in needed and no matter what kind it is labeled, it is killing the person who has it. It affects all ages, all races, and all sexes.

      Given these facts, I am thankful for the research that has been done on behalf of all sufferers. What is happening now with these diagnoses is amazingly hopeful but still, everyone who is ill is suffering. It saddens me that it takes so long to find answers. With my cancer, peritoneal omentum, is a very rare cancer indirectly connected to ovarian.

      My wishes are for more research into this area looking at the connection between these two malignant diseases. There needs to be more acknowledgment of the connection between these seemingly separate issues. I am thankful for the doctors who do understand and treat cancer with the present protocols. I am also hopeful that as the knowledge base increases the protocols will change to better and more fully combat all forms of this life-changing, and potentially ending disease.

Triple C goes for Chemo

First a thought:

When someone first finds out they have The Big C they usually think “I am going to die” I am a professional in the health care fields and I had the same thoughts. It is normal but still it is disheartening. You have to get over that and fight!

After the diagnosis the testing begins. You have blood work, CT scans, , doctors prodding you, nurses poking you, technicians moving you, all trying to come up with good solutions to a life ending situation.

For my cancer, a rare form that was on the outside of my cervix, radiation was not an option. I had to go with chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is basically where a lot of harsh chemicals are pumped into your body in a very invasive attempt to fight the cancer. The first question the staff will ask you is, “I.V. or Port”, (would you like us to reinsert a needle in to your arm every time you come for treatment or would you prefer a semi-permanent attachment in one vein that would allow us to just plug into this access port when you come by? And yes, the port will be hanging out of your arm all the time, don’t get it caught on anything because it might rip out but it can be more convenient that getting stuck and re-stuck in different veins every time you are seen.). I chose port.

I knew the sessions,( even with my nifty port), would be rough despite all the reassurance from the medical team. My treatments consisted of seven hours every three weeks. After three treatments, after which I was sick a day or two later, my appetite was lost and I became weak and I started to lose a lot of weight at an alarming rate. Seventy pounds were gone in short order.

I would up in the emergency room of my local hospital. They had no idea what the best way to deal with this was so it was decided I needed to be somewhere more suited to my needs. I was moved to Christians. They truly were amazing. All the staff helped me get back on track for my ongoing and necessary treatment.

I was still getting queasy but thankfully I was now given more resources to help in my struggle.

TRIPLE C: Coke, Crackers, and Cancer

On 24June15 I was to have surgery for a rectal prolapse. When the surgeon began the operation he immediately saw something was wrong, he had found cancer where we was hoping to find healthy tissue with issues he could repair.

To understand this full situation I have to go back approximately a year previous when my bowel and stomach problems started. The issues associated with my pain gradually gained in intensity and frequency. Before I knew it I was wearing, “grown-up pampers”, as Depends are sometimes called. And still, regardless of having been seen during this time by doctors, no mention of cancer ever came up. During this time all I could handle in the way of food was coke a cola and saltines (Triple C) and still no one who should of taken notice, noticed.

Step one: Go to the doctor and have a cancer screening, TODAY.

Welcome to The Cancer Corner. Let’s talk.

Cancer is something all of us have been affected by.

We have a survivor who will be sharing the insights, lessons, and treatment options she has gathered from a lifetime of dealing with this burden.