So....talk about.....CANCER SUPPORT THREAD !!

[jeaucamom]

Hang in there sweetie!!!

There IS life after cancer. Chemo sucks, but it is not as bad as it sounds. The anticipation is much worse. It is better to be barfing and bald for a short while and be ALIVE than the alternative. I am going to PM you with more info! You are in my prayers daily Luna, you are going to get through this and be a stronger person!!

 

[WriterofWords]

People handle Chemo and Radiation very differently from each other. Some have very little side effects but others have horrible ones. You will have to see how you handle it. One thing I've learned with all of my friends that I'm taking back and forth to the cancer center, don't sit down and wait for it to be over. Stay active in both your mind and your body, it's hard to do, but you need to do it. Do crossword puzzles, do word finds, read books. Get and walk, go around your living if nothing else and say "there I did it!" and then do it again. You will need all of your mental and physical strength to get through this. We will help with the psychological and spiritual help.

 

[Lunachick]

Thanks for the PM and the link you sent me Suz. I'll check it out.

Kate, I'm a doer. I'm not going just sit and take it. I'm not going to like it, but I'll make the best of it. I have to. I'm going to garden, (BTW I love crossword puzzles) get going on my regular treadmill routine, take care of the chooks. I'll find out next week how much radiation and chemo I'll have to take. I believe this is more of a preventative to take care of any cancer cells that may have escaped. I'm not sure. This stuff is just banging around in my head right now.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

LC all I can say is I am very sorry you are going through this! Did someone go with you to help you listen?? Next time bring a tape recorder!! They know you can't hear them over the screaming in your head.

I know many people who found a life after chemo. Hang in there! We're here for you!

 

[gritsar]

Still keeping you in my good thoughts Luna.

 

[Lunachick]

Oops I logged out by mistake.

I have WHAT - no, my daughter drove me over, I wasn't allowed to drive yet. But I went in alone, now I wish DH was with me. I think he feels quite guilty about that right now, but we were both so SURE that it would be OK. And being tax season, he kinda HAD to be at his appts there. Now I'll have to call the office again and ask exactly what those stages were again. I think my uterine cancer was stage 1B but they also saw some on one of my ovaries, but it's a situation where they couldn't tell if it came from the uterine cancer or if it's grown on it's own and that's the one where I'm not sure what stage that one was, I think I heard him say stage 1 but I don't remember if it was A,B or C.

Grit - thank you.

Well, this is going to be some strange trip I'm going on, that's for sure.

 

[jeaucamom]

deglycerinated licorice tablets available at most health food stores. They are little brown pasty tablets. Chemo attacks the rapidly dividing cells (which is why more aggressive cancers are more susceptible to it) and the endothileal cells in your digestive track happen to fall into this category. Your digestive track starts in your mouth and ends at your "ahem" you know where. That is why mouth sores are so common with chemo. They are more than just a nuisance...if they get bad enough, they interfere with eating and food intake and sometimes your treatments get put on hold which is not good.

SOOOOO...these little tablets stop them in their tracks. If you get one, and they are like canker sores, you take a tablet and put it over the sore and let it dissolve. It takes about two hours for the whole thing to dissolve. Do this two or three times in a day and by the next morning the sore will be gone. The whole greater Sacramento area Cancer Centers are now using it because of me

and I'm humble about it too

And no one will ever tell you that alot of times it hurts when your hair falls out.. kind of like road rash. So after you have this awesome wig, you can't wear it cuz your scalp is sensitive to tough, let alone the scratchy underside of a wig. Invest in some very soft scarves.

When you go to buy a wig... Drink alot of alcohol beforehand... get really loaded and go and buy a super long red curly one or a Dolly Parton... go for that look that you have always wanted

Have fun with it and remember this is a chance to reinvent yourself...

 

[Lunachick]

Hey Suz, they also have those caps that go over your head so the wig won't irritate your scalp. I got all the booklets, I'm reading them in stages, cause too much info at once is going to freak me out, and I don't want to do that. Thanks for your help, I really, really appreciate it. I got your #, if I get desperate, are you sure you won't mind me calling you? If I have a total FREAK OUT, I just may call you. Wait, I have to make sure I don't get you in the middle of the night. I think there's a 3 hour time difference.

 

[jeaucamom]

I mean this from the bottom of my heart... you can call me 24/7 with any question or concern or freak out or sense of peace or just want to talk or confused or lonely or ... whatever.... I really am here for you. I understand that sense that this just has to be some kind of weird mistake and yet it isn't and life is never going to be the same. Please, please call anytime for any reason.

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Stage 1 is ok hun. We are gonna attack this with all we've got. You notice I say we. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!! Even at times when you at your lowest, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!! We are going to bug the crap out of you just to keep you going.

Fear is your friend. You have 2 choices. You can take fear and run and hide or you can grab Fear by the hand and dance. Use Fear to help you fight your battle. Use it like a sheild.

I was great with chemo for the first 4 days, then sick as a dog for a week. I was strong enough again by the time the next round came along.

Lady I worked with has never missed a day of work except for a few days after a double masectomy. She's had colon cancer, followed by breast cancer, now liver cancer and she is still fighting!!

Have you gotten the book by Dr. Servan-Schreiber----Anticancer, a new way of life. Get it read it cover to cover then read it again!!
Check out this website, it has some of the information from the book.
http://www.pinkribbon.org/Anticancer/Food/tabid/443/Default.aspx

FIGHT LUNA FIGHT!!!!!