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I caught the cancer


Burt

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The week before Thanksgiving I had bad abdominal pain for a few days along with some other symptoms that I had ignored for a few weeks. My doctor referred me to the er. I went in expecting an ulcer of some sort and ended up getting out of the hospital 8 days later with a colostomy and a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis. I'm 40 years old. 
I had my first oncology appointment today and the outlook of similar cases is 50% make it 5 years and I will be on chemotherapy treatment for the rest of my life (however long that is). I have had probably 6 doctors say "you're the reason they lowered screening to 45, of course that wouldn't have helped in your case" 
 
Life can really come at you fast. 

I don’t know what to say but I’m sorry you are going through this and I hope you find the strength to fight this cancer mofo and win.

God bless
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And get your ass to MDA.  Don’t mess with current treatment protocols get down there for the new shit asap.  Fuck I really didn’t mean for one let alone two puns. Godspeed seven you and your people deserve a lucky break here. I’m sorry.

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1 hour ago, seven said:

The week before Thanksgiving I had bad abdominal pain for a few days along with some other symptoms that I had ignored for a few weeks. My doctor referred me to the er. I went in expecting an ulcer of some sort and ended up getting out of the hospital 8 days later with a colostomy and a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis. I'm 40 years old. 

I had my first oncology appointment today and the outlook of similar cases is 50% make it 5 years and I will be on chemotherapy treatment for the rest of my life (however long that is). I have had probably 6 doctors say "you're the reason they lowered screening to 45, of course that wouldn't have helped in your case" 

 

Life can really come at you fast. 

No other symptoms at all? 

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Just now, bluto said:

No other symptoms at all? 

I'm a fat guy and have lost about 20 pounds unintentionally and my appetite has halved over the last year, but it didn't occur to me that it was something to be concerned about. Other than that the worst of my medical history is a couple of ear infections as an adult. 

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3 minutes ago, seven said:

I'm a fat guy and have lost about 20 pounds unintentionally and my appetite has halved over the last year, but it didn't occur to me that it was something to be concerned about. Other than that the worst of my medical history is a couple of ear infections as an adult. 

That's rough. @Troph is not wrong about getting yourself to MDA.  Give 'em hell!

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2 hours ago, seven said:

"you're the reason they lowered screening to 45, of course that wouldn't have helped in your case" . 

One of my best friends (buddy from HS who I also roomed with my Sr yr in college) lost his 39 YO daughter to colon cancer last year, she was a Dr (Pediatrician) with a family history of colon cancer. They thought that 36 was too young to have it, and so they didn't screen for it. 

Goodspeed 7 - be one of group who beats the odds!
 

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34 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

That's rough. @Troph is not wrong about getting yourself to MDA.  Give 'em hell!

MDA has worked miracles for a few people I know.  One was given months to live and just celebrated her 10 year cancer free anniversary, and the other got 5 more above average years with his kids when he was staring at a death sentence.

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20 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

MDA has worked miracles for a few people I know.  One was given months to live and just celebrated her 10 year cancer free anniversary, and the other got 5 more above average years with his kids when he was staring at a death sentence.

It’s what they do. They specialize in the “oh fuck” types of cancer. 

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3 hours ago, seven said:

The week before Thanksgiving I had bad abdominal pain for a few days along with some other symptoms that I had ignored for a few weeks. My doctor referred me to the er. I went in expecting an ulcer of some sort and ended up getting out of the hospital 8 days later with a colostomy and a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis. I'm 40 years old. 

I had my first oncology appointment today and the outlook of similar cases is 50% make it 5 years and I will be on chemotherapy treatment for the rest of my life (however long that is). I have had probably 6 doctors say "you're the reason they lowered screening to 45, of course that wouldn't have helped in your case" 

 

Life can really come at you fast. 

I'm no statistician, but if 50% make it 5 years, I bet there's some % that make it 10, 20, 40 years. Go for it.

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25 minutes ago, Not that Bob said:

My 2 cents for everyone living with the "changes" that cancer, the surgery, and the treatments make to the human body. It sucks, lots, but after some time you adapt and it becomes more of an inconvenience than a horror. Three examples from people I know, one guy now gets all his nutrition through a tube. He still goes to work and has learned to chew and spit out food just so he can enjoy the taste. He has to spit in a cup because he can't swallow his saliva. He has adapted. That is his new normal. He works. He runs his few cattle. Another example, a prostate cancer surgery was less than perfect and he has to wear incontinence pads to catch "emergencies". That's his new normal. He has adapted. Another is in end stage ALS. He has lost use of his limbs, but his abdominal muscles still work. His wife cuts up his food and he bends over and eats it off the plate like a dog. This is his new normal. He has adapted.  

The guys above are as cheerful as possible given the circumstances, and their adaptations have allowed them to live a "normal" life...well not exactly normal, but they do have some joy and they aren't dead, which they would be had they not opted for the radical treatments that took away some function but allowed life. 

These guys are all heroes to me because I have watched them adapt and not allow the disease to take away their lives. 

Keep pushing forward. 

That’s inspiring.  The changes are the things I’ve dreaded, but certainly manageable relatively.  It’ll be accepting that the things I’ve done for my entire life are now forever changed.  But I have a path forward.  Many here at City of Hope may not.

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The week before Thanksgiving I had bad abdominal pain for a few days along with some other symptoms that I had ignored for a few weeks. My doctor referred me to the er. I went in expecting an ulcer of some sort and ended up getting out of the hospital 8 days later with a colostomy and a diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis. I'm 40 years old. 
I had my first oncology appointment today and the outlook of similar cases is 50% make it 5 years and I will be on chemotherapy treatment for the rest of my life (however long that is). I have had probably 6 doctors say "you're the reason they lowered screening to 45, of course that wouldn't have helped in your case" 
 
Life can really come at you fast. 
sorry to hear that you joined the club 7. I’m a stage three colon cancer guy who was told I had Mets in my lungs and my liver. Liver Mets confirmed on every CT I’ve ever had. However, it turned out that my lungs were OK except for the asthma scarring. Shitty asthma is better than cancer, so I got that going for me, which is nice.…
I had markers implanted in my liver at MDA, as they were about to hack part of my liver away. Cutting the cancer out of your liver is supposedly the only “cure”.    Since they were already jabbing me in the liver, they decided to biopsy the presumed liver Mets. They may have been cancer once, and they may start growing again, but they could not find any cancerous cells in the biopsies so I sit here three years later without any sign that the spots on the liver are growing. 
 
Let me echo what people are saying about having things looked at as soon as you have a symptom, even though you aren’t in the statistical group. The number of colon cancer cases are increasing, and they affect an ever younger population. Under no circumstances go 10 years between check ups, I did, and when I finally did my routine colonoscopy they found a giant effing tumor. When it was cut out, it was only 1/16 of an inch away from breaching the colon and seeding my entire abdomen with cancer.
Even though I have stage three cancer,  and even though it might come back, I take comfort in whatever time remains for me.  7 - you never know when there will be a medical breakthrough that is a game changer for your particular cancer and condition. Our only job is to suck up whatever bad things we have to suck up, and kick the can down the road until they find a cure for us. The can being, of course, staying alive as long as we can until the good stuff comes.  I will be thinking of you seven, and I have run into stage 4 colon cancer survivors with liver mets who’ve been hanging around 10-15 years
Like RD mentioned, no matter what the statistics are,  there are always some bastards who fight and survive for long periods of time. I know you are going to be that guy buddy. 
 
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7 so sorry for your diagnosis. Fight like hell. It’s serious but you’re not at the Alamo. You can beat this. Explore everything. Praying for you.

An old boss called me from vacation. “Last night I had a seizure, quit breathing, damn near died. They told me I have a big brain tumor. “

He returned to Des Moines. He had a late stage 3 astrocytoma. Local brain doc said there was nothing that could be done surgically, wanted to radiate it, something that isn’t done by state of the art guys anymore. Said he’d have an agonizing time then die. Went to Mayo and they went in and did a biopsy. Said it was deep; they’d remove what they could, would buy some time. He finally got into Duke. Had their top neurosurgeon. He removed it all, where it lives in a lab providing samples for research. No chemo, no radiation. That was 2007. Only Duke gave his a great prognosis. He is disease free. Shop around. Get to MDA. Go elsewhere and get second opinions from your research.

I don’t get why folks with genetic family histories are not hauled in for colonoscopies from their teens and put on a proper schedule based on what’s found. Annual, 3 year, etc. take charge of your health!

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On 12/12/2022 at 6:12 AM, Texzilla58 said:

He finally got into Duke. Had their top neurosurgeon. He removed it all, where it lives in a lab providing samples for research. No chemo, no radiation. That was 2007. Only Duke gave his a great prognosis. He is disease free. 

I spoke with that doc, if he's one of the two brothers who are leaders in brain surgery.  My dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme at age 86, and I had his doc in StL send dad's scans to Duke.  That guy called me and said "get him here, now".  It was about a 30 second conversation.  No bedside manner to speak of, but I didn't care.

Dad didn't want to go, did some steroid and radiation treatments, no chemo, no surgery, and died several months later.  He chose his path, we all knew the odds were lousy even at Duke, but that is absolutely the top hospital in the country for those type of cancers.

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speling
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Hang in there, my dude. Sending out all my optimism (a feeble amount it may be) for you to get back to some routine and comfort. Don’t forget I need your Dodger fandom here as a bulwark against these damn Astros fans. 
 

Los Angeles Dodgers GIF by MLB
 

that goes for everyone even tangentially dealing with this cunt disease. Fuck cancer in the goatass!

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Dammit, @seven and @Sbbruin. Really sorry to read all this. I hope you continue to have a support network – on this silly little website as well as through your family and loved ones – to get you through it.

My dad got bladder cancer at 76 and is in remission, but other than that no other cancer in my family. My fiancé lost both her parents to cancer within two years of each other a few years ago (both were smokers). We’ve talked about getting a couples colonoscopy in early 2023.

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2 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

Well admitted back to the hospital with pneumonia.  Lovely.  At the height of discouraged.  

Discouraged is being admitted to the hospital with pneumonia in an era before antibiotics. You got this buddy!

Make sure to get the nurses to check your dick catheter. (backstory: he has no catheter)

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I spoke with that doc, if he's one of the two brothers who are leaders in brain surgery.  My dad was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme at age 86, and I had his doc in StL send dad's scans to Duke.  That guy called me and said "get him here, now".  It was about a 30 second conversation.  No bedside manner to speak of, but I didn't care.
Dad didn't want to go, did some steroid and radiation treatments, no chemo, no surgery, and died several months later.  He chose his path, we all knew the odds were lousy even at Duke, but that is absolutely the top hospital in the country for those type of cancers.

Sorry about your old man. He knew what was going on. Glioblastomas are damn near a death sentence. My boss’ astrocytoma is a very different tumor and can be treated by the right doc.
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Mom is on her 4th chemo treatment, and #5 might be the last one she needs. Incredible considering on Memorial Day weekend I find out she has a tennis ball sized tumor in her brain (to be fair, most of that mass was cyst, but still). 

 

Really making me want to not waste life. Seven is my age. I feel like I've lucked out more than a few times in my youth - maybe I should start enjoying more and doing more shit. 

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Bruin, my wife's specialist is at UCLA. He saved her life and she's still here to bitch at me 10 years later. The specialist just happened to be acquainted with the surgeon at M.D. Anderson. Small world, lucky circumstance and all that. I try to remember that every day is a gift. I'm not very good at it but at least I know I should. 

Keep pushing forward.

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  • 2 weeks later...
6 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

I would kindly like to ask 2022 to GTFO.  I have never in my life wanted to put a year behind me more than this one.  So, Mr. 2022, a bid you a fine go fuck yourself middle finger GIF

Shit man, I don’t know.   I said this on New Year’s Eve 2019, 2020, and 2021, and every year the next year was worse. I hope all of us turn the corner this year.

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  • 4 weeks later...
40 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Well I guess a little update may be in order.  Got my feeding tube out last week (zero tubes in me, down from 6 originally) so I’m on only oral foods, which has been a real hit or miss.  Been on some solid foods for a few weeks, but i really struggle with nausea and (sorry) quite a bit of puking.  Just get food caught in what’s left of my esophagus.  Frustrating.  I’ve lost about 20 lbs so I guess there’s an Upside But I’ve been able to make it into work for a couple half days.  Working from home the other days.  Just can’t put as much into work as I probably need to, but pushing things forward as best I can.  Physical strength is pathetic.  A walk around the block feels like running a marathon.  Hopefully can turn that around soon.

God bless man. Keep fighting, one day at a time.

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4 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

Well I guess a little update may be in order.  Got my feeding tube out last week (zero tubes in me, down from 6 originally) so I’m on only oral foods, which has been a real hit or miss.  Been on some solid foods for a few weeks, but i really struggle with nausea and (sorry) quite a bit of puking.  Just get food caught in what’s left of my esophagus.  Frustrating.  I’ve lost about 20 lbs so I guess there’s an Upside But I’ve been able to make it into work for a couple half days.  Working from home the other days.  Just can’t put as much into work as I probably need to, but pushing things forward as best I can.  Physical strength is pathetic.  A walk around the block feels like running a marathon.  Hopefully can turn that around soon.

Baby steps, Bruin.  Why don’t you eat some outrageously, high butterfat percentage gourmet ice cream, with a Lipitor chaser.   At some level calories or calories

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