I just beat cancer! Ask me anything!

[wakfs]

I always wanted to post an "Ask me anything" message; now I have a reason to!

I now know what "sigh of relief" means.

[Christof]

1. You beat cancer?!?

Well holy hell! I'm happy for you! :hug:

That is reason enough to celebrate! Drinks are on me! :toast: :beer: :party:

[ulysses]

29. what brand of the beast did you have?

Congrats! :toast:

[wakfs]

34. Anal cancer

Lemme tell you, pelvic radiation is no fun.

[ulysses]

35. radiation of any kind is no fun.

Been there, done that. Again, congrats!

[Misunderestimator]

2. Wow! That's excellent!

Congratulations to you. :toast:

[commander bunnypants]

3. congrads

DDQM

[madinmaryland]

4. Congratulation

and welcome to the rest of your life!! Enjoy it to it's fullest!!

:hi:

[tibbir]

5. My brother beat Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

and I can remember seeing him and the relief he felt. It was certainly cause for a celebration. Congratulations!

[Caution]

6. Congrats! A happy healthy life to you!

[Shoeempress]

7. Congratulations! Must be the best news ever. How will you celebrate?

[wakfs]

9. Celebrate?

You mean after I'm done crying tears of joy?

I'll be buying my first six-pack of beer tonight since May!!

(Now a REAL celebration would be if Kerry wins in November! THEN I'll REALLY celebrate.)

By the way, it was squamous cell carcinoma of the anus, otherwise known as anal cancer. Ghastly to be sure. But I made it through.

[miss_kitty]

13. that's exactly what i had

it's rare, but extremely treatable.

congrats!

[Worst Username Ever]

14. If the gods decided that I had to have cancer,

and told me I had to choose what kind, anything having to do with my genitalia or my ass would be last on the list. You are a brave soul, my sincerest congratulations.

[miss_kitty]

16. i'll tell ya, it is definately not fun

i don't know about the poster of the thread, but mine was advanced, and it was tough...at least if you are a guy, they have a lead thinger to shield your nutsack from radiation.

also, all the people i saw during treatment made me feel lucky sometimes that all i HAD was ass cancer...plus, it's a nearly endless source of humour and jocularity among my friends and family!
:D :D :D

[wakfs]

17. Lead thingy

I did not receive a protective lead thingy, alas. But my radiation oncologist DID adjust and re-adjust the treatment parameters so as to avoid what the lead thingy would, er, protect.

Bottom line is I'm sterile from the treatment (which is a moot point because I had a vasectomy years ago) and "jimmy" as I like to call him, seems to be functioning according to specifications.

Fortunately, my cancer was Stage 2 and hadn't spread to the lymph nodes. Of course, as you know, we'll go through countless repeat tests and biopsies for years but right now, I am being positive!

GO JIMMY! HAHAH!

[miss_kitty]

18. yeah...i became immediately post menopausal

but 'salvage therapy' did not work for me...after all the chemo the radiation, i had to have a 10 hour surgery to which the entire U of Washington medical school was invited...i was late stage two, no lymph node involvement, no metast-thing. i get exams every 6 mos now. and have been 'clean' 2 1/2 years.
no more CT scan loop.
you don't KNOW how great it'll feel to have your oncologist say-"i think we can schedule your next appt for 6 months out"

oh and congrats on 'Jimmy's' vitality

[SmileyBoy]

8. HOLY CRAP!! That's awesome!!!

What kind of cancer was it???

I knew a woman who beat skin cancer, BTW.

[demnan]

10. I'm so happy for you!

It's always wonderful to see someone beat cancer.

:hi:

[Worst Username Ever]

11. HFS! You beat CANCER? Congrats! That is wonderful!

[skygazer]

12. Congratulations!!!

:party: :toast: :bounce:


I'll ask you the same idiotic question every interviewer seems to ask anybody who's gone through a life changing experience -

How do you feel?

[Chovexani]

15. Wow!

That's so wonderful! :toast: I'm really happy for you.

[cmf]

19. Whooo hoo!

No questions here! :toast:

[serryjw]

20. A 12 year Breast Cancer survivor!

Congrads....Go celebrate....be good to yourself...you deserve it!

[matcom]

21. congratulations my friend

Mrs Matcom (you might have seen the thread) is 5 years Cervical Cancer free!

may you CONTINUE to beat "The Bitch" as I like to refer to it.

:toast: to YOU!!

:bounce:

[wakfs]

22. Five years is the cut-off

Glad to hear about Mrs. Matcom's success. I believe that once you pass five years, you are officially designated as "cured."

"The Bitch." I like that. Very appropriate.

What most people don't understand is that many cancers are very curable if found early enough.

[UrbScotty]

23. Woo-hoo! So, what are you going to do now?

Are you gong to Comcast World?

[wakfs]

41. I'm going to Disney World!

Nah, not really.

First I get my damned cooling system fixed in my old car, then I save for a new car, then next year it's Vegas baby!!

[OldEurope]

24. So here is a question:

do you prefer this
:hug:

or that:

:pals:

[wakfs]

25. Hah hah

Not sure what the difference is.

[Bunny]

26. Way to Go!!!

:bounce: :toast: :thumbsup:

[sasquatch]

27. What did Cancer do to get attacked by you?

:silly:

[Nikia]

28. I'm happy for you

I am glad that you no longer have this disease. Being healthy is a wonderful thing that we often don't realize until we get a serious illness.

[rbnyc]

30. Congrats!!

What was the most important thing that got you through?

[wakfs]

39. The most important things...

that got me through were:

1. A positive attitude with good humor
2. Good support system - wife, family, and friends

I couldn't have made it through without both.

[Maddy McCall]

31. A big hug for you! How are you feeling?

My dad just beat stomach cancer--got an all-clear a couple of months ago, but he is still tired and has lost his endurance.

Are you having any problems with that?

[wakfs]

33. Yeah, chemo is awful

And it takes literally weeks to get through and out of your system.
I'm still having minor side effects from time to time (low appetite, "chemomouth" which is when your taste buds abandon you and nothing tastes right), plus I'm having some kind of residual muscle/joint issues in my right leg.

But I'm still alive! Enjoying my first beer in months right now!

[miss_kitty]

38. well everyone is different, but i am still having nausea

and my last chemo was nearly 3 years ago. that's what pot marinol is for :smoke:

yee-ah yummy beer! ;-)

[wakfs]

40. Indeed

After using pot medicinally (okay, I admit that I've smoked pot for going on 30 years now!), I can attest to the fact that it does have value in health care.

Specifically, it helped me when I had no appetite (munchies!) and helped fight off depression.

Seriously, I now get very angry when I hear or read things decrying the evils of marijuana. I can tell you from personal experience that it does help.

[miss_kitty]

46. actually after i typed that reply, i took a couple of marinol

and i have smoked 'the holy herb' for about 35 years:).

i used a lot of mj during treatment, because at the time of my treatment, my oncologist and my radiologist could barely bring themselves to say 'marijuana.' And why did it come up? because every time they asked me "what drugs are you taking?" I'd rattle off the list. and say "oh yeah. and marijuana too." in fact, i lost 30 lbs and they were freaked. my friends got me pot and the lbs started coming back. i made a point of telling them the pot stimulated my appetite. if i didn't have pot, I'd lose weight. i made a point of telling them i was out.

imagine my surprise then, about 9 months ago, when i told my oncologist i still had nausea, she offered me Dramamine, or marinol. now this is a person who was dismissive about my marinol/marijuana queries 2 years earlier...now she was saying "oh marinol is a great drug for nausea." not as good as pot, but easier on the lungs and very helpful for sleep.

she must've read a paper or gone to a conference or something. :)

[tedoll78]

32. Welcome to the club!

I had testicular cancer in summer of 1999, when I was 19. I caught it very early, checking myself monthly since it seems like almost everyone in my family gets some form or another. Last month was my five-year mark.

Congrats! Enjoy that drink too! :beer:

[Lefta Dissenter]

36. Holy cow, are you my son?

He was diagnosed in the summer of 99, a week after his graduation, and we're celebrating five years cancer-free!!!

He actually found his when he got hit in the crotch by a frisbee - led him to discover a lump. We probably should have kept that frisbee and framed it, now that I think of it.

Good for you for beating it.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FOR BEATING THAT SON-OF-A-BITCH DISEASE!!! LET'S PUT SOME OF THOSE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO FINDING A CURE INSTEAD OF USING THEM FOR KILLING OFF IRAQI'S!!!

[tedoll78]

48. Nope.

lol..

It's amazing how similar all of these stories are though. And it certainly was a perspective-changing experience. :P

[bigwillq]

37. This is terrific news

I'm so happy for you!!

Ok, question time:

Favorite soft drink?

[wakfs]

42. My favorite soft drink -

Pre-cancer = Diet Dr. Pepper
Post-cancer = Diet Pepsi

Not sure why, it just tastes good. The chemo brutalized my taste buds and they're just coming back now.

[bigwillq]

43. Fave song? (nt)

[wakfs]

44. Favorite song is....

....I Scare Myself by Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks.

Awesome tune.

[liontamer]

45. Congratulations!

I don't have anything to ask you, I just wanted to say that I'm impressed with your strength.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

47. Awesome

:hugs:

I don't have anything to ask you, but congratulations!