Are there any cancer survivors here on DU?

[KitchenWitch]

meaning people who have been treated themselves for cancer?

[serryjw]

1. 13 years 6/12 for Breast Cancer

n/t

[KitchenWitch]

2. 18 years yesterday Hodgkins Disease

[cyberpj]

3. It's been 27 years for me

since I had cancer of the kidney.

[JimmyJazz]

4. You are an amazing woman. You have survived sooooo much in your

life! You are one of my heros. :hug:

[KitchenWitch]

6. Thanks JJ

I often do not feel much like a hero! :loveya:

[JimmyJazz]

9. You are in my book - you reached out to me when you didn't have to....

you spearheaded the addiction/recovery forum...you are a cancer survivor. I'm sure there's much more to learn about you, but those things are pretty damned awesome. :hug:

[Maddy McCall]

5. My father beat esophageal cancer.

One year. Great prognosis. God bless the doctors at Ochsners!

[KitchenWitch]

7. That is so cool!

Glad to hear it!

[tedoll78]

14. Ochsners.. in New Orleans?

That's where I was operated-on & treated.. :toast:

[Maddy McCall]

23. Yes.

Dr. Cardinal was the head of his oncology team. GREAT doctors at Ochsners.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

8. Thyroid 1977.

[Hobo]

10. six years ago....

testicular cancer.......a real man only needs one..



Hobo

:toast:

[Scottie72]

30. congradulations

[KittyWampus]

11. May I Just Say: A Friend Is Fighting Anal Cancer & Having A BAD Time

I don't know what to say to my friend. My Dad said just listen.

What a nightmare of treatments.

I hope in the future they'll look back at chemotherapy as we now look at leeches and bleeding.

My heart reaches to anyone who has dealt with the trials of cancer.

:grouphug:

[KitchenWitch]

13. When I went through it all

at a relatively young age, the best things people could do for me were to listen and try to understand that my energy levels would not be normal for awhile...They say that cancer treatment often seems worse than the disease. But without the treatment, I would not be alive, and have the two beautiful children that I have.

[Scottie72]

31. It can be quite a struggle

The night mare of treatment upon more treatments. In many cases they have to almost completely kill you so that you can beat it.

[blondeatlast]

33. Wise man, your dad.

Not cancer, but I've been very, very ill, and an ear, a heart, and a hand is as precious as anything one could offer.

Prayers and a :hug: for friend and you.

[tedoll78]

12. Yup. Testicular cancer, in 1999.

I was 21, in college at Ole Miss.

I noticed the pain and the lump early, in April. Went to Doctor #1 at university student health center, who referred me to Doctor #2, an old-as-dirt small-town urologist. He diagnosed it as an infection & gave me antibiotics & anti-inflammatories, which I thought was B.S. (since I'd been comparing symptoms with online information).

So I went to Doctor #3, who thought it was cancer and told me to get home to New Orleans immediately - where I'd be covered by my parents' medical insurance. Within 48 hours, I'd picked-up and moved from Oxford, MS to home, ditching the rest of the semester. I just vanished from town.. I'm still a bit stunned at how efficiently I moved.

Doctor #4, an endocrinologist, ordered an ultrasound & some labwork to confirm it. The following week, in mid-May, I had the whole thing removed. Thank goodness I'd moved quickly - it was the worst kind.

Two weeks later, I had a really nasty lymph node dissection surgery, to determine whether it had reached my abdominal nodes. Ouch, but no metastasis. "Remission" came in July, and I haven't heard from the Big C since.

The funny thing about this.. I'd lectured my parents about taking good care of themselves since I was little, knowing that our family has a very thick history of various forms of cancer. They'd ask me what I wanted for Christmas, and I'd tell them that I wanted gym memberships for 'em. (weird.. I was thirteen.. I should've asked for a bike or a video game!) They didn't listen to me one bit, and - irony of ironies - I was the one who got it. After that, Mom & Dad both got on the ball, and now they're a lot thinner, more active, etc. I'm really thankful for it.. this means I get more time with them here on earth..

:)

[Nite Owl]

15. Not me but my son

had leukemia as a baby and I wished it could have been me instead for the years of chemo he went through. He was 15 months old when he was diagnosed and today he is 20, going to college and dating a real nice girl.

[serryjw]

16. It's funny you should post this question.......I was thinking earlier

how lucky I was surviving stage 3 Breast Cancer in 1992, when Andy wasn't as lucky. I had 13 positive lymph nodes. This was deadly in 1992. If they are right...The good die young, I should be around for another century.

I'm a Buddhist. Can Andy come back by 2008 and be our nominee?

[petronius]

17. Melanoma - 5 months ago

If you all have moles or freckles, please pay attention to them...

[KitchenWitch]

18. my grandmother died of melanoma over 40 years ago

I never got to meet her. :cry:

I see a dermatologist every year for my moles/freckles.

[petronius]

20. I'm sorry to hear that...

I hear that skin cancer is on the rise, but I really wonder if it's just increasing awareness...

[driver8]

19. My mother-in-law is being treated for Melanoma right now.

She has about a month left of treatment, but it has really taken a toll on her. She is finally starting to get her appetite back.

[petronius]

22. I'm glad she's getting better

I was lucky that mine was caught really early - I didn't have to go through anything other than excision...

[AlienGirl]

21. In my third year of remission

I had squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, staged at T2N0M0. Had surgery, chemo, and radiation. In another two years, I'm officially cured, rather than in remission.

Tucker

[Lilli]

24. Was going through chemo this time last year

for Follicular Lymphoma....was in remission...recent PET scan is iffy...seeing my oncologist this week.

[KitchenWitch]

25. My cousin is going through chemo for NHL

(non hodgkins lymphoma - not sure what type).

Hope your visit to the onco is reassuring!

[Lilli]

27. Thankie! Hope your cousins chemo goes well...a suggestion:

make sure they stay on top of the nausea meds...goes much easier that way...

[REP]

26. 12 Years Cancer-Free

Well, not entirely cancer-free; I have a squamous cell carcinoma on my leg that I should hve removed sometime in the next 20 years or so, but the more serious cancer was taken care of 13 years ago and I've been passed ever test for the last 12 years.

[undeterred]

28. My dog is a 5 year cancer survivor

thanks to the University of Wisconsin Veterinary School. He had a tumor on his paw called a fibrosarcoma, which is usually treated with amputation. He had an experimental treatment which worked (IL-2 therapy), and it is now used to treat renal cancer and AIDS in humans.

He still has all 4 legs!

:toast:

[Scottie72]

29. Yes a surivior here

I am still in the middle of my treatment for brain cancer. I have a anaplastic astrocytoma grade 3.

So far so good. Once radiation therapy is over they are going to see about chemo.

[Scottie72]

32. Thank you for this thread!!!

This brings such inspirational stories about surviors. Cancer is no longer a death sentance and I know next year at this time I will be in remission!!

[undeterred]

37. More cancer survivor stories here!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3634346

[OhNoTheyDidNot]

34. I was told yesterday that my chest x-ray showed a 'spot' on my lungs

It could be nothing of course, but it has me a little shaken.

[Scottie72]

35. are up going to have further test done

I would have further test done right now. It might be nothing but then again it could be something.

[OhNoTheyDidNot]

36. Oh yes, thanks for asking. they are taking another x-ray Tuesday

to see if the spot shows up again - then if it does, a biopsy. LOL I don't even know what a biopsy is. I like this thread though - if it is cancer, I found out a lot of people survive it.