The Cancer thread: Cancer, early warning signs, and detection

[DarkSkies]

The music in this clip is a little gay, but Swayze kicks azz. I really thought that was one of his best movies.

You fought a tough fight, Pat. Most people with pancreatic cancer don't last a year, and you kept fighting.

Thoughts and prayers for his family, RIP, dude.

[voyager35]

The music in this clip is a little gay, but Swayze kicks azz. I really thought that was one of his best movies.

You fought a tough fight, Pat. Most people with pancreatic cancer don't last a year, and you kept fighting.

Thoughts and prayers for his family, RIP, dude.

That was a great movie. I wish peace and comfort for his family.

[DarkSkies]

Bump for a good thread.

[Shaky]

Can't really add much. Only advice I'd give is that if you're bleeding from any of the body's orifices get checked. Don't wait.

cheers

steve

[Doublerunner]

Rich this is a great thread. I am no expert but just want to offer this. We can make a difference. Does not matter if you are 1 person or 100 in a group. For many years I sat on the sidelines while my Dad did great things to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I always felt good about contributing to his efforts but those feelings pale in comparison to how I felt last year after getting involved myself. Each of us can make a difference no matter how big or small. And if we are able to find cures for cancer, then who knows, but the life we save may be our own

[DarkSkies]

Rich this is a great thread. I am no expert but just want to offer this. We can make a difference. Does not matter if you are 1 person or 100 in a group. For many years I sat on the sidelines while my Dad did great things to raise money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I always felt good about contributing to his efforts but those feelings pale in comparison to how I felt last year after getting involved myself. Each of us can make a difference no matter how big or small. And if we are able to find cures for cancer, then who knows, but the life we save may be our own

Well-said, Doublerunner. Your post reminded me of the work you did to raise cancer for the Jimmy Fund. Tremendous effort on your part, considering you had to work extremely hard to get into the shape needed to make that walk. It was tough for you but you did it anyway. Who know how many people that could have motivated.

So I'm linking that thread to this. I invite you all to read the story of John, what motivated him, and the experience he had doing that walk. IMO it makes an interesting read. Thanks for trying, bro.





http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...to-beat-cancer

Here's the post #44 on page 5 where he details some of the thoughts going on while participating in the walk....

Dear Stripers and Anglers members and administrators,

I am sending this letter to all the people who supported me in the 2010 Jimmy Fund Walk to conquer cancer. This is a re-cap of my thoughts and the events leading up to, during, and after the walk.

First, thank you so much for your support. I truly realized that we all can make a difference. I am but one man but the people that I have talked to and met are truly appreciative of my efforts and I can not do that without your support. I received so many pictures and letters of loved ones who have passed or who are battling cancer right now. Those pictures and letters moved me to great heights.

In my training leading up to the day of the walk the furthest I walked was 12 miles and for the next 3 days I had trouble walking normally. Once I got past 12 miles on this day I knew there was no turning back. I knew I would have physical issues but those will heal. And whenever I needed inspiration I would touch my pouch where I held the pictures and letters and I would close my eyes and think about their stories and faces and they would carry me on. These names and faces will continue on with me every year as I continue to do this. Hopefully they find cures and treatments real soon so I don’t have to put my old body through this for too much longer

My training. I basically had 6 weeks to train for this. In the beginning I was walking at night but in my business I have no air conditioning and I move a lot of heavy items on a daily basis so night training was just too hard. I switched to early mornings getting up at 4 am and walking most every day. This was much better except for having to adjust to going to bed at 8-9 pm. In the final week leading up to the walk I only trained twice and none after Wednesday

My sponsors. I reached out in many ways. I sent letters and emails to personal and business friends. I also contacted those who had donated in the past when my father did this walk. I was very fortunate to get a great response from many people as well as having 2 charity auctions held for my benefit from my fishing friends and also a meat shoot held on my behalf by my friends at the local Eagles club. As of this writing it is hard to determine exactly how much we have raised but I am estimating my own personal goal of $2,500 raised to fall a little short at about $2,300 and the total for our team, team SPIRIT, to be atleast $4,500. Team SPIRIT this year consisted of not only myself but also my wife Robin, sisters Kelly and Barbara, friend Jacob, son Ryan, niece Veronica and nephew Jack. And of course my Dad John Sr who was able to join us for the last mile of the walk. And even though she is not listed as a member of the team let’s not forget my Mom who has been behind the scenes of this event for 16 years now. Not asking for any recognition but always there to support my Dad with his efforts to raise money and in training. Always there on walk day to take pictures or provide food or drink or care

Walk day. The night before the walk I am anxious and having trouble falling asleep. It’s also Sept 11th, the anniversary of 9/11 and the TV shows all day are stories and footage of that day. The alarm goes off at 3:45 and I am up and in the shower. By 4:45 my wife and I are ready and head off to Hopkinton.

It’s dark when we arrive and the shuttles are not running yet so we walk from the parking area to the start line. This adds almost another mile to our walk. But the weather is perfect. It’s cool with cloud cover and a nice breeze. High’s of the day only expected to be around 70. We meet with my friend Jacob and we’re on our way at 6 am sharp. We’re all feeling good and strong and we are moving along well. The first 3 miles we averaged 18 minutes per mile which is excellent for me as I was averaging 20 minutes per mile in training. Perhaps it’s the excitement of the day but we’re not overdoing it and we’re all comfortable and moving along well. My friend Jacob is much younger than I and in great condition and I know I am holding him back from his pace but he doesn’t mind holding back and staying with me and I am glad he did. We go past my business in less than 2 hours at the 6 mile mark and everyone is still feeling good. I am starting to feel some burning on the balls of my right foot and at the 8 mile mark there is a rest area where I can get some medical attention and they apply moleskin to the balls of both feet to help prevent blisters and provide cushioning. This helps for a little while but a few miles later at Natick Center I stop again and ask them to apply more which they do and this really helps a lot. Along the way there are motivational posters and people cheering you on. There are also posters of children and adults fighting their own battle against cancer. And you can see many of the walkers have pictures and/or names of loved ones on their tee shirts. It’s a very moving experience. We are now closing in on Babson College where my son Ryan joins in with us. Great timing. His youth and energy give me a much needed lift and we cover the next 5 miles to Newton Lower Falls with ease and we stop at the rest area at mile 16 to grab some lunch and medical attention. I have the moleskin replaced on my feet and change into dry sox. As we’re leaving my Sister Kelly is just arriving. She started in Hopkinton an hour after us and is making great time. We head out knowing she will catch up to us shortly. We make the turn onto Commonwealth Ave and head towards the Heartbreak Hills stretch of the walk. As we finish those hills I am feeling a lot of tightness in the lower half of my body everywhere and my blisters have now also spread to my heels. It’s only a little further to Boston College and I figure I can get medical attention there. But, much to my surprise, there is nothing available there so we carry on and my sister Kelly joins us at Cleveland Circle. As the 5 of us head out from there my wife and I are having a lot of trouble walking. My wife’s arch on her right foot is severely cramping and she has a blister bleeding through her sox and sneaker on her left foot. But she fights through it. Her tenacity and willpower is amazing. But we are lagging behind the others.

It’s at this point, about 22 miles into the walk, that I am on the brink. But something inside me takes over and I decide that if I am going to be sore that I mine as well get this over as quickly as possible and I summon up the ability to walk as fast as I can. Before I know it I have passed my teammates and Ryan joins up with me and Jacob stays right with us. We are now starting to pass others and we’re looking for safe areas to pass when the sidewalk is congested with too many walkers. The pain is constant but we’re now on a mission. We motor past Fenway Park and turn the corner onto Boylston St. We’re getting close.

Just a little ways down the road we meet my Dad and he walks the last mile or so in with us. This is very special as my Dad has done the whole walk for the last 15 years. But the last mile bogs down with the amount of walkers all getting to the end and with the road roped off and narrowed down to funnel the walkers to the finish line the last mile takes much too long and there is too much standing around in traffic. During this slowdown my body is now starting to stiffen up and all the aches and pains are magnified.

We make it through the finish line and there is a tremendous release of satisfaction and joy. There are volunteers there clapping and cheering for us and to award us our medals. There’s a band playing and people enjoying the celebration. But all I want to do is get off my feet and get treatment. My parents have brought their vehicles in to a local parking garage and so we all head back to their house for a celebration. It feels good to get off my feet and get my sneakers off. Unfortunately I have 2 large blisters on the balls of my feet but the worst are my heels. Each one has a blister about the size of an egg. On the drive back my wife gets ill and we pull over so she can get some fresh air. I feel so bad for her. We’re all nursing our aches and pains but getting home and getting some good food and drink helps us all to feel better and we all get some treatment for our ills. It’s now 3 days later as of this writing and we’re all recovering. We’re having a lot of soreness and some funky movements when we walk but we’re healing fast and getting better.

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]This year was a record year for the walk. Over 8,500 registered walkers and approx 7 million dollars raised. I am proud to have been a part of it. The real heroes and warriors are those who deal with this every day. Those afflicted with cancer and those treating us. ]

[DarkSkies]

Can't really add much. Only advice I'd give is that if you're bleeding from any of the body's orifices get checked. Don't wait.

cheers

steve

I know you're a cancer survivor too, Steve. You went through some tough times, glad you're still here. Good to hear from ya, I'll prob see ya at one of the LI shows this Spring.

[Shaky]

Hey guys and gals. I've made it my mission to learn more about cancer.

The recent sadness that Pebbles and I have been through makes me think that there are a lot of people out there who do not have all the facts on cancer, so I'm asking anyone out there who can help us, to post up in this thread with any links, articles, personal anecdotes, anything they feel will benefit someone else down the road.

A little knowledge can be a good thing. Too much can turn you into a hypochondriac. It also depends on where you get your facts. Here's a real kick in the *** study, not cancer, but important nonetheless. Too easy to get info on the internet very hard to separate fact from fiction. http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/...d_uncover.html

I have a cousin, who's like my older sister and a few years back was diagnosed with breast cancer. When it comes to politics and health care we are worlds apart. She's really got it in for US healthcare and the large pharmaceutical companies. Kind of ironic that in the end she chose the traditional western medicine approach as opposed to alternative treatments. Funny how that works out. I can't begin to tell you how much alternative stuff I was sent when i got my diagnosis. However when your life depends on your choice of treatment it's a whole different ball game.



Cancers like pancreatic cancer, spine cancer, and in some cases bone cancer, are probably to a large extent not curable. From what I've seen in life, anyone getting these types most often dies, albeit at different times.

And I don't mean to insult anyone who has or knows someone who gets any of the above cancers, my heart goes out to you people.

The main point I'm trying to make here is that not all cancer is curable, no matter how much we hope and pray.Prayer will not cure pancreatic cancer, if that person was meant to survive, they will. The best thing I have learned is that it's never too early to prepare for the possibility of death if you have a cancer diagnosis.

I dealt with two surgeons. The one who diagnosed me and set me up with the mad scientists and the one who performed my surgery. The first was a dull, serious demeanored gent who laid it out for me and frankly didn't sound very optimistic. The second told me after the exam, you're not going to die, if you had to get it, this is the most curable cancer. i said "what about the bag" and he said I won't know for sure until we open you up.

The first doctor talked to me as if the glass was half empty, the second as if it was half full. The second sounded a little more positive and that gave me Hope I guess hope is where that positive attitude that everyone talks about comes from.

I can't speak for everyone, but once you've been diagnosed, all the ads for new hospitals, new treatments, new doctors, new tests, all the celebrity patients that come out about their illnesses, news about their deaths, or talk shows where they talk about their mom or dad dying and you must go out and get your exams, all of that, that used to sound like so much buzzing or background noise, an interruption to your music or ballgame, now has you on some sort of sensory overload, where you just sigh and say to yourself, "my god this s*** is everywhere. It's like there is no balance, no happy medium. It's hard to stay upbeat listening to all that stuff, seriously!

As far as prayer, if it makes one feel better, if they find comfort in it, great. If someone takes the time to pray for me, I thank them. If nothing else it makes them feel better.
Death is the final destination for us all..... but on the way there, there is nothing wrong with taking charge and celebrating our life, mending the broken fences of failed relationships and hurt feelings, and in general making peace with those we are close to.

As mentioned. I'll try to focus on the allegedly treatable cancers, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, etc. Also the best suggestions for early detection.

I can't do this by myself, people, I need your help.

Each and every person in this world has in some way been touched by cancer, and I'm sure some of you have some painful stories to tell.

So I'm asking for your help and participation in this thread. If it's personal to you, and you absolutely cannot share it with the public, so be it.

But if you feel for one second that what you have to say could help someone else down the road, please share with us.

I'd say the one thing I could offer people who may have to deal with colorectal cancer is Hope. It'll be seven years in March. As far as dealing with it, humor worked for me and much of it was far from PC. That's just my personality. Didn't want any sympathy and I don't give it. Whenever I heard the words "sorry to hear that" i'd usually reply "why". Really ****s people up when you say that I always tell people to laugh. When you laugh you feel better than when you cry and that's what it's all about.

I have mixed feelings about things like support groups. Never went to one. Some like them, others don't want to go near them after sitting in a few times.

For the friends and relatives. Some people seem to thrive on pity and sympathy, I'm not one of them. I've reached the stage in my life, that if i really need help I'll ask for it. While I appreciated the offers for help, quit nagging me.

I think most people who have lead a healthy, active, independent life, do not want to be constantly fussed over, pampered, or reminded that they're sick. That may be one of the reasons why people keep quiet about it. After awhile you get tired of people asking you "how are you feeling" being how they may never have asked before. If you normally greeted me with a "wassup" no need to change now.

I have one friend who i see a few times a year during the fall run. Ever since the operation he always asks me how i feel. I know what he means, but i make him squirm, tell him about my arthritis, or herniated discs, or pinched nerves or whatever else comes to mind. The man refuses to say Cancer. I'll string him along for awhile and then let him off the hook after he gives me a few "you knows"

What knowledge or advice any one of you might have, and not feel is important, could help save a life down the road someday.

Just remember there are no right or wrong answers or opinions in this thread. All input is welcome as long as it is given respectfully in the spirit of helping others.

And I don't have to remind any fishermen out there that we have lost quite a few of our fishing brothers to cancer, one of the most recent being Gary Hull, the well-known maker of Gary2 plugs, who succumbed to complications from prostrate cancer last year. RIP, Gary.

Although I only got to talk to him a few times, I admired and respected him. I remember exactly where I was the night I heard he died, and where I was fishin.

He left us way too early. Who knows if his disease could have been arrested from early detection, but early detection is the best way we have now of saving someone's life.

So apologies if this is a little long winded, or if you feel it doesn't belong in the main forum, it is what it is, as JimmyZ says.

Please help us if you can by contributing to this thread, opinions, comments, or any articles you find out there, as long as you post the link for the article as well. Thanks.

cheers

steve

[dogfish]

"I have one friend who i see a few times a year during the fall run. Ever since the operation he always asks me how i feel. I know what he means, but i make him squirm, tell him about my arthritis, or herniated discs, or pinched nerves or whatever else comes to mind. The man refuses to say Cancer. I'll string him along for awhile and then let him off the hook after he gives me a few "you knows"



Maybe if you tell him about anal bleeding and bleeding from orifices he will ask less questions.
Sounds like you have been there and done that shaky. Good on ya for making it.

[DarkSkies]

I know you went through a lot. You would make a good national spokesman for the Cancer Society. You shoot from the hip and pull no punches. Thanks for sharing that, Steve.

[Doublerunner]

*** I didn't even know what to say. A very close friend just called to tell me he may have cancer. Will find out more next week. I don't know what to do besides pray and hope

[clamchucker]

I don't know what to do besides pray and hope

Sorry to hear that. You can keep in contact with him and try to cheer him up when he is down. You can't change whether he will live or die, only God has a say in that. You can continue to be a good friend to him. Don't avoid him and take the time to listen to him. Good luck.

[BassBuddah]

Sorry to hear the news DR, hope it doesn't turn out too bad.

[jigfreak]

Hang in there dude.

[Shaky]

I know you went through a lot. You would make a good national spokesman for the Cancer Society. You shoot from the hip and pull no punches. Thanks for sharing that, Steve.

I don't know if the ACS is ready for me. I think i could handle a bigger stage given the chance, but I believe people prefer listening to celebrities. They see them at the movies,at the ballpark or on TV and they feel like they know them.

*** I didn't even know what to say. A very close friend just called to tell me he may have cancer. Will find out more next week. I don't know what to do besides pray and hope

Having been on both sides of the fence I've found your side tougher. Having gone through all the crap I now have a better perspective, as this was my first serious illness and first surgery.

From a patients perspective, I'm not dead yet, stop acting like you're at a funeral or a wake. If I need help and you're a good friend I'll probably ask for it. Don't feed me some bs like "if I need anything call" if you don't mean it. As I said before i always hated hearing the words "sorry to hear that". I would normally lead the conversation in the direction i wanted it to go. Much easier on the friends and family members. If i heard those words my response was usually, "if you're not laughing within the next few minutes I'm hanging up the phone". Trust me i had them laughing. If you normally call once a week, keep it up. Don't need to hear from you every day. I suppose most people with family and friends get a hell of a lot more calls when they're sick. After awhile they get tired of answering the same questions over and over.

As a friend I believe it's your job to bring a little normalcy back to my life. I know I'm sick. The reason i know this is because i have a team of doctors, nurses, chemists and nuclear physicists telling me I'm sick and their treatments are probably bringing me as close to death as they can without killing me. If my body wasn't telling me i was sick before, it probably is now. If I don't feel like talking I won't and if I do feel like talking, talk about whatever it is we talked about before, fishing, hunting, sports, women, work suck it up and stop whining.

Hope this helps

[Pebbles]

I was glad to read your post shaky. When my sister was sick, I always felt as if she needed a break from the constant questions. I thought it was important that she had chance to not "think about the cancer". I am sure it was always on her mind. Yet it gives me a small bit of comfort that I was able to bring her mind some relief. I often wondered it I made the right choice. Once diagnosed she lived three months.

[Shaky]

I was glad to read your post shaky. When my sister was sick, I always felt as if she needed a break from the constant questions. I thought it was important that she had chance to not "think about the cancer". I am sure it was always on her mind. Yet it gives me a small bit of comfort that I was able to bring her mind some relief. I often wondered it I made the right choice. Yes Once diagnosed she lived three months.

I figure most people go through the same things. There's the what would i do if they told me I had X amount of time to live thinking. When the diagnosis comes in all those things you may have said So you go through a stage of feeling sorry for yourself, woe is me, what did i do to deserve this, I'm not ready to die etc.

Closest thing to that feeling was watching the trade center from across the river on 9-11. Real kick in the gut that stayed with you for awhile.

You spend some sleepless nights, while getting prepped for a battery of tests. Still haven't told a sole other than my brother and sister in law. Want all the facts first. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, I started seeing the humor in it. I suppose it's like public speaking where you imagine your audience naked. Laughing is easy. I could laugh all day without getting tired. Worrying and crying is stressful. Choice is easy for me, find a way to keep laughing.

You start getting calls and e-mails, people telling you how brave you are and what courage you have. Perhaps by definition, but I saw nothing courageous in my actions. I didn't choose to have cancer. It's not like running into a burning building to save someone. I had two choices, do nothing and eventually die. Get treatment and surgery and hopefully extend my life. Real tough choice there. I don't consider myself particularly brave, but this was a no brainer. I'm sure most people just sort of kick it into survival mode and do what it takes. You find the strength. The humor is something else. I think i'm just different, I managed to find the lighter side in all my tests treatments and surgeries and rather than avoid the subject, i just turned it into a comedy routine all i needed was an audience.

The worst feeling in the world is laying in the hospital bed with your parents looking on and you can see the pain in their eyes, but no matter how hard i tried, no matter how hard we laughed i could never make that pain go away.

Now I'll let you in on a little secret. That angler of the month story, with the swordfish slicing me up That was my incisional hernia repair. Direct result of my colon resection, the muscles just came apart and they had to open me up again. I knew those pictures would come in handy one day. Don't be mad it's just the way I cope with things

cheers

steve

[DarkSkies]

I didn't choose to have cancer. It's not like running into a burning building to save someone. I had two choices, do nothing and eventually die. Get treatment and surgery and hopefully extend my life. Real tough choice there. I don't consider myself particularly brave, but this was a no brainer.

That could be inspiring to anyone who gets cancer. Thank you for the brutal honesty there, Shaky.

[seamonkey]

From a patients perspective, I'm not dead yet, stop acting like you're at a funeral or a wake. If I need help and you're a good friend I'll probably ask for it. Don't feed me some bs like "if I need anything call" if you don't mean it. As I said before i always hated hearing the words "sorry to hear that".

That's the first thing I usually say when I know someone is in trouble. Thanks for straightening those issues out. I would never have known that.

[storminsteve]

Great info there shaky, thank you! Hope you continue to remain cancer free. Angler of the month story was interesting. No worries. Thanks for sharing.