Woodman's cancer... Good wishes and updates!

general
1

I had an enlarged painful lymph node. And my whole lymph system was generally unhappy. I took antibiotics, the golfball is now thumbnailsized, and doesn’t hurt. The lymphs are still irritated, and now I’m finding lumps all over my body and trying to figure out if they are new or not.

I have night sweats of the head and neck, and lack of energy, and I’ve lost 25 pounds in less than two months, most of it in the last four weeks and I keep getting kind of sick. If it wasn’t for the night sweats I’d blow it all off, but I’ve had those for quite a while and everything keeps pointing at Lymphoma. It’s likely something stupid, but if it’s not, it’s cancer.

But, I’ve also been on two different blood pressure meds, and a CPAP. So it’s not like there aren’t other changes going on, and it’s also allergy season off and on.

My wife and I had a conversation last night and she told me I needed to bug my doctor until I know, that hiding from it won’t help. I told her that’s funny coming from someone who sometimes won’t open bills she knows we can afford. I have completed my blood tests today, I think I’m going to wait until those results are in before I go any farther.

She also told me I’m not allowed to die. I agreed that she was on point there, but it doesn’t matter what I’m allowed to do. It’s stupid, but this has started to be a real issue.

So if you pray, please pray that I’m an idiot and paranoid, and if you don’t then cross your fingers for a couple seconds.

5 Likes
2

I assume it’s bad when you get your blood work done and less than 24 hours later your doctor calls to tell you to get a CAT scan today, and if they can’t get you in to call them back and they’ll send the order STAT.

I asked what it could be and they said I was more anemic and there were “things” they were concerned about in my blood work.

3

Talked to my doctor today and she’s 99% certain it’s lymphoma. The blood work and CT scan both point right at it.

Tomorrow I meet with my oncologist. On the plus side, I’ve lost 25 pounds now.

4

Thoughts and prayers are out to you, @Woodman!

5

On the plus side I win every complaint war now.

My arm hurts. Hunh, that must be rough, I have cancer.

I already have my post cancer tattoo picked out. Just need to pick the script and the location. Lymphoma Terminus Est. Or maybe Terminus Est Lymphoma, have to figure out the proper grammar on an ungrammatical Latin sentence.

5 Likes
6

That sucks @Woodman. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.

7

Get well, soon.

8

@Woodman - get well soon! I’m really glad to hear that the survival prognosis is good. I for one would like to see you around for many years to come.

1 Like
9

@Woodman: Good luck at the appointment. Mental outlook really can help with the whole cancer thing, and you’ve got the right attitude. Anecdotal evidence at best, but my dad’s had cancer 3 times now, and had remained positive each time and he’s still kicking. All the best to you and your family.

2 Likes
10

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and a gentle treatment.

(Chemotherapy can be a right bastard, so hopefully you get through it without any issues. Radiation therapy works well, and is a lot gentler on the body (as a whole) than chemo.)

11

Let me know if you need something to combat the digestive troubles and the poor appetite of chemo. We have the good stuff here (and I know how to not get caught).

1 Like
12

Sorry to hear! I hope the therapy works out well and doesn’t take too much out of you :slight_smile: I’ve had a couple of friends run through the treatment (mostly chemo except the oldest who chose radio) and once you know when and how badly you’re going to feel queasy, it’s easy to plan around so you feel queasy for the least amount of time.

Oh, and apparently you should stay away from prawns. I don’t know if this is anecdotal or what, but all my friends who’ve been treated with chemo couldn’t eat prawns without throwing up :confused:

13

Seconded about the attitude - I’ve a relative who had similar experiences (including "you’ve only got a few months to live, nearly 20 years ago) and is still in good shape.

14

I’ll keep you in my prayers, @Woodman. I wish I could be of more help than that.

15

Damn, @Woodman. Keep up the positive attitude and kick that junk to the curb. Prayers and well wishes to you and your family.

16

Fingers crossed here, @Woodman. Holy carp, what a way to lose weight.

17

OK, Friday was really not a lot of fun. I walked into the cancer center at 10:00, the let me get lunch, and then sent me home at almost 3:00.

95% certain that I have lymphoma or leukemia, there is something odd with my spleen, they took 9 tubes of blood, and a bone marrow sample, which was wildly uncomfortable since they had to try for three core samples.

I have another appointment Monday at 1:30, and a PET scan scheduled for Tuesday, followed by probably another appointment on Wednesday. My doctor runs a stable of nurse practitioners and runs from patient to patient, he’s considered one of the best in the nation. So I got that going for me.

On the blood work, my hemoglobin count, WBC count and RBC count were all down more, the rate of decrease seems to be accellerating. I am neutrapenic now. I think I spelled that right, so I have to carry anti-bac with me all the time, I can’t eat fresh fruit, and all sorts of weird things. But someone with the flu could take me out. Yay! I’m on half a dozen new pills, one for ueric acid and four for anti this and that to replace my immune system.

I’ve also lost another 4 pounds or so. So that’s almost minus 30 now.

OTOH, all the shit that 's been buggin me for a while now, I now have something to blame it on instead of just thing I’m just generally falling apart.

I wish people would stop crying when I talk to them, or start crying when they think I don’t see them, trying to be super upbeat about it is wearing me out. I’m not depressed by any means, but I’d rather not have to act as much as I am.

18

Right on. Take time to let go of all the acting, feel what you really feel, and be honest with yourself.

It’s okay to have people rooting for you. Let them be perky and cheerful; that’s what they’re there for. You, on the other hand, have a whole lot of shit to deal with, you’re going through tests and waiting for the results, and you really don’t need the added stress of keeping up a false front. There’s nothing wrong with, “excuse me, I’m tired and I feel like shit. I don’t have the energy to let you cry all over me. Try the shoulder down the street.”

They didn’t rule chocolate out of your diet, did they? Oh, what about yeast? I was going to prescribe a long bath, dark chocolate and at least one beer.

3 Likes
19

Here’s hoping all of your tests show something easily treated and relatively minor! Remember, that you have people all around the world (or at least across the country) who will miss you if you stop posting and letting us know how you are.

I really hope you don’t have leukemia. I know that it’s pretty treatable these days, and I know someone who has been in remission for about 15 years, but I also remember watching my mother die from it when I was a child.

20

I have nothing to add. This sucks.

1 Like