Fuck Cancer

[Trackhead]

beyond that, getting cured of a curable cancer is no joke.

I guess it's they battle hardened oncologist perspective, much like my ER perspective, or say, a trauma surgeon in Vietnam. No big deal your lower leg was blown off, you still have the other one kinda perspective.

[ötzi]

It was 2 years since the end of radiation Memorial Day. I just got back from a checkup at Hopkins and they moved me to a 6-month re-check schedule from 3 months, which is very good news. So I'm stoked and that's no joke.

[JimmyCarter]

It was 2 years since the end of radiation Memorial Day. I just got back from a checkup at Hopkins and they moved me to a 6-month re-check schedule from 3 months, which is very good news. So I'm stoked and that's no joke.

FKNA!

[Supermoon]

Hell yeah. Great news Ice

[Meadow Skipper]

Nice ice!

[CantDog]

It was 2 years since the end of radiation Memorial Day. I just got back from a checkup at Hopkins and they moved me to a 6-month re-check schedule from 3 months, which is very good news. So I'm stoked and that's no joke.

So good to hear! Bumping from 3 to 6 mo is huge. And great to not have that hanging over you this summer and fall.

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

I guess it's they battle hardened oncologist perspective, much like my ER perspective, or say, a trauma surgeon in Vietnam. No big deal your lower leg was blown off, you still have the other one kinda perspective.

My Dad was an oncologist for 40 years and had the distinct pleasure of treating his wife (my mom) and his own mother for breast cancer, (both survived), and I'd say your right. Some of it is battle-hardened doctor who's seen it all and might be a bit insensitive. But it's also an attempt to offer some hope to people receiving a diagnosis that can seem hopeless when they first hear the word "cancer". I have no doubt that it lands pretty flat for most patients but after forty years of telling people this type of bad news my Dad would say there is no perfect thing to say other than "Fuck Cancer!"

And congrats to all those in remission and good luck to those still fighting.

[Trackhead]

My Dad was an oncologist for 40 years and had the distinct pleasure of treating his wife (my mom) and his own mother for breast cancer, (both survived), and I'd say your right. Some of it is battle-hardened doctor who's seen it all and might be a bit insensitive. But it's also an attempt to offer some hope to people receiving a diagnosis that can seem hopeless when they first hear the word "cancer". I have no doubt that it lands pretty flat for most patients but after forty years of telling people this type of bad news my Dad would say there is no perfect thing to say other than "Fuck Cancer!"

And congrats to all those in remission and good luck to those still fighting.

I've told two people this week they have cancer, one is a grandma with custody of her 4 yr old daughter because Mom is outta the loop (drugs). Brutal telling her that. I'm not sure there is a good way. So yeah, you're right, maybe it's an offer of hope. But when you hear it, it's pretty unbelievable.

[Trackhead]

It was 2 years since the end of radiation Memorial Day. I just got back from a checkup at Hopkins and they moved me to a 6-month re-check schedule from 3 months, which is very good news. So I'm stoked and that's no joke.

Awesome, I'm on the six month program as well. Nice to take a break from all the imaging, labs, and appointments. I'm getting my port out in two days.

[TBS]

It was 2 years since the end of radiation Memorial Day. I just got back from a checkup at Hopkins and they moved me to a 6-month re-check schedule from 3 months, which is very good news. So I'm stoked and that's no joke.

Being stoked would fall into the “sane reaction to this situation” realm.
Stoked for you as well

[TBS]

Awesome, I'm on the six month program as well. Nice to take a break from all the imaging, labs, and appointments. I'm getting my port out in two days.

Congrats!

So when did you get to stop the chemo?
Ms TBS just got her port put in this AM. The last infusion is scheduled for 8/23, (four days before her birthday). Just wondering how long it will be after that before hers can come out.

[Trackhead]

Congrats!

So when did you get to stop the chemo?
Ms TBS just got her port put in this AM. The last infusion is scheduled for 8/23, (four days before her birthday). Just wondering how long it will be after that before hers can come out.

I finished chemo in January and had two post chemo clean scans, one two weeks after, and another last month. It's variable as to when the oncologist would suggest port removal, and obviously a decision between patient/physician based on remission status, type of cancer, etc. With my cancer, Hodgkins, many get their ports out right after chemo if in remission, but many wait. Again, with Hodgkins, it's a patient/physician shared decision. Not sure about your wife. I work healthcare, but NOT oncology.

As far as the port goes, mine hurt for a few days, then was mostly a nuisance for a bit. Hurt in the neck and below clavicle. Was pretty sore when laying down, etc. But then became not even noticeable for the most part after a month or so. Yeah, shirt off in a pool, it's obvious. But the neck pain and other annoyances eventually fully went away. I've had mine for almost a year. Put the numbing cream on an hour before port access before chemo day (this will be prescribed to your wife) and the needle going in is essentially painless. Cover cream/port with something like Saran wrap or nice medical Tegaderm dressing to keep cream in place.

[TBS]

Thanks. I figured there was no set timeline, just looking at potential comparables.
Thanks for the heads-up on port pain. She’s gonna be sore tomorrow anyway, as they took four tries to get the IV placed
She was told “no contact sports for two weeks”. Yeah…that’s gonna put her MMA training back…

She also got an accessory tube ( and warranty card!?) that I’m guessing is used for port cleaning or something else a civilian shouldn’t try at home without supervision. Discharge nurse didn’t know what it was for. That’s comforting

[Meadow Skipper]

So when did you get to stop the chemo?
Ms TBS just got her port put in this AM. The last infusion is scheduled for 8/23, (four days before her birthday). Just wondering how long it will be after that before hers can come out.

I want to be positive and put up some encouragement, but…. My wife had her port taken out when her oncologist gave her a NED (no evidence of disease). It was a time of celebration, but some time later she had a recurrence and had to have another port put in and it was more uncomfortable than the first one. I guess what I’m saying is maybe don’t be too anxious to get it out, though that’s just one case.

Fuck cancer. Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it.

[TBS]

^^^Thanks, and you’re right, no reason to be in a big hurry. Hers is a lot less bulky than my daughter’s was - that had a tube coming out that we had to keep taped down. But she was playing soccer with it, and never complained about it while playing.

[Tri-Ungulate]

I guess it's they battle hardened oncologist perspective, much like my ER perspective, or say, a trauma surgeon in Vietnam. No big deal your lower leg was blown off, you still have the other one kinda perspective.

Rookie mistake on the part of the doc, been there, done that. I think it's just that one gets used to seeing awfulness, that when a more hopeful, curable case (with limited morbidity) comes along, it seems like a relative cakewalk for the clinician, and as mentioned earlier they might want to convey that optimism - although the patient, only knowing their own experience, is understandably appalled by the callousness of the statement.

It was 2 years since the end of radiation Memorial Day. I just got back from a checkup at Hopkins and they moved me to a 6-month re-check schedule from 3 months, which is very good news. So I'm stoked and that's no joke.

Congrats ice. Fingers crossed.

Ms TBS just got her port put in this AM. The last infusion is scheduled for 8/23, (four days before her birthday). Just wondering how long it will be after that before hers can come out.

Since ports can stay in fairly longterm with minimal possibility for infectious complications, and manageable risk for thrombosis (clotting), they can stay in fairly indefinitely, so long as they get ~monthly maintenance and are not too uncomfortable. As TH sez, it depends on the clinician and the patient, based on many things: risk for relapse, possible need for maintenance treatment or lab draws, adequacy of regular peripheral (arm) veins for lab draws and infusions, etc.

[Trackhead]

Thanks. I figured there was no set timeline, just looking at potential comparables.
Thanks for the heads-up on port pain. She’s gonna be sore tomorrow anyway, as they took four tries to get the IV placed
She was told “no contact sports for two weeks”. Yeah…that’s gonna put her MMA training back…

She also got an accessory tube ( and warranty card!?) that I’m guessing is used for port cleaning or something else a civilian shouldn’t try at home without supervision. Discharge nurse didn’t know what it was for. That’s comforting

Last November I broke my bindings and smashed face first into a groomer, smashed me right chest wall into the snow (where my port was/is). I’m not sure how I didn’t dislodge it or die, but it held up. I wouldn’t endorse the same direct impact Scared the crap outta me.

The card she got just explains the type of port and how it can be used, etc. It’s something you can give to a nurse if you’re in the ER so they know what type of port she has.

[ötzi]

An overview of the (improving) cancer landscape. The first half is more about science and the second part gets more into societal aspects that are important but perhaps less directly relevant to this crowd. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/o...smid=url-share

Hopefully this is a non-paywalled link.

[Trackhead]

Good article.

Having good medical literacy is super beneficial as well. Whether that comes in the form of a patient having a little know how, or perhaps a family member. Navigating healthcare is hard, and those who struggle with the complexities can certainly suffer poorer outcomes.

[CantDog]

Good piece, Ice. Breast cancer is also one of those unique ones where there are just so many different treatment lines that managing symptoms and recurrences becomes a very different game compared to other cancers.

I can’t remember if I’ve ever offered—but if anyone on the thread needs any specific symptom advice, I’m a palliative medicine doc at a large cancer center. Happy to look around for a connection in your area or point you in a helpful direction on the non cancer drug side of things. Caveat being of course it’s not medical advice.

[TBS]

Ms TBS first chemo appt is today -was supposed to be at 0700

Yesterday at 4:30pm she gets a call that they are cancelling her appointment because the insurance company wouldn’t approve one of the chemo meds. They were going to get with insurance company today and try to work something out, and try to get her in on Friday.

WTF - this has been scheduled for a couple of weeks and you decide NOW not to authorize? Not to mention she has Wednesdays off and works Friday. And my day Friday is committed (based on the chemo schedule) to setting up for our town’s first music fest of the season. Fuck You United Healthcare.

Then at 0830 today she gets a call that the meds have been approved after all, and how soon can we get there. So she’s gonna get all the meds she was supposed to take yesterday at the same time as the infusions.

Nobody we saw today knew which drug (or both) was held up, but neither are some sort of experimental cutting-edge treatment.

The PA said, “insurance companies don’t like to pay for chemo - it’s expensive”. Yeah, no shit, that’s why we have insurance. Never heard of anybody wanting to take this poison when it wasn’t necessary.

So Double, Triple and Quadruple Fuck You United Healthcare - in the ass, with a rusty wire brush.

</rant>

[Supermoon]

Jesus. Sorry TBS. That sounds brutal on top of everything with the treatment itself.

[skaredshtles]

Ms TBS first chemo appt is today -was supposed to be at 0700

Yesterday at 4:30pm she gets a call that they are cancelling her appointment because the insurance company wouldn’t approve one of the chemo meds. They were going to get with insurance company today and try to work something out, and try to get her in on Friday.

WTF - this has been scheduled for a couple of weeks and you decide NOW not to authorize? Not to mention she has Wednesdays off and works Friday. And my day Friday is committed (based on the chemo schedule) to setting up for our town’s first music fest of the season. Fuck You United Healthcare.

Then at 0830 today she gets a call that the meds have been approved after all, and how soon can we get there. So she’s gonna get all the meds she was supposed to take yesterday at the same time as the infusions.

Nobody we saw today knew which drug (or both) was held up, but neither are some sort of experimental cutting-edge treatment.

The PA said, “insurance companies don’t like to pay for chemo - it’s expensive”. Yeah, no shit, that’s why we have insurance. Never heard of anybody wanting to take this poison when it wasn’t necessary.

So Double, Triple and Quadruple Fuck You United Healthcare - in the ass, with a rusty wire brush.

</rant>

Let's throw all for-profit health insurance companies into this. As well as the people getting in the way of universal healthcare.

And fuck cancer.

[JimmyCarter]

Sorry TBS that’s just shitty all around.

Fuck united health/fuck cancer


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Trackhead]

I had a biweekly injection for immune function so I wouldn’t die of fucking sepsis that I had a hard time getting approved initially. Also started out on a pulmonary toxic chemo until I could get approved for a newer, less toxic chemo. Fuck insurance companies, but I assure you, your healthcare team is on your side and fighting for you. Mine did. And I do the same for my patients.