edit/disclaimer: this isn’t a question so much as a vent session and my experience
so earlier this month on the 2nd nov. (4weeks today) i was diagnosed with cancer, a fast growing tumor just behind my ribcage and the left side of my neck. i was admitted the day i was diagnosed and started my da epoch-r chemo regimen a few days later, so not really any time to let it sink in i guess.
i’m 21 and had just got my own flat after taking a year out from my studies due to covid, and now this. but i’m not scared? or emotional.
don’t get me wrong i mean i’d rather not be isolating in a hospital ward or at home getting/recovering from debilitating treatment during a global pandemic when you gotta be careful anyways … but it’s the cards i’ve been dealt right?
from the speculative scans and tests, to the diagnosis, to spending almost two weeks in hospital straight away ( 10 days of preparing and administering chemo, then 3 days emergency antibiotics after spiking a temperature), to moving out of my 1 bed flat and leaving my job to move back in with my family in london, i don’t feel sad.
obviously my family are low-key freaking out, and all the nurses have this sense of pity since i’m young and have cancer, as well as my dad i haven’t spoken to in years trying to rekindle a relationship with me. but i don’t feel any of it back. and i know my feelings are valid so i’m not freaking out over it, but at the same time like ????
like i have to remind myself that everyone around me is having a hard time coping and that they’re not as chilled with it as i am. even the doctors have mentioned that i seem a bit too relaxed 😕
i mean it’s deffo a pain in my ass and the hospital stays, all the medication, isolation and all the rest of it are definitely annoying, but to me it’s more of a routine change than anything.
maybe it’s cos the side effects haven’t been too bad for me. i mean i’ve lost my hair that i was growing out for 2 years but i change my hair so often it didn’t bother me all that much. but other than that i feel like my normal self except my life has changed and now everyone sees me as a cancer patient when i don’t feel like one. i’m waay too proud, independent and unemotional for this and feel like that’s gonna be my biggest issue: dealing with everyone making a huge fuss out of dealing with me
Tisagenlecleucel is a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T cell immunotherapy already indicated for B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Regarding the role of routine imaging in indolent lymphomas, though there are no explicit guideline the general premise is that since treatment is only indicated with high burden disease or in symptomatic patients routine imaging has no role.
This is supported by the excellent results of patients on expectant management. Following treatment my imaging practices borrow from follicular lymphoma where once past the first 2-3 years of observation I image once every 2-3 years to correspond with the median time from identification of progression to need of treatment on large clinical trials (i.e. in most patients with a complete response the time from the identification of an asymptomatic progression to the time they will require treatment is usually more than 3 years)
In younger patients I favor limiting the use of radiation based imaging as the estimate is a 5% absolute increase in the risk of solid malignancy for every ~20 total body CT or PET performed.
Erel Joffe MD Lymphoma Service Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Posts are for educational purposes only and should not be regarded as medical advice
Hello everybody, it's been a bit overwhelming this past week so I apologize for not being as concise as I can. Here is the situation:
My mother has raised us up by herself after the divorce about a decade ago. There are 4 kids - I'm the oldest (1st year in dental school, busy in the semester but I have the break now to plan everything out), a sister is in another country learning a language after getting her bachelors in fashion, a brother in the army (in AIT, not much flexibility on his end), and the youngest sibling (15y/o, freshman in high school).
My dad lives in the same town, so there is an option to have my youngest sibling to live with him to remain in her same class. She doesn't like his new wife, but that might be the best option.
If the treatment doesn't go according to plan, she has about 1-5 weeks to live.
I don't know how to handle finances or anything because my mom would do everything. I don't know what to expect when she passes away and what is the best way to go about this effectively, efficiently, and with the least amount of pain. I honestly don't know what to ask you guys because I'm figuring things out still. I just know that I want the best for my youngest because she's the brightest out of all of us and have a lot of potential. She really looked up to my mom as a strong role model. Any help would be appreciated, whether it be financial or just general advice.
Edit: Thank you everybody for your responses. I know it's just text over the internet, but it really helped me to regain focus and not feel as alone as I was in all of this. I have read all the comments currently, but I don't have time to respond. I'll respond as much as I can when time becomes more free
It happened so suddenly and with such fury. Only about 6 weeks ago, one weekday night my 10.5 year old cat Sam started having breathing difficulties, eye droopyness and lethargy. She had feline herpes so she had cold flare ups once in a while where she would feel better after week of antibioticsl. We suspected the same. A week into the antibiotics course, she was even worse..her 3rd eyelid was protruding over the full eye, her right side of face was swollen and breathing was getting worse.
We took her back to the vet, then a specialist and then a hospital over the course of the following 2 weeks. She was diagnosed with aggressive large cell lymphoma, and it has spread behind her eye, nose and possibly brain. It started to affect her orientation at night and eating, she lost weight. She had nights of frantically meowing at night walking in circles, and slept the rest of the day.
We knew she couldn't handle the stress of chemotherapy. She hated getting medicine and would spit it all out. We still gave her steroids daily to help her symptoms and it was and up/down battle. She looked terrible but remained just as sweet as ever... We gave her lots of love and cuddles this week and she was trying so hard to feel okay again. Vet said she only had a couple more weeks and was looking around for a place to finally rest. We chose to put her down yesterday because we did not want her to suffer any longer. I'm devastated.
My gorgeous baby girl: http://imgur.com/V9vERT2
My friend just learned he's very ill. The doctor has told him that without immediate / aggressive treatment, he'll be dead in 6 months.
Luckily, he's (quite) wealthy and can afford amazing doctors - he begins treatment at Dana Farber next week.
My question is this: Living 3000 miles away, is there anything I can do to make his treatment more tolerable? I don't know anything about what's involved - so if anyone can lend some insight into the process of radio / chemo therapies, it might help me figure something out.
I don't know if he'll feel up to reading books, or playing games, or what... I think if I was in his shoes I'd be looking for distractions.
Anyway, I really just want to do something to help him get through this mess, and I don't really know what to do, aside from just saying "Let me know what I can do for you."
