8th birthday today

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helen098
Posts: 2009
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:07 pm
Location: Forest Hills New York

8th birthday today

Postby helen098 » Fri Jun 06, 2014 8:57 am

I can’t believe it has been 8 years (yes I did have surgery on6/6/6) since I was told don’t worry darling it’s only a cancer cell or two….everything will be fine by this time tomorrow. :roll: Things are fine now but it took a very long time for my life to be anywhere near normal or fine.
When I look back I am shocked by how little I knew going in how uninformed and unprepared I was. Though I guess like any major life changing event you can never really understand it until you live it.

So here I am 8 years older and hopefully a little bit wiser
What have I learned you ask or maybe you didn’t but since I no longer have a filter on my mouth or my brain I will tell you.
Life is hard, it sucks at times but it is also pretty great at other times..so if the great/good times outnumber the bad then you have won.
You can stand up for yourself without being a bitch, in fact you have to stand up for yourself.
It’s ok to ask for what you want or need..it doesn’t mean you definitely will get it but if you never ask you will never get it.
It’s ok to drop people from your life if they only make you feel bad about yourself and others. This can be very difficulty with family and at work but it can be done and feels wonderful.
It’s ok to be nice to others for absolutely no reason at all, in fact it makes you feel pretty good.
I am much stronger than anyone (myself included) thought I could be.

Today I weigh less than I did on the date of my surgery, am in better shape (thanks to working our 2 – 3 times a week). I would like to lose 10 more pounds but I am not killing myself over it, this seems to be the weight my body wants and who am I to argue with it. So far all my tests have been great, I finally got rid of my anal fistula and the neuropathy is under control, every 6 months or so my pain management doc asks me to go off the meds and see if
I still need them, so far the answer is YES, after about 7 days the pain is back as bad as it was in 2007.
I am going through the long insurance process to hopefully have breast reduction surgery in the fall.
By the end of this year, I will be 50 on Dec 30 I hope to feel even better than I do today.

I want to thank everyone who has helped and encouraged me over the years, if it wasn’t for the colon club talking me into see a pain management I don’t know where I would be today. I have cheated on the club over the years but have never found as good a group of people, it’s amazing how while people drift in and out we always seem to attract such high quality compassion people….It’s kind of interesting how such a horrible disease can bring out the best in people ….or were we just great people to begin with?

For those of you just starting your cancer story I just want to say while it sucks you couldn’t have found a better place to be and it will get better. it's the only place where you can laugh about pooping in your pants and know someone else did it to.

Thanks for listening to me, can’t wait to see what the future holds for all of us. :D


Helen
stage 3A surgery 6/6/6 finished chemo jan 07
11 5FU/12 Levcouorin/10oxaliplatim
port removed jun 07
anal fistula surgery oct 05 may 07 feb 08 sep 08 jun 09

Regan
Posts: 249
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 11:58 pm

Re: 8th birthday today

Postby Regan » Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:25 am

Beautiful post
DH dx 7/12
Stg IV RC liver mets
11/12 Hrt Attk by Folfox
1/13 Liver resct
4/13 LAR-Temp
NED
1/14 revrsal
4/14 Hrnia surg 4/14
1/15 local recur, liver, lung, aortocaval region of retroperitoneum, anterior wall of distal abdominal aorta
2/15 Irinotecan
1/16 Lonsurf (fail--just zapped. Strength)
Aug 10, 2016 at rest

User avatar
CRguy
Posts: 10473
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:00 pm

Re: 8th birthday today

Postby CRguy » Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:36 pm

That kicks colorectal BUTT Helen, both your post and the birthday !

Cheers and many Happy Returns
CRguy
Caregiver x 4
Stage IV A rectal cancer/lung met
17 Year survivor
my life is an ongoing totally randomized UNcontrolled experiment with N=1 !
Review of my Journey so far

dianne052506
Posts: 1651
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 11:57 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: 8th birthday today

Postby dianne052506 » Fri Jun 06, 2014 3:15 pm

Helen,
Congratulations on the big 08!
Life is hard, it sucks at times but it is also pretty great at other times..so if the great/good times outnumber the bad then you have won.

I like that one. It means I'm still winning, and I hope you are, too.
Go do something wonderful for yourself today.
Best wishes,
Dianne
May 06 Stage IV CC: liver,ovarian mets
Oct 07 inoperable lung mets
Feb 08 - Apr'12 chemo
allergic to oxaliplatin, irinotecan
Aug '12-Feb'14 Genentech PD-L1/Avastin trial
Mar '14 -radiation to largest lung nodule
still recovering; looking at trials again


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