Postby bomberbob » Mon Jun 08, 2009 11:06 pm
I am still alive.
I got an email from somebody asking for a post. I go in every year and get checked, and just about every year I get a polyp or two burned off. The first doctor I had didn't seem to take my predicament seriously, so I got a new doctor who cares.
We got our kids checked, so now we know which ones are "normal", and which ones are at increased risk. Its a gene thing.
I am still open for email if you want. I will tell you I have no experience with chemo. The doctors told me it would be a waste of expensive chemicals if they gave me chemo, so I opted out. Apparently for me (so far), it was a good decision, but please do NOT base your decision on chemo/no chemo off of my decision or my results.
I am not good with words, I am just an ordinary 50+ guy, with grandkids. I can tell you this.
1. Do not give up. If you have cancer, it does not take vacations, holidays, nor does it work an 8 hour shift 5 days a week. It is in it for the long haul, and so you must be just as resolute as your foe.
2. Find a good doctor. Get a second opinion. Don't look for a doctor who will tell you what you want to hear, because if you do, you will not be around long to listen. Find a doctor who will tell you the truth, and then map out a strategy to fight. You need to know the truth so you know what weapons you need to employ to win.
3. Chemo is rough on you. Its even rougher on the cancer. If you say after a chemo treatment that "If I have to take one more treatment, I am going to die". Remember that your enemy, your own personal tumor is saying the same exact thing, but it probably is dying. You don't have to do chemo forever (although it may seem that way). All you have to do is last longer than the cancer. It reminds me of running track in high school. As long as you can hear the enemy gasping and panting behind you, you have to keep running. Refer to my item #1 above.
4. Form a support network. Friends, family, loved ones. This is crucial.
Consider this. If I had rolled over and given up back in 1991, I would not have seen the grandkids I have now. I get down on the floor and play Barbie dolls with them. Why on earth would a 50 year old man play with Barbie dolls? Because the grandkids like to, and I can. I am still alive.
I do not have grand words of wisdom to share. All I know is I refuse to give up like my father did, and let the cancer take me (without a fight). No I am not superman, I cannot stop speeding bullets, I am not a nut. But I am a survivor.