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rj178, funny, I've always taken the song to mean do all the things you've ever wanted to do! I take it you've recovered well from your cancer? I'll be having bilateral masectomy 11/18 with no recon. If I'm lucky my lymph nodes will be clean and I won't even have to do chemo!
Thanks clevedark, lemonade is great, but I'm with rj178 on adding the tequila! *LOL*
I am not knocking what that song means to you. I perceived it as accepting the cancer and what it was going to do, and accepting that fact. So everyone gets in a hurry to fulfill their "bucket list" That was the meaning for me. It might be different for you and that is okay fine with me.
I am doing well with my cancer... The doctor went as far as saying he didn't want to see me, and pronounced me as cured. Your cancer sounds a lot like my sisters and she is doing well. In fact you would never know she had the nasty bad disease.
My name is Raelyn and my sister Robin has been diagnosed with Lung Cancer stage IV. She has only a few weeks left to live and won't be around for Christmas. I am really sad as I just recieved this news yesterday. She has a twelve-year old daughter and and twenty-four year old son along with a loving extended family. She is and always will be my best friend.
Cancer is a terminator as Farrah Fawcett recently stated before she lost her battle. Charlie lost an angel and I am losing one also to this horrible enemy.. God help us in the fight to win the battle against this brutal disease. Money can't save you from it, neither can youth. It is a disease that has no regards for life and I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.
My spouse was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2009. He's been through surgery, radiation, and three different chemo cocktails, with almost an entire year of good health between chemo #1 and #2.
It looks as though now the cancer is outpacing the drugs. We're taking it each day as it comes, and enjoying as much as is left to us.
My mother's mother died from ovarian cancer at age 47, her sister died from ovarian cancer at age 41, her brother's daughter died from lymphoma at age 21.
My eldest brother was diagnosed with brain and spinal cancer at age 13. He had 3 brain surgeries and spinal surgeries to remove tumors, and received radiation - this was in 1964, there was no chemo. He was given 6 months to live. The doctors were wrong, he lived 9 more years, but they never changed their prognosis, so we all lived for the next 9 years expecting him to die "soon." During that time, his condition deteriorated, and he lost most of his hearing, a great deal of his sight, he had mobility and cognitive problems, lots of stuff. He died when he was 21.
His illness and death affected our family profoundly, and had a tremendous impact on my life, mostly negative. Although there are far more devastating diseases out there, and I fear some of them, I fear nothing more than brain cancer.
I was diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer in January of 2009, after having spent a year of feeling "unwell" - fatigue, shortness of breath, diarrhea. Finally got a doctor to listen to me and had testing which showed occult blood in the stool and dramatically low hemoglobin. I was admitted immediately to the hospital, had blood transfusions, and a repeat colonoscopy, (the previous one a year prior was negative) which showed a 7.3 cm. tumor. I had surgery to remove a third of my colon, (no colostomy) and upon discharge, I was put on oral chemo that lasted six months.
Two days after my last dose of chemo, I returned to my own home (had been living with my youngest son and family). The next day, I auditioned for a play, got the part, and appeared on-stage six weeks later for a three-week run.
My CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) blood work has consistently been below 2.8 Less than 5.0 is desirable. My surgeon is delighted because the type of Ca I had was so aggressive that it was alarming.
The worst time I had was the period of hospitalization following the surgery. Everybody agrees it was caused by a reaction to the anaesthesia.
I go about my life as pre-Ca. I clean my house, (sometimes ), do my laundry, cook my meals, cut the grass. Babysit occasionally for grandkids.
I am currently attempting to lose some unwanted weight and thus far, have lost 15 pounds in four months. I walk a mile and a half daily and eat a lot more sensibly than I did post-op. I was 76 on Tuesday.
I was diagnosed with Stage II colon cancer in January of 2009, after having spent a year of feeling "unwell" - fatigue, shortness of breath, diarrhea. Finally got a doctor to listen to me and had testing which showed occult blood in the stool and dramatically low hemoglobin. I was admitted immediately to the hospital, had blood transfusions, and a repeat colonoscopy, (the previous one a year prior was negative) which showed a 7.3 cm. tumor. I had surgery to remove a third of my colon, (no colostomy) and upon discharge, I was put on oral chemo that lasted six months.
Two days after my last dose of chemo, I returned to my own home (had been living with my youngest son and family). The next day, I auditioned for a play, got the part, and appeared on-stage six weeks later for a three-week run.
My CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) blood work has consistently been below 2.8 Less than 5.0 is desirable. My surgeon is delighted because the type of Ca I had was so aggressive that it was alarming.
The worst time I had was the period of hospitalization following the surgery. Everybody agrees it was caused by a reaction to the anaesthesia.
I go about my life as pre-Ca. I clean my house, (sometimes ), do my laundry, cook my meals, cut the grass. Babysit occasionally for grandkids.
I am currently attempting to lose some unwanted weight and thus far, have lost 15 pounds in four months. I walk a mile and a half daily and eat a lot more sensibly than I did post-op. I was 76 on Tuesday.
I was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin's Lymphoma in early February of this year - a month after my 23rd birthday and 4 months after moving 1000 miles from my family and starting my first job. I still didn't know many people, had not built a support network, did not have a car, had JUST moved a week before to a walkable neighborhood, and was practically broke from moving cross country and then again to a better location. Even though I had cancer in almost every lymph node from my neck down on the left side of my body and in my bones, I felt completely fine when I was diagnosed (with the exception of fatigue that I chalked up by stretching myself too thin). I walked 4 miles a day round trip to work in all kinds of weather, had an active dating life, and was about to start grad school. I went from that to being too weak to lift anything above 10 pounds, serious lung damage, and getting dumped 3 months into chemo by my boyfriend.
I had 6 months of chemo, during which I worked full time. Most post-chemo PET scan was a few weeks ago, and one of my lymph nodes was still showing up a little (an SUV of 2 - most oncs are not concerned about anything below a 2.5). Now I am seeking a second opinion to see whether I should jump straight to a biopsy (what my current oncologist suggests) or wait the 3 months until my next PET scan to see if there are any changes.
Even in the uncertainty, I am entering what I believe will be a new relationship and started an MBA 2 weeks after my last treatment.
My mom is coming up next week for the LLS's Light the Night Walk and is seeing me for the first time since I've been diagnosed. I really want to not see her at all.
Glad you were able to make it through! See your mom, she doesn't care what you look like, she just wants to hold her child (I'm a mom, I know)!
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. She has a twelve-year old daughter and and twenty-four year old son along with a loving extended family. She is and always will be my best friend.
), do my laundry, cook my meals, cut the grass. Babysit occasionally for grandkids. 
