Senior Survivors — Cancer Survivors Network

Coping With Stress of Cancer

cmpattberg — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 20:39:25 +0000

Hi.

I just turned 82 (1/28/44). I was diagnosed in Oct 2020. Early on I attended a support group for a couple of weeks. There was another man in the group, and he shared that he wrote poems and shared one with the group (only 4-5 ppl). I thought to myself that I could probably do that. As my kids were growing up we had made up poems with them. So I thought I'd give it a try.

I'd love to hear how others have occupied their brain so as to not have to many 'pitty parties'.

I ultimately have written poems during my cancer journey, 85 to date. I'm about to start again since my lung cancer has matastized to my brain. I had surgery in late March of 2025. I'm still above ground, but a bit pi$$ed off that it spread.

Anyway, here is my first poem (1 of 85). Please remember to tell me what you do - paint, sew, garden, sing, play an insturment, hunt, fish, etc……

Hey, You’ve Got Cancer! - #1

He said it so easy,

like it was supposed to be.

Yet it felt like a bullet

had been delivered to me.

What could I do but

just say thanks for now.

But it made me sick

and it furrowed my brow.

He was the resident doctor,

that day I was told.

Did that give him license

to be short and so bold.

How do most find out

They’ve got cancer I thought.

Best done in private since

your breath must be caught.

A lot to take in,

should be done with some class.

But the doctor was hurried

And gone in a flash.

I think I knew it was coming,

the cancer that is.

I smoked long ago,

so the blame was not his.

15 years I did smoke,

then 49 I abstained.

High risk was I now

and to cancer I’m chained.

I’m through radiation

and the chemo process.

Stronger now, but it

came with great mental stress.

My support group shows me

that I can survive.

Equipped with this knowledge

I’m happily alive.

All my family and friends

they often did pray.

Which kept my anxiety

and fear mostly at bay

Pancreatic Cancer - NET

lhalstead — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 14:54:16 +0000

I'm searching for pancreatic cancer survivors. After NET pancreatic cancer diagnosis in November 2015, and Whipple procedure surgery on January 4, 2016, all my ct scans have come back clear and negative, so far. Next scan is a month away.

I have not had any chemo or radiation; my doctor said I didn't need it.

I have spent the last 18 months searching for other survivors. I have found one, but have not had the opportunity to speak with her yet. I am maintaining the positive attitude that I AM a survivor, even though it's only been 18 months.

If you want to ask me questions I can try to answer them. If you have been around the block a couple times and have a few more answers I would like to discuss what to expect in the future.

I found that pancreatic cancer is not even a selection for Discussion boards. So, if you are a survivor and you found my post then our tenacity could be what makes us survivors.

TRANSPORTATION

imblessed66 — Tue, 14 May 2024 03:57:06 +0000

Hello! I apologize if I'm not in the right area. I didn't know where to ask this question. I need assistance with transportation services. Like we know getting to Chemo is very important. Thank you for your help. Andrea

Liquid food replacement whilst recovering from cancer

Kerryalexallen — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:36:58 +0000

Hello My 84 year old father was diagnosed with bladder cancer last April. He had his bladder removed and his left kidney was found to be cancerous and was also removed. He has been told that there is still cancer 'floating about' but he is waiting to see the consultant to find out where it is and what treatment is advised. My main concern at the moment is that he seems unable to eat very little, he has no appetite which means he is not gaining weight which is the last thing he needs having lost weight in hospital when he was on a feeding line for a month. May I add that 4 days after his operation he had a cardiac arrest,and a collapsed lung, my poor father has been through so much. I was reading about Ensure Plus as a beneficial meal replacement for cancer patients but I was wondering if it is worth him trying these, given that he is still coughing up mucous? Many thanks.

MANTLE CELL LYMPHOMA

LARRY L — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:02:25 +0000

ANY ONE WHO HAS MANTLE CELL LYMPHOMA. I WAS DIA. JANUARY 2010. I AM IN WAIT AND WATCH STAGE. I WAS TOLD IVE HAD THIS FOR AT LEAST 2 1/2 YEARS ACCORDING TO PREVIOUS BLOOD WORK. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IM IN FOR.

Nauseous

shaleab — Tue, 22 Nov 2022 09:41:00 +0000

I am a 3 time cancer survivor. 16 years ago I had stage 3 breast cancer and then early 2021 (I believe) I was diagnosed with stage 3 anal cancer. Two weeks into my treatment for anal cancer I was diagnosed with breast cancer again. I was so overwhelmed I made a radical decision to have a bi lateral mastectomy. I have been coming to terms with that decision and I continue to due things that bring my attention to being flat. I'm happy. My worry is mostly my nauseous feeling. It seems I am more nauseous than not. I am post 13 months treatment and have had favorable scans and exam but the nausea doesn't leave. Are there others out there that experience these feelings?

newbe trying to function alone

kathrynlib — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:55:35 +0000

I am trying desperately to get around this site and can't open anything. I try to post but don't think I am doing it right. Is there a certian thing to hit to get posted I may have missed. I am also dxed with lung cancer but have not been told anything about stage. Is there a blood test for lung cancer to keep up with. I have had 2 pets and several scans but all the reports are diffrent. How can this be? I was told I had master sized when it was fecal matter backed up to my colon? Is this normal? To have a report so wrong? Please any advice will be so appreciated and any communication also. I am all alone. Children far away and don't seem to care anyway.I feel so lost and alone I can't even explain it. Thank you and God bless each of you, Kathrynlib

Human cancer garden

wordshootist — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 05:27:46 +0000

My bank account was fat, everything coming up roses, no pricks from thorny humans, physically fit, writing was going good. I was ready to sing in the rain, and like Moses supposes his toeses are Roses, Moses supposed erroneously. Then came the heart murmur and aortic sclerosis (found in extreme endurance athletes, the surgeon said), the AVR (aortic valve replacement), then a multitude of joint surgeries (shoulders, knees (partially replaced), then another AVR, then thyroid cancer (surgery and isolation radiation), then kidney cancer (surgery on left on Tues, the right on that Thurs--fun week!), then prostate cancer (radiation), then more surgeries, including back surgery last Oct, now kidney cancer again. Oh, I also have a brain tumor, but they think it's probably benign. Yay.

stomach cancer

alan56 — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 20:27:46 +0000

I am new here. I was in the medical profession 39 years and worked at 2 hospitals. I retired in 2018 due to stomach cancer. Before surgery, my chromaganin A was 800. Normal is 90 from what Im told. I was on chemo for 3 months and it did not touch me, Gleevec 400mg one pill daily. I had surgery Sept 2017 and had 97% my stomach removed. I was told there was postive margins during surgery which means it was spreading but the surgeons caught it. Had I not had my surgery, I would have passed 3 months later. I am a motivational speak now giving hope and inspiration. I am fatigued, still have abdominal pain and nausea. (zofran 4mg).

Here is my recent tumor marker results: 12/20 44, April 2021 53 Aug 11 2021 58. I see my oncolgist on the 17th. I know its creeping up near 90 is what Im told is the normal mark.

Can you please give me your thoughts on why is going up. This is my 4th cancerversary coming up and I know it can return. I am divorced, live in New Jersey and 65. I host monthly zoom meetings for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers.

Thanks.

Stage 4 and feeling very alone

strolli — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:55:13 +0000

I think the worse day of my life is taking chemo and returning to an empty house, I was married to a wonderful man and he died from cancer. I want to be thankful just for being alive, but it is very difficult.

Cancer Survivors Living In Assisted Living

Lon — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 21:41:40 +0000

I am a single male living alone in a first class Assisted Living apartment in Fresno, California. I am curious to know how many of my fellow residents are Cancer Survivors and if they require specific care, particularly ADL's Activities of Daily Living

long term radiation fatique

fighterpilot — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:30:04 +0000

I have had two radiation treatments for two different cancers, prostate and larynx. The prostate was 10 years ago and for 7 weeks, the larynx was 3 years ago for seven weeks. I have absolutely no energy since my last radiation treatment. My body feels drained all the time. Anyone else out there with long term post radiation fatique?

Gallbladder cancer

tiffanycopper — Thu, 20 Sep 2018 11:40:50 +0000

Can anyone tell me if they have survived gallbladder cancer and what type of treatment you have completed are in process of? I am now stage 4 and it is metasis to other places.

Any Lung,Liver and Spine Survivors

BradHill — Tue, 22 May 2018 13:01:57 +0000

So,

My grandad was recently diagnosed with Lung,Liver and Spine cancer. They have recently stopped treatment and I was wondering if anyone knows of any survivors as I barely get to see my grandad and I'm really worried and don't want to lose him.

-Thanks

Brad

GLIO STAGE 4 BRAIN CANCER

Kevinmsr — Thu, 03 May 2018 14:14:55 +0000

My wife and I were married in Oct 2017, after I had lost my prior wife due to breast cancer and heart attacks several years earlier, and 5 months after I was newly married, happier than i could have imagined, my newly beloved bride was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Stage 4. I mean really WTF! I planned on never marrying again due to the tramatic effect my prior spouse's death had on me, then several years later, I met my sweetheart and on the first date, I told her that I would marry her. It was absolutely heavenly, a fantasy love, a one in a billion love that you would read in a love novel, and now the doctors are telling us we have 6-15 months. Really, really, am I hated by God that much, that this would happen to us, and we couldnt even have a year being married before this devastated us, to me, burying 2 wives in 5 yrs. I know it is not about me, and it is all about her. I cater to my beloved's needs 20-21hrs per day full time. I am her caretaker and do not leave her side, but many people dont realize the horror, the nightmares I have of her being gone already and myself crying out for her, looking for her, even though in the nightmares, i know she is passed. How do you deal with something of this magnitude, when you give everything you have, I mean everything you have, and you have no other family other than your wife, and you move to another state and then being told that you would lose her in counting down the months, not the years, and at such a young age of 45, I mean really, really, wtf!!! I am I am not a good person, but does God really hate me that much to punish me, us, like this? I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He exist, and that He loves, but am I the only excluded one, that He decided way in advance to punish and not love? I gave up my home, my neighborhood, my city, county and state and moved 1,000 miles away to start a new life with my wife, and now I am going to lose everything. Are the nightmares I had years ago of living alone in the streets going to come true now that I am going to lose my wife someday because of the actions I took and will take? I cant even begin to say how much I hate all of this death and cancer and bs. My beautiful, beloved, the chemo and radiation on top of all the crap that she is going thru. This world isnt what people claim it is. It really really sux and now I have to watch the person I love most in the world, the only perrson I have, die slowly on me, and for a 2nd time in 5 years to go thru it all alone again! I dont even know why I am typing here, maybe to get it off my chest or to fined a sentence of hope, which I have almost none. Faith. I know God exist, I know 100%, no questions asked, and no one can change my mind that He doesnt exist. The difference is I believe in Him because I know He hates me and is punishing me, because lady luck is not that F up to have me go thru this twice in 5 yrs. Sorry to rant. I would delete this because it is too long and messed up, but I dont know why I am not deleting and just keep typing. later people. there is no words that can help me. I just need to care for my wife because I adore her and she deserves that love and caring for, because she is my hero and my treasure.

Cancer Survivor Song/Video

pamark6 — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:20:41 +0000

Please enjoy and share the following inspirational cancer survivor video/song: "Look At Me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw5pk5wuANY

Spring Valley Relay4Life

William628 — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 20:46:51 +0000

Looking for survivors/caregivers to attend our Relay 4 Life at Spring Valley HS in Las Vegas, NV 89147.

If interested please contact me.

anniversary

ron50 — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:22:02 +0000

G'day all, Just passed year 12 cancer free. Operated on ,on 22nd of Jan 1998 for stage three colon ca into 6 lymph nodes. I guess I qualify as a senior ,I turn 60 this year. The way things are going ,if I make it to 90 most of the good bits will have been cut out or fallen off. Cheers Ron.

Anyone know about carcanoid cancer

BJLaws — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:05:20 +0000

I apparently have a relatively rare form of cancer g'astrointestinal carcanoid cancer', what can you all tell me?? I already lost my colon and part of the small intestine, now they want to remove my liver. Needless to say I want to keep my liver. Does anyone know anything about this????

Pancreatic Cancer

dennisd52 — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 04:42:23 +0000

Any surviors out there. Like to hear your story.

Possible brain cancer

2Blve — Sun, 21 May 2017 14:07:51 +0000

Hi ~ Newbie here :) I am a 5 year survivor of breast cancer. Just as I am rounding the corner of my 5th year as a survivor, my retinal doctor spotted something in my eyes and directed me to my neurologist who ordered a brain MRI. He is looking at "occipital lobe pathology". His concern is that cancer may have spread to my brain.

I have been having unusual symptoms in my vision, an increase in seizures and migraine along with daily headaches and just not feeling well, all this in the last 2 months. My MRI is end of the month, going in today for bloodwork.

Just like last time, my friends have disappeared, no support. It's very difficult at my age (66) to find and keep friends.

I am scared and am holing up in my home. The more time I spend away from people hiding, the more difficult this is to cope. I don't drive anymore, so I am very limited as to what I can do during the day, so mostly sitting and rocking in my rocking recliner and reading :( I live in a senior home and gossip is difficult to deal with, so it's best to just stay holed up and away from everyone. I used to live in a large apartment with a large balcony and did alot of gardening and that helped with feelings of isolation, but here, I don't have a balcony. I keep asking for someone to take me to a plant nursery to pick up some plants for inside my apartment, but none seem interested. I keep asking for someone to take me to the stables around the corner so I can just be in the barn environment and see the horses, but no one is interested. I don't like to travel alone now due to having increasing seizures.

Thanks for listening.

Private Message Spam

CSN_Anne — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 17:28:50 +0000

Hello everyone,

Thank you to all of you who have alerted us to the PM spamming from earlier today. I apologize for the inconvenience. While we do have securities in place, we are not always able to catch all spam, and we are trying to figure out how this one got around our system. If you received a message from jegac1 please do respond to it or share any of your information.

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radiation

tesa — Sun, 22 May 2011 11:36:57 +0000

has anyone gotten necrotic tissue from radiation and is that bad

Pneumonia

Hondo — Sat, 20 Aug 2016 23:03:31 +0000

Just got back from Honduras last week and down with Pneumonia this week, man that sucks. But I started feeling bad the last few weeks down there, it is not because of the weather or anything but because not being able to swallow the mucus, so it goes right in to the lungs. I don’t know if any of you remember Denny but that was his problem, always in the hospital because of Pneumonia.

I had a lot of mucus and flem last night and seems like I was up every hour coughing it up, or trying to cough it up and out of my damaged mouth. I heard someone saying every time you get Pneumonia it makes you weaker and easier to get it again. I have stopped eating and drinking anything that would make my body produce more mucus, right now just keep me in your prayers please. I hope and pray that tonight will be a lot better.

God Bless

Tim

Appendiceal cancer

Pat65 — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:22:56 +0000

Any survivor stories with appendix cancer?

This is a new discussion board.

[Deleted User] — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:10:33 +0000

Well, we have a discussion board for young survivors so it seemed only fair that the senior folk have their own space. ;-) Greta Your CSN staff

Alternative Treatments in addition to traditional?

Dmiehl — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 01:18:54 +0000

Good evening everyone. My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of months ago. He had a prostatectomy 3 weeks ago and his pathology report indocated ECE and positove margins. He is scheduled for radiation in 10 months. I know there is absolutely no medical validation or acceptance, but has anyome experienced complete success in terms of remission with sono photo dynamic therapy and/or mega dose vitamin c and/or rigvir and/or cannibis oil?

Thanks so much.

Dave

Any 84yr young seniors trying chemo for lung cancer

KT84 — Wed, 27 May 2015 20:05:54 +0000

Looking for support or any seniors that have experience with chemo for advanced lung cancer? We want to make an educated decision or hope for a miracle.

Private Message Spam

CSNSupportTeam — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 16:41:32 +0000

Hello everyone,

Thank you to those who've alerted us to the spamming from earlier today, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. While we have security measures in place, we can't prevent all spam. We are currently working on measures to try and block this. If you received a message, please do not respond or share any of your information.

The user, drjulius, has been blocked.

Going forward, please continue to report any spammers or questionable behavior to us.

Sincerely,

Kim

CSN Support Team

2015

Hondo — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 13:31:24 +0000

When my NPC came a 3^rd time back in 2006 I was told that there was nothing more to be done and that I had only 6 month to a year at best to live. That was all 9 years ago and I am still alive, I have a lot of problems from all the treatment but I can still enjoy life with my family and Grandchildren.

Tim Hondo