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First scan out of the way...NED
I haven't posted for awhile...life kept punching me so I went into the fetal position for a month or so. I was diagnosed in August, had surgery in October, got the path report in November (T3A). As I was digesting all of that my Mom passed away unexpectedly in December, I came down witb pneumonia in January, then a friend of mine who was diagnosed with cancer (not kidney) the week before me, died in February. I'm just trying to get to the point where I can breathe again.
Anyway, I finally got a piece of good news yesterday. I had my first scan since surgery and everything is clear. I was finally able to have a conversation with my surgeon where I could keep my mind clear and not get blindsided with bad news that made my mind explode. He's very pleased with everything since my surgery. We talked about reoccurance since my tumor was stage 3. He explained that even though it had broken contaiment, it was very early and the tumor was small (2.6 cm). We looked at a calculator they use to give an estimate on reoccurance and it put my chances at 3%.
I tend not to believe those things and asked him from his experience, what were his thoughts. He said he honestly was very encouraged and that any chances of cancer coming back in the next few years was small. He said in his experience, year 2 and year 5 would be the most worrisome because that is where he sees the most reoccurances occur. He then said something that makes complete sense...He said "the majority of us are going to die from 1 of 3 things...an accident, cancer, or heart disease." You can't get around it, it just a fact of life. Our goal is to just put any of those things off as long as possible." That actually made me feel a lot better. Now I'm hoping that things can calm down a little and maybe I can enjoy the upcoming summer without the heavy cloud over my head.
Comments
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I'm so sorry for your loss.
I'm so sorry for your loss. What a rough few months you've had. But finally it seems to be turning around so I'm very happy to hear your NED results and the encouraging words of your surgeon. So yes, enjoy the summer and may you have a long run of health and happiness.
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Hi Randy
No one should have to go through so much in a lifetime, let alone less than a year. A friend told me when my mother died that the death of a mother is something so universal, yet so painfully personal. My condolences to you and your family for your many losses lately. But also I am happy to hear your good news, and that you had a good conversation with your doc. That open, honest, quality conversation with health care providers is one of the most important things in our treatment and recovery. May the months and years ahead be less eventful for you! Take care -
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Thanks...
Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it. I think we all (well, at least me) kind of keep ourselves rolled tight waiting for the next blow to come. Now I want to feel the fun of everyday living, so I'm going to put the dark cloud away and enjoy. At least for 6 months until the next scan.
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Yep...Mighty Frog said:Glad to hear from you!
Hi Randy! Same goes here good to know you are NED but sorry to hear about your losses. Still keeping up with the juicing right?
Mighty Frog...Yep, still heavily into the juicing. I'm drinking about 72 ounces a day, plus a ton of water. I end up juicing about 7 pounds total of carrots, kale, beets, cucumbers, apples etc. at a time. It's amazing how much energy it gives me.
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