I'm back ... and so is my cancer

13

Comments

  • susan0803
    susan0803 Member Posts: 90
    #42
    sweetblood22 said:

    I can definitely relate to
    I can definitely relate to how sometimes prayers are answered in ways we don't expect, and are sometimes none to subtle. I have had to be hit on the head quite hard a few times, I am Sicilain after-all.

    Glad to hear you will check in from time to time.

    please keep in touch
    Jim,
    I do hope you the best in your retirement and everywhere in your life. Please keep in touch on this board too ok?

    Suzanne
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #43
    head/neck and lung
    Jim...

    I don't know if you are aware of this, but after being diagnosed with head/neck cancer in 05, I was diagnosed with lung cancer in June of 2007. At first the diagnosis was a crazy one in 07, indicated I had as little as 10 months to live. Ultimately, the news was that I had but one node, in my lower right lobe.

    If, upon biopsy, it proved to be metastasis of the squamous cell cancer from the head/neck cancer, they were going to pull away and simply go to palliative care, effectively re-introducing the 'as little as 10 months to live' prognosis. As cancer often does, it required me to wish for something odd: a new cancer and a chance for a lobectomy.

    As it turned out, the lung cancer WAS also SCC, but was too small to determine whether it was mets or a new primary, so they kindly did the the lobectomy.

    I am now all clear of head/neck cancer, Jim, will no longer see ENT Man after our meeting last month. And I am two years NED with the lung stuff (two years since surgery).

    It's doable, Jim. I am happy that they diagnosed a new cancer, knowing exactly what the alternative would probably mean, and I am hopeful, my friend, being aggressive in nature, I suppose, that they detemine you are up for the surgery to get rid of the new stuff before the 'slay the strays' chemo and/or rad follow-on.

    In any event, I wish you the best.

    Hope and Humor!

    Take care,

    Joe
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    #44
    POSITIVE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ON THE WAY
    Jim, sorry to hear, but sounds like they can treat it. My doc told me the same thing, if my Tonsil CA was to spread, it would go to the lung.

    You are in my prayers.

    Mike
  • Kimba1505
    Kimba1505 Member Posts: 557
    #45
    luv4lacrosse said:

    POSITIVE THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ON THE WAY
    Jim, sorry to hear, but sounds like they can treat it. My doc told me the same thing, if my Tonsil CA was to spread, it would go to the lung.

    You are in my prayers.

    Mike

    20% chance of a 2nd primary.
    I recall the doctors telling us in the beginning that there is a 20% chance of a 2nd primary cancer following Head and Neck. Ironically (well, maybe not so much) Mark's mom had H&N unknown primary that was treated with chemo and radiation. Several years later she developed liver cancer. Surgery only. I am happy to say she is very spunky and quite alive.
    Jim, I can feel the strength in you as I read what you write. It is very powerful: the strength within you, around you, and above you.
    Journey on, keep us posted when you can. Maybe I will see you on one of the DE beaches this summer.
    Do well,
    Kim
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #46
    Kimba1505 said:

    20% chance of a 2nd primary.
    I recall the doctors telling us in the beginning that there is a 20% chance of a 2nd primary cancer following Head and Neck. Ironically (well, maybe not so much) Mark's mom had H&N unknown primary that was treated with chemo and radiation. Several years later she developed liver cancer. Surgery only. I am happy to say she is very spunky and quite alive.
    Jim, I can feel the strength in you as I read what you write. It is very powerful: the strength within you, around you, and above you.
    Journey on, keep us posted when you can. Maybe I will see you on one of the DE beaches this summer.
    Do well,
    Kim

    20%
    Is that unique to H & N cancers? Due to lymph node involvement?
    Thanks
    stacey
  • Kimba1505
    Kimba1505 Member Posts: 557
    #47
    staceya said:

    20%
    Is that unique to H & N cancers? Due to lymph node involvement?
    Thanks
    stacey

    I don't know.
    Stacey,
    Breast cancer also involves lymph nodes. ??? With H&N, it is not mets; it is a new primary. I recall being told this; and I also recall reading it early on.
    Here is something from the NCI website that addresses this a little:

    People who have been treated for head and neck cancer have an increased chance of developing a new cancer, usually in the head and neck, esophagus, or lungs. The chance of a second primary cancer varies depending on the original diagnosis, but is higher for people who smoke and drink alcohol. Patients who do not smoke should never start. Those who smoke should do their best to quit. Studies have shown that continuing to smoke or drink (or both) increases the chance of a second primary cancer for up to 20 years after the original diagnosis.
    Kim
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #48
    Kimba1505 said:

    I don't know.
    Stacey,
    Breast cancer also involves lymph nodes. ??? With H&N, it is not mets; it is a new primary. I recall being told this; and I also recall reading it early on.
    Here is something from the NCI website that addresses this a little:

    People who have been treated for head and neck cancer have an increased chance of developing a new cancer, usually in the head and neck, esophagus, or lungs. The chance of a second primary cancer varies depending on the original diagnosis, but is higher for people who smoke and drink alcohol. Patients who do not smoke should never start. Those who smoke should do their best to quit. Studies have shown that continuing to smoke or drink (or both) increases the chance of a second primary cancer for up to 20 years after the original diagnosis.
    Kim

    Jim
    Sounds like one heckuva great plan. Lot to look forward to- a lot that will be very, very, rewarding. Helping others in perhaps the most difficult times of their lives= an endeavour most worthwhile. Often wondered if the first person one should see after being told he/she has C is someone who has had it, and is surviving well- as you will be when you knock C out of the ring again. Whatever you do as a volunteer, Jim, I know your community will be far better off because of it. Forward, Jim, knowing you can win this second fight, and with the goal in mind for after that fight's over. Yeah.

    Believe

    kcass
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #49
    Kimba1505 said:

    I don't know.
    Stacey,
    Breast cancer also involves lymph nodes. ??? With H&N, it is not mets; it is a new primary. I recall being told this; and I also recall reading it early on.
    Here is something from the NCI website that addresses this a little:

    People who have been treated for head and neck cancer have an increased chance of developing a new cancer, usually in the head and neck, esophagus, or lungs. The chance of a second primary cancer varies depending on the original diagnosis, but is higher for people who smoke and drink alcohol. Patients who do not smoke should never start. Those who smoke should do their best to quit. Studies have shown that continuing to smoke or drink (or both) increases the chance of a second primary cancer for up to 20 years after the original diagnosis.
    Kim

    hmmm
    That is interesting stuff, Kim, stuff I had not heard before. My docs honestly assumed that the lung stuff was mets, and I always felt like they were doing me a 'favor' (more so my wife who works with them, to be honest) by doing the lobectomy when they had no firm analysis of whether it was new or mets (it was large enough to confirm as more SCC, but not large enough to establish whether new or mets). Your comments make me think, now, that perhaps they were playing the odds, instead, something I am, of course, grateful for.

    Learn something new every day.

    Thanks for the info, and best wishes to you and hub.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #50
    soccerfreaks said:

    hmmm
    That is interesting stuff, Kim, stuff I had not heard before. My docs honestly assumed that the lung stuff was mets, and I always felt like they were doing me a 'favor' (more so my wife who works with them, to be honest) by doing the lobectomy when they had no firm analysis of whether it was new or mets (it was large enough to confirm as more SCC, but not large enough to establish whether new or mets). Your comments make me think, now, that perhaps they were playing the odds, instead, something I am, of course, grateful for.

    Learn something new every day.

    Thanks for the info, and best wishes to you and hub.

    Take care,

    Joe

    Kim
    Thank you for the information Kim! My oncologist mentioned the 20% chance & suggested a pet/ct scan. I will stick to my alcohol free beer for sure.
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #51
    delnative said:

    Thanks to all
    You can bet this was a major blow to me, and yet there are some very odd positives to it.
    I'd made tentative plans to retire this summer and was discussing doing pro bono editorial work for the American Cancer Society with the folks in my local chapter. I was having a very difficult time deciding whether to pull the trigger and actually retire, and I was asking God in my prayers to steer me in the right direction. Many times I said to Him, "Lord, you know I can be kind of dense, so if it takes a smack upside the head to have me make the right decision, I'm ready." Little did I know He'd hit me with a roundhouse to the jaw.
    Now my path is clear. I will kick cancer's a*s, just like I did with tonsil cancer. I will retire, and I will do volunteer work for the cancer society. I have faith that this is God's plan for me, and He's not going to bump me off just yet.
    Also, as we've all experienced in our battles with the beast, looking your own mortality right in the eye has a way of grounding you in the things that are important. Love, family, friends -- including my virtual friends here -- this is the stuff that matters. Charlie Sheen? Stars with cellulite? Not so much.
    I'll drop by from time to time to see how y'all are doing and maybe to give a little update. It will be an interesting experience, I'm sure.
    Once again, my heartfelt thanks to all.

    --Jim in Delaware

    Keep Us Posted Jim...
    You know the drill, we are here and will continue to keep you in the thoughts and prayers brother....

    Maybe since you're planning on retiring and you are a writer, it's time to pursue a book that you've been thinking of doing, but never got around to it....

    Best Always Brother,
    John
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #52
    rozaroo said:

    Kim
    Thank you for the information Kim! My oncologist mentioned the 20% chance & suggested a pet/ct scan. I will stick to my alcohol free beer for sure.

    Secondary Cancer
    If I'm not mistaken, I believe the odds concerning contracting a secondary cancer is more related to what a lot of us have had as a result of treatment in killing the original cancer....radiation to the H&N.

    John
  • terryscarlett
    terryscarlett Member Posts: 143
    #53
    back
    I can't tell you how sad this makes me Jim, You will and always are in our prayers, It is all in Gods hands, and I know that prayer is so powerful and God can cure this too. It breaks my heart that you are having to indure this. I hated to hear about Honda too. Both of you guys are the rocks on this site, and the best inspiration for David and myself, always giving your advice, and help in whatever way you can. I thank God for this site, but more so for all the people here. You all are such a blessing for so many. Hang in there bud, you can beat this too.
  • buzz99
    buzz99 Member Posts: 404
    #54
    Kimba1505 said:

    I don't know.
    Stacey,
    Breast cancer also involves lymph nodes. ??? With H&N, it is not mets; it is a new primary. I recall being told this; and I also recall reading it early on.
    Here is something from the NCI website that addresses this a little:

    People who have been treated for head and neck cancer have an increased chance of developing a new cancer, usually in the head and neck, esophagus, or lungs. The chance of a second primary cancer varies depending on the original diagnosis, but is higher for people who smoke and drink alcohol. Patients who do not smoke should never start. Those who smoke should do their best to quit. Studies have shown that continuing to smoke or drink (or both) increases the chance of a second primary cancer for up to 20 years after the original diagnosis.
    Kim

    2nd primary
    My hubby, Buzz, developed a second primary 9 years after the initial tonsil cancer. This time it was base of tongue. He is a non-smoker and social drinker. Karen
  • micktissue
    micktissue Member Posts: 430
    #55
    Jim
    Jim - I am just a troll these days on the boards as my work is piling up, but I wanted to chime in one your news.

    My very first words were "NO!" You know I am not a believer but believe me that I am praying for you man with all my mind and heart. I am hoping the HPV connection makes this not as dire a Dx as it can be.

    I'm burning a candle for you.

    Best,

    Mick
  • micktissue
    micktissue Member Posts: 430
    #56
    Kimba1505 said:

    20% chance of a 2nd primary.
    I recall the doctors telling us in the beginning that there is a 20% chance of a 2nd primary cancer following Head and Neck. Ironically (well, maybe not so much) Mark's mom had H&N unknown primary that was treated with chemo and radiation. Several years later she developed liver cancer. Surgery only. I am happy to say she is very spunky and quite alive.
    Jim, I can feel the strength in you as I read what you write. It is very powerful: the strength within you, around you, and above you.
    Journey on, keep us posted when you can. Maybe I will see you on one of the DE beaches this summer.
    Do well,
    Kim

    chance of new cancers
    My ENT recently told me the same thing. His opinion was that the treatment damages the immune system and harms the body's ability to "canvas" for cancers. I did not get the 20% number. He instead says "greater likelihood".

    A diet and behavior modification to fight cancer and aid the immune system is the route I'm taking.

    Best,

    Mick
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #57
    Skiffin16 said:

    Secondary Cancer
    If I'm not mistaken, I believe the odds concerning contracting a secondary cancer is more related to what a lot of us have had as a result of treatment in killing the original cancer....radiation to the H&N.

    John

    John
    This is what I have been told also! Damned of you do & damned if you don't!
  • JUDYV5
    JUDYV5 Member Posts: 392
    #58
    So Sorry
    that it is back. They put me back on chemo again. I hope your path is easier,
  • MJ70
    MJ70 Member Posts: 75
    #59
    Hondo said:

    Hi Jim
    Sorry to hear the news, you are a strong and positive guy so I know you will come out of this with no problems. I too failed my PET this week when it lit up an area that was clean just 6 months ago.

    Take care keep strong and my prayers are always with you my friend.
    Hondo

    Honda and Jim
    My Prayers are with both you guys.. Hopefully it will all be positive..Mel
  • kingcole42005
    kingcole42005 Member Posts: 178
    #60
    Aww Jim that sucks. I'm sorry you have to go through it again.
    Aww Jim that sucks. I'm sorry you have to go through it again. I will say a HUGE prayer tonight and send positive thoughts your way. Shelly
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #61
    Skiffin16 said:

    Secondary Cancer
    If I'm not mistaken, I believe the odds concerning contracting a secondary cancer is more related to what a lot of us have had as a result of treatment in killing the original cancer....radiation to the H&N.

    John

    The KIlling Fields
    RatFace, who I am sure you know, John, once wrote a really interesting thing in this board about something called 'cancer fields'. I did some research after reading his post, and sure enough (of course), there has been much study done in this area, and it really does make sense. RF can explain it better, I am sure, but what I gathered from it was that when we have cancer (and genetics/environment/behavior that lead to cancer) we create what some doctors referred to as 'cancer fields'.

    These 'fields' make it much easier for any extant cancer cells to regenerate, either in the same place or some new one. But all is not hopeless (as Mick and others indicate more or less). Changes in environment and behavior, in particular, can modify these fields for the better (a long way of saying that if we smoke we should quit, if we drink (gasp!) we should quit: the things that got us here will not help us avoid more of the same).

    Sometimes folks seem surprised to learn that smoking can be a cause of, say, breast cancer, that drinking alcohol can provide just the right impetus for lung cancer (alcohol DOES go into the blood stream: what's not to get?).

    In any event, yes, there is much to be concerned about with respect to our treatment options. At the same time, as I recall, my options were few.

    Maybe RF can repost that 'cancer fields' thing?

    Take care,

    Joe

Discussion Boards