Spring Is In The Air

rush1958
rush1958 Member Posts: 223 Member
edited April 2011 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Hello Everyone,

It's Easter Sunday. For me, that always meant that Spring had sprung!

Last year at this time I was in a hospital bed recovering from the surgery of Good Friday to remove 41 lymph nodes and to remove a tumor on the base of tongue. The shock of learning that I had cancer and multiple biopsies lay behind me and I was starting to contemplate the 33 radiation treatments and three rounds of cisplatin that lay ahead.

Through the late spring and summer of 2010 time seemed to slow to a snails pace. It was hard to focus much beyond getting through the day. Fatigue, radiation burns, loss of taste, nausea, dehydration and a host of other ailments all took their toll. I looked at 2010 as the lost summer.

It's now a year later. I was pleased to learn this past week that my CT scans were clear. The doctor thought I had recovered nicely from treatments. I'm no longer fatigued. The sense of taste has returned for the most part. It's not the same as before, but I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just a little different.

My strength, my saliva function and my optimism have all returned. I planted my garden this weekend. I mowed the grass. I've been tinkering with my truck and ATV. I couldn't do any of those things last year.

The picture you see displayed as my avatar comes from a campaign poster at the University of Kansas Medical Center. I'm one of the folks that they have chosen to spotlight for their campaign on Head and Neck Cancer Research. On Monday I'm being interviewed by my company for a feature article about Head and Neck cancer. I work for a major railroad / fortune 500 company and they are going to focus an article system wide on Head and Neck cancer awareness.

So what's my point? Well, this is simply a posting for the folks that are facing the start of this journey. All of us here have been where you are. Sometimes it seems overwhelming, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Things will get better. Like Spring, hope is eternal.

Have a great day,

Rush

Comments

  • davidgskinner
    davidgskinner Member Posts: 81
    #2
    Good Message
    Thanks for posting this...
    Congratulations on your success. You will be a great spokesperson for all of us.
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #3
    Rush
    An excellent post on this Easter Sunday, my friend.

    Strange, though, isn't it- about Time. I've noted this in only a couple posts in the past, wondering if it was just me, about Time slowing down to the point that when I looked back on the recent it was like days had been like weeks were, prior to C. Only conclusion I've found is that, for me, I stopped taking for granted the continuance of Time in this life, and it was a correction that brought me to living every moment almost like I was grasping for the moment. Two-plus years post-tx, now, Time doesn't pass as slowly as it did in treatment and beyond awhile, but it still passes slower than it did before.

    And what you say truly is good for all those starting on the rough road we have travelled. My C&R delivery took me south fast, and by the start of week #2 all bets were off the table in regards to my recovering. Or so I thought at the Time. That's a bet I shoulda taken. And when I got sick in week #5, which got me put in the hospital at the start of #6, I still wouldn't have made the bet. Woulda, though, by the Friday of week #6, when I was released from the hospital. We are all different, being C-specific to our body. I turned the corner in that hospital by the third day, and left there on Friday with the pedal to the floor (though I was still stuck in 1st gear, and the going was slow). The last two weeks of rads were a cakewalk compared the first four weeks. And then, a month after my last rad, back to work with my Ensure diet, PEG and Port and size 31 jeans. Of course, it took awhile to get back to the size 34, and a number of issues developed, but in the end all is good and well.

    Yes, how right you are in describing the treatment as a tunnel. And, it is one where the road thru that tunnel is rough and with numerous obstacles. The light at the end of the tunnel is what everyone should keep one eye on thru treatment, as it can always be seen. That light is a 2nd chance at life, and it should be enough to make it over the rough road, and around any obstacle trying to get in the way. All one has to do is keep an eye on that light, and really want to live what that light brings with it. No denying to the newest of our friends, here, as to how rough the road can get; however, there's also no denying how great life can be a ways down the road after we get out of the tunnel, and the Spring light is fully shining on us, as many of us bear testimony to- including you, Rush. Thank you, and-

    Believe

    kcass
  • buzz99
    buzz99 Member Posts: 404
    #4
    Happy Easter
    Recovery from treatment is like a rebirth. It is wonderful to be alive. Kudos to you, Rush, on being an ambassador for H & N Cancer. You are an inspiration! Karen
  • KareGiver
    KareGiver Member Posts: 301 Member
    #5
    buzz99 said:

    Happy Easter
    Recovery from treatment is like a rebirth. It is wonderful to be alive. Kudos to you, Rush, on being an ambassador for H & N Cancer. You are an inspiration! Karen

    Thank you Rush
    Your post today was just what my husband and I needed. The lost summer...pretty much what we are anticipating. My husband is really just getting started (1 chemo out of 3, 7 rads out of 35). Please know you have touched us today and give us strength and hope with your words.
    Happy Easter.
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #6
    Rush
    Beautiful. Thank you for sharing. You describe so eloquently what so many of us have been through. It is great to be alive!

    Deb
  • Agatha
    Agatha Member Posts: 62
    #7
    Thank you...
    for sharing your encouraging words. And thanks for being a part of bringing awareness to Head and Neck cancer.

    All the best,
    Agatha
  • Joel4
    Joel4 Member Posts: 263 Member
    #8
    Agatha said:

    Thank you...
    for sharing your encouraging words. And thanks for being a part of bringing awareness to Head and Neck cancer.

    All the best,
    Agatha

    Beautiful
    Thanks for sharing that beautiful message with everyone Rush!
  • Jimbo55
    Jimbo55 Member Posts: 590 Member
    #9
    Rush
    Really nice post Rush. The shock of learning you have cancer certainly is mind-numbing. Hearing of someone's successful journey through this jungle is a message of hope for those just taking their first steps. Cheers

    Jimbo
  • Greg53
    Greg53 Member Posts: 849
    #10
    Jimbo55 said:

    Rush
    Really nice post Rush. The shock of learning you have cancer certainly is mind-numbing. Hearing of someone's successful journey through this jungle is a message of hope for those just taking their first steps. Cheers

    Jimbo

    Thanks Rush
    Rush,

    First off, as usual what a great attitude. Second, glad to hear you're doing well. Next, that's great to hear about your work and your medical center on the awareness issue.

    Best news - Congrats on the 1 year NED!

    Thanks for a great post!

    Greg
  • mixleader
    mixleader Member Posts: 267 Member
    #11
    Great Post
    Hi, Rush. Thanks for the wonderful post. I am very pleased to hear you are one year NED and that you are doing well. Good news is always great to hear. This is also great inspiration for those who are going through similar events right now. My anniversary is also coming up as it was April 29 of 2010 that my diagnosis of Parotid cancer was made and my world promptly turned upside down. Every positive scan that we get and every year that we survive are wins against the beast and they are inspirations for those whose battle is just starting. Here's wishing you many more clean scans and keep up these great posts.

    Roger
  • lizziek
    lizziek Member Posts: 27
    #12
    mixleader said:

    Great Post
    Hi, Rush. Thanks for the wonderful post. I am very pleased to hear you are one year NED and that you are doing well. Good news is always great to hear. This is also great inspiration for those who are going through similar events right now. My anniversary is also coming up as it was April 29 of 2010 that my diagnosis of Parotid cancer was made and my world promptly turned upside down. Every positive scan that we get and every year that we survive are wins against the beast and they are inspirations for those whose battle is just starting. Here's wishing you many more clean scans and keep up these great posts.

    Roger

    Rush
    Hi Rush,

    I am you this year. 14 rads and 2 chemo's in with May 31st as the last treatment date. Luckily I have perennials that will survive a year without me and lots of great friends to mow the lawn and watch the house till we get home in June and then my new college graduate volunteered to take care of the yard.

    Thanks for a great Easter message.

    Lizzie
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #13
    lizziek said:

    Rush
    Hi Rush,

    I am you this year. 14 rads and 2 chemo's in with May 31st as the last treatment date. Luckily I have perennials that will survive a year without me and lots of great friends to mow the lawn and watch the house till we get home in June and then my new college graduate volunteered to take care of the yard.

    Thanks for a great Easter message.

    Lizzie

    Hi Rush

    I am glad you are in the driving seat, say something good about CSN. Have a great time I love the Spring time.

    All the best
    Hondo
  • hawk711
    hawk711 Member Posts: 566
    #14
    Hondo said:

    Hi Rush

    I am glad you are in the driving seat, say something good about CSN. Have a great time I love the Spring time.

    All the best
    Hondo

    Hi ya Rush
    Thanks for the uplifting reminder that "hope is eternal". We all need to keep that in mind as we go about our day.
    Regarding the article, keep us posted on this please. Would love to read it when it is published.
    You will be a great spokesperson for the H&N group here !!
    All the best,
    Steve
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #15
    hawk711 said:

    Hi ya Rush
    Thanks for the uplifting reminder that "hope is eternal". We all need to keep that in mind as we go about our day.
    Regarding the article, keep us posted on this please. Would love to read it when it is published.
    You will be a great spokesperson for the H&N group here !!
    All the best,
    Steve

    Hi Rush

    I think Spring went back a few weeks; today in Louisiana it is too darn cold for me. I am looking for warm sunshine and all I see is clod weather ahead.

    I hope it don’t last too long I need sunshine.

    All the best my friend
    Hondo

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