Another newbie

sandy65
sandy65 Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Senior Survivors #1
Mornin'

I hope being 65 qualifies me as a senior! Where to start. In early fall of last year I got a surprise one morning as a womanly function which had ceased quite a few years before began again! Off to the ER and then to the GYN. Ended up with discovery that I had two uterus' and endometrial cancer. When they did an MRI they discovered a growth on the backside of one of my kidneys.

Let me back up for a minute. About a year and a half earlier I had a pre-cancerous growth removed from my face and another from my back.

On February 5 they did surgery - cutting me from the sternum on down. The kidney cancer was "spindle stage II" (am still learning the terminology). The edges were uneven. The doc felt good, so far, about the endometrial. I woke up in SICU as I had a small heart attack just after surgery. I was terrified.

On June 1 had thyroid/parathyroid surgery and amongst everything else they removed 3 "small lemon" size growths. Shhhhh, so far, they were not precancerous.

There is a rare genetic disorder (I have another word for it which, hehe, can't type here) which runs in my family where a tumor suppresent gene is faulty. My mother and a brother passed from cancer and another brother had Stage II NHL.

To the woman who expressed about being alone, I too am alone in this journey. Am not close to my biological family. I do have a couple of friends who try to understand and I keep myself busy with writing. From what I have read here, there is strong hope and support. Come fall, I begin my five year testing regime. Please keep your fingers crossed.

I express my thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this.

Bye the bye, I be a Mainah!

Have a great day,

Comments

  • COBRA666
    COBRA666 Member Posts: 2,401 Member
    #2
    NEWBIE
    I am fairly new to the site myself. My father and his brother both passed to cancer. I have been diagnosed with follicular nhl stage 4. I see your brother was diagnosed with nhl. What type does he have and how is he doing? hang in there we can beat this thing. John
  • sandy65
    sandy65 Member Posts: 2
    #3
    COBRA666 said:

    NEWBIE
    I am fairly new to the site myself. My father and his brother both passed to cancer. I have been diagnosed with follicular nhl stage 4. I see your brother was diagnosed with nhl. What type does he have and how is he doing? hang in there we can beat this thing. John

    newbie reply
    Cobra666-John:

    Mornin': Don't know exactly what type my brother had but will find out for you. He is doing great. Went through chemo and, as he said, a lot of crying. Do know that he has passed his 5 year mark with flying colors. FYI, 4 of my 5 brothers have had thyroid problems and all are doing great.

    Wanted to wait to reply until went to docs for follow-up. Evidently growths had dug-in underneath my sternum. He read biopsy results - surgeon had taken a LOT of biopsies. So far, looks good. Keep your fingers crossed.

    What is the word on you? Have docs decided what to do? Please know I wish you only the best. Keep me posted. We will beat this thing!

    Sandy

    where are you from?
  • GolferNan
    GolferNan Member Posts: 12
    #4
    Another Newbie
    Hi Sandy65,
    I am 65 going on 66 (Dec. 24th)...We so fall into the senior category!! Be proud... So glad I've found this site. and a senior section to boot!!! I am alone too.. My husband of 33 years died April, 2009. I was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis in 2005. It is a rare bone marrow disease. No cure, except a bone marrow transplant, of which, I am too old.... I have family close by, but no one knows exactly what all I am dealing with both mentally and physically. It is a tough disease. Outwardly you look okay so it is hard for other people to believe that you have a terminal illness...

    By your note, you have had a lot of stuff going on. God bless you for being able to cope and survive all the negative health issues by yourself. I know about that genetic thing...this disease I have is an auto immune disorder and a lot of that is in my family. My mom died from (CLL) leukemia, one sister has RA (rhematoid arthritis)and a rare disease called FMD (aneurysm of carotid arteries)another sister has a hereditary back disorder ( I have the same thing) and my niece has Lupus. There is a lot of other auto immune diseases in my extended family as well. I guess we all have a lot of "stuff" going on in our "genes"!!!

    My disease affects the bone marrow. It eventually scars and stops blood cell production. I am in that stage right now but no one knows what the prognosis is or how rapid the decline of blood cell production will be. So the uncertainty of it all is very stressful. Please feel free to write me. I am alone as well and I understand what that feels like.

    May God continue to bless you with strength and peace.

    Keep us updated on your well-being.....

    Nan
  • BJLaws
    BJLaws Member Posts: 4
    #5
    I am 64 is that old enough??
    I am trying to figure my way through all of this. I have a daughter to help me, but cancer has gotten the rest of my family. I went into the hospital in December for a blocked colon but he only put a temporary bag on my stomach, January was the surgery(?) for the camera to peek at the blockage, February was the surgery to take the blockage, all went well and there was not reason to suspect any problems until I woke up and the surgeon said he took the colon and part of the small intestine. He was checking for more blockage when he found it, about 1.5 inches across. Maybe cancer but doubt it. A week later I saw an oncologist, then another, etc. Yesterday I went to SLU Hospital and spoke to a surgeon the first words out of his mouth was liver transplant. I have tumors in both sides of the liver. (a total of 8). I have a decission to make to quickly without enogh information. I can get the medical information, but no one wants to talk about the personal side, how will my life change. I do not want to have it done if I lose all the quality of life, but if it is a hamburger a month instead of a day, but still play with my great grandchildren that is differant. Can someone help???
  • ToBeGolden
    ToBeGolden Member Posts: 695
    #6
    "Real Newbie"
    Wanted to offer my support. I am a "real newbie" to this forum; this is my fist post. I am in the last 7 days of radiation treatment for laryngeal cancer. I will post a short bio in a separate thread. Just wanted to say that although we are all unique, we are all in this together.
  • gwhite
    gwhite Member Posts: 18
    #7
    Sandy, you are not alone
    I am an 80 year old l8 year survivor of metastatic kidney cancer and I was touched by your story. You are a very good writer - too good to be lost to cancer. After multiple surgeries and 8 months of a failed treatment that was worse than the disease, I was given the awful pronuncement "only three more months". That was back in 1996 and I recall telling the onc docs that if medical science couldn't solve this problem then engineering science would and I was successful in working out a program of mind/body medicine involving guided imagery that enabled me to beat the disease. You might be surprised to know that there is no cancer cell that cannot be killed by one or more elements of the immune system if you can just get them to engage. For the last 15 years, I have maintained a pro bono mentoring program for people such as you, new to the terrible game and with problems unusually severe. You might want to check out my webpage at www.cancerwarsmaarsjourney.com as you might find the content of interest. Your story calls to mind one particular woman's remarkable story that is told on the "inspirational stories" page. Her name is Elayne Simonek and you can read her story by just clicking on her picture. She is good about sharing with personal contact and has helped meny others in the past. There is another by the name of Peggy Carson that has a terrific story inre uterine cancer. Neither or knows what the future holds - only God knows that, but He does give us reasons to hope and the hope that I want to pass along to you is that it IS possible, you CAN defeat cancer.

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