Anniversary and Scanxiety

Todd, be careful what you wish for.  As I always said in our office when we were overworked, the alternative, being out of work, sucks.   After my partial nephrectomy and an otherwise trying year, I kept saying how I wanted to work less and enjoy life more. Reasonable goal.  Well, I got my wish.  We lost our largest client this year, and our workload is drying up.  I am looking ahead to having very little to do in December, and I get paid for billing my time to client work.  Looking at my take home as an owner being cut in more than half.  Now I am wondering if the stress of being overworked or the stress of having to figure out who we will lay off first is worse.  Neither one is fun.  Hope your work calms down.  We all want (and maybe deserve) balance.  Maybe I will find it, but the see saw from one extreme to another has not been real fun.

Jan4you said:

OH Positive_Mental, I am

OH Positive_Mental, I am sorry for the anxiety and distress you are under at this time.

May you always be so employed with the fulfillment of of your work~

Sending hopeful thoughts to you now.

Jan

PM, hope you find that perfect balance. Stress sucks either way; be it caused by too much or not enough work. Wishing you and Todd the best both in health and in business.

Todd, keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for a successful scan.

Please be sure to keep us posted.

Hugs and happy wishes,

Nancy

foroughsh said:

Todd,14 months ago when I

Todd,

14 months ago when I joined this board, you were one of those who helped me a lot so I'm thankful and I think you don't need to feel sorry for not having  free time to post as much as you did . but finding a new job with less stress is a great decision not because of your history with cancer but because it's healthier and better for our soul and body. I always thought my hubby moved on right after the neph but now after 15 months I'm not sure, as Ella wrote I think my hubby pretends he's moved on to give me confidence ,I'm not sure but it's funny, he  keeps  telling me that it's history,it's finished,it's impossible that it comes back! But when I have a simple cough, he immidiately comes to me if he was in another room and tries to look calmed dawn and asks me if I'm all right? And kind of stares at me with stressed eyes and fake smile until the cough is finished, when I ask him are you worried the answer is always no honey! What should I be worried for! But I know what he worries for but never says it and does his best to look like a relaxed confident moved on care giver.

you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I'm waiting to have you NED post

Happy holiday season

Forough

 

 

 

It's good to have news from you!  Wishing and waiting to have you posting your NED news in the next few days!

Dembel said:

balance, moving on etc....

Hi Todd,

Still only about 5 days to go now.....and I wish you NED! Your story is similar to my partner's story, and the balance work/life is extremely difficult, for all of us. Now that cancer is "in the house", not even in my body, I want more free time, less stressful job since now I'm managing a group of 27, and hey, life can be over in a second (more likely if I get hit by a bus than anything else, but ok). My partner, stage 3 RCC, but NED on last scan in October, has come to the conclusion that work saves him.....complete nefrectomy end of June, and 6 weeks later back to work full time, and now working as I have never seen him work before. On the other hand, he doesn't speak about the RCC at all, and if the conversation goes that way he pretends not to understand, and then he says "oh that little thing".... So yes, hard for the environment to know to what extent it is ok to move on, and where we need to still give support. Anyway, RCC is still in my head, and will be for the rest of his life.....e.g. I'm not booking this holiday to Italy for next July....no way..... The days before scan are the worst (we didn't sleep for 2 complete nights....both of us).

So.....head up, be careful what you wish for, enjoy work (people management is like parenting, you don't need to do everything right the whole time, and try to feel relaxed when you feel like below, it's normal :-)

I dont know about people management but the best book I've read on classroom management was "how to train your puppy"

Be clear in your instructions and expectations

Reward rather than punish.

Dont try to impose your authority by bullying

Be feared rather than loved Oh no thats Machiavelli! He's good but not as good as How to train your puppy

todd121 said:

Thanks!

Appreciate the encouragement and advice. My scans are on Tuesday, the 8th. But I won't get results until Wednesday the 16th, the day before my 54th birthday.

Of course I'll post when I know something. My doc promised to let me know earlier if it's something important via email. I'm not so sure I want to hear important news via email...Good news via email would be fine though.

Todd

Last year my first post surgery scan was a couple of days before my birthday and I received the result the day before my birthday. The NED  report was my best birthday gift ever, here is wishing you the same birthday present

Forough

todd121 said:

Debilitating Anxiety

My scan is tomorrow. Woke up this morning and could barely walk. I've had a pain in my foot for many months. When it started I went to a podiatrist and he xrayed it and didn't see anything. He thought maybe gout. I told my family doctor and he did a blood test for gout which was negative. It's just been hurting for months. I assumed it's arthritis/old age and just let it go. Literally forgot to mention it the oncologist. He tends to really not care about things that aren't cancer or aren't "likely" cancer. Last time I mentioned some problem I was having after a clean scan he smiled and said, "Well, I know it's not cancer." Really pissed me off, actually. I said, what about the organs you guys keep cutting out to treat my cancer? Could it be that? He said to talk to my family doctor about it.

Anyways, decided to email him about it this morning. Maybe they'll scan my foot just in case. I think it's unlikely to metastasize to your foot. Right? I keep wondering about stuff like this. I know it's not good for me to visualize bad outcomes, but it just happens. I don't stay there or keep at it. I redirect myself when it happens. Still, an image will pop into my head and I'm wondering what it will be like telling person X that my cancer is back. Or I'll see myself in a hospital bed dying of cancer and wonder what that will be like...I'm sorry if this upsets anybody, but I can't think I'm the only one struggling with this. My mind just creates this stuff all of a sudden. I immediately tell myself I don't know it will happen or if it will even be as bad as I think, etc. I make myself stop it. Sometimes I even spend some time thinking of something more pleasant/opposite of this.

Another thing...

I've been thinking more and more about where all the money goes that people donate to cancer causes. Where does it go? What gets done with it? Instead of throwing it all at research, perhaps we could spend some of that money helping people that have cancer? At this point, I'm not doing too badly. However, I do live alone. My family is in another state and I'm somewhat distant from my sons and ex-wife both in terms of distance and relationship status. I start to realize how isolating disease is and wonder if I get sick who will help me get to the doctor, clean my house, feed my dog, etc. I can well imagine there are sick people with our disease that need help with these kinds of things. Does any of all that money that goes to cancer causes get funneled into actually helping sick people with transportation, cleaning, daily living? I sure hope it does, but I don't think much of it does. I don't recall each of the times I've been in the hospital being asked if I need help with any of these things.

I'm finding it very hard to work today. My mind is on this. May not make much progress in my job today. Oh, well.

Peace and love to all of my RCC friends.

Todd

You’re not the only one struggling with those dark thoughts. I call them mind movies. They hit me hardest when I wake in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. But there are other times too. For instance, my latest blood test shows that I’m once again anemic and iron deficient. So naturally I’m thinking the cancer is back. Like you, I don’t dwell on it or fixate on it but yes, these thoughts do go through my mind. I hate it and it’s frustrating but there it is. Just part of the new normal.

The day before scans is very stressful and anxiety provoking. I hope everything goes well for you tomorrow and you get the coveted NED report. It sucks that you have to wait so long to get it. Is there any way your doc could speed it up? Hang in there and I’m keeping you in my thoughts! Hope your foot is better xo

APny said:

You’re not the only one

You’re not the only one struggling with those dark thoughts. I call them mind movies. They hit me hardest when I wake in the middle of the night and can’t fall back to sleep. But there are other times too. For instance, my latest blood test shows that I’m once again anemic and iron deficient. So naturally I’m thinking the cancer is back. Like you, I don’t dwell on it or fixate on it but yes, these thoughts do go through my mind. I hate it and it’s frustrating but there it is. Just part of the new normal.

The day before scans is very stressful and anxiety provoking. I hope everything goes well for you tomorrow and you get the coveted NED report. It sucks that you have to wait so long to get it. Is there any way your doc could speed it up? Hang in there and I’m keeping you in my thoughts! Hope your foot is better xo

Hi Todd,

I feel your pain, I really do. Not only do we all worry - the scanxiety - but I am sure many of us have travelled down to the dark pit whenever there is an ache or pain. The dark pit/mind movies (good term, Andi!) do run through our head - why? Just to make ourselves feel that - in our minds, at least, we are right? After all, we know our bodies the best.

Right now I am worried about the nodules in my goiter that have grown considerably. As is a regular turn of events in how things go in my life, my appointment request for a biopsy got lost in the shuffle, and as a result have had to wait 5 weeks for this appointment. I finally go this Friday. In the meantime, I feel everything is grown even more and it is affecting my swallowing and breathing. My oncologist did kind of worry me a bit when he told me that RCC is the leading primary cancer to mestastasize to the thyroid - though uncommon -  even more anxiety for me.  And, although my family doctor is decent, I am tired of everything turning out to be nothing (even though that is good news - but there is discomfort, pain - I am not ME) - plus I have a real problem just performing the act of calling the doctor. Then I start wondering if people think I am a hypochondriac! Sometimes I think I AM a hypochondriac!! But I must admit that I have had some mind movies going on in this messed up head of mine. Really, though, just knowing that there are others here who feel the same way gives me reassurance.

I will be thinking of you, tomorrow Todd - and holding my breath along with you waiting for your results. And I also just turned 54 the first of December! And my sister shares your birthday - but she is turning the big 60! Hang in there, sweetie!

Hugs

Jojo

todd121 said:

Debilitating Anxiety

My scan is tomorrow. Woke up this morning and could barely walk. I've had a pain in my foot for many months. When it started I went to a podiatrist and he xrayed it and didn't see anything. He thought maybe gout. I told my family doctor and he did a blood test for gout which was negative. It's just been hurting for months. I assumed it's arthritis/old age and just let it go. Literally forgot to mention it the oncologist. He tends to really not care about things that aren't cancer or aren't "likely" cancer. Last time I mentioned some problem I was having after a clean scan he smiled and said, "Well, I know it's not cancer." Really pissed me off, actually. I said, what about the organs you guys keep cutting out to treat my cancer? Could it be that? He said to talk to my family doctor about it.

Anyways, decided to email him about it this morning. Maybe they'll scan my foot just in case. I think it's unlikely to metastasize to your foot. Right? I keep wondering about stuff like this. I know it's not good for me to visualize bad outcomes, but it just happens. I don't stay there or keep at it. I redirect myself when it happens. Still, an image will pop into my head and I'm wondering what it will be like telling person X that my cancer is back. Or I'll see myself in a hospital bed dying of cancer and wonder what that will be like...I'm sorry if this upsets anybody, but I can't think I'm the only one struggling with this. My mind just creates this stuff all of a sudden. I immediately tell myself I don't know it will happen or if it will even be as bad as I think, etc. I make myself stop it. Sometimes I even spend some time thinking of something more pleasant/opposite of this.

Another thing...

I've been thinking more and more about where all the money goes that people donate to cancer causes. Where does it go? What gets done with it? Instead of throwing it all at research, perhaps we could spend some of that money helping people that have cancer? At this point, I'm not doing too badly. However, I do live alone. My family is in another state and I'm somewhat distant from my sons and ex-wife both in terms of distance and relationship status. I start to realize how isolating disease is and wonder if I get sick who will help me get to the doctor, clean my house, feed my dog, etc. I can well imagine there are sick people with our disease that need help with these kinds of things. Does any of all that money that goes to cancer causes get funneled into actually helping sick people with transportation, cleaning, daily living? I sure hope it does, but I don't think much of it does. I don't recall each of the times I've been in the hospital being asked if I need help with any of these things.

I'm finding it very hard to work today. My mind is on this. May not make much progress in my job today. Oh, well.

Peace and love to all of my RCC friends.

Todd

Hi Todd,

I pour myself into my software projects.  I'm developing free open source software to predict wildfire behavior (wildfire-management-tool-web).  I'm trying to bring these projects to fruition while I still can.  My mind wonders when I'm not working.  If I can't sleep, I get up and work.  [what a motivator, eh?]

I hate being reminded of my condition.  Limiited physical energy and not being able to recover after exercising due to my "bio-chemically deconditioned" state is always a reminder and it really ticks me off.  [done ranting]

I hope you find some peace of mind or something to occupy your thoughts. Music is good distraction, either playing or critical listening. Or an XBox. :-)

-- Bruce