Nine Years !
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Awesome, Pat! Nine years! Your mentoring is commendable even if sometimes heartbreaking . You’re remarkable!
Pat,
Congrats! I’m 3 years and 4 months in, and have very similar results as you. Clean margins, no lymph node involvement, did chemo/radiation though. I have the same ‘small’ hernia (no idea the actual size, my wife says it is the alien coming out of my stomach just below the ribcage) but I’m stubborn and continue to run/work out and do stuff around the house, just very cognizant of how I lift, always keep my core tight whereas I never used to think about that. It appears to me that early detection and clean margins/no lymph node involvement is the best opportunity for lack of recurrence. Unfortunately, our cases are few and far between because CC is so rare and hard to diagnose. Also, From the time I had the ‘mass’ discovered (August 29 2011) until my actual surgery (September 14, 2011) was a little over 2 weeks. Probably unheard of, but again, I got lucky with that too. Best of luck to you and to everyone else dealing with this cancer…..Pat, thank you for taking the time to share how you learned your diagnosis and how your treatment progressed. It’s wonderful that you’ve overcome so many challenges, both physically and mentally, as you point out. I applaud your courage and pray you remain cc-free. Thank you again for generously sharing with us. Margaret
Margaret, one august evening I met with a friend to watch a baseball game and have a few beers and some deep fried chicken wings. That night I was kept up by a pain in my forward right side. It was not a throbbing pain like most stomach upsets, it was a constant pain, like some other irritation than usual. I went to work looking like I had been up all night, my boss suggested I go home, rest and go see a doctor. I did, he said textbook gallbladder symptoms, ordered an ultrasound of my GB and a soft tissue tumor was discovered in my left hepatic duct, which the ultrasound tech identified in her report as “possible cholangiocarcinoma” leading doctors to start in the right direction. I was lucky how things fell. It took 5 months to have tests and finally be operated on Jan. 26, 2006 , 8 a.m. with 5 days of recovery, no chemo, no radiation, just surgery which showed clear margins and no lymph involvement. Early diagnosis has afforded me a very trouble free survival, perhaps as good as it gets. At nine years later I have a small lump along my scar on my stomach, one small hernia which my doctors say not to mess with, and my life is as before other than I cannot lift heavy objects. Common sense, dietary changes, avoid contact with organic solvents, vehicle exhaust, both things common for a equipment mechanic which I am. That is my nutshell, lots of scans and blood tests over the years watching for possible return. For right now everything is good, I am enjoying life to the fullest, Being diagnosed is perhaps the toughest challenge for the human spirit, a test of mental and physical strength. It is important to not lose track of your hopes, dreams, and goals in life, and to not be beaten by this mentally. I hope something here can help you or others, God bless, Pat
Pat,
There are many of us not familiar with your journey from diagnosis. In a nutshell, would you mind telling us how you discovered your cc, what stage it was, the treatment you had? If that’s too much to explain, just please accept my hearty hooray for you reaching this wonderful milestone. We all look forward to the day when everyone can beat this cancer the way you have.
MargaretDeb,
So agree with Marion on you reading the good news section of the site. There are many, many, many good news stories there of our members and their loved ones who have and are doing so well after treatments of various types. I know that sometimes it can be hard just to think the bad thoughts, but please try and stay positive if you can and focus on what you can do to fight this thing. You now have a ton of people worldwide who are in your corner fighting with you.
Hugs,
Gavin
deb….try to focus on the good news section of this site. We have much of it.
http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/viewforum.php?id=44
Hugs,
MarionWell Cathy hang in there. Time passes quickly …pursue your dreams, help others, and you will be at 9 before you know it. My Oncologist always said cancer is the most baffling corridor of medicine one could practice. Cancers of all types can suddenly turn around, and all at once the bodies defenses recognize the cancer as an invader and suddenly it is gone .Never lose hope, it is our most powerful ally, My best wishes to you…Pat
Pat, Congrats on 9 years, you are my role model!! I am 5 years and am excited to hear about 9 years.
I try to tell everyone that when I awoke from my 3 week coma and was told what had happened my first thought was “thank God Jeff and Cates had memories”. I didn’t go first to “who did payroll, did they know to pay, did they call…. I was so happy to know that if I hadn’t made it they would have great memories of enjoying life. We have more memories in the bank than money!!!
Lots of prayers for you to stay 4 years older than me in the cancer free birthday!!
CathyYes Lainy, I did check that out… His quotes are motivational, which basically is the same. Coach is making these statements to motivate young men to work hard . It is way too easy to just sit around and be unmotivated. My dogs make me move every day, we help each other. They hate rainy days, and so do I . Keep moving, Pat
Pat, you are proof positive that attitude IS everything. I believe it was Coach Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers who made that popular. If you Google ‘Lombardi Quotations” you will see what an amazing man this was and I am sure you would like all his quotations.
Years ago, a man I knew was going to retire. when asked what he planned to do, he said ” I’m not going to sit on the porch and wait to die, that’s for sure.” I thought of him often after he left our outfit and he would drop in occasionally and it is easy to apply this attitude to cancer survival as well. This is what I base my outlook on. thank you all again, Pat
This good news was exactly what I needed to read today! Thanks so much! What a wonderful group of people this website has. I check in almost everyday and it’s great to hear about such inspiring results. XO
Hercules, you are such an inspiration and your advise is not falling on deaf ears. My husband is almost done with chemo, after a successful resection. My first thought was that of fear, knowing that the chemo safety net was being removed. You are so right…don’t wait around wondering if the cancer will come back. I will look into taking those trips that we never made, visiting the kids, traveling to the ends of the world and back. Bless you for your work with people with cc. Congratulations on your 9 years. You should indeed be shouting from the mountain tops.
God Bless,
Melinda A
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