hercules

Its kind of funny how it doesn’t get better with time. Even scheduling it is a bit nerve wracking, I have gone three years without a scan, and there were times I didn’t even want to look, just live my life and not be a frightened ‘Rabbit in the hole’ as I refer to it. But reading all these posts by folks with stage 4 cc with traveling cc side shows all over their bodies,and no real physical symptoms my relaxed defenses don’t seem like such a good idea.I have been sloppy in my watch against this silent killer.I want to thank you all for helping me realize my error. I will pray for you again when I finish this post Gregg, Pat

dear Dorien, my heart breaks for you and your family, and it is difficult to not let what you hope for distract you from what you have. God bless, Pat

Gregg, I truly apologize for my confusion on that earlier post. I would not have used the examples I did otherwise. I need to concentrate on my train of thought when typing, I am very slow at typing and my thoughts outrun my fingers very easily. I hope you are doing well, and you are getting close to your first scan after surgery. I hope you are getting around by now pretty well and I have been thinking about you. Your second opinion and your plan of action is great, and you made me realize how sloppy I have gotten on my program to keep this cancer in check. I have made an appointment to see my gastro doc in May and I will have him order a scan. My best odds are to get right on it if it does rear its ugly head. I hope all is well with you and please let me know how things are, take care, Pat

I remember coming home from surgery, and one difficulty I experienced was constipation from the percocet. I stopped using the pain pills the second day I was home and began using cannibis the seventh day after surgery, and I have used it regularly ever since.I did support a few people who had this cancer and I did not share with them that cannibis was a part of what I did.I did not want to tell them because it is illegal here and the negative rap it has gotten my whole life makes it hard for me to advocate. I kept it to myself and now I feel bad I did not share that detail about what I have done. None of them did well and maybe that is a relevant detail as to my survival.When I wrote about not being afraid to die, I meant I did not stress out about that possibility, and allowing fear of the unknown to cause anxiety is the most harmful thing you can do. Believe it or not we all have to focus on the positive things in life and I went back to work in just 10 weeks after surgery and getting back puts your body into its usual routine. Its hard just getting out of bed at first and taking care of your resewn stomach muscle is critical as muscle does not heal or grow back, know early on that a muscle that was cut and restitched together is just that, a stitched up muscle, it will form scar tissue around the stitches but they are what is holding it together so be careful how you tax it. It will strengthen and feel better as time goes on but don’t plan on being a sit-up champ from here on.I wont be doing any swim suit photo shoots myself as my scar resembles a mercedes benz emblem, every surgeon is different, one gal I knew said her resection scar resembled a lexus emblem. Whatever scar you have, you must be careful not to lift anything heavy and go easy the first year, slipping on ice and tensing up to catch yourself is the worst. More important than anything, a bright young surgeon on the team of doctors that did my resection, Dr. Mackey said every cancer case is different so dont be discouraged by the statistics, and if you pull a small hernia in your muscle repair dont let anyone mess with it, it requires a skilled hand to stitch a stomach up correctly like yours and mine. After seven years mine is a little bumpy but it is beautiful in my eyes. Sorry for the long post but I am trying to remember how it was, My doctors werent very encouraging early on, and they informed me it can return. I was told by one my odds for reoccurance was 50-50, so I guess it was heads. However as time went by my onc and I, Dr. Pelley at cleve clinic became very good freinds and my 6 month visits were pleasant for both of us and as years have now passed we hug when we see each other. Let me know how you do with your massages and such, I wanted to try that stuff but when I went back to work it was hard to find time … I am cheering for you Gregg so take care,Pat

Your story was a wonderful execution of a story about a terrible illness. Wow is all I can say. Martin is my hero today. I have been looking for a success story and here you are. The cannibis article is very interesting. Just know that your story has made me happier than I have been for a while, as you have done all I thought was the key, and your fathers cancer was more advanced than mine and you have found a way to survive, Kudos to him. your story is a great one to hear for anyone touched by this disease. God bless you all as you seem very knowledgable about dealing with it. You made my day, Pat,7.5 year cc survivor

Gregg there are a few key things I did that helped. You are what you eat is true. eat a salad every day..avoid processed sugar, greasy food, fast food, do something that increases your pulse rate every day ( by that I mean get off the couch ) teach yourself to put your mind off your condition, one support group moderator I know said ” a cancer patients subconcious mind is always trying to solve your problem.” She said over 50% of cancer suvivors experience some sort of insomnia. I did and you need your rest. Do things you enjoy that relax you, go fishing or to the zoo, animals brighten everyones day, The first year I drank an herbal tea called essiac, this might just be snake oil or placebo, my daughter who was my key support person and a blessing came up with the stuff, and even if it is a mental thing, it helped I used cannibis to help my appetite, it helped me sleep, and it helped me take my mind off my health issues.It is slowly becoming legal for people like you and I. It is still not legal in my state but I found a way. those are the key ways I have tried to keep this cancer from starting over.I was never afraid to die either, what happens is going to happen, and after a while I began to ask myself “why was I left behind here? what is it I am here to do? I search every day why and I feel I am close. Take care of yourself and dont let lifes rat race wear you out, Pat