jathy1125
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I am proof that stats are not accurate!! I will be 3 years cancer free May 24, 2012 due to “2” transplants!!! (Hopre I didn’t jinx myself I have scans next week!)I have BCBS insurance and it payed for both trial and transplants with no problems. I had 2.5 million dollars of medical treatments and I was responsible for my dedutctables which was about $6,000 a calendar year. My expense could have been lower if opted for higher premium/lower dedution. I basically spent $18,000 for 2.5 million dollars of medical treatment sounds like a great GROUPON!! LOL!!
I am now at the point where I am eligable for medicare, but private insurance is less!! I do know that thanks to cancer we are a lot more educated in things that never seemed so important. Once again cancer has taught me until “You walk a mile in there shoes…”
Transplants are an option and they do save lives!! Thank you God, 2 strangers and Dr. Chapman for believing in them.
Lots and lots of prayers-CathyDianne-Glad to hear positive outcome stories. I am 2 years cancer free and also feel some what bad when posting my story, but until there is more than just one handful of success stories on this site we need to keep telling our CC family there is HOPE!
Dianne-I see either my transplant/liver doctors and oncologist every 3 months, they like that I see a doctor every 3 months. I aslo do blood draws every month and scans every 6 months. I have my next scans Feb 2 2012.
I am curious how many cancer free CC members there are. I know of Jim Wilde, and Randi. ??
Keep posting and giving HOPE!!
Lots of prayers-CathyYEA YEA!!!! Congrats!! Praise the Lord!!! What more can I say!
Can’t wait for Lauren to post I am a CC survivor!
Lots more
prayers-CathyKris-Great great news!! I didn’t have a resection, I had a transplant and it really wasn’t as bad as I thought. That is really strange sentence to write!!
Good luck and keep focusing on your resection!!
Lots of prayers-CathyDave-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. I am a CC survivor, I am cancer free 2 years thanks to 2 liver transplants!! I have a remarkable story to share with you. I am alive because of God, 2 strangers and Dr. William Chapman st Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis MO.
Dave, like you I was basically healthy, just itchy. I was diagnosed by an ERCP (I ended up having 9 total while waiting.) My trial was intravaneous gemcidabene for 8 weeks and then 6weeks of 5 days a week radiation, while wearing a chemo pump with 24 hour a day 5FU chemo for the same 6 weeks of radiation. I then has surgery to make sure it hadn’t spread and was placed on transplant list Jan29,2009 I took mega doses of XELODA (24 pills a day) while waiting.I received my first liver May 24, 2009. I had two “fake liver” calls during that time, one time I was actually being wheeled into the operating room. My MELD score kept increasing because the longer we wait the sicker we are supposingly. I never had the “lifetime movie” expierence, I managed all my naseau with 3 types of meds (Adavan, Compazine and Zofran). I also “crawled into my recliner” at the end of radiation and that was pretty much where I stayed. I was hospitalized several times because of the stents. Fatigue was the main sympton amd the longer I waited the more tired, but I was never bed ridden.
I would love to talk to you and help answer any questions. Please feel free to email me or call 618-567-3247. You can also read my story at thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle. (I also keep it posted on my FB page Catherine Sims Dunnagan, I also have another CC transplant story posted). I have so much to share with you about being a transplant patient I look forward to hearing from you.
Dave there is HOPE, and you are truly lucky to be able to qualify for this trial.
Lots of prayers-CathyTiffany-You should not being try to figure it out, make your doctor translate it into one syllable words! LOL
Lots of payers-CathyGiovanni-Welcome, I am a CC survivor, 2 years cancer free!! There is HOPE!. It is so good to see you post, we have all followed Lauren’s journey and know how much love she is surrounded by. Gio-(I feel we can call you that because Pam has made us feel like family) since you have been a cancer caretaker for 6 years, you know the answer is prayers, more prayers, and lots of love!!
I am not alone posting “I am CC survivor” so please help Lauren know we are out there. You can read both my story (thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle) and Jim Wilde for HOPE.
Keep being the great soulmate you are!
Lots of prayers-CathyJill-I never had hair loss when doing chemo or radiation, I had major hair loss after my second transplant. My doctors and hairdresser believed it was or could have been lack of protein, all my other different drugs…
Lots of prayers-CathyEriq-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. I am a CC survivor!! I was diagnosed with inoperable CC and given 6-8 months to live!! I was put in the immediate care of Dr. William Chapman at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis MO.I am alive because of God, 2 strangers, and Dr. Chapman. My only HOPE was a transplant.
Please read my story at thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle. I will give you HOPE.
Good luck at MD Anderson.
Lots of prayers-CathyHi-glad to hear from you again. I love hearing about transplant stories, I am a CC survivor because of one. I never had any side effects with Xeloda and I took it twice daily until transplant, which was 5 months. I hope the Xeloda nurse is calling you, because they were great and always checking for side effects.
Lots of HOPE for you!
Lots of prayers-CathyJanet-It is a strange world we ended up in!! I am having my first healthy year and still don’t know what happenned the last 2 years it is so overwhelming. I am glad your doctors talk to each other, some times that is a rare thing. The one reason I keep posting and telling my story is to honor my donors and Dr. Chapman. The one thing both Dr. Chapman and I want is for liver transplant to be an option and to be ruled out by a doctor who believes in them. Transplantation is still new and for some reason controversial. If you would more info on Dr. Chapman please feel free to email me.
Lots of prayers-CathyJanine-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. I read your blog and want you to meet your first CC survivor!! I have been cancer free for 2 years. My miracle happenned at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis MO. ( we are #9 in the nation for hospitals and listed as a CC center ) and my miracle worker was Dr. William Chapman.
My battle with CC started out like most with a big”WHAT??”. I wasn’t sick just itchy, how could I possibly have 6-8 months to live. I am alive because I was able to have a transplant, but my story doesn’t end there I ended up having 2!! I am God’s miracle.
I am alive because of God, 2 strangers and Dr. Chapman. Please read my story at thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle. (My FB page Catherine Sims Dunnagan has my story and another Dr. Chapman success story on it).
Cancer has taught me so many things and the main one is “until you walk a mile in there shoes”. I try not to offer anymore, instead like you said” just do it”, just go over and vaccum, who is ever really going to say please vaccum my house!! While I was doing chemo and radiation, I wasn’t “lifetime movie” dsiabled so when people would offer, there was guilt for accepting, but always appreciated when people just did it.
There is HOPE I am proof
Lots of prayers-CathyJanet-Having CC is so overwhelming, unlike other cancers there are really only handfull of doctors who really know about it. Mayo should be a good option for the best care, but if you don’t like what you are hearing you need another opinion. Second or third opinions will only validate what you already know or it could give you more choices with a better outcome. Dr. Chapman and Dr. Kato are two doctors that get a lot of press here. Dr. Chapman has a reputation for doing phone consultations, so you might want to call his office (I have his number on speed dial!!). I am not sure about medicare and transplants, but I know there were senior citizens on the transplant floor. I know that Arizona had some bad press about paying for transplants???
It has been 3 years since the “day time stood still” and me and my family still try to remember all the info we heard that day. You will learn to say “stop” and start writing down or recording it all, because it is way to traumatic and overwhelming to take in.
Lots and lots of prayers-CathyJanet-Welcome and sorry you had to find us. I am a CC survivor 2 years cancer free, because of a transplant. There isn’t anything right or wrong that you can post on this site, everyone here has the same problem and we are all looking for HOPE, understanding, and to information.
I too almost bled to death because of radiation damage to my hepatic artery, I had 14 units of blood and 24 hours to live with out a second transplant. I find it interesting you don’t qualify for a transplant because of the portal vein, my tumor involved the portal vien and was inoperable because of that, so my only HOPE was a transplant. My miracle worker was Dr. William Chapman at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis MO. Barnes and the Mayo were the only one with this trial back in 2008, so you are , in a good CC place, but we are all firm believers in second, third… opinions as Lainy said.
You can read my story at thetelegraph.com under christmas miracle. It is full of HOPE!! Please email if I can help more.
Keep posting you are among family.
Lots of prayers-Cathy
