Wishing you well. I know what you mean about treatment that wasn’t available when you were first diagnosed. I hope it continues to go relatively smoothly, and rock the bald!
Papillary thyroid cancer, hence my avatar. Butterfly for the thyroid and our ribbon colors are pink, purple, and teal.
I was diagnosed by mistake in 2015 when I went in for a carotid ultrasound. When the tech moved the wand across my neck from left to right she happened to glance at my thyroid and say, “That’s odd,” or words to that effect. Next thing I know I’m being palpated, inspected, neglected, detected, biopsied and told to go sit on the Group Big C bench. My total thyroidectomy was in August of 2015. I had radioactive iodine therapy that December and quarterly endocrinologist visits for the first 2 years. Now I see my PCP twice a year and the endocrinologist every June. Aside from a two inch scar on my neck and my daily dose of synthroid, I’ve almost forgotten the whole ordeal.
6 in situ melanomas here, including a one on my cheek that required some (excellent) plastic surgery and one on the bottom of my foot that needed a skin graft to patch up the excision. I have nothing but good things to say about my care teams at Kaiser.
Colon cancer in 2019, stage 2B. Surgery followed by about 6 months of prophylactic chemo to lessen the chances of it returning. 5FU is a well-named drug, though the main side effect I had could be handled by Imodium.
The chemo ended just as COVID was breaking out, well-timed.
After five years of no sign of it returning, they said we could use the “C” word: cured. But I still see my oncologist every six months, to be sure.
And then there’s all the other things they find once they start poking and scanning…
Had a prostatectomy late 2018. It came this close to metastasizing. Another few weeks and I would have been a goner. Stable for a while, then PSA went up. After a battery of tests, took Lupron and PSA went to zero. I’ve been off Lupron for a year and a half with no PSA rise…until now. My heart sank when I saw the results last week. Still below 1 but not even close to zero. I have my Doc appointment next week and I’m pretty sure it will mean another massive dose of Lupron. Perhaps an MRI or other scan to investigate. I’ve been lucky so far but while I am generally an optimistic person, I’m also a realist. No one here gets out alive.
Speaking of luck, in 2018 I just happened upon a urology doc who’s one of the very best. Respected everywhere. He was interviewed on the PBS News Hour a few weeks ago about Joe Biden. I’ve trusted him with my life and trust in his judgement. It’s not often you find someone like that when facing a potentially catastrophic illness.
I hope any of you facing cancer have the same good fortune in finding a physician you trust.
Apologies to so many of you, I started reading this thread and found it too hard to do. I’ll chip away at it slowly.
My best friend. My mother. My father. My aunt. My aunt. My aunt. My aunt. My mother-in-law. My cousin. Another cousin. My husband’s uncle. My second cousin. My uncle (by marriage), my other uncle (by marriage). I’m probably forgetting some. The majority are, fortunately, survivors. A few didn’t. Several have the “expect something else in X years” time bomb ticking away.
You amaze me all, I can only imagine how hard it is.
I had a squamous cell carcinoma under my tongue, almost two years ago. It was surgically removed, no chemo or radiation necessary. I just had my latest follow-up last month, and everything is a-ok.
I have a hard time thinking of myself as a cancer survivor, though. Comparatively speaking, what I had was nothing. One of my best friends from high school was diagnosed with breast cancer at 39, and it killed her at 47. I feel like calling myself a cancer survivor is an insult to her, who really had cancer. And to everyone in this thread, who really had cancer.
I felt that way myself up until March of this year. I hope you don’t get the “real cancer” experience, but you are in fact a member of the club.
IIRC Friday Aug 7th 2009 I shaved and went to work. We had moved that week so I spent all weekend unpacking boxes and not shaving. Went to shave Mon morning and had a lymph node the size of a ping pong ball under my mandible. After a sonogram and then a CT scan the needle biopsy came back with atypical squamous cells. The PET scan showed squamous cell carcinoma of the right tonsil. I thought not so bad just remove the tonsil. Nope, radiation and chemo concurrently five days a week for two months. On a feeding tube almost six months before I could eat again. In the words of my oncologists, I am cured. Still get checked every couple of years and always clean. Always like to mention that I never smoked.
Had my first colonoscopy at age forty due to family history. Grandfather and cousin dead of colon cancer and my mom fighting it at the time. Had a large adenomatous mass as well as 10 polyps. Had a sigmoid colectomy and have colonoscopies every two or three years ever since. Only one without polyps was the year I had chemo. Never had colon cancer but I imagine only because I’ve stayed on top of it. Next colonoscopy on Wed at 9:45 AM.
Genetics, what can you do?
Melanoma x2 a few years apart. One in situ and one stage 1. Currently undergoing salvage radiation and ADT for prostate cancer. Just started both. The prostate was removed two years ago but margins were positive and PSA was starting to creep up. Oh, well.
How old were you when you got your ALL diagnosis?
My maternal grandfather was diagnosed at age 61 in 1955, and opted for comfort care only and died 3 weeks later. Nowadays, it has a 95% cure rate for children, and about 60% in adults.
I was 26 at the time (1998). Within a few days I was ushered in as a patient at MD Anderson in Houston. That day I started an intensive six month chemo regimen followed by two years of maintenance chemo.
February 2024. I was in cardiac rehab class from my triple bypass on 12.14.2023. As I walked to my truck I got a cal from my primary care physician telling me that my PSA level was 11.2. The biopsy came up with a Gleason score of 9.
After various other tests, some of which assured me that the cancer had not spread at all, I started radiation in June. Forty four treatments over 15 weeks. At the end of that my PSA was 0.18
My Urologist started me on the anti-androgens. I will be done with them in June of 2026. I see my Urologist every 90 days and my PSA level right now is “undetectable”
The side effects of the anti-androgens have been unpleasant, but I am optimistic that all will turn out well.
I’m going to confess something weird: except for the fact that I am Stage 4 and that I do follow my tumor markers I don’t bother with knowing anything more.
If it’s important Dr. O’Donnell will let me know.
It’s not weird at all. Everyone operates in their own way. Mrs Magill is an engineer through and through. She was involved in every step of the treatment. You’re not like that, and that’s okay.
In 2018, at the age of 61, I was diagnosed with lymphoma in my right armpit. It was large but hadn’t metastasized yet. I received cutting edge immunotherapy for 6 months. Now my doctor says my cancer is hard quiescent (he doesn’t like to use the word “cured”). My immunotherapy was amazing; minimal side effects and kept my hair. It is the future of cancer treatment.
Indeed. My Mom initially was on traditional chemo for her colon cancer, before we got the genetic testing back to determine other therapies. The chemo was kicking her ass for the first three sessions, to the point that they had to stop the fourth early. Next visit we switched to an immunotherapy, which kept the cancer at bay for about 10 months with virtually no side effects. It gave her a much better quality of life during most of that year.
Well YIKES.
With my recent surgery, I was on the fence regarding having a hysterectomy or just tubes / ovaries. Doc said that the type of cancer I’d be likely to develop would be serous - as in, somewhat more aggressive, and the standard even at stage 1 would be some amount of chemo. That was enough to decide me to yank it all. Best of luck with the current fun 
Not a cancer survivor yet - though my colon keeps trying… and I’ve got upcoming surgeries to prevent other sorts.
My husband did have a tiny little bit of melanoma, 20+ years ago. Caught at basically stage zero. At this point he’s long since considered cured, but he’s very diligent about the sunscreen.
My older brother had prostate cancer. Docs tried saying “with it not of it” but given that our father died of it, they decided to be more aggressive. He’s considered cured.