One of my extended family is facing chemo now. Fuck cancer.
Right in the ear.
I’m very sorry.
Ugh, sorry to hear that… and fuck cancer in the damn goat ass…
Don’t fuck cancer. You might get it pregnant and make more cancer.
My favorite SIL was dx with pancreatic cancer last week. Already metastasized to liver, spleen, and lungs. Bad prognosis. My brother texted me the dx and all I had to say was “fuck”.
That’s a real fucker of a fucking cancer. (Endemic in a branch of my family.) I am so sorry.
Thank you.
If you don’t mind, what are the stories?
How fast, how bad. Whatever you care to share.
I understand if you don’t care to share anything.
On the phone today, my brother asked me, “What exactly does 6 months mean?”.
I’m not a medical professional, so please understand anything I say is anecdotal. It is kind of a Jimmy Carter situation–someone who married into my family lost several siblings to pancreatic cancer, and died from it herself. Two of her three children have also died from pancreatic/liver cancer. To my knowledge, it hasn’t yet appeared in the next generation; it hit most of the previous generations when they were older, at least in their 60s. In the case of my relative by marriage and one of her children, they were aware of the genetic risk and were very proactive, and the cancer was caught a bit earlier. They opted for aggressive treatment and each of them made it for a couple of years.
My mom’s SO, unconnected to this family, also died from pancreatic cancer. In his case, he had a history of recurring pancreatitis, which is a known risk factor. For this reason, he was being monitored (with PET scans), and the cancer went from undetectable to having spread into his liver in something like 4 months. At that point, he was told he had 6 months without treatment and 1-2 years with aggressive treatment, assuming he could tolerate the treatment. He opted for aggressive treatment, which–it was his decision, I don’t know that it would be one I’d make, and he lived close to a year. His treatment included gall bladder removal (I understand this improves quality of life), chemo, radiation, and, finally, simply pain control. He immediately went on Disability (Social Security expedited his request). I think at first he did drive and get around some, but eventually the pain meds made that too dangerous. My mom took care of him for all but the last few days. The last time I saw him up and around, he was bouncing off the walls, pretty much just cussing the pain. A few days later, he collapsed on the floor and from that point on was no longer lucid. He was admitted to the hospital under hospice, and they just kept him snowed under, which was all that could be done.
It moves fast and kills about everyone it hits.
I found out a couple years ago that one branch of my family tree, one the I fortunately do not inhabit, appears to have inherited the gene for ovarian cancer.
My sister had a melanoma removed from her shoulder last week :eek: 
, and she’s having a wide excision next week. Her doctor is pretty sure they got it at stage zero but we don’t know for sure yet.