# Ask the Cancer Survivor **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043 "2006-07-11T16:09:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Star\_Female](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Star\_Female](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Female)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/1 "2006-07-11T16:09:56Z")
I’m not really sure that this belongs here, but it’s not a Great Debate or Mundane and Pointless, so… Ask the cancer survivor! ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/2 "2006-07-11T17:43:13Z")
What cancer did you have? ---
**Author:** ![myrnajean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@myrnajean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myrnajean)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/3 "2006-07-11T17:56:05Z")
How did you know you had it? ---
**Author:** ![Star\_Female](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Star\_Female](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Female)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/4 "2006-07-11T18:03:24Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > What cancer did you have? Acute lymphocytic leukemia. > [@myrnajean](#): > > How did you know you had it? I went to the doctor for possible anemia and I ended up in the emergency room. They’d never seen someone walk in (well, stagger would be more accurate) with such a low hemoglobin count: 2.5. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/5 "2006-07-11T18:19:05Z")
What was your first thought when they first gave you your diagnosis? ---
**Author:** ![Star\_Female](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Star\_Female](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Female)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/6 "2006-07-11T18:25:48Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > What was your first thought when they first gave you your diagnosis? What did I do to deserve this? (Southern Baptist childhood came back to haunt me.) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/7 "2006-07-11T19:18:59Z")
I just wanted to say there’s a small but significantly non-zero chance that I did some of the lab tests your doctor ordered. Hi! ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/8 "2006-07-11T19:27:15Z")
> [@Star Female](#): > > Acute lymphocytic leukemia. How old are you? That’s a pretty odd cancer in that it tends to hit the very young and the elderly. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/9 "2006-07-11T19:28:08Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > How old are you? > > That’s a pretty odd cancer in that it tends to hit the very young and the elderly. Testicular cancer is most common in the mid-twenties. That’s when I had it. ---
**Author:** ![Star\_Female](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Star\_Female](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Female)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/10 "2006-07-11T19:33:21Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > How old are you? > > That’s a pretty odd cancer in that it tends to hit the very young and the elderly. Almost 30. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/11 "2006-07-11T20:38:55Z")
How long have you been in remission? ---
**Author:** ![Star\_Female](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Star\_Female](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Star_Female)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/12 "2006-07-12T17:28:37Z")
> [@Dung Beetle](#): > > How long have you been in remission? Almost three years. ---
**Author:** ![myrnajean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@myrnajean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myrnajean)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-cancer-survivor/364043/13 "2006-08-09T14:45:52Z")
Did having this experiance alter the way you deal with others? Like, did you mend fences, talk to old friends you let drop by the wayside, forgive you relatives, stuff like that?