I still have the sacophagus they made for me. I was going to burn it, but that felt like tempting fate!Quote:
Originally Posted by KDaddy23
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I still have the sacophagus they made for me. I was going to burn it, but that felt like tempting fate!Quote:
Originally Posted by KDaddy23
I get it; the moment you burn it, that's when they tell you that you're gonna need it again. Sometimes, the thing that kept me occupied while being zapped was... staying on the table. The damned thing is stupidly narrow and had my elbows hanging off the edge while having my hands holding a ring in my lap - and my feet were hanging off the bottom of the table, even with the wedge under my knees - but that poor thing has seen better days and should be retired.
I couldn't move my head but when it stopped zapping me, I'd shift myself into a more comfortable position if possible; some days, doing that just wore me out and I'd have some unkind things to say about that damned table...
So, today, I had to go in to see the doctor who, apparently, put my original PEG tube in, because this thing has been bothering me something fierce and it's been interrupting my sleep, too. She examines where the tube goes into my stomach and sees where it's rubbing some places kinda raw, the whole area is red and bruised, and there's a lump at the top of where the tube goes into my stomach. She tells me that because of the cysts on my kidneys, they didn't have a whole lot of room to place the PEG - and she showed me the scans they took at the time the tube was place (and they'd knocked me the fuck out at that point) - and she pointed out that the little "anchors" that holds the balloon in place... are still inside of me. The buttons on the outside fell off (and I was told that they would) and told that the anchors would fall into my stomach and get pooped out.
Well, they didn't and, apparently, the only way to get them out is to surgically remove them, which a surgeon isn't going to want to do since I'm on the back side of chemo and radiation. Meanwhile, she blows my mind by shortening the disk thingy so that it's back in contact with my abdomen! I didn't even know it could be done and I blurted out, "How did you do that?" and I asked because just as she did it, I had blinked. Part of my problem with this PEG is the end where I screw in syringes to flush and get Osmolyte is "heavy" and tends to move around a lot, making the part going into my stomach move around; it gets hung up in my undershirts and wearing shirts puts pressure on it and, yeah, this thing is really bothering me but because my throat hasn't healed enough, removing it permanently isn't an option at this moment so I opted to have a different "head" put on that's really flat to my stomach and not moving around or swinging like a pendulum.
That requires me to undergo another replacement procedure. Scheduling it was a bit of a bear because my May is full of cancer-related appointments - and with a visit to my PCP tossed in for some routine stuff. My lady, who handles keeping track of all of these appointments, had to move my appointment with my oncologist for the next day since we figured that there's no way I'm going to be done with the replacement procedure to literally go down the street to see my oncologist - and even if I could make it, they're going to sedate me so I probably wouldn't be coherent enough to pay attention to my oncologist.
So, that's the latest thing going on.
I had my RT put Pink Floyd's Welcome to the Machine in the CD player each day for me. I still know every word in that song. LolQuote:
Originally Posted by Neonaught
I burnt mine. That thing was evil and I couldn't stand to look at it. Too much part of that bad dream.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neonaught
I couldn't stand the music they were pipig into the room! Too much C&W and other generic songs I didn't recognize; if I could have done it, I would have given them my phone so they could pipe in one of my playlists with my kind of music! If I had thought that the radiation wouldn't have destroyed them, I would have had my earbuds in and listening to my own music - and, one day, I got on the table with them in my ears but the girls caught it.Quote:
Originally Posted by DD788Snipe
I picked 70s pop for an MRI. It's weird how they have everything replicated but without any metal for obvious reasons.
Just an update: I was supposed to go get my PET scan on 05/06 but the approval from the insurance company hasn't shown up. I was wondering why it hadn't when the appointment was set up back in April and I learned that they just put it in earlier in the week. So, my PET scan got rescheduled and during a month where I've got a lot of appointments and what makes this "worse" is that I have to have the PET scan done before I see my oncologist on the 13th and given how slow I know my insurance company can be, this is about to get interesting - but I hope not because I really want to know what the scan is going to show.
My throat is still jacked up and sometimes it feels like I have something stuck in my throat (but I don't) and sometimes my mouth gets seriously dry and, some days, a combination of both. I need to get more protein in me and, yeah, if I could suck cock, I'd be drowning in protein right about now but that means beef, chicken, fish, turkey and I have to have these things in a way that isn't going to piss my throat off when I swallow them. Otherwise, I'm doing okay!
Rad knocked out my main salivary gland and dry mouth was a big problem. My ENT prescribed a drug called Evoxac that kicks your salivary glands into high gear. After a few years I didn't need it anymore. Check with your doc about it if needed. Insurance companies SUCK!!! (not not in the good way!)
I'll ask them about that Evoxac - thanks!
Glad to see you're still here kicking.
Can't read your post though. Hits too close to home for comfort. Got a friend in VT that has colon cancer, coworker just diagnosed with a unknown tumor in his colon. Lost another coworker to cancer a few years ago. Lost an aunt to cancer and it runs rampant in my brother in laws family.
Idk what's worse, doctors that beat around the bush or the way i found out that i developed diabetes.
Routine DOT health card renewal. Doc walks in and asks "how long has your diabetes been out of control?"
Me: my what?
Doc: your diabetes is way out of control! Why havent you been taking... oh wait. You didn't know? Oh, I'm sorry....
Yeah, some doctors love to spring surprises on you, don't they? I am so sorry for your losses, and I hope your friend in VT can be treated and maybe even cured.
So, I had my PET/CT scan yesterday and I got the PET scan results back first and... no tumors pr other signs of cancer anywhere. The only thing "remarkable" was the inflammation around my PEG tube which reported a bit higher than my last scan but given how badly irritated it is, well, that's why it's being replaced - just not fast enough to make me happy. I won't see the CT results for a couple of days but I'm happy with the PET report and will discuss it with my oncologist in a couple of days.
Congratulations!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by KDaddy23
The only other thing of note is my bloodwork, which is still showing that my immune system is trashed but slowly recovering; my values are closer to being in the low normal range or high normal for that one reading and a TSH test yesterday shows that my thyroid is recovering albeit slowly and like everything else is. I will be so glad to get this PEG tube replaced in eight long days from now; last night, I went to roll over and the part that's dangling got caught under me and... I almost pulled the fucker out! The pain had me gnawing on my hand because I didn't want to awaken my lady and I didn't want to turn on my light to see if I'd done anything to the tube but a quick examination with my fingers "showed" that the tube was still in place, and I wasn't leaking or bleeding.
It's like the damned thing knows it's about to be replaced and it's fucking with me with little to moderate stabs of pain around the stoma and where the inflammation is. Lastly, the second CT scan that was ordered was denied by my insurance company and I'm not surprised because even I was wondering why I needed two CT scans of my head and neck when they did that during the PET scan - and I haven't gotten the CT results yet. And the bills keep coming in.
I had to start taking thyroid meds after my radiation. No big deal. They always do a CT with the PET since it allows them to see the anatomy when the two are combined. PET just detects a glow from increased radioactive glucose being taken up by cancer cells at a higher rate than normal cells do.Quote:
Originally Posted by KDaddy23
Yeah, I remember my radiation oncologist telling me that cancer loves sugar and, um, so do I. Saw my PCP yesterday and he went over all the labs and read the PET scan report and he's happy with my recovery so that's a plus. I actually get a break in the cancer-related stuff with a phone call appointment with the people about my kidneys, which I'd been putting them off since I got out of the hospital in November last year - being treated for cancer took priority as far as I was concerned but this upcoming phone call will be more of the same: My kidneys are stable, my labs look good, call me again in six months or whatever.
Then I have the PEG replacement on the 22nd, followed by a visit to my oncologist the next day; between my appointments and the ones my lady has, May has been one hell of a busy month and June is starting to look a bit interesting...
I also had to start taking Synthriod after my treatments. Not a big deal. Sure don't envy your issues with the PEG tube. That thing was a real pain.
Been on synthroid since October 08. Manage to weigh between 200 and 230 since then. Spring time I'm more active so I'll drop some weight. Eventually you'll get rid of it all together. We're with you all the way.
The good thing is that my TSH test is... normal so I'm not anticipating any issues with my thyroid although I'm curious as to why the test was ordered - but I'll find out on the 23rd. And lest I forget, I very much appreciate all the support and information I've gotten from you guys as I work toward being cancer free and staying that way.
Every patiuent that has radiation any where near the Thyroid gets a Thyroid panel done to make sure the gland is still functional.Quote:
Originally Posted by KDaddy23
As a result of smoking and asbestos exposure, I'm a recovering lung cancer patient. I had a lobectomy back in 2018, followed by Radiation and then Chemo. Chemo treatment put me into full diabetes and am now insulin dependent. CAT scans and PET scans have all been negative for the past four years. MSG oncologist calls me her "miracle baby". I still suck cock whenever the opportunity presents itself, but just wondering, has your cancer made you regret having become a cocksucker? Do you hope to resume sucking cock in future?
No, I don't regret it at all; in fact, it still makes me laugh that I got cancer from my favorite sexual thing to do in the whole world: Give head and that includes eating pussy. And, yes, I hope to resume sucking cock and eating pussy in the future and as soon as my oncologist confirms that I'm cancer free. It sounds crazy, I know, but I think about how old I am and the other shit I have wrong with me and if the cancer returns, well, that would be concerning but, at the same time, I still have to live my life the best way I can and know how to - and for as long as I can. Now, if she doesn't clear me to have sex, well, hmm, I'm gonna have to think about that...
You'll get cleared without a doubt.Quote:
Originally Posted by KDaddy23
God Bless
Well, she didn't clear me for sexual activity and one day after I got my new PEG tube, she wants it removed in four weeks - and provided I can maintain my weight. Now I have a PEG that she doesn't want me to use - and I'm not supposed to flush it which, personally, I think is a bad move and I might see if I can get her to reconsider that - I don't want it to get clogged up and cause me problems on top of the ones I'm trying to get rid of. She agreed that my lab values have been improving but it's going to take time since - and these are her words - "The chemo really trashed your immune system!"
As such, I'm not really that bummed out about not getting cleared for sex since, with my immune system still in the toilet, it could potentially get me sick, and I think I've had enough of not feeling good. I... read how I died on the table and how they resuscitated me by giving me blood, meaning that I'd bled out (and as I suspected). I don't feel fucked up about it anymore than I do about having to be resuscitated a second time and that's when they decided to trach me since I had just stopped breathing on top of continuing to bleed. I read the reports written by the doctors who worked on me and... I just nodded. Some of the local neighbors have been complaining about the hospital and its ER about poor service and long wait times and I laughed at the latest complaint because I know that the hospital's ER is a Level One trauma center which means that unless you're so fucked up that you're going to die, take a seat and they'll be right with you as they deal with the priority patients... like how I was when I was brought in.
I don't have a single complaint about the services provided that day, but it has been an uphill journey to getting back to some semblance of healthy. I know that what happened to me was a "freak accident" and one that, in the reports, confounded the doctors for a few because they couldn't figure out where I was bleeding from (all the usual places were intact) but they did figure it out and dealt with it and I really get to understand why everyone who has cared for me says, "Considering what you went through, you're doing great!" and are generally surprised that I'm doing great... I just wish that I felt as great as they insist that I am.
I don't feel sick, but I do feel tired - but that's my blood chemistry being out of whack - and I just push through, go to the next appointment, and see what the doctors have in store for me. My oncologist thinks there's something going on in my stomach that isn't related to my PEG tube - and something that showed some uptake from my first PET scan after being diagnosed - but the report doesn't say that it's cancer but, yeah, it's got her wondering what's up and me and my lady are wondering, too, so she wants a GI doc to scope my stomach and... yeah, I'm not looking forward to that because I've had that done before but more so because I've been poked and prodded and scoped so much to date that I ain't feeling this - but I'll do it anyway because it has to be done and, hopefully, it's nothing to be concerned about.
Otherwise, my brothers, I'm doing good, my weight seems to be holding steady, but we'll see how that goes over the next four weeks. My mind is in a good place and... man, do I seriously need to get laid! You should have seen the look on my lady's face when (1) I asked the doc if I could go back to having sex and (2) when the doc said, "No, not right now, okay?" I thought it was funny but I've been letting her know that when I do get cleared, well, she'd better be ready...
Went to get a situation with my left ear taken care of and I'm kinda not sure if my cancer treatments had anything to do with it but, somehow, I had fluid in my left ear, giving me that swimmer's ear effect and driving me batshit because I couldn't "equalize" things and the hearing in that ear kept going "in and out" and depending on the position of my head. What I know is that I never had a problem with my ears until I had chemo and radiation and both my ENT and oncologist says, "Yeah, that could happen..."
After a course of steroids which, honestly, I don't know how that was going to help, I had to wait until yesterday for him to either drain the fluid from my ear or, gasp, put a tube in there to effect drainage. Well, he tells me that he might not be able to get a tube in there because of some narrowing so he numbed the inside of my ear/eardrum, poked a hole it in, and suctioned out the fluid - and my lady says that I did not want to see what it looked like. He did try to get a tube in there but failed; he tells me - and while my ear is making popping and clicking sounds - that when I come back in two months, if the fluid returns, he's going to put me out and get a tube in there and... I just shrugged and, for that moment, I didn't much give a fuck because now I can hear in my left ear and normally.
Related to the treatments? Apparently, it's possible. I'm still having issues swallowing so he's ordered a swallowing test and I remember having one a long time ago, but swallowing's been a problem from way back when I had my trach in. Nothing's getting stuck in my throat when I swallow but it feels like it and I still have this acidic taste in my mouth that increases when my throat gets pissed off from me swallowing "too much." I do and still laugh my ass off when talking about not being able to swallow because, well, you guys know why.
He read my PET/CT scans reports and agrees that there is no sign of cancer but as I've been learning, having the cancer isn't the thing that's been fucking with me: It's everything I've gone through to (a) get rid of it and (b) all this post-treatment stuff that, admittedly, they told me about and it all came true.