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| Hamilton boy with cancer forced to undergo chemo
Posted: 5/24/2008 10:33:49 PM | I read this post with great interest last nite as one of my favourite posters (Naamah) posted here and I wondered what brought her to this forum....after reading this thread I had to walk away from it as it was bit to close to the bone, but Ive wandered back to it this arvo after another close poster friend posted (Julianx) and so I feel I have to say something...
In August 0f 2007 I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia after being ill for some months and not being able to shake it, thinking I had the flu/bronchitis and was just plain tired ....and I had just turned 43 years old...and yep it sucked
I was stunned and bewildered and it came during a terrible time elsewhere in my life. I was given not much choice by my oncologist but to commence chemo and if this failed to work, then eventually PERHAPS a bond marrow transplant....aftet the initial shock wore off I was determined to find out everything I could about this disease and what I could do to help myself.....and I did...in fact I was fanatical....
I commenced chemo...every day for 12 weeks including Sat/Sunday and yes its as bad as you have heard and in fact worse...!!! the constant vomiting, diarrhoea...weight gain from the steriods, loss of hair, blotchy skin, mouth ulcers, metallic tase in your mouth, fatigue, dizziness....I could go on but I figured you all have the picture and I was so so so sick...and scared...I only have a elderly mother as family, both my sisters live interstate and my brother is overseas and I had no partner to hold my hand, just some very good close and over the top loving friends (hey Strawbs)...and some nites I layed in bed...doing the "poor woe why me thing" of course you do because the nites are scarey and you do wonder what youve done to deserve this.....but I kept going and trust me, I felt like throwing in the towel tons of times.........I have no children or partner so at times I couldnt see why I was bothering with it all, but something...and I dont know what, has kept me going....sense of humor perhaps....my good friends definately (Daydream59), I dont know but I kept going.
Well I finished my first two rounds of chemo..first was 12 weeks and the second was 8 weeks and Im currently in remission.....and that is just fantastic....Im not cured...Im not sure if I ever will be...but at this moment in time, I feel quite good...last week I spent two days in hospital having a blood trasfusion which is part of the treatment as a adult...but apart from that Ive finished chemo , so feeling not too bad at all....
What am I trying to say ?
Well yep chemo sucks...it was awful..I hope I never have to endure it again....and I probably will...but it was worth it....today...Im able to type on my computer this story, read a great book, go to the movies like I did the other nite, return to Uni, work part time, laugh with my good friends, go for a drive like I did this morning, watch my beloved football team lose, snuggle down and watch a dvd after I get off this forum.....and I couldnt do that today if it wasnt for chemo.................yes I have also made a commitment to help myself.....Im watching what I eat, I go to the gym to try and stay strong and fit for whatever treatment I may have to face in the future be it more chemo, blood tranfusions or a bone marrow transplant. Im learning relaxation techniques and trying to stay positive, Im off the alcohol and I religiously take my meds. But yes having said that I still sneak a bit of my fav chocckie...cause thats what life is about too....having those pleasures.......please note this is not a self pity post, its a reality post.
I am grateful that we have the drugs to help people like me and the young boy, Im grateful for all the doctors, nurses, social workers etc who believed in me...Im grateful that we have access to these treatments and dont live in a third world country....and if I was a young boy of 11 Id sure as shit would like to see beyond 11 and Im betting he does...cause I want to see at least 50.....for his parents to deny him this is wrong and selfish...yes I have no doubt it must be unbearable to watch someone you love suffer like this...ask my Mom she will say it was too....but her role was to support me and care for me and be there when I needed her and yes I cried and wallowed and she was there holding my hand and head and hair when I was vomiting !!!, her role was not to bring me down......I refused to be a stastitic I just wanted to get well...and let me tell you I feel well today, thanks to so many people...who encouraged and supported me.......they believed in me and my strength (when I thought I had none and I was a big wuss crybaby) and eventually I believed in myself.
My friend Naamah post is brilliant....yes people die from cancer everyday, I know as Im a funeral director I see them all, but people die from heart attacks still and car accidents and old age..that is life..a continual cycle. People also survive cancer, heart attacks and car accidents..when your time is up, its up !!!...but I think you own it to your loved ones not to throw in the towel........this little boy is entitiled to grow older, and enjoy all the wonderful things which comes with aging...and how lucky is he to have access to treatment.....would his parents feel the same way if in fact it was one of them that was ill ? Would they not fite to live ?
I ask this....go outside...feel the sun, or the wind on your face, breathe in the air, listen to a beautiful song, watch your puppy romping, view in the distance a beautiful mountain, a sunset, or the rollicking waves of the ocean, or wait till someone you love says to you "I love you" and trust me ....every bloody chemo bag is worth it.
Thankyou for listening to me and please please parents of this young boy...give him his chance...after all, you had yours...............
Cheers | |
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| Hamilton boy with cancer forced to undergo chemo
Posted: 5/25/2008 11:25:51 AM | Many times people come to cancer treatments too late to do anything to save them regardless of the route they take & they die. Some cancers respond better than others to chemo/radiataion therapies & others don't respond at all but are still administered. Many people only do a portion of what is needed in any type of medical treatment & antibiotic resistance is a prime example of people not completing the full prescription of antibiotics which allow for mutations to resistance to develop. Just drinking a tea or taking a single type of supplement is not going to do much of anything for anyone. My issue with chemo/radiation is that it is used on all types of cancer regardless of the efficacy rates. Doctors are not allowed (under threat of having their liscenes pulled) to include alternative therapies in a complementary manner even. They are not allowed to do studies with these other methods! The pharmaceutical companies subsidize all medical education in every med school in the US. They have been suppressing knowledge in any area that they cannot have patents for because it cuts into their profit margin. Friends of mine who ARE MDs in various fields have told me that. For you guys that will have to be considered 2nd hand information, but for me it's not.
The bottom line in which route to take or how to blend them requires looking at the whole picture with a sense of balance. In cases where someone has seriously advanced cancer, it may very well be too late for natural alternatives, however in some cases which have been declared too late for allopathic treatments, there are many cases of full recovery via naturopathic treatments. I am of the opinion that every case is different & a lot of how a patient responds to ANY treatment begins between the ears. Individual physiology has a lot to do with how patients respond to any treatment protocol you might pick too. There is often a percentage of people who have violent reaction to anything you can think of, including sunlight. So, what works for one may not work for the next guy. If the allopathic treatments are making a person sicker than they are without it, it's immoral to force it upon them regardless of their age.
I have many friends who have HIV & many of them have already died, while others are more recently infected or have more robust immune systems. The AZT****ail that is the routinely accepted treatment for HIV as well as Hep C, has killed many, yet it continues to be prescribed. Some do well on it, for others it's fatal, & others realize the toxicity to them & cease the treatments. Those who have ceased the treatments began to improve immediately & lived far longer without it. But I would certainly not want to disallow those who do well with it the opportunity to recieve that treatment, the same way I would not want to force those others to take it no matter what....regardless of their age. The same goes for cancer treatments or treatments for anything else.
From the studies I've done into the FDA, AMA, & the ADA, I do not necessarily trust that they have our best interests at heart above their own private interests as individuals participating in those organizations. It's a pretty shameful history that continues to this day. On the other hand I will concede that there are certainly some snake oil salesmen preying on the fears of the masses as well & Shame, Shame, Shame on them too! | |
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