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Posted by Respondant on 01/13/07 19:08
-=Biscuit=- wrote:
<sig partially restored>
Help Heather kick cancer's ass! http://www.limeproject.org
Mara,
While I did not order a calendar, I have recently made a donation to Heather
via pay-pal.
Speaking as a thirty (yes, 30) year survivior of Hodgkin's, (Stage 3B) I can
only tell you that I think what you are participating in is a noble cause,
indeed.
I was 19 when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's. And like your friend Heather,
I was MIS-diagnosed for a long time. I had been losing weight and feeling
"run-down" for about six months before a lump the size of a golf ball
appeared, seemingly overnight, on the left side of my neck. Which was
followed within about a week by another similar lump in my groin. And THAT
is when I finally decided I better get to a physician. The first of whom
"diagnosed" me with ... get this ... Athlete's FootΉ, of all things.
Various other MD's told me I had anything from a "bronchial infection" all
the way to "walking pneumonia". And it wasn't until I inadvertantly (read
luckily) stumbled onto a GP that had some training in oncology that I was
diagnosed properly.
Seems strange that can still happen in this day and age, (I was diagnosed in
1977) but apparently it does.
Upon seeing me (by this time I was down to 122lbs at 6'1") this particular
Dr. had me transported via ambulance, and instantly admitted to the
hospital. Everything is pretty much a blur from then on. All I can
remember is being cut and poked and prodded while I was there. They removed
the inflamed lymph nodes from my neck and groin, stuck a huge needle in my
abdomen to biopsy my liver, etc. But the WORST, by FAR, was the bone marrow
biopsy. I don't know if they still do it the same way these days, but I was
given a tongue depressor and asked to assume the fetal-position while they
shoved something that (IIRC) looked pretty-much like a cork screw into my
hip. Screwed it IN, and YANKED it out. I NEVER felt pain like that before,
and hope I never do again. Bottom line? Hodgkin's Disease.
And although I never had radiation therapy, I did have a nine-month course
of chemo and oral medication. The oral meds consisted of large doses of
matulane and prednisone daily, and the chemo consisted of nitrogen mustard
and vincristine administered once-a-week through a "butterfly" placed in a
vein on the top of my left hand.
"Black Friday's" is what I used to call them. Get to the Oncologist's
office at 9:00AM, have my blood tested, and if my "count" was OK, in I'd go
for the chemo. That took about 15 minutes, and then I'd have roughly
another half-hour to get home before the puking would commence.
And commence it did. Sometimes lasting until early Sunday mornings. But ya
know what? After almost 30 years (20 of which being medically declared
"cured" for whatever that's worth) I'm still here! My weight has been back
up to "normal" for me (between 190 and 195lbs) since 1986, and I feel fine.
So tell Heather to keep her chin up, and no. It won't be easy. There will
be days when she'd rather be dead. I know. Been there, done that. But she
WILL get through it so long as she keeps a positive attitude, and she's
willing to fight.
The only differences (beside the fact that I'm male and she's female) I see
between Heather and me, from the web page, is that Heather is a little older
than I was upon being diagnosed. And I was fortunate enough to have VERY
good health insurance at the time. (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) Otherwise, she
looks to be an active, happy, healthy, person for whom I wish the best of
luck.
Bill
ΉThere is a skin rash associated with Hodgkin's that a lot of MD's seem to
*STILL* be missing. I can remember sitting up nights scratching me feet,
legs, and chest with a hair brush until I was bleeding. Don't know if that
applies to Heather or not, but it sure did apply to me.
And Mara? I would not contact Heather directly since I don't know her from
Adam, but if you care to forward this post to her in the form of an email,
I'd have no problem with a reply to it if she want's to talk.
Have her reply to:
spindlewood at comcast dot net
[Yes. That's a secondary account I created only for this purpose, but I
assure you, it's an active email addy, and I'd love to speak to Heather, and
explain to her that she's got a GREAT chance to beat that shit :-) ]
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