Need some support!!!!! - Cancer Message Board

cardshark · 07-16-2008, 02:07 PM

I just need some support right now. I just found out that I have cancer for the 4th time. Not related to the other 3. The people that I would usually go to for support are either having their own problems or aren't around. I'm really feeling discouraged and ready to give up.

Mel52 · 07-16-2008, 09:33 PM

cardshark, I am sorry you are facing this again. I have not had cancer myself, just a scare once, but I lost my best friend recently to pancreatic cancer. My mom is a breast cancer and melanoma cancer survivor.
You do sound like you are strong to have beaten cancer 3 times. I bet you can do it again. You are never alone. THere are many of us out here who care. Your friends I am sure do too. I think what is hard is to know what is the right thing to say. I know I am kind of speechless myself. I can't imagine what it is like to be in your situation.

SamQKitty · 07-18-2008, 02:06 PM

Hi Cardshark...
Wow, four different types of cancer? You have me beat...I've only had two. So far, full recovery, as I guess you've had from the first three? What types have you had, and what type do you have now? I had CUP (Cancer of Unknown Primary) and bladder CA.

Boy, sometimes life just doesn't seem fair, does it? I've had renal stenosis, an MI, diabetes, fibromyalgia, and two separate kinds of cancer. Someone once said to me that God doesn't give us more than He thinks we can handle...my response: "Then I wish He didn't think so damned highly of me!"

It is really hard going through something like this without support...I did it twice. Family just couldn't be available when I was going through chemo, and when I had the bladder cancer removed, my best friend's mother was seriously ill, so I didn't tell her until after the fact. Lousy place to be...without support.

What I did, though, was finally find a support group through the Wellness Center. They have them all over the country. It helped somewhat, although not as much as having someone close to me involved.

The other place I found support...way more than I expected...was the internet. First I found Healthboards, and then I found groups very specific to my type of cancer and got lots of support and great information. If you do a search for your particular type of cancer, you can probably find some specific support groups for it. And, of course, here at Healthboards, there is often really great support, too!

I'd be happy to give you as much support as I can through this board. If you feel like it, do post back and give some more information.

And do have hope...life has many speed bumps, but you've gotten through the past three and will, presumably, get through this one as well.

God bless,

Ruth

cardshark · 07-19-2008, 12:02 PM

That's funny! I've also been told and read that God never gives us more than we can handle and my response is always that God must think I'm really strong and most the rest of my family are wimps

because they rarely even get the common cold let alone anything serious.

I had Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) in 1987. I had a mass in my leg from mid tibia up through the knee and a much larger one in my chest that caught the edge of my heart. I did 18 months of high dose chemo and radiation. I was in remission for 9 months and got Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 1989 and did about 3 years of high dose chemo. Around 1998 I started suffering the long term effects of the treatments. My hormones went crazy, I started having to wear a brace on my knee, scoliosis, epilepsy, allergies, headaches, benign tumor in my thyroid, etc. In 2004 I was in a car accident and started having severe abdominal pain which lead to the finding of a tumor in my left kidney (renal cell carcinoma). Thanks to the hands of God and the car accident it was found early and I just had to have my kidney and adrenal gland removed. Which brings us to 2008 in which I have Papillary Carcinoma (thyroid cancer). I went to my long term follow up appointment with my oncologist and he felt the masses and said I needed to have the rest of my thyroid taken out. I had a consult with the surgeon July 3 and was told they were scheduling into mid August so that would be the soonest I would be able to have surgery. They called my on Mon. the 7th and I had surgery the 9th. Was told everything looked good. I called the 14th to rescedule my post op appointment and found out the biopsy results. My post op appointment isn't until August 8th because the surgeon is out of town right now so I don't know any details other than it is papillary carcinoma.

I said that I've decided that the left side of my body just hates me because everything seems to be my left side (NHL-left leg and left side of chest, Renal cell carsinoma-left kidney and adrenal gland, & now Papillary carcinoma-left lobe of thyroid).

Christine73 · 07-19-2008, 01:04 PM

Good grief, I'm so sorry for you, and I thought I had problems

I really don't have any comforting words to say, except that there are a lot of great people on these boards, let them help you. You have beaten it 3 times, you can beat it once more!