Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hil, In the case of using it for cancer treatment, such as I had, there was no choice. sick, isn't it? nancy j Re: Phone call from Pitt/Deb I get cancer alerts sent to me from CNN. I just got this one and can say it does have me upset. I know some don't have a choice but I think I have already made mine even before this article. http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/06/29/radiation.risks.ap/index.html Hil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 I am supposed to have radiation treatments as well for 5-6 weeks. How do you know whether or not to take the treatments? All you have to go by are statistics. I myself are scared to death to take them, but am scared not to too..............oh boy, so many choices to make and dont know what is right or wrong..........Lora Ann tsalagi@...> wrote:Hil, In the case of using it for cancer treatment, such as I had, there was no choice. sick, isn't it? nancy j Re: Phone call from Pitt/Deb I get cancer alerts sent to me from CNN. I just got this one and can say it does have me upset. I know some don't have a choice but I think I have already made mine even before this article. http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/06/29/radiation.risks.ap/index.html Hil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 >>>I am supposed to have radiation treatments as well for 5-6 weeks. How do you know whether or not to take the treatments? All you have to go by are statistics. I myself are scared to death to take them, but am scared not to too..............oh boy, so many choices to make and dont know what is right or wrong..........Lora Ann >>> Dear Lora Ann, Everyone has to make their own decisons, of course, but always keep in mind....what is my biggest threat of death right now and in the next six months. For me, it was the cancer that I already had. If they had not found it in my uterus during a routine PAP smear, and removed it, treated with radiation and chemo...I honestly do not think I would be here right now. It was a grade 3 cancer, the fastest growing there is. It was discovered in October of 2003. My doctor said that if we had not found it, I would have only lived about 8 months. I was not even sick!!!! Had no idea!!! Try looking at it this way. If there were a poisonous snake at your feet, and another 50 yards away...would you just let that close one get ya? I mean, after all, there's just another one waiting? right? WRONG! You fight that closest one with everything you've got....surgery, radiation chemo, whatever. Because by the time you reach the other snake, if you ever have to, there may be a new treatment or new cure. You listen to your doctors. Find out the most common treatments and how well they work as opposed to doing nothing. I think you will see that we have weapons, yes they are dangerous weapons, but we have to use them in order to survive. And come here and vent!!! What a wonderful bunch of people on this list! Hugs, nancy j ---------- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.6/33 - Release Date: 6/28/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Ask your doc.... He can give you information that is NOT statistics. Ask him what will this damage while you are trying to kill cancer???? How will my quality of life be after radiation. Will I have a bladder, a vagina??? If you absolutely need it to stay alive and that is what you want to do, then go for it -- but ask the questions so you know what to expect after... I am sorry to do up worst case deal here but I know how it played hell with my husbands bladder and bowel and he had non hodgkins lymphoma.. The radiation did him no good at all and we went every day for 5 weeks, 5 days a week. That was in Oct... Christmas he felt good but after new year he felt bad again. Then saw his OnC in San in Feb I think. Doc said it was in his bone marrow already. Said he was 65 now and medicare would cover him, plus supplemental. Anyway in May to took him to hospital. They HAD to do another chemo which pretty much knocked him for a loop.. The rest of the month he endured untold discomfort and pretty lousy quality of life. He was pretty much out of it the whole month. He died May 31, 1999 just after midnight. He was going to come home under hospice care. I knew he did not want that and he made sure that he didn't have to do it. Sorry to be so harsh.. but it is a really bone of contention for me and after these years, is hard to let go. I will have to be pretty bad to allow them to do radiation on me. Jolene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Lora Ann sometimes there is no choice. We have to use what we have and fight this monster the best we can. Not having radiation could be very dangerous in most cases. I had surgery for stage 2 colon cancer in 2003. From a Pet scan they think it may be back. I see the oncologist Friday who I know will do more tests to be sure it is cancer as last year when they thought it was biopsies showed it was not. After my surgery with no lymph nodes involved I had no chemo or radiation. From research I have done some Dr's would have done it and others don't think it necessary. I was real glad I did not have to but now if it is back I think it might have been better to have had it. I recently read about some very interesting research that is being done and looks promising. They have discovered a virus that will kill cancer cells and not harm other cells. That sounds like a cure for cancer may be coming so we have to keep fighting with what we have now! Hil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hil, So sorry to hear that you are having to go through the waiting process for tests again. I really hope that what they find is nothing major for you. You have a good point with thr radiation. It just scares me so. Well, this whole thing does, but that more so. Maybe it won't be as bad as I think. One can only pray and hope. I am going to see me regular gynecologist Friday and will talk to him more about it. Thanks...........Lora Ann Hil hilsshop@...> wrote: Lora Ann sometimes there is no choice. We have to use what we have and fight this monster the best we can. Not having radiation could be very dangerous in most cases. I had surgery for stage 2 colon cancer in 2003. From a Pet scan they think it may be back. I see the oncologist Friday who I know will do more tests to be sure it is cancer as last year when they thought it was biopsies showed it was not. After my surgery with no lymph nodes involved I had no chemo or radiation. From research I have done some Dr's would have done it and others don't think it necessary. I was real glad I did not have to but now if it is back I think it might have been better to have had it. I recently read about some very interesting research that is being done and looks promising. They have discovered a virus that will kill cancer cells and not harm other cells. That sounds like a cure for cancer may be coming so we have to keep fighting with what we have now! Hil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Thanks , You make some excellent points. I guess with all this still being new, it still has be scared to death. Will it subside? Like I told Hil and Jolene, I will be talking to my gyn. on Friday for some more advise and answers. Hopefully that will help also. Thanks.........Lora Ann tsalagi@...> wrote: >>>I am supposed to have radiation treatments as well for 5-6 weeks. How do you know whether or not to take the treatments? All you have to go by are statistics. I myself are scared to death to take them, but am scared not to too..............oh boy, so many choices to make and dont know what is right or wrong..........Lora Ann >>> Dear Lora Ann, Everyone has to make their own decisons, of course, but always keep in mind....what is my biggest threat of death right now and in the next six months. For me, it was the cancer that I already had. If they had not found it in my uterus during a routine PAP smear, and removed it, treated with radiation and chemo...I honestly do not think I would be here right now. It was a grade 3 cancer, the fastest growing there is. It was discovered in October of 2003. My doctor said that if we had not found it, I would have only lived about 8 months. I was not even sick!!!! Had no idea!!! Try looking at it this way. If there were a poisonous snake at your feet, and another 50 yards away...would you just let that close one get ya? I mean, after all, there's just another one waiting? right? WRONG! You fight that closest one with everything you've got....surgery, radiation chemo, whatever. Because by the time you reach the other snake, if you ever have to, there may be a new treatment or new cure. You listen to your doctors. Find out the most common treatments and how well they work as opposed to doing nothing. I think you will see that we have weapons, yes they are dangerous weapons, but we have to use them in order to survive. And come here and vent!!! What a wonderful bunch of people on this list! Hugs, nancy j ---------- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.6/33 - Release Date: 6/28/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hi everybody. I too found the report worrying just from the statistics regarding xrays, MRI etc during ones normal life time. Internet connection is very slow where we are in Spain so cant find links for you to follow but remember finding info using faster connections at work written by world famous colon cancer specialist Prof Bill Heald from Basingstoke UK. If anyone wants to try and find it, I do remember reading that he prefers to radiate the colon outside the body during surgery to avoid possible damage to other organs as an example. All of the info we are finding is such a minefield and reading it can be very disturbing and certainly plays on all our minds a lot. Some days I just cant look as I am definitely suffering from information overload at the moment. There appears to be many choices and option out there but I think that in reality there are not because how many of us can influence the type of treatment other than to accept or refuse it. A good example of this is that my husband Mike is having FOLFIRI regime. I know that most of you are having FOLFOX. I have found literally hundreds of articles, some say FOLFIRI first is best some say FOLFOX first is best. Were any of us offered the choice of treatment or indeed did any of us say no to one because they wanted the other? Probably no, so any one of us must make a decision that we feel comfortable with and not let anyone, especially doctors influence us in any way. Ironically we were told that Mike would have FOLFOX first and so we have ski gloves socks, scarves and hats still in their bags unused as they changed to FOLFIRI (no tingles). Doctors actually changed their minds without telling us and whilst I was angry when I discovered this, could I have said no and demand Mike had FOLFOX first? probably not. Crickey, now I am rambling on.....sorry. from a very hot Spain Hil, > In the case of using it for cancer treatment, such as I had, there was no choice. > sick, isn't it? > > nancy j > Re: Phone call from Pitt/Deb > > > I get cancer alerts sent to me from CNN. I just got this one and can say it does have me upset. I know some don't have a choice but I think I have already made mine even before this article. > > http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/06/2 9/radiation.risks.ap/index.html > > > Hil > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Hil, regards to the CNN article. Scary! Unfortunately life exposes us to radiation, and maybe that is why I am doing chemo now... mmmm. Thanks for the article! Jay Re: Phone call from Pitt/Deb I get cancer alerts sent to me from CNN. I just got this one and can say it does have me upset. I know some don't have a choice but I think I have already made mine even before this article. http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/06/29/radiation.risks.ap/index.html Hil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 It sure does Jay! One article stated how much radiation we get from the Universe a year so I don't know how we can get away from it:) Hil Re: Radiation Risks Hil, regards to the CNN article. Scary! Unfortunately life exposes us to radiation, and maybe that is why I am doing chemo now... mmmm. Thanks for the article! Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 In a message dated 6/29/2005 4:03:23 PM Eastern Standard Time, tsalagi@... writes: >>>I am supposed to have radiation treatments as well for 5-6 weeks. How do you know whether or not to take the treatments? All you have to go by are statistics. I myself are scared to death to take them, but am scared not to too..............oh boy, so many choices to make and dont know what is right or wrong..........Lora Ann This is truly a hard decision, Lora Ann... I would Ask lots of questions to the Onc. and Radiologist... do lots of research reading...and pray about it. What else can ya do?? Lots of hugs and prayers, Donelle Caregiver to Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 In a message dated 6/29/2005 4:03:23 PM Eastern Standard Time, tsalagi@... writes: >>>I am supposed to have radiation treatments as well for 5-6 weeks. How do you know whether or not to take the treatments? All you have to go by are statistics. I myself are scared to death to take them, but am scared not to too..............oh boy, so many choices to make and dont know what is right or wrong..........Lora Ann This is truly a hard decision, Lora Ann... I would Ask lots of questions to the Onc. and Radiologist... do lots of research reading...and pray about it. What else can ya do?? Lots of hugs and prayers, Donelle Caregiver to Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hello Lora Ann, I agree with you that this is sometmes the most troublesome part of having cancer. ... What do I do?? We are all with you!! Check this website out for decisions: http://www.cancerdecisions.com/ Hope this helps. Jay Re: Radiation Risks >>>I am supposed to have radiation treatments as well for 5-6 weeks. How do you know whether or not to take the treatments? All you have to go by are statistics. I myself are scared to death to take them, but am scared not to too..............oh boy, so many choices to make and dont know what is right or wrong..........Lora Ann >>> Dear Lora Ann, Everyone has to make their own decisons, of course, but always keep in mind....what is my biggest threat of death right now and in the next six months. For me, it was the cancer that I already had. If they had not found it in my uterus during a routine PAP smear, and removed it, treated with radiation and chemo...I honestly do not think I would be here right now. It was a grade 3 cancer, the fastest growing there is. It was discovered in October of 2003. My doctor said that if we had not found it, I would have only lived about 8 months. I was not even sick!!!! Had no idea!!! Try looking at it this way. If there were a poisonous snake at your feet, and another 50 yards away...would you just let that close one get ya? I mean, after all, there's just another one waiting? right? WRONG! You fight that closest one with everything you've got....surgery, radiation chemo, whatever. Because by the time you reach the other snake, if you ever have to, there may be a new treatment or new cure. You listen to your doctors. Find out the most common treatments and how well they work as opposed to doing nothing. I think you will see that we have weapons, yes they are dangerous weapons, but we have to use them in order to survive. And come here and vent!!! What a wonderful bunch of people on this list! Hugs, nancy j ---------- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.6/33 - Release Date: 6/28/2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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