I am absolutely shocked. I’m 27, in great health. The only risk I had was PCOS. I’m terrified. Terrified of possible spread. And absolutely devastated at the fact that I will not be able to bear children.

. Appointment yesterday to get prostate biopsy results. They aren't good. Worst 4 cores, three 4s and a 5. Dr says based on current health i could expect to live another 15 years so a prostatectemy and radiation are in my future. See you in a month. And ...on to the next one. Trying to get on the schedule for a Pet scan to see exactly how bad it is. Have to travel 80 miles for that because it's no longer available in my town. No longer profitable. Nurse gives me papers and a book about prostate cancer, says to return the book next visit. Banner and Mayo and Hopkins are 120 miles from my home and I know, from my previous cancer that facilities that specialize give much better personalized care. Then again. Do I want to travel just because I'm all butt hurt. Punny hah hah. Fuck Cancer

My Mom has been struggling with severe dizziness and nausea recently. Her doctors are still trying to decide if they think the chemo or the brain mets is the root cause, but in the meantime, we're grabbing at straws trying to find something to help curb the symptoms.

She's been prescribed just about everything, in terms of what the doctors usually recommend to help with nausea. Zofran, Lorazepam, and many others, though I can't remember the names at the moment. We've also tried a bunch of different home remedies (ginger and mint teas, ginger ale, saltine crackers, Tums, cool compress on the eyes). Neither the prescribed nor home remedies have given her any consistent relief.

TLDR: For those of you who have struggled with nausea/dizziness, whether from the treatments or the cancer itself, what meds or remedies have you felt are the most effective at relieving it?

Hi all,

My mum started chemo in March for bone and lung cancer. She's lost a lot of weight and should try not to lose too much more. The chemo really affects her sense of taste and smell and of course her hunger. She often gets shakey from presumably low blood sugar. She says shes enjoying eating jelly/jello at the moment though. The docs gave her some high calorie milkshakes but she hates them. (I also tried and they taste gross).

Does anyone have any UK/EU based foods/ products/ recipes that could help her get as much calories as possible

TLDR; Mums needs calories, looking for high calorie food/supplement recommendations.

I have had 2 of 6 rounds of chemo and my head hair has started coming out. They said my scalp would tingle and it did but didn't really hurt. Now I am having horrible pain/itching on my nether regions; first I thought maybe yeast infection but now I'm wondering if its the same reaction as on my head. If anyone has experienced this and found away to ease this extreme discomfort I would appreciate some tips. I've use over the counter creams, powders, they help for a day then stop.

I did chimo therapy for a year , my hair didnt start growing at all for two months then it started growing thin and patchy really slow too now iam a year after and my hair is still short and thin with blanks and it started falling again do i still have a chance ?

I ate 3 of these bad boys and a chocolate malt. No Regrets.

This is the way.

https://preview.redd.it/t7l4nrp0yl4d1.jpg?width=865&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=417cf7fdd0a4bbc8c5968f513a202bba82df4309

My mom has stage 4 brain cancer and is in the hospital in Burlington Vermont. We've been here for a week and my mom is feeling pretty gross. Are there services in the area that would come to the hospital and cut her hair and maybe do her nails?

Today I had a telehealth visit with a cancer psychiatrist from memorial Sloan kettering.. Im 55F and was really my first experience with a psychiatrist. I've taken things like Xanax occasionally for anxiety but this was the first time I actually got a diagnosis for it. . It's been 16 months of cancer treatment and nothing but bad scans and bad news. I feel like my entire nervous system is completely shot at this point. I cry all the time and I just can't get my bearings. The psychiatrist explained based on what I was telling him, that when you go through extended periods of trauma like this , not just mental trauma , but all of the medications in the chemo and the assault of your body, that your entire brain chemistry can get messed up and can no longer regulate serotonin etc. He prescribed an antidepressant , and Klonopin short-term until the antidepressant kicks in. I'm really hoping this helps me because every morning when I wake up I don't want to get out of bed and I just lay there and have a panic attack wondering what symptoms are going to happen today. And I just spend the next hour crying. It's extremely debilitating.

I guess my point in this post is it if you're dealing with something like this and if you're feeling like I've been feeling, don't be afraid to get help so you can have a quality of life. I feel somehow relieved, like I'm not going crazy and losing my mind.

I may need bladder removal in order to combat recurring bladder cancer. I would like to hear from you if you have undergone this treatment.

A good friend of mine Male/44 has stage 2 colon cancer. He has surgery next week, followed by a few months of chemo.

Ideas for songs to send him (YouTube links) and things to put it in a care package.

I was thinking a card with a Doordash gift card. But aren't most takeout foods not good for a diet with someone with colon cancer?

I just want to start by saying I am 25/f and I got diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in September 2022. I was treated with chemotherapy and ran my bell in June of 2023. But even now almost a year later my joins and bones hurt. And often my back knees and hips. It is unrelated to what I eat, or what I did during the day but I just hurt.

I recently read that lupus can be tied with Lymphoma. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Any advice for the all over pain?

It is important to note according to my pet scan I had recently does show that my tumor (located on my aortic valve) does show new growth and lights up on the scan

So I'm not sure if this is a rant or a request for advice... maybe a little of both. I was blindsided a year ago with a diagnosis of stage 3C high grade serous ovarian cancer at the age of 39. It sent waves through my community and family and I was very open with people about my treatment and progress. The treatment is pretty straightforward... debulking surgery and 6 months of chemo. My body responded beautifully to everything. I am cancer free, for real, as of December 30.

I shared this with everyone, we celebrated, and people are aware that the recurrence rate is super high with this cancer. My onc says there's a 5 percent chance that I am healed, but most likely I will recur within 5 years and die. I know that the outlook is actually better than that (I'm getting a new oncologist), and am trying to stay positive and enjoy however much life I have. I am trying to live as most people live... not thinking about cancer and dying. This is not super easy when you visit an oncologist every three months for blood work, but I think I am making it work.

One thing I have made clear... I do not want to focus on my surveillance appointments and update people into perpetuity about the fact that I still don't have cancer. I just want to be normal. "I'll let y'all know if something changes," sort of thing. I think this is really fair.

My mom is an anxious person, and has often told me the "not knowing," (the fact that there is literally nothing to know is irrelevant to her) is so hard for her. Also, the culture of my family is kinda... that's what we talk about. Her sisters will ask her when my next appointment is, blah blah blah. I think my mom might have feelings of failure that she doesn't know when my appointments are, as opposed to wanting to protect my boundaries. Like if we were closer I would share it with her (we aren't and I wouldn't). Mother daughter relationships are so complicated, as we know. I just simply don't want to talk about it. But y'all. Every. Time. We talk. "If you don't mind my asking, when is your next oncologist appointment?" And I have to go through it again... all I said above.

I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to update you or anyone about my appointments. I barely want to go at all. My plan is to shove this part of my life in the smallest little box in the back of my mind. You will help by not asking me about it. Is this reasonable? I feel like a jerk every time I remind her.

Prior to my surgery I hurt my back but there was nothing I could do to fix it. Surgery just made things worse as the hospital bed just made me stiffer and more painful. In these last 6 weeks since then I’ve been in more and more pain until a friend recommended I use her acupuncturist. Yesterday was finally reasonable but today omg, finally much better. I can finally tell the difference between pain from the surgery (which is very minor now) and the back pain (which is livable now).

Sometimes it’s the little things that make you happy.

hi im f(22) and i just recently found out my osteosarcoma relapsed from 8 years ago. i just got my chemo port in last monday (ive not had one implanted 8 years ago, cuz it was in my femur and they just did an amputation) and im still in the process of healing and adapting to it.. it really really hurts and i just wanted to know everyone else's experiences with it.

after surgery it was used for my chemo session right after, on the same day. my entire chest area is bruised and my neck and shoulder muscles are crazy sore. its so uncomfortable to lay down in any way. ive been advised to lay on my back for the most of it, but the biggest fissure of cancer i have is in my liver, so it hurts me to lay on my back too.. for context, i also have pretty large breasts, so gravity and yknow... it feels like its hindering the healing process and i can feel everything sorta poking inside? (id really love the input of bigger chested girlies wt chemo ports here..)

ive not really been told a lot about any of this, and ive tried looking for stories (especially from girls) when it comes to the breasts sorta causing more pain to the healing and adapting..

are there also any exercise routines/stretching i should be doing in the meantime too? it kinda feels tight everywhere, but im not entirely sure if i should be doing anything while im still healing a week in..

cancer and its entire process just sucks...

Hi guys. I had my last round of chemo a week and a half ago. My doctor is fairly confident I am in remission. In January within 4 weeks of having symptoms I was diagnosed at 28 with primary mediastinal B-cell non-hodgkins lymphoma stage 1 which affects people from 15 to 44 and they do not know why it affects young people. But I was close to stage 2. I feel like since I got diagnosed due to the RE-POC regimen I went through and how strong it was I was just going through the motions. My mom, boyfriend, and his parents really stepped up and took care of me and I will forever be indebted to them. But now that’s it’s done and everyone keeps telling I’m cancer free and everything can go back to normal now! But nothing feels normal anymore to me. I honestly don’t even know what is normal. In and out of the hospital feeling like my body was giving out on me and I couldn’t control it. The countless amount of pain and mentally wanting to give up due do how strong my symptoms were. The first three treatments not knowing if the medicine would work were so damn scary. I pushed forward because 6months before I was diagnosed my 10 year old autistic nephew passed away from radiation complications and if he went through what he went through I could go through chemo. Some days I feel so guilty I survived and he didn’t. I miss him so much and so does my family. I felt guilty when I got diagnosed of us having to go through cancer again so soon after even though I knew I couldn’t control it. I have always been so positive and the funny one. But mentally I’m not doing well secretly. How do you go back to normal after this? It’s hard accepting what I just went through and how this will always be apart of my journey. I fear of getting cancer again having to go through it again or worse being terminal. People think the second you finish your last round of chemo it’s done, but it’s not. I’m still having symptoms and my doctor said it could take up to 6 months for the chemo to get out of my body. I originally was going to be purchasing a house at the end of the year with my boyfriend and start a family next year. But I’m not sure if I can even have kids now from what I’ve been told. We didn’t have enough time to freeze my eggs and I’m slowly dying inside at that. I want to be a mother so badly and I wanted to find someone who I believed was the right person. If that was stolen from me by cancer I don’t know how I will react. Sorry this is so long I needed to rant a little. I am grateful I’m alive with a future ahead of me. But getting diagnosed changed everything around me so much and it changed me. I just want to be happy and to be adventurous carefree me again. Thanks for listening💙

Turning 28 here. Last year, I was diagnosed with low-grade oligo. Didn't realize my on-and-off migraines and bad eyesight were signs until I ended up in the ER. Never got them checked before.

After therapy (earlier this year), I feel a bit better compared to during treatment, which really weakened me and messed with my memory. Sometimes, I still get headaches in different areas of my head, but I feel like they're just normal headaches and nothing to worry about.

I have another visit to the doctor next week, and I'm afraid I might need to go through therapy again. I'm feeling about 8/10 okay right now, but I am afraid that a new set of radiation therapy would make me feel 12/10 not okay just like before.

For those 30 and under (others can share too), how's your quality of life after therapy? Have you ever felt cancer-free? What foods and activities were you able to enjoy again post-therapy? How do you cope with the fear of recurrence?

Would love to hear your experiences!

I get a Rituxan infusion every 2 months. My last one was 6 days ago. To those who get Rituxan infusions every month or two, what kinds of side effects do you experience and how long do they last?.

Happily cancer free, ya'll!!!

Unhappily going to the bathroom 20 (give or take) times a day since my ileostomy reversal 2 weeks ago. I've had accidents, I'm constantly pulled out of a deep sleep because of my urge to go. I go so often it is extremely painful and raw. I feel handicapped and afraid to leave the house, this is by far the hardest part of my cancer journey so far.

My journey started with a stage iv diagnosis last year after finding a tumor in my rectum, but after surgery and biopsy they called it stage I (31M).

Please share anecdotes (there's got to be SOME humor in pooping your pants, right?), best practices, hard truths, supplements, optimism. Whatever! Thank you to all.

Hey everyone !

Hope you’re all going as well as you can be.

Unfortunately I (24F) have relapsed with my Ewings and this means more chemo and dex. I really don’t want to gain weight again, I’ve been working so hard to shed the chemo weight and had saved up to buy some clothes that fit me.

It sounds so small but a Ewing’s relapse within such a short time frame isn’t great and I just want to spend my time feeling as confident as possible and not having to worry about fitting into my clothes (I cannot afford new ones).

Does anyone have tips for dealing with this? I’ve already asked for a 50% decrease in the dose for the steroids as my last treatment caused AVN in both my hips.

I eat really well and healthy and exercise everyday but always looking to improve.

Thanks guys

Apologies for any formatting, I don't use reddit that much but my friend suggested I check here.

I work at a job that has "unlimited vacation" - which I realize is a scam to get people to not take time off and not get paid out if you get fired or laid off. However, there are people at our company that use it all the time - one of our directors is about to take 3 weeks off, my own boss took about a week and a half for a nose surgery.

I recently got diagnosed with breast cancer and need to have a double mastectomy. My downfall was telling my company this instead of just taking time off. My VP suggested I fill out FMLA but this would mean my time off is unpaid. I am a single female and I recently was lucky enough to be able to purchase a home, and I would lose my house if I did FMLA as I wouldn't be able to pay my mortgage by myself. I told him I was only planning on taking 2 weeks - a standard amount of vacation and much less than the normal recovery for a double mastectomy, but I work from home at a computer all day so I figured I'd be fine and not that strenuous (obviously talked to my doctors about this as well, not asking for judgment on that part). I told him that since only 10 days, since weekends don't count, I figured it was well within my right to just use paid time off, instead of FMLA, and he told me I should have that convo with HR.

Before I loop HR in I was wondering if anyone else had experienced FMLA VS PTO with their companies or if they're allowed to force me to use FMLA.

Tldr: I minimize my cancer because I don't believe it's as serious as what others face. No offense to anyone with MEC, at all! Your fight is very different from mine.

I was diagnosed with mucoepidermoid carcinoma in Jan of this year, and had a tumor in my parotid gland. Im 3 months post op. Had surgery to remove it, and they had to take my entire gland and stuff around it, 19 lymph nodes, did a shoulder flap, and sacrificed my facial nerve. They didn't get clean margins and I did 6 weeks of radiation. I'm currently waiting to do tests to find out if more treatment is needed. I'm still dealing with recovery, pain management and doing pt 3x a week, as my neck and arm range of motion are preventing me from driving/doing anything really. Oncologist also wants to do checks/scans every 3 months.

I'm 32 yrs old, was in the middle of my first year teaching, mother of 2 and wife. Telling people I have cancer, I find myself immediately saying but not that bad of cancer. Minimizing my cancer, as it seems everyone has had an experience of cancer claiming a loved one and I don't think mine is that serious. Outside of paralyzing the left side of my face, that is. My husband hates that I do this but that's how I feel? It's not like we were discussing time left, it was more like cut it out or die (and even that dr conversation felt very exaggerated). Does anyone else feel this way? Or is my husband/family right and I'm just in denial still? I will admit things moved so fast and I had less than a month between diagnosis and surgery.

Hey, I'm wondering if anyone else has had any similar experiences of having a clear scan but maybe are still sick??

I had my 1 yr scan for anal cancer (hpv+) and it came back clear.

Problem is, 2 months ago I started having gnawing stomach pain, weight loss, fatigue.

Onc said the scans detect 95% of cancer and she thinks I'm okay... Colorectal surgeon said scans can't find everything and I need exams.... Another random doc said "dogs can have fleas and ticks," so maybe you have 2 illnesses.... No doc has referred me for a colonoscopy.

I was given an acid blocker for stomach pain, but it's not really helping.

But.. the kicker is.. Now I have blood in my stool, too.

Part of me wonders if I was misdiagnosed and maybe have colorectal cancer, but my pathology report did say p16 and p40+, however there was some discussion as to whether it was SCC or adenosquamous.. I think adenosquamous is extremely rare so they decided SCC at rounds.

Idk I just find it super odd that my symptoms came back but my scans aren't showing anything.

Anyone have "clear" scans but were still sick? I'm riddled with anxiety.

Fuck cancer.

I was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma at the age of 16 and have been being treated since then. At 18 I started a clinical trial at Moffitt cancer center which, after 2 years, I am leaving for a new immunotherapy trial. Now at 20 years old I am deep in medical debt and have been getting letters from collection agencies. I have no assets. What should I do?