The Unhappy Me thread

[Primeinator]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

It was decided to change the surgery from a general excision to Mohs and early next week. I suspect, based upon the family history, someday I will likely have to undergo this or something similar. Those at the Dr. office don't quite understand why I want to go immediately to the dermatologist if I notice something.

Vigilance and early detection are always the best bet. It is surprising that those at a medical office would not understand your concern.

Originally Posted by garo

A good friend of ours was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. She had family history and was a carrier of the gene so she had a double mastectomy on Monday. It will be month before she will know if there will be any chemo or radiation as well.

My thoughts go out to your friend as well. I've seen several family friends go through something similar- the waiting period always seems to be most trying because you don't know the nature of the beast casting the shadow.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

It seems that Mohs will not be the complete answer. General surgery and radiation are likely courses.

I just got the word: with the results of an MRI follow up and the examination of the specimen following the second pass last week with the Mohs.......
it seems that they got it all.

[chappy]

Great news!

[NBtarheel_33]

Originally Posted by garo

A good friend of ours was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. She had family history and was a carrier of the gene so she had a double mastectomy on Monday. It will be month before she will know if there will be any chemo or radiation as well.

The earlier they catch it the better. It is always heartbreaking for a woman to have to be disfigured in this way, but life trumps beauty (real or perceived) every time. My understanding is that the modern prosthetics are of excellent quality, should she go down that road.

Cf. Nabby Adams' (daughter of John and Abigail Adams) ordeal with breast cancer circa 1811. The state-of-the-art butchering *ahem* operation (to be fair, Benjamin Rush stood high among his contemporaries, but one can only go so far without basic infection control and with instruments more appropriate for Thanksgiving dinner than precision surgery) was quite graphically portrayed in HBO's documentary on the life of John Adams.

[NBtarheel_33]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

I just got the word: with the results of an MRI follow up and the examination of the specimen following the second pass last week with the Mohs.......
it seems that they got it all.

w00t to the w00t! Congratulations!

[NBtarheel_33]

Originally Posted by Primeinator

How inane of your mother's original physicians. As you said- those are telltale signs that would at least warrant further investigation. A simple blood count or urine test could indicate something was wrong or even provide the diagnosis. I'm glad to hear she is doing well with treatment. Do you know if it was the kappa or lambda form?

This is why we have always bugged-out to DC for our medical care. Rural doctors and hospitals are good for band-aids and the flu, but that's about as far as they can safely take you. My father paid the price for attempting to have dentistry done "close to home" (15 miles instead of the 70 miles to DC) - four root canals *in one day* on four teeth that were perfectly healthy. My mother cried foul as the quack wanted to start a fifth. Or my maternal grandmother who developed cellulitis in a wound on her foot, while battling Hepatitis C 24 years ago. Our local hospital sends in a real nice guy that suggests that since the wound won't heal, maybe the foot needs to come off. On second thought, definitely take off the foot, and consider taking off the whole leg. We later found out that this particular doctor had essentially maimed dozens of patients in the Frederick, MD area, and that his license was like a yo-yo back and forth with the State of Maryland depending on the weather. Another favorite pastime of his was spending weekends in jail for willful failure to pay child support. Long story short, we got Grandma moved to George Washington University Hospital in DC and the foot healed completely. (Sadly, the Hepatitis C ultimately won, but she left this world with both feet attached.)

Of course, this is not to say that the big places don't make mistakes: cf. the recent case of a patient at Duke(!) that had her colon attached to her vagina rather than her rectum. Or cf. the case of the incorrectly transplanted organs...also at Duke. Hmm...

Mom had her eighth and final weekly chemo treatment (for now) tonight. She needs some blood because of anemia, and they are doing a 12-hour urine collection (I have dubbed this "iced pee" because it has to be kept in a milk-jug-like vessel on ice as it is collected) so that they can count the protein light-chains in the sample. Lower is better. After four treatments, that number was down 70%. I am hoping for 90% or more after eight treatments.

The hematologist/oncologist did a bone marrow biopsy last month, to check the genetics of the myeloma (and ostensibly things like light- vs. heavy-chain, kappa vs. lambda, any deleterious genetics (e.g. deletion of chromosome-13, etc.)) but he never really discussed those results (or lack thereof) with us. What the doctors feel is important to mention often differs from what us patients and caregivers feel is important to know, unfortunately.

[kladner]

recent case of a patient at Duke(!) that had her colon attached to her vagina rather than her rectum.

@ NBtarheel- I hope that your mother continues to progress in this struggle.

The earlier they catch it the better.

I lost a brother to esophageal cancer a few years back. My other brother who lives in the same city got him to the hospital at the point when he could no longer swallow even water. I think he was afraid to find out. He had shown signs of swallowing difficulty while visiting another brother, and had seen a doctor in the Bay Area. That was not a focused oncological exam, and it was some months later that he nearly died of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.

He was uninsured, and not registered with Medicaid, if it was even available. The major cancer research hospital there declined to treat him beyond ER and a night or two of rehydration. He ended up getting radiation (he described it as an antique high-powered X-ray machine) and chemo through the county hospital. This reduced the tumor for a while, but it started returning. He was offered a chemo which was only billed as extending his existence, and it turned out to have serious psychological and physiological side effects, especially, back-to-back hot and cold flashes. One moment he said he'd be out in a tee shirt in a 40 F breeze, and still he'd be burning up. Then suddenly, he'd be under multiple blankets and comforters, and still shivering.

Uncwilly, I am encouraged to hear of the results so far. It is certainly cause for optimism. May that optimism be justified by continued better-than-expected results.

I cannot blow the horn too loudly with regard to watchfulness where initial signs may be vague. In my case, it is particularly focused on skin cancers, though I am due for another colonoscopy. I have caught several basal cell carcinomas, and two things termed "displastic nevi", which have potential to develop into melanoma.

[firejuggler]

Bitten by a nasty bug in mauritius. Treated,but not well enough. Currently hospitalised, might not be out by the 25 th. I'm kinda sad.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by firejuggler

Bitten by a nasty bug in mauritius. Treated,but not well enough. Currently hospitalised, might not be out by the 25 th. I'm kinda sad.

Hope you begin feeling better soon.

We will try to have M49 waiting for you when you get out.

[rogue]

I've been dealing with anxiety issues for the past few weeks. I just started medication a few days ago, but it will take up to two weeks for it to take affect. I could not wish the psychological or physical manifestations of anxiety on anyone.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by rogue

I've been dealing with anxiety issues for the past few weeks. I just started medication a few days ago, but it will take up to two weeks for it to take affect. I could not wish the psychological or physical manifestations of anxiety on anyone.

Hope you are soon feeling better.