And to expand group 2: Even insurance that seems good on the surface can get ugly real quick with cancer. Turns out insurance companies hate actually paying for treatments dovtors advise, and not just the cheapest option.
If you're diagnosed with cancer in America and intend to treat it, a bankrupcy lawyer/accountant will be almost as useful as a doctor to figure out how to discharge your inevitable debt load with minimal loss.
I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer this June. I’m currently doing chemo…then will do radiation…then will do surgery. We’re hopeful I won’t have an ostomy bag but you never know.
A colleague is going through the complications of gallstones - the day it happened he doubled over in pain, he had to be intubated and sedated due to an extremely unfortunate stabilization process, and it has been, or felt like, two months since this happened and he only finally has been able to call us from rehab as of the last week or so. I hear you, shit sucks.
Gallstones can be hellacious. For several years I had gall bladder attacks that were debilitating. The worst one I spent on the floor of my bathroom, alternately shivering and then throwing up until there was nothing left to throw up. That left me with dry heaves for the last couple of hours.
A week later, a stone lodged in the bile duct, and my piss turned dark and stools were greasy white for a couple of days.
For some unknown reason, my attacks stopped entirely. I haven't had one for seven years now, so I feel lucky to have gotten through it without surgery. I did change my diet, and severely restrict fatty foods now, so maybe that helps.
I was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer in July of this year and I had a total thyroidectomy and a lower and middle neck dissection to remove my lymph nodes in that area, as it had metastasized on to a few of them as well. The rest of my body has been scanned and is free of tumors. Even with the small amount of lymph nodes it moved too, I feel the same. i had a major surgery and then went back a few days later with swelling so bad they couldn't get a breathing tube down. I almost died.
I'm pretty young as well, so it came as a big surprise.
My cancer is extremely treatable and I do sometimes feel like it's not even there. It's an odd feeling for sure, even after all the complications from a major surgery. The last part, after I'm healed up, is a Radioactive Iodine treatment. It's nothing like chemo, so I really get this feeling that I have cancer, but its not cancer cancer.
Also, the speed and care I've received is wild(from genetically testing my tumor to have surgery in less than 3 months), I'm in an extremely progressive state and we have attracted some really wonderful doctors. Location is everything when treating an illness. Everyone is so professional and knowledgeable that I truly feel secure being treated. I got lucky, as I had moved here less than 3 years ago from quite a backwoods area.
I had the same gallbladder issue and I feel you. My story spans a total of five years, an emergency ERCP, and the eventual surgery to take it out. This too was during the peak of COVID (in late December, no less) but I had no other health issues to deal with at the same time, so my heart goes out to you. I'm happy to hear you're feeling better now, despite having some remaining health problems.
And to expand group 2: Even insurance that seems good on the surface can get ugly real quick with cancer. Turns out insurance companies hate actually paying for treatments dovtors advise, and not just the cheapest option.
If you're diagnosed with cancer in America and intend to treat it, a bankrupcy lawyer/accountant will be almost as useful as a doctor to figure out how to discharge your inevitable debt load with minimal loss.
I was diagnosed with colorectal cancer this June. I’m currently doing chemo…then will do radiation…then will do surgery. We’re hopeful I won’t have an ostomy bag but you never know.
A colleague is going through the complications of gallstones - the day it happened he doubled over in pain, he had to be intubated and sedated due to an extremely unfortunate stabilization process, and it has been, or felt like, two months since this happened and he only finally has been able to call us from rehab as of the last week or so. I hear you, shit sucks.
Gallstones can be hellacious. For several years I had gall bladder attacks that were debilitating. The worst one I spent on the floor of my bathroom, alternately shivering and then throwing up until there was nothing left to throw up. That left me with dry heaves for the last couple of hours.
A week later, a stone lodged in the bile duct, and my piss turned dark and stools were greasy white for a couple of days.
For some unknown reason, my attacks stopped entirely. I haven't had one for seven years now, so I feel lucky to have gotten through it without surgery. I did change my diet, and severely restrict fatty foods now, so maybe that helps.
I was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer in July of this year and I had a total thyroidectomy and a lower and middle neck dissection to remove my lymph nodes in that area, as it had metastasized on to a few of them as well. The rest of my body has been scanned and is free of tumors. Even with the small amount of lymph nodes it moved too, I feel the same. i had a major surgery and then went back a few days later with swelling so bad they couldn't get a breathing tube down. I almost died.
I'm pretty young as well, so it came as a big surprise.
My cancer is extremely treatable and I do sometimes feel like it's not even there. It's an odd feeling for sure, even after all the complications from a major surgery. The last part, after I'm healed up, is a Radioactive Iodine treatment. It's nothing like chemo, so I really get this feeling that I have cancer, but its not cancer cancer.
Also, the speed and care I've received is wild(from genetically testing my tumor to have surgery in less than 3 months), I'm in an extremely progressive state and we have attracted some really wonderful doctors. Location is everything when treating an illness. Everyone is so professional and knowledgeable that I truly feel secure being treated. I got lucky, as I had moved here less than 3 years ago from quite a backwoods area.
I had the same gallbladder issue and I feel you. My story spans a total of five years, an emergency ERCP, and the eventual surgery to take it out. This too was during the peak of COVID (in late December, no less) but I had no other health issues to deal with at the same time, so my heart goes out to you. I'm happy to hear you're feeling better now, despite having some remaining health problems.