The Kvetch Thread

@Roberta,

Haha! Okay, cool! Laughing

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@Roberta,

Roberta wrote:

I don't think I'm especially strong. Just pragmatic.

The tumor I had in my brain is not officially cancer. But it's recurring. I had a treatment called a gamma knife. It's a kind of radiation. One major zap. It appears to have worked.

The side effects of radiation have made things difficult for me. Yes, I'm still having a hard time.

I don't think happy is a word I would apply to me even when I was healthy. I'm negative and kvetchy. Also a worrier. My therapist is trying to help me with these things. I'm concerned that dealing with these things will change who I am. A friend said that if I'm worried about not worrying, then I have nothing to worry about.

Well, I think your strong. Smile

Do they tell you how sucky radiation is before they give it to you? I heard the chemo is alot like having Aids cause it kills all the stuff in your body. Is that true? Did your hair fall out like other people with cancer?

You weren't happy? Even when you were a kid, like me? What were you like before you had cancer? Did cancer make you different?

Maybe it will, maybe it wont. I think you'll still be pretty awesome either way. What if it does change you but you end up liking the 'new you'? What kinda stuff do you worry about?

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@GracieGirl,

Oh! And whats it like having a therapist? Is it weird like on tv? Does therapy really make you feel better and stuff?

1 Reply

@GracieGirl,

GracieGirl wrote:

Roberta wrote:

I don't think I'm especially strong. Just pragmatic.

The tumor I had in my brain is not officially cancer. But it's recurring. I had a treatment called a gamma knife. It's a kind of radiation. One major zap. It appears to have worked.

The side effects of radiation have made things difficult for me. Yes, I'm still having a hard time.

I don't think happy is a word I would apply to me even when I was healthy. I'm negative and kvetchy. Also a worrier. My therapist is trying to help me with these things. I'm concerned that dealing with these things will change who I am. A friend said that if I'm worried about not worrying, then I have nothing to worry about.

Well, I think your strong. Who am I to argue?
Do they tell you how sucky radiation is before they give it to you? I heard the chemo is alot like having Aids cause it kills all the stuff in your body. Is that true? Did your hair fall out like other people with cancer?
I didn't know everything that was going to happen as a result of the radiation. I knew my teeth would be a problem I didn't know what my voice would be different. I didn't know what my thyroid would be affected. Gracie, you hair falls out when you have chemotherapy. I didn't have chemo, so my hair didn't fall out.
However, part of my head was shaved when I had brain surgery.[/[/color]color]

You weren't happy? Even when you were a kid, like me? What were you like before you had cancer? Did cancer make you different?Sometimes I was happy when I was a kid. Sometimes I wasn't. Yes, cancer, and illness, made me different. I'm less multidimensional than I used to be. It also made me poor. Less active.

Maybe it will, maybe it wont. I think you'll still be pretty awesome either way. What if it does change you but you end up liking the 'new you'? What kinda stuff do you worry about?Gracie, I worry about too many things to list here. Top of the list: money, health. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

1 Reply

@GracieGirl,

GracieGirl wrote:

Oh! And whats it like having a therapist? Is it weird like on tv? Does therapy really make you feel better and stuff?

I don't know what you mean by weird like on TV. We talk. She offers guidance. She points me in the right direction. It has helped me. I was very depressed when I first started. Now, not so much.

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@Eva,

Well, you can still do all that stuff without knowing exactly when you were gonna die right? But I guess I see what you mean. If I were dying knowing when would probably be better than waking up every morning and wondering like 'is it gonna happen today' and freaking out about it stuff.

But if you know when your gonna die, like if the doctor tells you you have like a couple months left to live or whatever, wouldn't it just make you depressed and stuff? Like, if I was dying I'd wanna have as much fun as I could with my family and stuff and not be all scared and sad because I knew I only had a little while left. If they don't tell you exactly when, then it would be how it is now. Everybody's dying but since we don't know when we're not worried about it or sad or scared like we'd be if we knew. So, it could be like that if your dying of cancer too. You'd be dying just like everyone else in the world just faster. If you don't know when the cancers gonna make you die then you can just be normal but still like make plans and spend more time with family and stuff. Right?

How long did it take for your cancer to go away?
I hope everything works out okay with your aunt. I mean, I know she's sick but I hope it doesn't hurt her and stuff.

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@Phoenix32890,

So, if you didn't have the transplant you would've died? The doctors would've been right?

1 Reply

@Roberta,

Oh! I thought chemotherapy and radiation was the same thing. I just thought chemotherapy was a fancy word for it.

Well, thanks for talking to me about it and stuff. Smile

I'm sorry your still having a hard time. I wish you felt better and you didn't have to worry about all that stuff anymore. And I wish I could help.
(((Roberta))) <3

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@GracieGirl,

Yeah, I agree. I think that's why doctors usually give patients an approximate time frame (3 to 6 months) rather than a specific time (45 days.) That, and they really don't know because every person is different.

Yes, the news would make anyone depressed, but the good news is that it doesn't and there. Kubler-Ross says there are five stages of grief. (This applies to all kinds of grieving, not just death. We even go through these stages when we end relationships and all sorts of other things. And it's not linear...we might bounce back and forth between stages before finally arriving at the last one. Read Elisabeth Kubler-Ross for further explanations. BTW, this is a very well-accepted theory.)

FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF
1. Denial
2. Bargaining
3. Anger
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

1 Reply

@GracieGirl,

Oh, and it took about six months from my diagnosis until the final scan showed everything was clear. During that time, I had two thyroid surgeries and follow-up radioactive iodine treatment.

BTW...Radiation is just like getting x-rays (at a higher dosage, of course) or in my case, swallowing a radioactive pill. Chemotherapy is where they hook you up to an IV and put cancer-fighting drugs directly into your bloodstream. They are completely different. Some cancers respond to one, some to the other...and some respond to a combination of both.

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@Eva,

How can you bargain death?
When you have grief you have to go through all of the stages?

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@Eva,

Ohh! Thanks Eva!
So, which one sucks the most? Chemo or radiation? Whyd you have to have 2 surgerys? How come you didn't get hurt by radiation like Roberta? She had throat cancer too. Did you just not need a lot of radiation because you caught it early?

Eva, if you had gotten cancer while you were pregnant would your baby be born with cancer? Can radiation and stuff hurt a baby while its in your belly?

1 Reply

@GracieGirl,

Gracie, I appreciate your interest in cancer and its effects. I'm wondering if you might want to consider starting a thread about the subject.

First, it's possible that with another thread, lots more people would participate--those who don't look in here.

Second, I'd like to return this thread to kvetching. A goil's gotta kvetch.

Third, the subject is starting to get me down.

I hope you understand.

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@Roberta,

I apologize for my part in hijacking your thread. I can answer Gracie's questions by pm...that would be better, I think.

A return to kvetching...what are we doing sorting all this out in the middle of the night anyway? We should be sleeping.

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@Roberta,

Oh, I totally understand. Smile

And I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to take over your thread or make you feel bad. And I'm sorry about all the questions. Just curious I guess. And I'm a blabbermouth, I can go on and on and on and on. Lol

Anyway, I'm sorry. Back to kvetching! Smile

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@GracieGirl,

I definitely would have died. Today though, they have newer treatments, where they can keep the disease in remission. Personally, I am glad that I had the transplant, even though it was a pain in the butt. I would not want to be in the position where I would never know if and when the darn thing was coming back.

But that is, with 22 years of hindsight, so who knows?

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@Phoenix32890,

Hey Phoenix, Can I Pm you too? Just one more question. Smile

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How about starting that other thread? I'm interested in the answers you're getting, they'll disappear if it's all via PM. (Unless Eva etc. would prefer PM.)

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@sozobe,

Okay!

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@GracieGirl,

No need to apologize.

I'm glad you started the thread. Here's the link

http://able2know.org/topic/187288-1#post-4947501

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