Health update

[icarus]

wildernessguru and I just found out last night his mom has cancer of the uterus.

It was caught in the early stages and she's already scheduled for surgery (I think it's next Thursday, but don't quote me on that, it might be this week). It looks like they'll also have to do some chemotherapy.

He and his mom are close, and he's pretty shaken up because he's just learned now it's stage two, which is more serious. She's rather frightened, but holding onto the reassurance that there's a high cure rate for this particular cancer. Makes me glad she was seeing a doctor so regularly.

Entertainment, advice, and warm wishes for wildernessguru would be warmly received.

Those of you who responded to my health issues - yes. I have the Viactive Isis, and my only worry there is to not eat it like candy. In addition to changing my diet, I'm taking flaxseed oil for the low cholesterol problem (suddenly my skin isn't paper-dry). I'm hiking 1 mile a day - before you call me a wimp, it's uphill! - with a backpack. I put my purse in it, which makes the thing about 900 pounds. I like weight lifting (I used to bench half my weight), but there's no room to lift weights in this tiny apartment. I will drop them. They will crash into the TV. Me and health clubs? Only if I work there.

But frankly, in light of my stepmother's current breast cancer, and WG's mom's uterine cancer... my stuff doesn't seem such a big deal.

ETA: wildernessguru's in tears. He's looked this up -

"Average 5-year survival rates for endometrial cancer are 90% for Stage I, 60% for Stage II, 40% for Stage III, and 5% for Stage IV."

So he's really, really worried.

Comments

[vichka.livejournal.com]

Honey, tell him not to worry. My friend's mom is a medic, and she had it too. It only took her a few days to recover and a month of not lifting heavy stuff. She will be fine. It is a serious condition, of course, but with modern technologies, it is easily taken care of. She may just have to make some changes later on, because since she is prone to cancer, she must take precautions like changing her diet to consume more of cancer fighting foods and be aware of the water, and some chemicals that she may be exposed to. I wish her good luck, and Wildernessguru should relax and not pass up any worried aura on her :)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. The word "cancer" is very scary, and WG is rather a hypocondriac to start. He's researching her type of cancer all over the internet now. This is both good and bad. His dad isn't worried.

But she is older, and the reason they caught it is because she's receiving regular treatment for arthritis. So, we're going to pull out the Buddhist mojo this weekend.

Icarus

[abigail89.livejournal.com]

Hugs to WG and his mom. I pray that it is early and can be caught with the surgery.

I know that cancer seems (and is) daunting compared to your health issues. But you have health issues that could become serious and lead to serious things. You need to take care of yourself, too.

*hugs*

[lyricalnights.livejournal.com]

That sucks. =( I'm glad they caught it early. My family has a history of female cancers, so I may just have everything internal removed once I'm done with it, just to be safe.

My thoughts and good wishes to your stepmom and WG's mom. *hugs all around*

[noblerot.livejournal.com]

As a survivor of lady cancer myself, I'm sending good thoughts to the two moms. Treatment has come a long, long way.

And you take care of yourself, too. The hiking sounds good, good, good.

[wanderingscribe.livejournal.com]

Best wishes to WG and his mom. Cancer's a scary thing to hear about, but if they caught it early, there's an excellent chance she'll recover from it fully.

My aunt has breast cancer and is going through chemo and my mother is a survivor of thyroid cancer, so I know how it feels. Best thing is to not worry about it, because it won't accomplish anything.

As to your health, I'm glad to hear you're improving yourself. I was worried, hearing about all that, but I didn't really know what to say. ^^;

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you're taking positive steps! Go you! And my fingers are crossed for your family cancer scares. I hope all goes well.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Good wishes and calming thoughts to both of you, and your families. I hope everything will be well.

[presently.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I wish I had some uplifting experience to share or some words to say, but I lack that. :( All the best to you both & the mommies. Things will get better.

[electricandroid.livejournal.com]

*hugs to the both of you* tell WG if he needs to talk and you're not there just to turn Y!M on - 99% I'll be around... here for you both if you need me...

kisses

[wikdsushi.livejournal.com]

***hugs for you, WG, his mom, and your stepmom***

That 60% isn't a very accurate number to go by. Keep in mind it's based on cases of the cancer caught in that stage. It doesn't count against incomplete and refused treatment, extremely treatment-resistant subsets of the disease (rare), and other factors, such as separate or loosely related illnesses. In the physical world, outcomes are judged on a case-by-case basis - wide-ranging stats like that are the whole picture without regard for details.

She'll be fine in the end. ***morehugs*** (Just a suggestion, but a bit of spoiling might not go amiss. It'll help get her mind off things some.)

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

Survival rates are based on a lot of things like age, underlying health, etc - so if his mom is otherwise healthy, and undergoes proper treatment as soon as possible, then she has an excellent chance.

The hospital may have some family support groups - or there may be one near you - they can be a huge help. We recommend them to our patients all the time ... you might look into that for him for when the shock starts to wear off.

And tell him to stay off of the internet. Really, what it is going to do, is just scare him and worry him - when the vast majority of information that he finds cannot be applied to his mom. So keep him away from Google if you can.

*hugs to you all*

If I can be of any help, just holler.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

P.S. Those survival rates could be a decade old, too, which won't be reflective of current therapies.

[redblaze.livejournal.com]

Having had to go through several family members dealing with cancer. . .I can honestly say that the BEST thing to do is to stay positive. It's good to know the facts, but hearing figures like that will just bring him down. Focus on the positive, read survival stories, things that will help give you something to believe in, even when things get tough.

The very BEST book I've read is call Love, Miracles and Medicine by Bernie Siegel. . . This is a great book, and one I'd recommend to anyone to read. It's written by a surgeon who specializes in cancer (I don't remember the details) and it's very inspirational. When I used to volunteer in the hospital, it was probably the most popular book there.

(((hugs to all of you!)))

Kele

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Like others are saying, the statistics are general: this many women diagnosed after this much time. It doesn't take into consideration whether they have no insurance and skimped on treatment, or just didn't have enough money or knowledge or whatever to take proactive care of themselves. And it sounds as though his mom will not fall into that category.

Best of wishes though. That kind of news is hard to grasp.

[webbapettigrew.livejournal.com]

I hope everything works out okay. I'm sure she's in good hands and the doctors will do everything they can to help her.

[angeluszion.livejournal.com]

How terrible..

Please by all means send him my regards and well-wishes!

~NAA

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

Am really sorry to hear the bad news -- if he'd like to talk to me, as someone who has a relative suffering from cancer, he's more than welcome to email me. *hugs* for you both.

[wildebeth.livejournal.com]

My seventy-year-old grandmother was ravaged with throat cancer--the doctor said that even with surgery and radition she wouldn't live but a few months, if that. And this was almost three years ago. Don't put much stock in statistics. It sounds like she takes very good care of herself and is in good hands. Sending what positive vibes I have, though, in hopes that she'll have a fast recovery.

As for your health, I'm glad to see you're taking care of yourself. You can build muscle just with those little 1-5 pound handweights, or you could try the exercises that use the resistance bands. I forget what they're called; they use them in Pilates....

[haedes.livejournal.com]

Oh Dear...that sounds really bad. I know someone with uterine cancer but she has stabilized somewhat, so tell wildernessguru that there is hope.

I know she'll turn out OK and so will you, dont worry. I wont say rot like keep praying and stuff cause I dont really believe in God, but if that DOES help, then go ahead.

Hope everyone gets well soon...

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

A thousand kisses to Guru ( don't be jealous) and this advice:
Put away the health books. Right now, it is only your mother that counts, and not the statistics.

*thousands of kisses*

[harveywallbang.livejournal.com]

i had cancer when i was six. it wasn't uteran cancer, but it was indeed a very rare one. but they chemo-ed it and then cut it out.. and i'm left with only 3 fingers on my left hand... so i know a bit about a cancer scare...
i had a friend who had a brain tumor. they said she wouldn't live 6 months.. she lived another 10 years, and died of something totally unrelated..
my sympathies to WG...and like everyone's been saying, statistics aren't great things to pay attention to. ya'll be in my thoughts..

[dancing-moon.livejournal.com]

*hugs* My sincerest well-wishes for you all, and especially wildernessguru's mom

I've lost family members to cancer (lung) but I've also seen two friends recover perfectly. I'm positive it will work out well

[ragnhildholm.livejournal.com]

Statistics are just numbers. Really. My mum was diagnosed with severe breast cancer 6 years ago. She had major surgery and a long chemotherapy treatment. The stats weren't great. But she's off the medicines now, she's fit and healthy and she's doing great.
It's scary, of course it is. I can completely relate. But the best thing is to try to stay optimistic. Better for her, better for you.
Thinking of you.

[adred.livejournal.com]

Lies, damned lies, and statistics. The power of positive thinking is immeasurable.

[jaig.livejournal.com]

I don't know what to say. Just be strong for them, because they need all the strength and hope they can get.

[nataliadarimini.livejournal.com]

Almost half the women of my family have had cancer. It is scary as hell.
many, many hugs to you, WG, step-mother and WG-mother.

[tjstein.livejournal.com]

*hugs* to you and WG.

[a-linz.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about that. It's so difficult to say the right things here, but my best wishes for all of you.

And take care; those hills are evil. *hugs*

[sileas.livejournal.com]

*hugs to you and wildernessguru*

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

He's doing better. His mom's very upbeat and so far there's good news all around. *takes deep breath*

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

He's doing much better. His parents are pretty shaken up, but so far the news from the doctors has been upbeat, which helps.

Heh. Yeah, not as steep as San Francisco, but definitely "good for me." Actually, I'd already started this, so now it's just a matter of throwing a little weight on my back.

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I passed the hugs along last night. He was rather touched.

Icarus