Mrs. Gravy
Quite Saucy
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Health Problems
- Thread starter Kuriin
- Start date
pharmakos
soʞɐɯɹɐɥd
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pharmakos
soʞɐɯɹɐɥd
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Just got to read my radiology report from my PET scan. The radiologist didn't even say the number of spots, he just said "numerous" in my left retroperitoneal area and extending down the pericolic gutter. He described the biggest one, it's 3.7cm x 2.2cm. no wonder I hurt so much.
In February before my adrenalectomy the cancer was confined to just that adrenal gland. The same thing happened two years ago after my orchiectomy -- within two weeks the cancer spread to three more lymph nodes, which grew to several centimeters in size in that short time. I think somehow disturbing my cancer by cutting it out triggers metastasis.
The oncology unit at Detroit Medical Center/Karmanos says they have reached the point where they are truly baffled by my case. It doesn't behave like a normal seminoma at all. They are going to treat me with a cycle of chemo, but they expect that it will just be buying me more time rather than curing me. They want me to go to Indiana University, considered the world leaders in testicular cancer research, for a second opinion.
The doctor says if treatment doesn't work, and it probably won't, that I likely have less than five years to live
This is all so fucking much to process. I feel like I'm losing my mind most of the time.
Oh, chemo is getting pushed back a week so I can get my stomach scoped, to try to figure out why I've been getting a 24 hour vomiting attack every week or two since February. We thought it was the flu St first but it's happened 5 or 6 times now in the past two months. We need to make sure it isn't some secondary infection before we give me chemo and destoeoh my immune system.
In February before my adrenalectomy the cancer was confined to just that adrenal gland. The same thing happened two years ago after my orchiectomy -- within two weeks the cancer spread to three more lymph nodes, which grew to several centimeters in size in that short time. I think somehow disturbing my cancer by cutting it out triggers metastasis.
The oncology unit at Detroit Medical Center/Karmanos says they have reached the point where they are truly baffled by my case. It doesn't behave like a normal seminoma at all. They are going to treat me with a cycle of chemo, but they expect that it will just be buying me more time rather than curing me. They want me to go to Indiana University, considered the world leaders in testicular cancer research, for a second opinion.
The doctor says if treatment doesn't work, and it probably won't, that I likely have less than five years to live
This is all so fucking much to process. I feel like I'm losing my mind most of the time.
Oh, chemo is getting pushed back a week so I can get my stomach scoped, to try to figure out why I've been getting a 24 hour vomiting attack every week or two since February. We thought it was the flu St first but it's happened 5 or 6 times now in the past two months. We need to make sure it isn't some secondary infection before we give me chemo and destoeoh my immune system.
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3301
Wake Up Man
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For what it’s worth, I know a guy who cured his cancer with the baking soda method and switching to an alkaline diet. Stop your sugar/hfcs intake immediately as well.
Lanx
<Prior Amod>
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pharmakos
soʞɐɯɹɐɥd
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Scope found duodenitis and stomach erosion. Probably from two causes, immune system being fucked up from two years of chemo, and the aceteminophen in the Norco that I often take on an empty stomach.
At least that's my guess, the doctor just gave me a Prilosec prescription and sent me home. Going to have to discuss the results with my main doctor I suppose.
At least that's my guess, the doctor just gave me a Prilosec prescription and sent me home. Going to have to discuss the results with my main doctor I suppose.
Alasliasolonik
Toilet of the Mod Elect
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pharmakos
soʞɐɯɹɐɥd
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The Omeprazole was prescribed by the doctor that did my scope, I don't think he put too much thought into the rest of my case. I will ask about carafate on Monday.
I haven't heard about Omeprazole being rough on people with bad stomach, what's the details there?
Thanks for all your insight so far Kuriin.
Oldbased
> Than U
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Nuclear Stress Test today. They sure do inject a lot of random shit without telling you much what it is. I didn't do so well I don't think only made it to phase 4 I think it was, the treadmill was up pretty high and I was going fairly fast but they shut me down in the upper 180s. Will be a week before I know the results of the echo, stress test and the LifeWatch monitoring.
My target was fairly low at 148. I kept pushing though. Figured the more data they have the better.
My target was fairly low at 148. I kept pushing though. Figured the more data they have the better.
Onigen
Golden Knight of the Realm
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Just having a showerthought the other day and became curious on how fucked would I be financially if I lived in the US with the treatments I've gotten the
past year. And this is not criticism on your health care system and I'd be the first to admit I don't 100% know how it works. Here you just pay taxes and
get health care, with money you can get slighty better care (same doctors and medicine, maybe better environments). This is really the only place I can
interact with 'muricans outside of work and not going back for another month so felt like asking here.
Let's assume I was normal citizen who'd worked or studied since 19-years-old (33 now) and gets state-employment based insurance.
14 months of not being able to work
Leukemia treatments include:
5 MRI's
2 CT-scans
5-6 X-ray's
6-7 ultrasounds
7-8 bone marrow biopsies
6-7 lumbar puncture tests
5 blood infusions
20? chemo treaments
stem cell transplant operation
blood drawn maybe 80-100 times
2.5 months of hospital stay.
Medicine called Sprycel (Cost: $149,762 per U.S. patient per year.)
bunch of other meds including painkillers, antivirals, anti-inflammation, blood pressure etc
past year. And this is not criticism on your health care system and I'd be the first to admit I don't 100% know how it works. Here you just pay taxes and
get health care, with money you can get slighty better care (same doctors and medicine, maybe better environments). This is really the only place I can
interact with 'muricans outside of work and not going back for another month so felt like asking here.
Let's assume I was normal citizen who'd worked or studied since 19-years-old (33 now) and gets state-employment based insurance.
14 months of not being able to work
Leukemia treatments include:
5 MRI's
2 CT-scans
5-6 X-ray's
6-7 ultrasounds
7-8 bone marrow biopsies
6-7 lumbar puncture tests
5 blood infusions
20? chemo treaments
stem cell transplant operation
blood drawn maybe 80-100 times
2.5 months of hospital stay.
Medicine called Sprycel (Cost: $149,762 per U.S. patient per year.)
bunch of other meds including painkillers, antivirals, anti-inflammation, blood pressure etc
pharmakos
soʞɐɯɹɐɥd
- 16,306
- -2,239
I've been going through various cancer treatments for my testicular seminoma for two and a half years now, and am only a few thousand in debt because of it. Medicaid and Medicare cover most of it in Michigan if you are unemployed. And most places will fire you if you miss too much time, even due to cancer treatment, so most cancer patients end up unemployed.
I was surprised at how well Medicaid/Medicare covered me here. I put off going to the doctor for quite awhile because I was worried about the debt I'd end up in... Crossed my fingers and hoped it would just go away on its own.
Turns out if I had gone in right away, when I was an earlier stage, I probably would be cured by now. I beat myself up a lot for being dumb enough to wait. Waiting and hoping it will go away is very much an American thing to do, tho. I'm not the only one here that has put off getting checked out due to fear of the American medical system.
While I'm here, in other news -- I had a DNA profile done on the adrenal tumor I had removed in February, and the doctor says there's a good chance that immunotherapy will work for me. So no more chemo for now, while we figure out whether Medicare will cover it or if I need to get into a free clinical trial as a guinea pig.
I'm quite lucky that my mom has been willing to let me live with her through all this, tho. The real debt from cancer comes when people are unable to work, but still need to support themselves and their family.
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Onigen
Golden Knight of the Realm
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Companies can't legally fire you here for health reasons (at least cancers and such) so that's sort of a big difference in our systems. They had to pay me normal pay for 58 work days after which the government paid about 80% wage for 300 days, and the last 2 months will be paid by a pension fund. Treatments still cost some money here so I'm down about 2k on my savings, and if I was working it would've propably been up another 2-3k instead.