Writer Sanctum
Other & Off-Topics => Bar & Grill [Public] => Topic started by: DmGuay on November 30, 2018, 06:32:20 AM
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Last year, on Kboards, y'all gave me a ton of support when I was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal kidney cancer. I was told most of you moved over to this forum, and that I'd missed all the hubbub. Anyway...
I just wanted to give you an update. It's been a wild ride. I nearly died, literally, in June, because my cancer meds made my brain swell. I was in the hospital for a total of 13 days that month, three of which I don't remember because I had seizures. Things looked pretty dark then.
But, I started immunotherapy (the guys who developed it just won the nobel prize) and I am happy to announce that my tumor has shrunk nearly 50 percent and has not spread to other areas AND I feel like a normal, not sick person now. It doesn't change the long-term (terminal) ending of my cancer, but I have been given the gift of more time, and the bonus gift of feeling-good time.
Thank you for all of your support and encouragement.
I'm hoping to have a new book out in January, now that I feel good enough to finish it!
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That's wonderful news!! :heart:
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Wow! What a wonderful gift.
:band:
:cheers
:clap:
:tup3b
:banana:
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Fantastic news!
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Good to hear! More time is always better. :pdt
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Glad to hear that the immunotherapy has shrunk the tumor and bought you some more time, @DmGuay. Sending prayers and best wishes your way. The fact that you are planning on releasing a new book in January is awe-inspiring to me.
:Tup2:
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Glad to hear that the immunotherapy has shrunk the tumor and bought you some more time, @DmGuay. Sending prayers and best wishes your way. The fact that you are planning on releasing a new book in January is awe-inspiring to me.
:Tup2:
Thanks... I was actually in the middle of my final revision/edit of that book when I was diagnosed last December. I finally feel well enough to finish it. It's the last in a trilogy. The second book ended on a cliffhanger, so my handful of dedicated readers have been giving me a joking hard time about it, saying it would totally be a jerk move to end on a cliffhanger then die without letting them know how it ended!
I don't want to be a jerk!
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Wonderful news, and welcome to Writer Sanctum!
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Congratulations and best wishes for confounding the doctors' prognoses.
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Glad to hear that the immunotherapy has shrunk the tumor and bought you some more time, @DmGuay. Sending prayers and best wishes your way. The fact that you are planning on releasing a new book in January is awe-inspiring to me.
:Tup2:
Thanks... I was actually in the middle of my final revision/edit of that book when I was diagnosed last December. I finally feel well enough to finish it. It's the last in a trilogy. The second book ended on a cliffhanger, so my handful of dedicated readers have been giving me a joking hard time about it, saying it would totally be a jerk move to end on a cliffhanger then die without letting them know how it ended!
I don't want to be a jerk!
:smilie_zauber:
:banana: :dance: :banana: :dance: :banana: :dance: :banana: :dance: :banana: :dance: :banana: :dance: :banana: :dance:
:clap: grint Grin grint
Your post on kboards was so hard to read. I am thrilled to hear you have more time with you family.
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Great news. Having lost family to cancer (like most of us, I imagine) it's nice to hear some good news.
And, I hope this comes across right: terminal is only terminal when it's all said and done. Until then, there's always hope. Keep fighting the good fight, and we'll keep supporting you.
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This is the best news I've heard all day!!! Prayers for your continued healing and congratulations on the new book that'll be out soon!!! :cheers
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Great news, and welcome back!
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Welcome to the sanctum and welcome back to the fold! I am so glad to hear of your positive news. Every extra day is a day closer to a cure, somebody once told me, while they were holding positive to hope throughout the dark times this illness brings. Your gift of time is a wonderful thing, and that you can have that time with some semblance of life, well, that is just amazing.
This is seriously the best news I've heard all year. I hope to see you posting about your new book soon, and pray for many more to come.
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Rooting for you, D.M. :cheers
The second book ended on a cliffhanger, so my handful of dedicated readers have been giving me a joking hard time about it, saying it would totally be a jerk move to end on a cliffhanger then die without letting them know how it ended!
I don't want to be a jerk!
:icon_lol2:
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So glad to hear this - sending you all good wishes.
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Stay positive and condition your mind with positive assertions. :clap: :tup3b :Tup2:
We all love real life HEA stories! grint
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So glad to hear this! Like others, I've lost family and friends to cancer, and every day I'm hoping to hear there is a cure. It will happen one day, and I sincerely hope you are still here to reap the benefits. Good luck with the book, and the next, and the next...
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Just blogged about surviving my first year with terminal cancer, so if you want to read about the good, bad and ugly, here's the full story! It's been a wild ride!
https://dmguay.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/im-fking-still-alive-hallelujah/ (https://dmguay.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/im-fking-still-alive-hallelujah/)
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Thanks for the update.
I'm sending you all the best wishes and positive vibes.
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Awesome news! Immunotherapy is amazing! in 2014 my wife was diagnosed with stage four neuroendocrine cancer that had spread to her bones. No cure. Chemo worked at first but it made her feel terrible. Then it stopped working and things were looking bleak. Luckily her oncologist is wonderful and although there was no history of treating neuroendocrine tumors with immunotherapy he wanted to try it since she was running out of options. The immunotherapy worked almost right away! Very little side-effects (a bit of fatigue the day of infusion). Within a few months, she was feeling like herself again. She was no longer looking frail and gaunt. Her hair grew back and then the R-word... remission! Within six months she was back at work and feeling good. She's still on immunotherapy (every six weeks she visits her doctor and gets infusion treatment). And in November we had a big bash for her 50th birthday. A milestone that seemed unattainable a few years ago!
I'm so happy immunotherapy has worked for you. Thank you for sharing your story and for spreading the word about immunotherapy.
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Awesome news! Immunotherapy is amazing! in 2014 my wife was diagnosed with stage four neuroendocrine cancer that had spread to her bones. No cure. Chemo worked at first but it made her feel terrible. Then it stopped working and things were looking bleak. Luckily her oncologist is wonderful and although there was no history of treating neuroendocrine tumors with immunotherapy he wanted to try it since she was running out of options. The immunotherapy worked almost right away! Very little side-effects (a bit of fatigue the day of infusion). Within a few months, she was feeling like herself again. She was no longer looking frail and gaunt. Her hair grew back and then the R-word... remission! Within six months she was back at work and feeling good. She's still on immunotherapy (every six weeks she visits her doctor and gets infusion treatment). And in November we had a big bash for her 50th birthday. A milestone that seemed unattainable a few years ago!
I'm so happy immunotherapy has worked for you. Thank you for sharing your story and for spreading the word about immunotherapy.
That is wonderful! All my infusion nurses say immunotherapy is the future. So many people who wouldn't have made it get up and walk out basically cured. I'm hoping for that kind of miracle, too, and in the meantime, I'm trying to set up and fund new kidney cancer research at my hospital. You probably know how it feels to get a rare cancer. Unless you get breast or prostate cancer, there's almost no research into cures.
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I have read your entire article. You are going to win this, you seem tough ! My best wishes. :)
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Awesome news! Immunotherapy is amazing! in 2014 my wife was diagnosed with stage four neuroendocrine cancer that had spread to her bones. No cure. Chemo worked at first but it made her feel terrible. Then it stopped working and things were looking bleak. Luckily her oncologist is wonderful and although there was no history of treating neuroendocrine tumors with immunotherapy he wanted to try it since she was running out of options. The immunotherapy worked almost right away! Very little side-effects (a bit of fatigue the day of infusion). Within a few months, she was feeling like herself again. She was no longer looking frail and gaunt. Her hair grew back and then the R-word... remission! Within six months she was back at work and feeling good. She's still on immunotherapy (every six weeks she visits her doctor and gets infusion treatment). And in November we had a big bash for her 50th birthday. A milestone that seemed unattainable a few years ago!
I'm so happy immunotherapy has worked for you. Thank you for sharing your story and for spreading the word about immunotherapy.
Alan! I didn't know you were here. Nice to see you post. Looking forward to many more. :cheers
Also, it's terrible to hear about what your wife went through, but it's also great that she's doing so much better now. Please pass along my best wishes.
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Just blogged about surviving my first year with terminal cancer, so if you want to read about the good, bad and ugly, here's the full story! It's been a wild ride!
https://dmguay.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/im-fking-still-alive-hallelujah/ (https://dmguay.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/im-fking-still-alive-hallelujah/)
I'm so glad that you're winning this war! And doing your best to help others.
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Just blogged about surviving my first year with terminal cancer, so if you want to read about the good, bad and ugly, here's the full story! It's been a wild ride!
https://dmguay.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/im-fking-still-alive-hallelujah/ (https://dmguay.wordpress.com/2018/12/28/im-fking-still-alive-hallelujah/)
I'm so glad that you're winning this war! And doing your best to help others.
Thanks. I'm not sure I can win, but I'm gonna try. I'm also learning (sadly) that it's really hard to raise money for a good cause. Hospitals have so many rules about giving, that unless you have a staff of 100s of volunteers it's almost impossible. Which is sad, because small amounts add up!