The chances of immunotherapy being successful were unknown in my case. The chemotherapy wasn’t working that well.
With one lesion left and no new areas things are positive. The lesion has decreased on 2 consecutive scans.
It is just that. I am just getting on with life and focusing on family, work and leading a good life.
I don’t know what the future holds, but things are on the up!
Keep going and see what happens. A hernia op perhaps early next year will ease alot of my physical problems. It makes life more difficult. Other than that I don’t have any complaints!
I am taking stock of the situation and am quite neutral about things. Just taking it all in my stride.
Medicine still appears to be learning more about the application and potential benefits of immunotherapy. Much less seems to be understood about the benefits of a positive mental attitude, like yours. It does seem to me that an individual’s prognosis is influenced by both physical intervention (medical treatment) and mental condition.
Much to learn I guess.
Yes, best not to dwell on things and get on with life!
It’s a difficult area. Plenty of people who think that if they are resolute enough they can beat cancer. Unfortunately they find out they were wrong.
The risk is that people can be stigmatised into believing that it’s their fault if they deteriorate because they didn’t believe or fight enough…
It seems to me, at the very least, a positive attitude allows sufferers to at least have the possibility to enjoy life with cancer, although accept there will be ups and downs.
Of course, no substitute for the best medical care and the support of loved ones.
@Pete_the_painter - you and Dan as well as many others have been inspirational in discussing your health issues here, the highs the lows and associated undeniable but often taboo mental health factors.
At some stage in our lives I think most of us get hit by a diagnosis which makes us appreciate our mortality, not necessarily cancer but chronic disease or unexpected accidents with life changing effects.
We all react differently to such things but Dan is probably the perfect example of being positive in the face of adversity and how to deal with negatives when they arise.
Treating the person’s mental outlook as far as possible should I think be equally important as treating the physical aspects of disease.
I find the best policy is to try not to worry about what “Might/Could” happen and focus on what “Is” happening in life. It can be really difficult but kids help a lot. Playing, Laughing, cuddling, all of these things can give you a real shot of the happiness drug and helps put everything into perspective.
After the heamorragic stroke, I was put under the care of our local stroke team for 12 weeks. They were brilliant, but their care extended way beyond the medical , they checked my cooking to watch me do it and then to check on the subsequent burns
I also had visits from a psychiatrist as there were all sorts of other issues and people can get very depressed . I am just taking matters as they are, knowing my parameters , but will probably not ask about driving until next year (I can ask in November)
Unless you have been through cancer diagnosis and treatments you have no way of knowing how it will affect you and how you are going to react.
At first, you are given a diagnosis and things are bleak. Im my case I was told I was cured at one point. And then it came back and spread into metastatic cancer to liver and then lung. I was told 18 months to 24 months to live.
Basically you are told it’s terminal. What do you do? You feel so low you cry and get so down you don’t know what to do.
And so it goes on. I was positive, I have got on with life. I did not believe what I was told. I fought for treatment, I complained, I kicked off big time. I never ever gave up or believed what I was told.
I have been through it all. 2 x operations, chemo radiotherapy, 2 x separate chemo treatments over 9 months and now immunotherapy.
I have been to the darkest depths of illness and sickness like you would not believe. And now I am feeling fit and well. Somehow I have inner strength and have battled on.
So for those who say your positive metal attitude makes no difference, you are wrong.
They gave me the opportunity to stop treatment and to medicate me to death. I said I will do anything to live. Absolutely anything.
If I hadn’t have fought for treatment they would have medicated me to a peaceful death and not done operations, chemo and immunotherapy. Unless you have been through this don’t think you know. And don’t think it doen’t matter what your mental attitude is. It does!
I have had around 40 hours mixture of counselling and psychotherapy to help me beat this. I may need more. I need to maintian resilience and mental strength. Without it, I don’t know where I would be!
Keep your mind strong and you can fight the physical battle better. It has been a constant battle of mind and body. If the mind is weak the body follows! Believe me. I have fought things with my mind alone. I had situation after and operation where I could not keep food down no matter what as I was vomitting constantly for 2 weeks in hospital. I used my mind to keep food down otherwise they were going to feed me through my neck. I used my mind to keep food down.
I totally agree with Dan that you don’t know how you will react until you have cancer. Like him, I believe having a positive mental attitude helps; maybe it only changes the outcome by a fraction of a per cent, but that fraction might be enough to shift you to a good outcome. More importantly, I think personally having an optimistic outlook helps you deal with the harshness of the treatment.
When I had my cancer diagnosis confirmed, I chose to believe I would have a successful treatment outcome and 11 years later, I am still here despite having an advanced cancer and a poor prognosis. For me, the worst bit was the nausea from the chemotherapy that impacted me most, and I felt that I couldn’t cope with the treatment, but I carried on because I felt that if I did, I would be cancer-free at the end. The third degree burns on my neck, in my throat, windpipe and oesophagus, whilst extremely painful, were for me much more manageable than the chemo side effects, though it was hard to separate them as I had them concurrently. The extreme pain was more manageable than the nausea was for me, which turned out to be fortunate in the end, as I have ongoing chronic pain due to surgery and radiotherapy that is not as bad.
And whilst I always hung on to the belief that I would survive if I completed my treatment, I did have doubts that I could endure it, and in a space of a couple of months, went from being a clinical manager of a mental health service to a patient of a mental health service. I had foolishly believed that as a psychotherapist, I would be able to cope well with the psychological and emotional aspects of treatment. I didn’t, and was soon seeing a mental health professional attached to the cancer centre.
Cancer changes you, I think, and whilst I would never wish it on anyone, as someone fortunate enough to make the journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery, I feel that I have found some benefits from the experience. Cancer took much away from me; I have lifelong after effects; however, I am still here. Whilst my life changed direction significantly, I have adjusted and forged a different and mostly happy life than the one I envisioned before my cancer.
Cancers extremely personal and as you’ve said if you haven’t experienced it (and I hope they don’t) you don’t know how either the diagnosis or treatment will affect you. Everyone has different ways of dealing with it, there’s no wrong or right way. There was a guy in town that every time I saw he’d remind me that he knew something was wrong with me and that his father has passed away with a similar cancer, I avoid him.
