Looking for cancer survivors?

Question

I had a bone marrow transplant in August and I was a sucessful receiptant! I have shared my story to many ppl....I would like to hear from other survivors and get their opinion on how they beat cancer.

I had myelofibrosis of the bone marrow and was down to 30% function of my marrow....it took 1 yr to even find me a match! My donor was a "MUD" donor (I had to have a donor that was unrelated). I must have belonged to the milk man-lol. A wonderful woman that was 42 and had 7 children, saved my life. I got my first card from her....what an amazing woman! I cant wait to meet her in person. I have been a nurse for 12+ years and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would need someone to save me. God bless the donors ....without them...we would probably not survive.

Answer 1

hey i am a cancer survivor. i am so happy for you. congratulations!
here is my story i am 17 now and when i was in grade school i was diagnosed with migraines. when i had headaches(which was quite often) i took childrens Motrin. when i started throwing up constantly the doctor said i was taking too much Motrin so i stopped taking it. on the first day of sixth grade i had to come home from school because i had a headache. my mother thought i was faking and thought i didn't want to go to school so instead of going home she said we would go to the doctor. the doctor was going to put me on a new medication but since i was so small they needed to do an MRI first. we went to the hospital and after they did the MRI (several times to make sure it was not a mistake) they immediately admitted me. the next day they put a shunt in and the tumor expanded 20% that night so they had to revise it it expanded again and they revised again. they said that the tumor was the size of a tangerine. one doctor wanted to do surgery and even told my mother that they were going to but another would not let him. to this day i believe he saved my life. the doctors wanted me to have 6 round of chemo but i only had 2 because my white counted dropped and they could not get it back up i also had 2 months of radiation everyday. i am now an official survivor as of last April

Answer 2

There are now many that have survived cancer. Most hospitals have support groups that you can attend for no charge. You can also connect to websites for cancer survivors and volunteer at a treatment center.
Basically, my treatment and medical intervention saved my life as well as a positive and focused self approach to the disease. A belief in a higher power and that powers help as well as a lot of people who were of support of my decisions regarding my treatment.

Answer 3

my fiance had cancer when he was 7 he said all though alot of kids around him didn't make it the only way to beat it was to keep a positive attitude and thank god! now he's a firefighter saving lives and a wonderful person who continues to smile with everything he does! congrads on your fight! I hope that you are just as happy and that everyday continues to get better and better for you! Good Luck!!!!

Answer 4

Hello, and congratulations! I hope you never again have undergo the physical and mental torture that we call cancer treatment.

Since you asked, here's my story...

Early in 2001, I was fighting a flu when I noticed a lump the size of a frozen pea at the side of my throat. I knew that lymph nodes were located in the area, and didn't worry about it because of the illness I was fighting. My flu came and went, but the hard lump remained. Within a week, it had grown to the size of an almond, and I scheduled an appointment with my family doctor, which was to take place the following week. By the time I was sitting across from my doctor, the lump had become the size of a walnut. My family doctor began his diagnosis rather strangely: He flicked a finger against the growth. When I didn't react, he explained that when lymph nodes swell against ordinary causes, they generally are sore. Painless swelling could be serrious, and he wanted me to get an X-Ray of my chest.

"My chest?" I remember asking him. "But it's right here on my throat."

"Trust me on this," he'd replied.

So I got the X-Ray, and brought it back to my doctor's office. He spent all of three seconds looking at it, then thumped his finger against a dark glob that was taking up the upper section of my left lung. He referred me to an oncologist, and this oncologist confirmed through biopsy (they used the growth on my neck, since it was easy to get to) that I was faced with Hodgkin's Disease Lymphoma--a very rare cancer of the lymph system.

I underwent six rounds of ABVD chemotherapy, followed by twenty sessions of mantle-field (chest and neck) radiation. I was put into full remission, and for three years believed that I had it beat.

Not so. A routine blood workup revealed a very high SED rate, which made my oncologist order a PET scan. Sure enough, it was back. This time through, I underwent three cycles of RICE chemotherapy, followed by a high-dose autologous stem cell transplant (or "auto" transplant, which means you get your own, previously-collected, stem cells back after high-dose chemo). I recovered nicely, and returned to work within six months.

But it didn't hold. Earlier this year, I once again relapsed. My oncologist sent me to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to undergo a donor stem cell transplant--with a twist. Seattle is currently still testing a method known as a "mini transplant," which uses a smaller amounts of chemotherapy and light-dose radiation before infusing a slightly-mismatched donor's stem cells into you. My own mother was a 6/10 match, and deemed perfect as a donor. On April the 4rth, I recieved her cells. Graft-Vs-Host disease (GVHD) has been complicated... but so far the graft has proven effective in elliminating all cancerous activity in my body; my last PET scan was taken three weeks ago, and all's clear. Considering that I still had some activity when the graft was given to me (my blood and immune system are now identical to my mother's), the only explaination for my remission is the new cells. Hey, how do you go wrong with Mom, right?

Even though I've still got to rebuild my immune system (none of my mother's "memory cells" were given to me, therefore I have to face all the old colds, flus, bacterial infections, and so forth in order to rebuild it) I can't complain. Tell ya what: I'll keep my fingers crossed for you if you cross yours for me!

The very best of luck to you. I hope all stays well, and you only have to see your doctors for checkups from here on out.

Answer 5

I haven't but my father has. He has had cancer since he was 14. I really think it's a miracle he's still alive because my grandfather had it and so has my grandmother and they both passed away. I really can' say how he made it through. He still has cancer now but the doctors say he may be a lucky person and he may not die from it.

Answer 6

Yeah, my BMT worked out great too. It's a weird feeling to have stared death in the eye and then you're supposed to just go back to living. But, it does make you appreciate life more.

Answer 7

You'll find many people talking about their journey to wellness here:

http://curezone.com/diseases/cancer/