July 2nd 2007: Stomach pain for 4 weeks leads to MD visit. Referral to GI specialist with blood drawn. Phone call July 3rd 2007: You have abnormal blood levels and we are sending you to an oncologist today at 2:30. Flash forward 4 hours...you most likely have chronic leukemia(CLL) and lymphoma(SLL) so enjoy the 4th of July and come back Thursday for a bone marrow biopsy.
Chron-ic: 1. Marked by long duration or frequent recurrence 2. Always present or encountered.
From the standpoint of a 43 year old male, anything chronic outside of happiness and a large bank account doesn't sound too appealing.
From the standpoint of a 43 year old male, anything chronic outside of happiness and a large bank account doesn't sound too appealing.
Flash forward 1 year after multiple blood draws, CT scans, visits to a specialist and alot of reading, searching and asking...you find me here. Something about this chronic disease of leukemia and what is known as "watch and wait" can make one ponder what lies ahead. Watch for symptoms and wait for treatment is what many people deal with when first diagnosed with CLL. Others have written that it is like waiting for the train that is going to hit you, just not sure when it might happen. I have also read that it sounds and feels better to "watch and live". So this is where this disease has taken me at this point.
There are many ways to cope, deal, live with a chronic form of cancer and writing is often listed as one. Inspirational and educational reading is another. Those diagnosed with cancer are often labeled survivors from the date of diagnosis. So thus the name of my site, Cancer Survivor Inspiration. Some written posts will be personal, some what I find inspirational, some what I find educational and some...just plain funny and enjoyable. Will it inspire others? Not sure Will it inspire me? Hopefully.
Anyway, I look forward to many posts of my journey and finding those of others to help me. Names will be changed to (oh you know the details).
Posts
2 comments:
Mikha'el,
You've done good. Very thoughtful and on point. The comforting set up and the well chosen links, the whole design, tells me what kind of attention and positive energy that you will bring to the fight. There is nothing like cancer to focus your mind and get your creative juices going.
Let me know how I can help. I am in your corner and will be with you in every round. For now, my vision is that you will win by default as the CLL will not even show up to face a winning player like you.
Be well
Brian
Hi,
What physicians call "Wait and See" and patients call "Wait and Worry," I like to call "Live and See."
Through the 18+ years of my survivorship with an indolent lymphoma, I've worked hard to learn how to live as well as possible in the face of uncertainty and when life is nothing like I planned for or hoped for or wanted or expected.
I'll look forward to reading your blog. With hope,
Wendy
www.wendyharpham.typepad.com
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