CancerCompass message board discussion started by Mimisue on 3/8/2005 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,1675,0.htm Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Hi Marcy and everyone else, I am so glad I found this site to help Marcy and her family. Thank you so much for your support. Marcy is doing much better and I know it will help her to talk to others who have been through this. God bless you all! Susan Mimisue Tue, 08 Mar 2005 00:00:00 GMT Hi Marcy! I read your story and found it to be very similar to mine. I was just 26 when I was diagnosed with stage 2A Hodgkins. Like you, I was actually relieved at the time because we knew I had a lymphoma but we didn't know what kind. I was also told that Hodkin's was the "lesser of all evils". I took ABVD for 6 months and had 4 weeks of radiation. My tumour was also in my chest with another up near my left collar bone and one above my right collar bone. I also had issues with the white blood count and had to take Neupogen for the duration of my treatment. I am now 29 years old and have been in clinical remission for over 2 years since the end of my treatment. I don't know anyone else personally that has been through what I went through and often I wish I had someone to talk to, especially at those times when I have a check-up coming up, or if I am suffering from a normal ailment (allergies, cold, virus), etc; I am sure you can relate to the panic you sometimes get if you don't feel well even though it usually turns out to be nothing to worry about. Congratulations on your baby and congratulations on getting through such a hard time in your life. I completely relate and find all other cancer survivors to be my heroes (or heroines) as the case may be. I would love to hear from you to see how you are doing. Take care, Joanne Britchik76 Fri, 12 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT It means so much to hear from someone like you who has been there. Marcy is nearing the end of her chemo and hopefully won't need radiation. But if she does we will get through that too! I am so happy to hear that your life is back to normal. I know what you have been through because I have been through it with my daughter. Best of luck to you in the future! I would love to hear updates from you. Susan Mimisue Fri, 12 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT Hi Susan! Congratulations to you both on getting to the end of the chemo! If Marcy does not need radiation, that is great news, however, if she does, believe me, it is nothing to worry about. I found the chemo to be the hardest part by far. Compared to ABVD, the radiation treatments were a "walk in the park". Tell Marcy that when her hair grows back, it will come back stronger and shinier than ever! I always get comments on how healthy my hair looks. I don't think they would like to go through what I went through though in order to get the same results with their own hair, lol!!! You will find that once this is all behind you, you will appreciate life so much more. The neat thing about having cancer at such a young age (hey, you have to look for the bright side right?) is that you are taught to love life and to love yourself even more. Some people have to wait until much later in life to be dealt a health blow that ultimately makes them live each day to the fullest. I used to be a smoker, but I quit 3 years ago when I was diagnosed. There is no evidence that smoking caused my Hodgkins, however, it was a rude awakening to the fact that I need to take care of my body as much as I can. I now eat healthier and make exercise a regular part of my life (most of the time, even cancer survivors slip off their regimen once in a while and go out and eat junk food! LOL!) Be proud of your accomplishment and know that people will look up to you both in the future and your experience could help others get through it too. Please keep me posted on your progress! Good luck for your very bright future ahead! Joanne Britchik76 Sun, 14 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT I'm so glad to hear that you are doing well. Marcy has just found out that she need approx. 17 radiation treatments. She is glad the chemo is behind her though! I hope she will read this message and reply to it also. She has been through so much in the past year and she can be such a great source of support and information to someone just diagnosed. Marcy is 25 years old. She is the oldest of my three girls and none of them have ever been sick. And then this hit Marcy when she was pregnant with her third child. As I write this she is moving into her new house! But she has had a tough year and is living proof that you must not give up and you must keep a positive outlook. But she also decided to take her health into her own hands and went in search of natural herbs and remidies and I must say that they really work! While most people are taking several different medicines, she didn't take any. She has a box full of natural things she uses and I have even started on some of them myself and I have never felt better in my life! Her blood count was normal the last time it was checked and the doctors were amazed. Take care of yourself! Mimisue Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:00:00 GMT