LIVING with brain cancer

Yes but you only had surgery 2 months ago! It takes time to recover.

You are absolutely right I feel it very hard to write anything at at all :(

Everyone has some limitations from surgery and treatment, some more than others.  I took about a 10 foot fall roughly 145 miles into my AT thru-hike and fractured my Scapula, so I'm home healing up at the moment.  The misstep I took that led to my fall was with my left foot and it's my left side that's a bit off from surgery on right Parietal lobe.  It can be hard to accept our limitations, it's hard for me to accept that when I get back on the trail, I will be likely doing so with increased risk of falling or injury.  We all must weigh these risks with the corresponding rewards.  I had no fear when I started my hike, but I'm admittingly fearful to restart and put myself in a precarious situation.  I will restart though once healed up.  Fear is a powerful emotion that can freeze many in there tracks and I swore after my diagnosis that I would neverlet  fear stop me from living my life as fully as I desire.  I hope to be healed my mid to late July and resume walking the path before me.  Whatever challenge you face it's my wish that you will overcome it.  Wishing everyone the best,

Dodger

Dodger Blue, you are my hero !!

Oh Dodger! I'm so sorry about your fall and so happy to find this thread again. I saw it when I first found the site, maybe a month or so ago, but then I neglected to tick the little "notify me" button.

Now I've sent you a friend request and ticked off "notify me," so I'll be right over your shoulder every time you look up!

The thread didn't take off the way you expected, but for some of us it's the most important thread on the board.

Thank you and may you be blessed every step of every journey!

thank you for this!! i have been going through a rollercoaster of emotions and anxiety since my DH's seizure on May 1, and his new (yesterday) diagnosis of anaplastic astrocytoma, grade 3. this comes just a couple of years after my own successful treatment for NH lymphoma, large diffuse B-cell type. whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and i know from my own experriences in the cancer warrior community that hearing about other people's successful outcomes is really really REALLY helpful.  i am having to deal with all the financial things that he always did, as he is pretty aphasic (it comes & goes, but usually he can make hinself understood most of the time), and his memory is patchy. for example, he doesn't rmember any of his computer passwords, which makes paying bills online a real adventure. :P  but the main thing is that i want him around for more than two years. i am envisioning a future where we are both healthy and living in our house in Portland, OR, which we bought this year, growing roses and vegies. hold that thought. i realize that it's all about the moment, and appreciating the moment for what it is, rather than horribilizing about what the future may bring. he will go through both chemotherapy and radiation, and i know (kinda) what to expect in terms of his abilities to do anything (i lay on the couch pretty much for 6 months while i was doing chemo), but once that shamanic experience is over, i really have no idea what to expect. his tumors, Cheech and Chong, are right on the angular gyrus, and his speech and memory are afffected. the neurosurgeon who did the brain biopsy tells us that C&C are inoperable.  so chemo and radiation it is...  we have tons of emotional support from friends & family. it's just very useful to me to hear froom other people who are going through the same thing, or similar.

thanks,

vw

Well, my scapula is healed, and I had a clear MRI 7/7/15.  So, I guess it's time to get back on the Appalachian trail and see if I can hike the remaining 2040 miles.  The fall I suffered has rendered me with a healthy fear of getting hurt again, but I swore not to live in fear after being diagnosed, so I don't plan starting now.  I'll be as careful as I can and go as far as I can!  Wishing all the best in life and health.

Dodger

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=18181

Way to go, Dodger!

I've enrolled in Tae-Kwan-Do classes, and have the instructor treating me as anyone else. Like Dodger my left side is deficient from post-biopsy bleed that left me paralyzedfor a week back in 2012. Worked hard at PT during radiation/Temodar Year. but it really maxed out for me earlier this year. Joined Gym doing normal stuff, but unless one has trainer its hard to motivate oneself.

So, when summer special 100$/10 wks at my boy's TKD was offered, I jumped on it. Miserably hard conditioning for first three weeks, but doin better now, Left side is getting MUCH stronger, Losing body fat , building muscle definition and stamina, and instructor drives me hard. And its great to "punch & kick my "tumor"" at least in my minds eye. Meditation comes better and easier now. Feel physically much better with more stamina and mental clarity.

Didnt think I'd be here now if ever , during the chemo & radiation.

Keep fighting All!!

Thank you for this thread, Dodger. It gives me hope that just because things aren't great, that doesn't mean it's the end. My dad was diagnosed with GBM in April of this year (2015). He's done his surgery, radiation, and first round of daily chemo. Now he's on his 5/23 round of chemo, which he'll do as long as it works. He has his first post-treatment MRI on the 28th. He's definitely got some swelling going on right now because a lot of his tumor symptoms have returned, but we are hopeful that swelling is all it is. His oncologist said that swelling didn't necessarily mean the tumor was back. I guess this means he'll have to go back on the steroids which is horrible for his mood, but if it brings the swelling down, we'll learn to live with it. Mom and I are kind of bad about focusing on the negative, but this thread helps me see that negative doesn't have to equal fatal, and that we can get through the rough patches and still have good times.

BogieMon, my DH has aa3 and is in the middle of week 2 of radiation and Temadar. his aphasia seems to be  improving; he's taking Decadron against the brain swelling and Keppra against the seizures. no surgery predicted, as his tumors are right on the speech center and thus inoperable. but we live in hope. it's good to hear from people who are thriving with this kind of cancer. life is good if you just take it day-to-day. he's been meditating during radiation, and his attitude is amazing. i'm the one doing the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, but not very much. i think that, weird though it may seem to say it, we are as on top of the situation as anyone can be. i decided early on to stay in the denial stage and only worry when something bad actually happens, rather than worrying in advance and thus having to go through the bad stuff twice when it actually occurs. my displacement activity for stress is knitting. i knit really really fast when times are tough, so i am finishing one hat per dsay or two, and donating them at the various cancer trreatment centers which we visit. i think i have done around 40 hats so far, but i lost count some time ago. i try to post pictures of them on my facebook feed so i have some sort of record, and they are definitely improving. my motto right now is "Keep Calm and K2* k2, p1; rep from * 6 times,k4", which is a little hard to say but works for me. ;D