Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Resources for cancer patients...


These resources are from Patient Resources





Basic Living Expenses
Child Care Expenses
Equipment/Supplies Expenses
Government Assistance
Grants, Scholarships, Awards, Camps
Home Health Care Expenses
Housing During Treatment Expenses

Insurance Premium Expenses
Legal Issues
Medical Care Expenses
Post-Treatment Financial Needs
Prescription Expenses
Reimbursement & Patient Assistance Programs
Transportation & Travel Resources
Wish Fulfillment

- No comments:

Monday, November 25, 2019

My stem cells are turning 1!




I couldn't be more excited. This is a huge milestone for me, my stem cells will be turning one! I am so happy. First and foremost I am proud of myself. This year has been hell. I have been through so much and I am so very excited to say that I have made it one year.
 





 
On 11/28/2018 I was given one of the greatest gifts you could ever be given, life. There is a man out there in Italy that saved my life. A young man decided that he wanted to be a donor and he answered that call, he saved my life.
 
When I relapsed with AML back in September of 2018 I was given a 20% chance of living. 20%! I was scared and worried. I will never forget the day the doctor called me. September 11,2018 was when I found out that I had relapsed and it was very serious. The doctors allowed me to finish up the week with my son and I had to report to the hospital on 9/17. When got to the hospital I was so nervous and I really didn't want to go through chemo again and I really didn't want to stay in the hospital for another month. In the end I knew I had to do it though. It was life or death for me at this point and the doctors were going to be very aggressive in treating me. About a week before I was allowed to go home the doctor told me that I was going to need further treatment and that I would get a stem cell transplant. After much deliberation and research I finally decided that a transplant was the best thing for me. if this is what was going to save my life then I was going to do it! SO my doctor contacted Be The Match and a search was started. To my doctors surprise, we got many hits and hundreds of donors were available. They contacted to the top 6 donors and within days there were two front men that were very willing to start the blood work to see if they were able to be my donor. I felt so blessed.
 
About a week or so later I found out that my donor was chosen and ready and all medical tests came back perfect and the transplant was a go! On 11/21/18 I was readmitted to the hospital to have my transplant. I was beyond happy, this transplant was going to save my life. I was in the hospital for Thanksgiving but my family was allowed to come up and visit me that day before I had to start the chemo regiment needed for transplant.
 
Boy was I unprepared, and I even went to the class the hospital provided.
 
I thought that the transplant was going to be like all of the chemo I had had. I usually had weakness and nausea along with diarrhea and bone pain so I figured that was going to happen. It did, but 635462351684653 times worse! I had to learn my body all over again and that was the most difficult thing. I mean just learning which food I could handle because of my gvhd was hard. I had so many medication I went home on I mean it was rough trying to swallow all of those and not get sick. Walking was so difficult because I was so incredibly weak. I want to be blunt and honest, having a stem cell transplant is hard but worth it. It took me 5 months to be able to walk up the stairs in my home. Currently I have bone/joint gvhd, stomach gvhd and skin gvhd.. It is so hard. I can't say that enough but it was worth it.
A year later, I am disease free. I am thriving. I do still get tired and some days I lay in bed in pain but I am alive today because someone decided to save my life. Its amazing and each day I feel blessed. Yes, the process of having a stem cell transplant is the hardest thing I have ever done. Yes, there were times I didn't know if I was going to make it but in the end I did and boy would I do it again if I had to.
 

 
- No comments:

Thursday, September 26, 2019

cancer is an asshole...


- No comments:

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Germs and Cancer







Cancer and cancer treatments can weaken your immune system and make it hard for it to protect your body against germs. Chemotherapy, for example, can lower the number of white blood cells you have. Because their job is to stop infections, it makes it tougher for your body to fight germs.(web source)
Infection is one of the most common life-threatening complications of cancer and cancer treatment. This is because cancer and cancer treatment weaken the immune system. The immune system is a complex system by which the body resists and fights infection by germs, such as bacteria or viruses.(web source)





Wash your hands. Do it often, and use soap and water. Wash them before you eat and before you touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Always clean up after you go to the bathroom, sneeze, cough, or blow your nose. Other times to wash: after you handle trash, go to a public place, or touch an animal. Carry an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with you in case you can't get to soap and water when you're out and about.


Don't eat deli foods, free food samples, or yogurt and ice cream products from soft-serve machines. Skip foods bought from self-serve or bulk bins. Don't buy dented cans or pre-cut fruits and veggies.

Be careful around people. If you know that someone has a fever, cold, flu, or any other infection, stay away from them until they feel better. It's also best to skip large groups of people, so avoid shopping, schools, traveling, and crowds. If you do go out in public, use cleaning wipes before you touch door handles, elevator buttons, ATM keypads, or any other surface used by a lot of people.

Watch what you touch. Try not to change diapers. If you do, wash your hands as soon as possible when you’re done. Don't clean up after your pet in the yard, and don't touch dirt that could have animal droppings in it. Let someone else change the litter boxes, clean the birdcage, or clean the fish or turtle tanks.

Don't share. Don't use the same glasses, utensils, or food as others. Don't share towels, toothbrushes, or makeup, either.


Germs are tiny organisms (microorganisms) that can cause infections. Examples include: (web source)
  • Bacteria
  • Viruses
  • Protozoa
  • Fungi (the plural of fungus)

Biologists believe that bacteria are a separate type of life form – they’re different from plants and animals. Bacteria are the smallest forms of life. Most infections in people with cancer are caused by bacteria, including:

  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae
  • Escherichia coli (E. coli)
  • Salmonella
  • Clostridium difficile (C. diff)
  • Staphylococcus aureus (Staph aureus)
  • Staphylococcus epidemidis (Staph epi)
  • Streptococcus viridans
  • Pneumococcus
  • Enterococcus
Viruses are the smallest known germs. Unlike bacteria, they’re not really alive because they can’t grow on their own. Viruses can only make new viruses when they are inside living cells, such as human, animal, or plant cells.
Most viral infections in people with very low white blood cell counts are caused by:
  • Varicella zoster virus (VZV), the virus that causes chickenpox and shingles
  • Herpes simplex virus (HSV), the virus that causes cold sores and genital herpes
  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

Other viruses, such as respiratory and hepatitis viruses, may cause problems, too.
Protozoa are one-celled creatures thought to be the smallest and simplest form of animals. Some protozoa can infect people who have healthy immune systems. But these infections happen more often in less-developed countries than in the United States. In the US, protozoa mostly cause disease in people with weak immune systems. People who have organ transplants, cancer, AIDS, or other diseases can get life-threatening infections with protozoa. Common protozoa that can cause serious illness in people with cancer include

  • Toxoplasma gondii
  • Cryptosporidium

In humans, fungi can live in balance with other germs that normally live on or in the body without causing symptoms or damage. But fungal infections can happen when there are changes in this balanced environment. Things that can change the normal balance include:
  • Damage to the skin or mucous membranes
  • Low white blood cell counts
  • A weak immune system
  • Fewer bacteria than normal on the body’s surfaces or mucous membranes (such as the intestines or vagina), which often happens with antibiotic treatment.

Fungal infections can be serious and even deadly.
People with cancer can get many different types of infections. These infections differ in their risk factors, the symptoms they cause, how they are treated, and the chance of curing the infection.
If you have an infection, it’s important for your doctor to know: (web source)

  1. The part of your body affected
  2. The type of germ causing the infection



Your signs and symptoms (for instance, where you have pain, redness, and/or swelling) help your doctor know what tests are needed to find the cause of the infection. The results of certain tests (such as x-rays, CT scans, or lab tests done on body fluids) help pinpoint where the infection is.
Common sites of infection in people with cancer include:

  • The skin and mucous membranes (soft linings, like inside the mouth, vagina, and intestines)
  • The digestive system (mouth, esophagus [swallowing tube], stomach, and intestines)
  • The lungs and breathing passages (sinuses and throat)
  • The urinary system (bladder and kidneys)
  • The nervous system (brain and spinal cord)
  • The skin and tissue around a central venous catheter (CVC). A CVC is a tube or catheter put in a vein that is used to draw blood and give IV drugs or fluids.



Because infections in people with cancer can quickly get worse, treatment is usually started before culture and sensitivity results are back. Treatment may be changed after the lab tests have identified the exact germ and which drug will work best to treat it. (web Source)


Doctors know which germs tend to infect certain body parts of people with cancer. So they can often make an educated guess at which germs are most likely causing a patient’s infection. Educated guesses are very important because it can take many days to get the results of tests that show the exact type of germ causing an infection and which drug will best stop or kill it.

Fever, swelling, pain, and other signs of infection in a person known to have a weak immune system are treated as medical emergencies. Antibiotics are started right away.After a physical exam, lab tests, cultures, and sometimes even imaging studies or special procedures will be done. This will help the doctor find out exactly where the infection is and help figure out which germ may be causing it. Then antibiotics (which can be anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, or anti-protozoal drugs) are started quickly. (See “Identifying germs” in the section called “How does the doctor know what kind of infection a person has?”) After the exact germ is identified, the same antibiotics may be continued, or new ones may be started if the tests show others would work better.
If you think that you may have a cold, virus etc. please contact your doctor.
- No comments:

sick people.... (venting)


Don’t touch me! 👀

OMG my kid has a runny nose. Yours too, just great!

Yeah it happens to every parent, but for a cancer patient its like the word is going to end.(or that's how it feels)  I mean boogers and snot and coughing and picking the nose like, WHY ME!!!!! 

The doctors and nurses condition us to not be around sick people. To wear your mask at almost all times and stay home and not go out in public and to stay away from sick people but the reality is you can’t always do that. I can’t tell you how many times my son has had a stuffy nose during my battle. I mean he even had the flu in 2018 and as a parent all I wanted to do was be there for him ( and I was). I remember my doctor telling me to leave the house for a few days and of course I didn’t listen. I mean were can you draw the line? I know that as a patient I am not supposed to be around sick people but my child is different.I am his parent and whether I am sick or not I will do everything in my will to make sure he is okay. I also don’t want to be shamed by my doctor if I end up getting sick because I took are of my child while they were sick. You know?  I can’t be the only one that feels this way.  Email me or comment if feel the pressure from your doctor to stay away from sick people even if they are your kids.



- No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

CANCER ISN’T CONTAGIOUS..

  CANCER ISN’T CONTAGIOUS!!  (opinion piece) Why Suffer In Silence! You are not alone !! You have heard the side effects from...

  • CANCER ISN’T CONTAGIOUS..
      CANCER ISN’T CONTAGIOUS!!  (opinion piece) Why Suffer In Silence! You are not alone !! You have heard the side effects from...
  • Brian Shelly's Story....
    Read Brian Shelly's story, My name is Brian Shelly and I am a 50 year old cancer fighter, survivor and WARRIOR.  I came ...
  • relapse...
    So I thought that having cancer the first time was the worst thing in the world. Having to  leave my son and be sick and not know what ...