There's been alot of stuff going on with me lately, I kinda wanted to let people on the board know what was up. As some of you may know, I used to work in the environmental consulting field. The work was mostly harmless, but there was occasionally work dealing with hazardous chemicals or locations that could put me in very real danger. Early summer of last year, I was working at an assessment project at an oil refinery in southern California. Adjacent to our work area was a venting pipeline for refining waste (the stuff they take OUT of oil to make it gasoline) which was shut down for repairs. Unfortunately, the wrong switch got flipped somewhere along the way, and we spent most of the time (for me, a bit over 4 hours) downwind of a plume of vapor with an incredibly high heavy metal content. We were unaware of any exposure at the time. This September, one week after my 27th birthday, I received a registered letter from a law firm, telling me about the release. At this point it had been 10 months since I had been laid off from my consulting job. I was advised that 7 people at the refinery had become sick as a result of the incident, and they recommended I get tested immediately. Luckily, I had gone to the local hospital the previous day for an unrelated health problem, and they had drawn blood. I called and asked them to run additional tests. I had high levels of lead, chromium, and fuel compounds in my bloodstream. The next day a chest x-ray and an MRI confirmed that I had stage 1 small-cell lung cancer, and if untreated it was unlikely I would live to 30. For reasons I’m not entirely sure of (perhaps vanity) I decided not to tell my family. I immediately called an attorney I knew from my church, a nice guy, and together we worked through me giving an incident report to OSHA, and he met with the other attorneys involved. The others who were affected were exposed about 3 times longer than I was, and had developed much more rapidly. The summary of the negotiations was that if we tried to go to court, they would make the trial last a decade. If we settled, all medical expenses and attorney fees would be paid, and if we were unable to continue working then additional damages could be assessed. Meanwhile, I was contacted by an oncologist affiliated with my hospital. He told me he was doing a clinical trial for treating cancer which had been detected early, and felt I was a great candidate. Unfortunately, as this was an experimental treatment it couldn’t be covered by state disability. After that, it took me about 2 minutes to call my lawyer and have him settle. I’m currently 2 months in to my treatment, which involves daily pills that kill the blood vessels feeding the tumors, and a bi-weekly infusion of a compound that’s supposed to break down dead cancer cells. And, for good measure, an anti-nausea medication. While I find it nothing short of miraculous that I am being treated for cancer on an out-patient basis, it is being pretty tough. I’m often tired, some days I don’t eat much (oddly, though, I’m not losing much weight), I can’t taste sugar much anymore, and I get painful muscle cramps that I can’t take painkillers for, because the treatment weakens my liver. Though there’s no sign of the tumors going away, as of my last follow-up they had stopped growing, which is progress. I finally decided to let my family know what was going on, and they’ve been a great comfort. My brother, who posts here, has limited me to two ‘because I have cancer!’ justifications per day, and I intend to take full advantage of it while I can. I still teach as much as I can, and I’m starting a credentialing program in January in the hopes of becoming a highschool science teacher. I’m not entirely sure why I’m telling you all this, I guess mostly because posting online is one of the main ways I pass my time, and I’ve been doing it for almost a decade. I’m not asking anyone to ‘go easy, I have cancer!’ nor do I claim that its given me any earth-shattering revelation into the nature of existence, but I just wanted to share something of my life with you all in hopes that you might gain something from it. I’m sure some of you will have questions, and while I’ll answer as much as I can be aware that I signed a nondisclosure agreement about certain aspects of my exposure.
Good on you for not giving up, you can beat it. And know you're about to receive positive thoughts and prayers from [-]most[/-] every member here!
Fucking hell dude, I know there isn't really anything we can do, but if there is you only need ever ask. I understand you can't really talk about this aspect, but that quite literally made me feel sick, as in my stomach turned. The fact that just getting covered for the medical fixing of the mistake they made requires you signing an agreement to not talk about it is a disgusting example of how badly the western legal system can fail sometimes.
You misunderstand. FOR NOW all I get is medical. I can still walk and talk and work and drive and do everything I could do before. If my quality of life changes, I'm still allowed to seek compensation. This solution is fine by me (though the circumstance isn't). I can get better and get on with my life. Nondisclosure for this sort of thing is standard, especially given that my treatment is going to cost 3/4ths of a million dollars.
Gotta love those loopholes. Sad that we operate under the premise that it doesn't matter what's right, as long as it's legal. But I do hope you beat this, and as painlessly as possible.
Hang in there dude, I hope this treatment works out. My mum has her last chemo treatment today, so I know a little bit about what you are going through
Fingers crossed for you. My family has had a few brushes with cancer, some treated successfully, others not. You're young and you have a good attitude. That's a step in the right direction already.
I used to be a pessimist about any cancer, but we have a neighbor who just beat esophagal cancer clean, at the age of 70. So things are looking up these days. Best of luck, Chewie!
Probably a dozen years ago or more I saw an episode of Nightline that dealt with cancer and, in it, a doctor/expert said that up until then our "treatment" for cancer was the equivalent of banging your fist on the top of a television set in order to fix it. He predicted that, in fairly short order, cancer treatment would evolve to the point that we'd be able to "fix" specific "parts" in that "television set". Good luck, Chewie! We're all pulling for you.
I beat it, even after the 'this has a 30% chance to work, and if it doesn't you have about a year left to live' talk. You can too. Couple of things to remember - doctors are fuckups, just like anyone else. If you've got a good one, make sure you stick with them. However, if you don't, you need to change to a good one, and don't let anything other than their efficacy impact that decision. I was going to one of the most prestigious hospitals in the country - and they were completely inept, treated me like a number, and could obviously care less if I lived or died. I left that hospital for a small private practice, and it made all the difference in the world. Best of luck! I know it sucks but it can get better. Just keep the faith.
You can beat this ! Look up Norman Cousins to see what your mind can do to heal. It took courage to post this here, and I'm rooting for you.
Demi's right. Doctors, ESPECIALLY Oncologists, are fuck-ups. My cousin was told that, due to cancer, he had a maximum of 3 months left to live, 6 months if he underwent treatment. That was in 1989. He's still alive, and in total remission. Oncologists, in particular, have an awful habit of being naysayers under the guise of being "forthright". A significant part of the battle is where your head is at. Demi called it "faith", some others might call it "staying positive". Whatever the terminology, it's important to say, "Fuck you, you won't beat me," regardless of what your caretakers may say. And here, of course, you've found a whole cheering section, all of whom are rooting for you to prevail.
Wow. Got a call from a contractor I use today. His brother has cancer so he's going to miss an appointment! Best wishes, CaptainChewbacca. I've had lots of family beat cancer.
All the best to you man. I can only imagine what you are going through. If there was any way to help, let us know.
Its still too early to tell. As of my last followup the camera hadn't gotten any bigger, butt they're still waiting to see if it goes away.
Godspeed CaptainChewbacca. Jamey Whistler's correct about oncologists. Well, doctors in general. Be wary of defensive medicine. Something doctors & the medical establishment engage in out of theIr fear & terror of being sued. Good luck Chewiee.
As someone with some experience with looking to this crowd for support during real life drama, I'd say it's a good instinct. As nutty as this crowd can sometimes be, they rally to support one of our own in a magnificant way and I'm sure that love and support will be a great boon to you. My thoughts and prayers for you friend, I'm confident you'll win out.
Any idea what the chemo treatment they're giving you is? As an ex-smoker, I tend to follow news of the treatments for things like small cell lung cancer pretty closely. There's a few ones in trials right now that look to be insanely promising. Not like 10% better than what we have now, but 50+% better than what we have now. Best of luck to you.
Its not chemotherapy per-se, as it doesn't involve any radiation. The medicine I'm taking is some sort of variant of erlotinib, and as I said it is designed to kill off the blood vessels that feed the tumors. Erlotinib is presently given to people who don't respond to chemo, but I guess they're fixing to change that.
Chemo doesn't need to be radiation - chemotherapy is explicitly the non-radiation side in ontological terms. Basically the poison they give you to kill fast metastasizing cells quicker than it kills the rest of you, in theory then killing the cancer. Did you already go through one round of chemo? I went through two before they went into a stem cell transplant regimen. That did the trick for me. Best of luck!
Then I guess its chemo, but its a new, more specifically-targeted chemo. Basically I take pills daily, and every two weeks I get an infusion. They aren't as strong as earlier treatments, but they're more targeted so the result is the patient doesn't get as sick. I really, really miss tasting sugar though. Its christmastime, my peak fudge-making season, and it all just tastes like burned milk to me.
Depending on where you live, I'd say you qualify for Medical Marijuana. You could eat it. There are plants bred to do different things. There is Pot that you smoke before bed. For insomnia ! The Indica's are better for pain, and others for nausea. Check out every option available to you, and good luck.
You're going to make it. You know why I know this ? 'Cause you're just too pretty and young to die. (a bit of Firefly cheer)
For me, I have a much easier time discussing my medical issues here than in RL, aside from Zel. I can have intelligent and insightful conversations about it and recieve good support without the aura of "I'm so freaked she's gonna die!1!111!!" hanging in the air and dragging me down with it. Often, visits with people in my real life have odd vibes to them..I am no longer treated like a person but like a patient..even by friends and family. I guess it's just good, clean support and friendship and often humor and it has been a huge help to me over the years. I need to be able to laugh about this shit sometimes! Chewy....you kick ass so I have no doubt you will tell this cancer where it can go in no time. Lung cancer can be a toughie, but I've no doubt by the time this is over, Chuck Norris will be talking about you in respectful tones.
