Congrats that is awesome! This spring I will be 6 years brain cancer free.
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Hell yeah man, so happy for you!
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Just now seeing this, but I am so happy for you!
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Hell yeah my man. Best news I’ve heard in a while.
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Hadn’t popped in here in a bit and am stoked to see it! Had to buy this today in your honor. Hope to see ya out there this year somewhere.
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My guy! Love that!
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Friends,
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month so I thought I’d share just a bit.
Firstly, the single greatest takeaway from my diagnosis is just how powerful community really is. The support from my wife, family, friends, and strangers alike have all given me an unbelievable sense of strength over these last two years. To the folks on here who check in, encourage me, and blame me for playing blades as an 18 handicap have played a huge part in getting me to where I am today and hopefully will remain, Cancer free.
We still have some hills to climb. As I write, I am 6 days into a 14 day chemo drip, my 16th round. There are 2 more rounds to go and then scans again in May that will hopefully continue the NED status. If that’s the case, we move to monitoring with scans every 3 months for 1-2 years.
I encourage you if you haven’t to go get screened. If your 45 or older, hop on that train. If you’re younger and curious, ask your doctor. Screening is the BEST way to prevent or detect this disease early and when it’s most treatable. With early detection, survival rate is 90%. The screening process can be intimidating, but it has honestly been one of the easier procedures I’ve experienced. Sure, the prep work can be interesting, but the actual process is harmless. Colorectal cancer is the 2nd most common cancer in the US.
I had symptoms for years and ignored them. I thought I was tough. Look where that got me.
As mentioned before, March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. This Friday the 3rd is National Dress in Blue Day. Feel free to join in if you feel led. If you do, tell folks why.
If wearing blue isn’t going to do it for you, here are some other things to look forward to on March 3rd:
- National Anthem Day
- National Cold Cuts Day
- National " I want you to be happy" Day (according to the internet)
- National “Talk in 3rd Person” Day (Jake loves this)
- National “What if Cats and Dogs had Opposable Thumbs” Day
Apologies for the long rant. I just wanted to express my gratitude, share some updates, and leave you with an image in your head of cats with thumbs.
Thanks for being in my corner. Fuck Cancer.
Love Ya,
Goose
P.S. If anyone has any questions about symptoms, screenings, or anything regarding Colon Cancer, please reach out.
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Amazing and important advice. It’s the one type of cancer doctors can basically detect and remove before it becomes serious. My uncle - who was a doctor - didn’t get checked and got it. My grandmother had it. As such, I’ve been doing these since I turned 40. Guys can get weird about the process - yes, you have to drink stuff that makes you poop ferociously, and yes, someone is going to be looking up your butt. It’s NOT A BIG DEAL and you’re basically out for the second part. Just do it. I’ve had a few benign things removed - and who knows if they would have stayed that way?
Very important message, @GooseTrego and will be clad in full Goose/Soly Blue this Friday.
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I think @Soly celebrates National Dress in Blue day 3-4 times a week!
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You don’t say…
I’ll be wearing blue eating the gabagool!
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If you’d like to share more about this, I’m sure it could help some people.
I’ll also echo the directions to get checked out. I’m under 45 but have done the screening. It’s a small hassle for the benefit.
Alas, I can’t wear blue on Friday. It’s a dress down day, but only if I wear school colors. However, I will be with you in spirit and will be thinking of you when the principal reads some if not all of these “national days” on the announcements in the morning. He thinks the kids get a kick out of it. (Narrator’s voice: They do not).
Your doctor? What’s that?
I will preface with this. A lot of these symptoms are very common and by no means indicate worst case scenario. This is why the preventative screening is so important.
Things to look out for:
- Change in bowel habits
- Blood in stool/rectal bleeding
- Abdominal discomfort
- Weakness and fatigue
On paper, all of these symptoms are common for a lot of people. Although uncomfortable at times, they are so easily overlooked or ignored.
If you’re curious, ask questions. If you worried about the screening process, I’m happy to answer any questions. I get them once a year and will every year for the next 5-10.
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Welp, know what I’m getting for lunch. Time to check out the sandwich thread.
Quiet down Canada
Edit: tongue in cheek of course. assuming that was a universal healthcare joke
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I should have done better than my stupid snarky comment…
A real issue with accessing health care and being on top of preventative care is not having access to your own doctor. I haven’t been able to locate a family doctor since my childhood doctor retired and wasn’t able to find someone to take over his practice. If I have an issue, best I can do is go to a walk in clinic or try to connect with a doctor over tele-conference. There’s no seeing the same doctor or having someone you can call and set up a clear appointment with anymore…
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That somehow sounds worse than our system, although probably infinitely less expensive.
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We used to have more ability to have family doctors/general practitioners. Now it’s just hard to find any with room.
Sir…I’m just now catching up on your thread with your chemo so I wanted to drop in and say what’s up.
My wife’s been fighting leukemia for well over two years now and she’s crushed it to date. She started law school at OSU this fall.
We know what it’s like more than most - I think we’ve been to almost 250 appointments, treatment days and hospital days since this started in 2020.
If you need anything…hit me up.
As always, fuck cancer
Edit - or anyone else for that matter even though this was supposed to be a DM, lol.
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