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I Am Finally Cured Of Cancer
dav1965
Member Posts: 26,540 ✭✭✭
My first operation for cancer was June 29th 2010. I had stage 4 Squamas Cell Carcinoma. They removed 95% of my tongue along with the veins in my tongue. They also removed all the lining inside my mout
At the same time i had a double neck dissection for cancer in the lymph nodes in my neck. I was cut from ear to ear to get the cancer out. Also they cut me from my hip to my knee. they took about 16 inches of vein and meat from my leg to fix my mouth. I also had a trach so i could breath.
I was kept in a coma for about 5 days because of swelling and pain. After 3 weeks they sent me home from the hospital with a trach and feeding tube. My wife tried her best to make them keep me longer because i had to take the trach out 3 or 4 times a day to clean it. She was scared of messing up and hurting me.
Next came chemo and radiation. Because the cancer was so bad they gave me too much radiation. They killed my thyroid gland, saliva gland and melted part of my left jaw bone joint. I have massive pain in my jaws.
Chemo kicked my * bad. I would throw up for 2 weeks start getting better in the 3rd week and then start over. With the throwing up and the tongue they made me if i throw up it now comes out my nose.[:(]
After chemo/radiation i had 4 surgeries to shape my tongue so i could eat again. They finally fixed it after 4 times. It is now tied down so i cant move it.
I now talk funny but i can talk. After 5 years if cancer does not come back you are considered cured. So i am the only person i know or herd of who beat stage 4 cancer.
I paid a high price because i am in pain all day everyday. Pain killers does not kill the pain it just knocks it down to about a 4. Some days the pain is so bad i have to lay on the bed and let tears come from my eyes. I have prayed to God many many times to please let me die. For some reason he wants me to stay around a little bit longer.
The hardest thing about cancer was fixing my mind. Up until about 6 months ago my mind was all messed up. I am finally in a happy place. It took a long time for my mind to get better.
For a long time i was mad at myself because i could not work anymore. From the time i was a little kid i was taught to work hard and take care of my family.
I went from working 60 to 100 hours a week to reading or watching tv. From taking care of my wife and kids to my wife waking me up every 4 hours to take medicine or feed me. I felt like a failure because i can not do the things that i want to.
I am finally in a better place and my mind and attitude is where i need it to be.
At the same time i had a double neck dissection for cancer in the lymph nodes in my neck. I was cut from ear to ear to get the cancer out. Also they cut me from my hip to my knee. they took about 16 inches of vein and meat from my leg to fix my mouth. I also had a trach so i could breath.
I was kept in a coma for about 5 days because of swelling and pain. After 3 weeks they sent me home from the hospital with a trach and feeding tube. My wife tried her best to make them keep me longer because i had to take the trach out 3 or 4 times a day to clean it. She was scared of messing up and hurting me.
Next came chemo and radiation. Because the cancer was so bad they gave me too much radiation. They killed my thyroid gland, saliva gland and melted part of my left jaw bone joint. I have massive pain in my jaws.
Chemo kicked my * bad. I would throw up for 2 weeks start getting better in the 3rd week and then start over. With the throwing up and the tongue they made me if i throw up it now comes out my nose.[:(]
After chemo/radiation i had 4 surgeries to shape my tongue so i could eat again. They finally fixed it after 4 times. It is now tied down so i cant move it.
I now talk funny but i can talk. After 5 years if cancer does not come back you are considered cured. So i am the only person i know or herd of who beat stage 4 cancer.
I paid a high price because i am in pain all day everyday. Pain killers does not kill the pain it just knocks it down to about a 4. Some days the pain is so bad i have to lay on the bed and let tears come from my eyes. I have prayed to God many many times to please let me die. For some reason he wants me to stay around a little bit longer.
The hardest thing about cancer was fixing my mind. Up until about 6 months ago my mind was all messed up. I am finally in a happy place. It took a long time for my mind to get better.
For a long time i was mad at myself because i could not work anymore. From the time i was a little kid i was taught to work hard and take care of my family.
I went from working 60 to 100 hours a week to reading or watching tv. From taking care of my wife and kids to my wife waking me up every 4 hours to take medicine or feed me. I felt like a failure because i can not do the things that i want to.
I am finally in a better place and my mind and attitude is where i need it to be.
Comments
I am so happy to hear this. I will continue to pray for you!
Ros
Its A Long Hard Road We Know.
Weasel Your GB Friends Are Here With You With Encouragement And Prayers
We Did It For Dave.. Your Next Buddy,
Prayers For You Sir[^]
All the best to you.
Don
Brad Steele
congratulations on kicking cancers butt .
I have said this before also , you are truly a inspiration ,
with what you went thru and what you face each day , you still push on to help your family / friends with what ever comes up , even at the cost of causing more pain to your self . I could only hope to have the courage and drive you do .
Sounds like a real ordeal you are going through.
I hope pain meds will start to give you some peace.
I'm a 15 year survivor of late stage colon ca.
Were you a tobacco user?
My chemo doctor told me that over 99% of people who get this type of cancer smoke or drink and i do neither.
I was just lucky.[:)]
Everybody in my family smokes but me. My dad smoked 3 packs of Pal Mal a day my Mom 1 and 1/2 and my sister 1 pack a day and i am the 1 who got cancer. Better me than them though.
I was younger and stronger than them.
Dave, your story is one of love, pain, and suffering, and so much more. I cannot even imagine the suffering that you have endured. It's absolutely wonderful news to hear you say that you are in a better place and that your mind and attitude is where it needs to be. May God bless you and your family, forever.
+1[:D]
I had what I normally would have considered a "bad day" today.
Thank you for putting things into perspective for me.
God bless you Dave
+1 tough fella, just keep gutting it out!
Bless you and your family.
Congratulations
My mind kicked my butt. I felt like i was a burden on my family i can not work. I went from making 80,000 a year to 0. That was real hard on me.
Now i make a list of everything i want to get done for the week. I do what my body will let me. I never finish my list. I can only work about 45 minuets a day and i have to divide that into 15 minuet sections.
If i do to much in a day then i will be bedridden for 2 to 3 days. I have a great wife that never complains about what i get done or dont get done.
I was lucky enough to have a really strong wife that pushed me into getting better.
Then the act hit me, I need my canes to get back in the house. She came out to help me back in. It's the damn useless feeling, I feel like I've let her down, when I go to the va, and see guys missing arms and legs, I try to think how they feel, at least I've got my arms and legs. But it really does piss me off I can't even get groceries with out help.
It's the things we really take for granted, walking, carrying more than a gallon of milk, being able to spend time with the wife. When I was young, thought I was indestructible,
Then you watch the fools on motorcycles, doing flips, all it takes is one wrong landing one time, hell ice on a wing of a F-16, now look at me.