Cancer On Top Of CFS! :(

[GhostGum]

@maryb: I had no idea cannabis came in oil form (can you tell I've never been interested in that particular “med”? {snort}). That's a horse of a different color (I wouldn't want to pollute my lungs with ANYthing). And yah, maybe one drop might be harmless...

Smoking it is a thing of the past, especially for medical users who are either vaporising it, eating it or getting it in a concentrated form (oil or paste). Given where you live you would have all the options I imagine, the only thing about an oil concentrate though is it would be exponentially more expensive than your standard stuff; takes a lot of plant material to make an oil.

The other thing to consider is there are variations in cannabis medications, they have got to the stage now where they are able to isolate the different components, so if someone has little tolerance for THC (the stuff that gets you high) you can get something THC free but with other cannabinoids, which is actually where most of therapeutic benefit is I believe; although some say THC has anti-cancer properties and you need it along with the other cannabinoids.

Worth looking into, should not take effort much given where you live to find some people who can give you the right advice.

 

[determined]

Hi Andrew,
I took epirubicin, 5FU and cytoxan.

 

[Kati]

Best wishes, @determined. It's drugs that I have given routinely as an oncology nurse. The red stuff! I remember well.

 

[determined]

Thanks Kati.....cancer is definitely unpleasant and scary but I have such fond memories of many of the nurses. Thanks to you for the work you did/do.

P.S. How did you "tag me?"

 

[Gandalf]

This might be interesting for you
http://www.thedcasite.com/

 

[Martial]

I am giving you the best wishes and prayers! Cancer double whammy can be rough but at least they caught it and you are getting treatment now! I don't really have much input to say in terms of tips or advice just wanted to show my support, you will get through this!

love,

Todd

 

[Little Bluestem]

Melatonin, Benedryl, calcium, magnesium, Rest & Repair, alternating nites with Tazo (passionflower tea plus drops) and Tension Tamer tea mixed with Sleepytime Vanilla, “spiked” with Lemon Balm drops.

What is Rest and Repair? {Sleep is a popular topic around here.}

 

[mtnbibliophile]

Hi awdbawl - first, good luck.
Second, re bruising: for me, excessive bruising is always a sign of worse anemia than usual. The brain often doesn't register mere brushes with solid objects, that's why you don't remember walking into things, but if you have severe anemia, the body does register them with bruising. I don't have a clue what the mechanism is.

Third, general question: does anyone know if CFS/ME affects the progression of progressive incurable cancer in any way? I think it's likely that because my immune system is compromised already, my recently diagnosed leukemia (rare form, so not curable, believe me) will progress more quickly than my oncologist blithely assumes, but I'd sure like some hard data on this.

thanks

 

[awdbawl]

Thanx to all the other folks who replied since my last comment: I'm sorry I've not replied earlier. I went thru a zillion tests, then chemo, then surgery, then more chemo, then radiation and another type of (more "benign") chemo, and in the midst of it all, my mother died 2 weeks after the surgery, so I had to dissolve her "estate" (decrepit old mobile home). I am still not back to where I was before the cancer, altho so far, I'm still cancer free.

Little Bluestem: Rest & Repair is the maker of Invigorest powder, which I'm still taking, even tho it's no longer as potent as it was the first 6 months I took it.

MTN: how are you faring with the leukemia (my mother had CLL)? I'm sorry I can't give you any help with your question; I do hope you were able elsewhere to find some info in reference to it...and that maybe in the meantime, research has even come up with something to retard the progress of your cancer.

 

[awdbawl]

PS: I did not choose any alternative remedies for the cancer because it was an aggressive cancer, and I was stage 3. If I had been 1 or 2, I might've tried alternative routes first, but that would've been suicidal in my particular case.

 

[BurnA]

I am still not back to where I was before the cancer, altho so far, I'm still cancer free

Thanks for the update and glad to hear you are cancer free.
I take it the chemo had no impact on your ME/CFS in any positive way ?

 

[Andrew]

My cancer treatment was of no help reducing ME/CFS. All it did was make going through treatment much harder. But here's the odd thing: my toenail fungus disappeared. I guess the chemo did it in.

 

[shannah]

My cancer treatment was of no help reducing ME/CFS. All it did was make going through treatment much harder. But here's the odd thing: my toenail fungus disappeared. I guess the chemo did it in.

We sometimes hear good reports of improvement of ME with cancer treatment. Disappointing it had no affect on yours @Andrew ! I'm sorry ...

A steep price to pay to get rid of toenail fungus.

 

[actup]

Awdbawl I was recently diagnosed with an early stage, very treatable breast cancer and fortunately can forgo the radiation and chemo treatment. Lumpectomy next week followed by hormone treatment. I was mostly stressed initially (prior to a complete diagnosis) over not having enough energy to make the numerous visits that diagnosis, surgery, radiation, chemo and post op care entail. And there's still the chemo side effects to deal with. Living rural the commute is significant. I have a little idea of what your stress level must be with the regimen your facing.

Things did become funny though in a dark way. Suddenly everyone I knew (incl. primary MD) called to offer sympathy. I have some very concerning neurological problems which are completely ignored. I don't mention fatigue or pain any more as it makes HCPs act just a bit mean. My last visit with primary MD pre cancer was downright unpleasant. He was impatient and abrupt saying he had to move things along( it was a 10 -15 min visit at most). Where were these sympathetic folks when I was bed bound?

Best of luck!!

 

[Hell...Hath...No...Fury..]

@awdbawl I'm so sorry to hear of what you've been through and sorry for your loss. Talk about many things happening at once

I wish you all the best in maintaining a recovery. I had cancer but don't share your experience as I didn't have chemo or radio, just had a couple of minor surgeries then a hysterectomy to cut it out. They caught it quite quickly but it was glandular and a fast spreader so I was rushed in for the op pretty quickly and thankfully they caught it all.

It all went pretty smoothly and I was feeling pretty stunned and relieved that it hadn't made me very ill but then the crappy healing thing kicked in and a few weeks later, all of stitches ruptured. Resulting in me covering three rooms in blood at midnight. I was just about to go to bed. If i hadn't started pouring onto the floor when I did, I would have been eventually found, lying in a sea of blood.

I won't go into the details of the night that followed in the hospital as it was like a horror film not to mention the abuse i got from the doctor who performed the original surgery blaming me and accusing me of having sex, waiting until there were no witnesses before he turned into Dr. Terrifying leaving me in tears.

But suffice to say, finding a way to heal quicker and effectively is essential in these circumstances more than anything else. The non-healing nearly killed me twice in the space of one night, this is the trauma that will forever haunt me rather than the original cancer surgery.

Hoping you're through the thick of it now and have time to process everything thats happened to you. I'm really sorry for what you've been through
Sending big hugs and a huge congrats on kicking the cancers arse