fuck cancer

<3

thinking of you, jon

oof friend just diagnosed with cervical cancer

get those HPV innoculation shots, girls!

my mother in law is still hanging in there, I should mention. Very skeletal, very weak, not so lucid (though small amounts of the cannabutter are helping with that) but alive. She needs so much help now that my wife and her sister don't feel okay about leaving her solely under the attention of the home when she's awake-- one of the two of them is always there from about 8 am to almost midnight.

I'm at an oncology center for a checkup on my white blood count. Thought it was going to be a regular doctors office but it's a full blown chemo center.. So many gaunt faces :(

sorry about the spammy self-promotional content of this - and i know you all have more than enough problems of your own to deal with - but i'm going to be running a 100 mile trail race this weekend and trying to raise some money for my son's schoolfriend in the process. i did post about her on this thread previously, but she had a tumour in her stomach that the health service here haven't been able to treat successfully and really her hopes now lie in getting on some sort of experimental treatment programme, possibly in the US, which unfortunately is quite an expensive business. she's just coming up to her ninth birthday and has been battling with this for about the last three years. god knows how her family are getting through this, but you just have keep on going i guess. anyhow, just on the off-chance that anyone wants to help by sponsoring me, here's her fundraising page:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/NiamhsFund

and again, sorry to bother you all and hope that things are going okay for you folks out there

Don't know if this belongs here or in the curse cancer thread, but since fuck or curse cancer, I'll put it here. Anyone else following the artificial turf controversy? I mean, it's always been controversial, but there's a reported story going around about a soccer coach's serious suspicions that the recycled rubber tires used in some (all?) turf is not only carcinogenic, but actually causing cancer in kids playing soccer, particularly players who do a lot of diving, getting mouthfuls of the rubber pellets:

http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/does-artificial-turf-present-a-health-risk-339753027899

There is a ton of confirmation bias at work here. If you look for soccer players who play on turf and have cancer, you will find a few. If you look for carcinogens near your kids, you will find them. Etc. Likewise, just because something is banned in some places does not mean it's necessarily dangerous (see also: GMOs). But along the lines of GMOs, it is fair to suggest not enough research has been done into the matter, and also like GMOs, it affects so many it is probably worth fast-tracking some more belated research into the matter.

RIP. Nothing about this was fair or acceptable.

I'm sorry, Jon.

fuck cancer

<3 jon, I'm so sorry

Damn, Jon. I'm sorry.

Crushing. My condolences.

yeah, good luck with things jon, wishing you brighter days ahead

Rest in peace. So sorry for your loss, Jon.

Mom passed last night with her five kids and husband close to her in her living room. We sat with her all afternoon and night, but she waited to go until we started watching videos of her on my brother's phone. We watched a video in which she is particularly radiant with joy, picking out a Christmas tree with a bright red scarf wrapped around her head (red was her favorite color). When we looked back at her she was gone. It felt like she had become that beam of joy that we watched in her last moment. I will always love her. She turned two into five but not without suffering. So I'm happy that the suffering is over.

I'm so sorry, Sufjan. What lovely final moments.

My best, Sufjan.

I'm sorry sufjan <3

there's no 'good' way to go but that has to be one of the best

<3 to you sufjan

I'm very sorry Sufjan <3

Very sorry indeed, and deepest condolences.

there's no 'good' way to go but that has to be one of the best

agree to the power of xxxxx with this sentiment.

hang on in there sufjan.

So sorry for your lose.

gh! My autocorrect tricked me. I'm sorry for your loss, sufjan.

sending you love in this hard time

ty, everyone. It was about as good as these things can be.

PARTY SUB!: 500 examples of the hackiest signifier of post-Y2K punk cool, childhood lolstalgia, and "so random" larfs
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1484956/party%20sub.jpg
(found while putting mom's slideshow together)

aw

O_O damn son

very sorry to hear about your mom, sufjan. wishing you all the strength—and good memories—in the world.

my mom just found out this week she has breast cancer. it's a tiny, tiny lump and it doesn't have any of the "bad" genetic markers. surgery in a few weeks to remove the lump and see if it spread to any nearby lymphnodes--though the doctor doesn't think he'll find anything. still, nerve wracking for all of us.

thinking good thoughts for yr mom, and you guys. it def rattles everyone in its own way, even when it turns out to be a 'scare'.

sorry to hear about your mom, amateurist. I have 3 cases of successful cancer remission in my extended family. One of these was breast cancer. It is understandably nerve wracking, but an optimistic doctor seems like a good thing.

And fuck cancer because it's been awhile since we've said it.

If you don't mind me asking, did they classify a stage, amateurist?

shit, hugs your way SG (and amateurist)

i'm not sure if they can do that before surgery, but the initial guess was "1A"

yes, good point. I guess I thought they classified my mom's based on scans, but "1A" is very encouraging and hopefully it is true.

I'm using my first post of 2015 to wish a heart "fuck you!" to cancer.
Really cancer, just fuck off already.

It felt like she had become that beam of joy that we watched in her last moment.

condolences and best wishes SG and amateurist

My condolences, Sufjan. I'm very happy she is no longer suffering and she passed surrounded by love. Best wishes to you and your family.

amateurist, best wishes to your mother. Scary but people beat it all the time.

^

I have a fairly large tumor in my breast, after months of tests etc it is most likely benign. The biopsy was gross. Never been through anything like this before. But it is taking forever to get a surgery scheduled so that I can get rid of this thing forever. Disturbing how I might have gotten it. More bills. Even with Obamacare having medical problems is difficult.

Then I can worry about other lumps.

So sorry to hear that you're going through this. I wish there was something I could do to help, I hope you have lots of support from family/friends and are managing to take your mind off it occasionally while you wait.

fuck. get better soon, im losted.

Thanks. I should be okay but I was scared for a bit.

i had a benign (that is, not cancerous, it was still wreaking a lot of havoc) tumor in my throat taken out last year, it was indeed gross and the recovery ended up being a lot rougher than anyone prepared me for. often doctors make outpatient surgery out to be a big nothing, but my whole body was sore and stiff for a week afterward. anyway, this probably won't happen to you. :) i hope you get rid of that thing, and get better quickly.

Our office manager was just sitting right over there close to mid december, though she wasn't feeling great. Cut to last night, she passed away. So fucking quick, and her poor daughter had just lost her father (office manager's ex-husband) a little over a month prior. Gutted for her, mostly.

So the days of one of my oldest London friends are numbered, and I've had to hear about it from another friend because the friend in question has only told a few people due to stiff-upper-lip issues. Fuck cancer with a rusty chainsaw. Just... fuck it.

Aw, sorry to hear that, Suzy.