@johnhen
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- December 5, 2010 at 3:08 am
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- December 5, 2010 at 3:08 am
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- November 22, 2010 at 6:24 am
If your husband was not afflicted with cancer, would you be having this conversation? I am a father of three wonderful children, the youngest being 25. My children have been the center of my wives’ and my lives. They have brought us both tremendous joy as children and now as adults and as our best friends. They have enriched our lives in ways that nothing else could.
When our youngest son, Danny, was born, he had a rare disease that ultimately led to 11 years of hospitalizations, numerous surgeries, and at age 11, end stage liver failure. Within days of death, he received the gift of life through a small bowl and liver transplant. During those 11 years, I offered God my life in exchange for my son’s life on several occasions because I could not stand the thought of losing him. God was merciful and brought my son through many brushes with death and helped my wife and I always be there for him and for each other. This June, he will earn his Bachelor of Arts Degree and we are so proud and blessed that he was brought into our lives.
There is nothing in life that has been more valuable to me and to my wife than our children and grandchildren. They have been the gift that just keeps on giving and hopefully will be there to love us as we have loved them, in our last days.
Cancer is a very difficult part of all our lives. I hope that as I go through my journey, I never lose sight of the importance of my children and my willingness to do anything for them. Life is so much more than my cancer. I hope that my story helps bring some clarity into yours.
John
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- December 2, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Hi Mark, may fellow Californian.
Thanks for bringing up the insurance question. Fortunately, I have a good insurance plan that is switching to a PPO this January. Once I retired from the college that employed me, I selected the best plan available during open enrollment. I have been blessed with an employer who over the years created a self-funded medical fund that provides life-time fully paid health insurance for it's retires. That is rare these days so I am truly blessed. I will make sure that where ever I go for treatment that it is within the network. I can go outside of the network but I would have to pick up a substantial portion of the cost and there is no annual cap as is true in the network. Fortunately, most of he cancer centers in California are included in the network including Stanford but being in Southern California doesn't make that a practical choice except for possibly access to a unique trial.
Thanks for the input.
John
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- December 2, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Hi Mark, may fellow Californian.
Thanks for bringing up the insurance question. Fortunately, I have a good insurance plan that is switching to a PPO this January. Once I retired from the college that employed me, I selected the best plan available during open enrollment. I have been blessed with an employer who over the years created a self-funded medical fund that provides life-time fully paid health insurance for it's retires. That is rare these days so I am truly blessed. I will make sure that where ever I go for treatment that it is within the network. I can go outside of the network but I would have to pick up a substantial portion of the cost and there is no annual cap as is true in the network. Fortunately, most of he cancer centers in California are included in the network including Stanford but being in Southern California doesn't make that a practical choice except for possibly access to a unique trial.
Thanks for the input.
John
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- December 2, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Hi Vivian,
Sorry to hear that you have joined the party! For a second time! Thanks for sharing your story. Today I made my PET/CT scan appointment for next Friday, Dec. 10. I have a sense of peace about all of this, of course, I haven't had any real symptoms to deal with. I do, however, have confidence in my destiny so that helps tremendously. I hope all works out well for you.
John
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- December 2, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Hi Vivian,
Sorry to hear that you have joined the party! For a second time! Thanks for sharing your story. Today I made my PET/CT scan appointment for next Friday, Dec. 10. I have a sense of peace about all of this, of course, I haven't had any real symptoms to deal with. I do, however, have confidence in my destiny so that helps tremendously. I hope all works out well for you.
John
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- December 1, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Hi Dian,
I hope to get my PET/CT next week. I still have a drain tube from surgery and my surgery was only a couple of weeks ago. Depending on the outcome of the scans, that will put me in either stage III-C or stage IV. I prefer smaller numbers! Based on this determination, I will learn what options are open for treatment. I am leaning toward IPI or BRAF studies as they seem to have the most promising outcomes to date but I well wait to see what the doctors recommend. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and yes, surgery will also become my friend over time.
John
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- December 1, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Hi Dian,
I hope to get my PET/CT next week. I still have a drain tube from surgery and my surgery was only a couple of weeks ago. Depending on the outcome of the scans, that will put me in either stage III-C or stage IV. I prefer smaller numbers! Based on this determination, I will learn what options are open for treatment. I am leaning toward IPI or BRAF studies as they seem to have the most promising outcomes to date but I well wait to see what the doctors recommend. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and yes, surgery will also become my friend over time.
John
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- December 1, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. The more I hear, the better. I am hoping to schedule my PET/CT for next week so I should know where I stand soon and then be able to plan a treatment strategy. I am hoping to get into one of the current studies that is using IPI. That seems to be the most promising. If I have remote tumors, then I will possible be a candidate for a BRAF trial. If I can get into either of these trials, I will probably forgo the Interferon. At least there are some promising new approaches to treating melanoma that we will have access to. Hopefully, the momentum will continue to build and a cure will be discovered in our lifetimes.
John
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- December 1, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for sharing your experience with me. The more I hear, the better. I am hoping to schedule my PET/CT for next week so I should know where I stand soon and then be able to plan a treatment strategy. I am hoping to get into one of the current studies that is using IPI. That seems to be the most promising. If I have remote tumors, then I will possible be a candidate for a BRAF trial. If I can get into either of these trials, I will probably forgo the Interferon. At least there are some promising new approaches to treating melanoma that we will have access to. Hopefully, the momentum will continue to build and a cure will be discovered in our lifetimes.
John
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