@riven
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- April 19, 2019 at 1:55 am
Hello Mrs. Bailey,
My name is Becca, and I am the patent in this horrible war against Melanoma. At 27 years old, I was diagnosed with Stage IIIa Melanoma on June 6, 2018. I had a WLE and removal of two lymph nodes positive with melanoma. I started Opdivo last August, once every four weeks for thirteen rounds. I had a spot appear off of my first scar in January, which was stage Ia, and thankfully was a second primary and not a recurrence. If everything goes to plan I will receive my last treatment June 28th! I wanted to give you my background before addressing your concerns, because in this case I was for my treatment, but being pushed in another direction.
I have always believed that I should do my best to give nature the chance work with my body, rather than introduce chemicals to the situation. For me the side affects of chemicals on my body tend to be worse then what they are treating. That being said, I have always backed going to the doctor, and taking medication as necessary, if nature can't get the job done. I am also behind vaccinations 100%. Science is a wonderful thing! My Grandma is a different story.
She is a devout Catholic, while also the biggest advocate for alternative medicine I have ever met. When she found out that I had melanoma, she began flooding me with this research about how cancer is caused by fungus, and that Mega doses of Vitamin C are the best way to treat it. She came to this conclusion because of one person's experience. He fought Melanoma very aggressively in the 90's and had little success with it. Once he gave up the chemo and radiation (which we know isn't the best for melanoma anyway) he started huge regiments of Mega doses of Vitamin C. This seemed to cure him entirely. When I asked her for other examples of this while also having a low rate of recurrence, she couldn't find any reliable sources. She tired to explain the damage I would do to my body, and that I would be making a huge mistake if I listened to my doctor. This truly had me torn. I have always had the deepest respect for her, and have always taken her advice very seriously. The moment I told her that I was going through with my treatment, she had such a solemn look and told me that she loved me and hoped that I was making the right decision. This was the moment I had to realize we both felt that each others way to treat my cancer felt like a death sentence for me. It was extremely hard to get past, especially since I do tend toward natural remedies first, and she knew that.
Anyway, I don't necessarily know how you feel, because I'm not fighting myself, but I know how hard it is when the people you love want the treatment to be drastically different than you do. I hope that your husband realizes how important he is to all of you, and that he gives his doctors more of an ability to guide him through his journey.
Much love,
Becca
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- March 29, 2019 at 9:16 pm
Anon, I bet you are also going to tell us that Mega doeses of Vitamin C will cure our cancer, or that Marijuana is the answer to our problems.
Please, do not come to our house and try to change our minds on how to treat our cancer. A lot of us are scared and some of us dying. We don't need to hear from ANOTHER Anonymous person that the way to cure our cancer is to go Holistic.
Please stick to what you actually know, and leave others alone.
Respectfully, Riven
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- March 29, 2019 at 8:03 pm
Hey Sydney,
Fellow 20something stage 3 BRAF positive melanoma warrior here.
I was diagnosed with this just weeks after turning 27, in May of last year. I'm with you in trying to find reassurance, but I wanted to add that meditating on my own circumstances and trying to live my best life daily has helped me stay relitivly calm though out this. It is good to remind yourself that everyone truly is different and that your fate as not been written in the stars by another person's hand. This is your journey, and you will continue to thrive if you believe in yourself and keep yourself going!
Much love, Becca.
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- June 29, 2018 at 7:07 pm
Oh my gosh! What fantactic news! I am so glad to hear it Steve!! I'm very excited that you get to enjoy your summer! But you are right, make sure that have plenty of sunscreen, and maybe invest in one of those awsome swimmers shirts. I know I've been looking into them.
Becca 🙂
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- April 19, 2019 at 1:10 am
Thank you for the advice for support! I currently am using a binder that the hospital gave me, but it is extremely uncomfortable. I have a few pairs of yoga pants and shorts that have a stretchy band around the top, I think I will try those out instead of using the binder!
Unfortunately they had to do an abdominal hysterectomy, so yes, I have a 4-5 inch incision on my pubic line. I have a top sheet folded up as my splint, and it is a life saver, especially since my cat is so used to sleeping on my belly. Of course I do my best from keeping that from happening, but I can't control him while I am sleeping, so I leave the sheet over my incision. I can't seem to get past the sensitive skin yet. I know it's only been 16 days, but I'm tired of being so tender, especially since the tenderness goes up to my belly button!
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- April 19, 2019 at 1:02 am
Wow! That's a lot! Fortunately I have been having fairly consistent BMs since I have cut down on the pain killers! I have only been taking one or two a day at most now, and supplementing with Tylenol! But mom mother is still hoping that I can start using it. I told her that I would just wait until my next appointment with my oncologist since I am now on a more regular BM schedule.
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- April 14, 2019 at 5:08 am
Yeah, there are quite a few vitamins and supplements that I can't wait to get on once I'm done with Opdivo, because the Opdivo basically sucked them out of me. I can call his nurse, but I'm a little weary of her advice. Usually she says, "It's fine." and Dr. Richart then says, "No, we should take a look. That is concerning." So I may just wait until he comes back.
I didn't know that pears had fiber! Maybe I'll give those a try! My roommate and I love pears! I am doing my best to wean myself off of them, as quickly as possible, but as I am more active, I may still need to lean on them, unfortunately. I have gotten to the point where I have been back and forth from Tylenol to painkiller back to Tylenol, which is nice!
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- April 14, 2019 at 5:01 am
Yes, I have been taking Senna when needed, but this is something I think she wants me to add to my nightly regimen. She says that it helps not only with becoming more regular GI wise, but also with sleep. Thanks for reassuring me that Senna is a good laxative. There are so many things out there, it's hard to really know what is good and what is just on the shelf, you know?
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- March 29, 2019 at 7:56 pm
Dearest Celeste,
If I may, I would like to ask you about your experance with Opdivo. I see that you were on it for 3 years, was that the original plan? Is it different than it used to be? I have been perscribed to be treated with it for 1 year (13 rounds once every 4 weeks), but have concernes that it might not be enough. I've seen that a lot of my fellow warriors were on Opdivo much longer than I will have been, and it does give me pause.
Thanks for your insite and guidence.
Becca
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- July 17, 2018 at 8:27 pm
That's what Dr. Richart said. He said the meds are so expensive that they won't start mixing them until the labs are back and I am okay'd to continue treatment. He then said that mixign it also takes a long time, no real explination as to why that is though. And then the treatment itself takes between 1 and 1.5. Hopfully he was just giving me a worst case senario and I will have the shorter times.
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- June 29, 2018 at 5:53 pm
Beth, I think I will look up local groups. Since I am in St. Louis county, there are boud to be at least a few within my reach.
I am so happy to hear that you were given over twice the time with your cat and that he was almost 17! My cat had almost reached his 16th birthday. We did not have anyone there with us when Harry passed. We just kind of knew it was coming. Friday morning, I had the feeling that he wouldn't last out the night, and I was right. 🙁
I'm glad to hear that your current cat is a fighter! I hope for the best with all of her conditions.
We have two cats now, our boy Hallow who has just turned 4 and our girl Navi who is going to be 9 in September.
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