Forum Replies Created
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- September 25, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Katy,
I don't know your story until today but, wow, you are a survivor. Your attitude is inspirational, sorry for the cliche, but sometimes they fit. And I mean inspirational is an understatement. You remind me of my husband Peter who iwas so positive when he was going through the worst of his treatment during stage IV. The odds were I believe lower for stage IV in those days. He only had one brain met, so I can't compare. You can read a little more about his history in my posts from yesterday.
I didn't post that he also got leukemia and it was pretty much supposed to take us down. I didn't, however, see him doing quite the athletic things that you are!!!
Hey, I'm just a caregiver. I've seen this thing from the outside looking in. But, to watch people like you take advantage of every opportunity to have a sense of humor, to squeeze every ounce of joy out of their life…that's a lesson we should all learn.
I will be sending you t thoughts and prayers. I wish I could meet you bopping down the aisles in my grocery store.
All the best to you and your family.
Judy Clifford
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- September 25, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Katy,
I don't know your story until today but, wow, you are a survivor. Your attitude is inspirational, sorry for the cliche, but sometimes they fit. And I mean inspirational is an understatement. You remind me of my husband Peter who iwas so positive when he was going through the worst of his treatment during stage IV. The odds were I believe lower for stage IV in those days. He only had one brain met, so I can't compare. You can read a little more about his history in my posts from yesterday.
I didn't post that he also got leukemia and it was pretty much supposed to take us down. I didn't, however, see him doing quite the athletic things that you are!!!
Hey, I'm just a caregiver. I've seen this thing from the outside looking in. But, to watch people like you take advantage of every opportunity to have a sense of humor, to squeeze every ounce of joy out of their life…that's a lesson we should all learn.
I will be sending you t thoughts and prayers. I wish I could meet you bopping down the aisles in my grocery store.
All the best to you and your family.
Judy Clifford
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- September 25, 2011 at 4:15 am
Peter's story is kibd of long, but I'll try to be brief. We basically tried everything, because at the time, everything except interfuron was experimental, and I didn't like those odds. His history includes a clear SNB, then lymph node mets in his neck (15-16), 2 rounds of bio-chemo with Dr. O'Day (IL-2, DTIC, cisplat interfuron, vinblastin), radical neck disection, 2 additional rounds of bio-chemo. This was back in the day when they didn't do home hydration for bio-chemo patients. The neck dissection showed that Peter responded incredibly well to the bio-chemo. We did CancerVax vaccine at JWCI, and then he was diagnosed Stage IV. At that point, Foshag recommended we save some of his own tissue to do an autologous vaccine, which we did with part of his intestinal met. We sent ot to Hoag Hospital with Dr. Dillman. Peter got gamma knife for his one brain met at USC. It hemorraged and we did a craniotomy with Keith Black at Cedars. All the while, we kept on maintenance IlL-2 with Dr. O'Day. Except for the chest met, we have had no recurrences of melanoma.
I hope this helps. This site was my refuge when I was up at night worrying about our next step in treatment.
I wish you all the best. God bless.
Judy Clifford
Take charge of your treatment.
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- September 25, 2011 at 4:15 am
Peter's story is kibd of long, but I'll try to be brief. We basically tried everything, because at the time, everything except interfuron was experimental, and I didn't like those odds. His history includes a clear SNB, then lymph node mets in his neck (15-16), 2 rounds of bio-chemo with Dr. O'Day (IL-2, DTIC, cisplat interfuron, vinblastin), radical neck disection, 2 additional rounds of bio-chemo. This was back in the day when they didn't do home hydration for bio-chemo patients. The neck dissection showed that Peter responded incredibly well to the bio-chemo. We did CancerVax vaccine at JWCI, and then he was diagnosed Stage IV. At that point, Foshag recommended we save some of his own tissue to do an autologous vaccine, which we did with part of his intestinal met. We sent ot to Hoag Hospital with Dr. Dillman. Peter got gamma knife for his one brain met at USC. It hemorraged and we did a craniotomy with Keith Black at Cedars. All the while, we kept on maintenance IlL-2 with Dr. O'Day. Except for the chest met, we have had no recurrences of melanoma.
I hope this helps. This site was my refuge when I was up at night worrying about our next step in treatment.
I wish you all the best. God bless.
Judy Clifford
Take charge of your treatment.