What are /r/cancer's favorite Products & Services?

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Hey, I'm a 28-year old tax lawyer too, so I could't help commenting. I recently went through the process of having a large tumour discovered and undergoing major surgery to remove it. I don't have the same prognosis, but I've been through a lot of scary scan results and dealing with the possibility that my life was about to be abruptly shortened. I just wanted to wish you all the best. In dealing with my own situation, I've often asked why me. I don't know anyone else who has ever dealt with something like this. It feels unreal, like something from a movie. It also feels like it just shouldn't be happening. I told myself that I was lucky just to have the chance to live 28 years in pretty nice circumstances, given what other people are going through, but that only helped sometimes. By some fluke, things for me turned out to be much better than initially thought, and I don't have any real advice to give (nor do I want to try to tell you what to do), but I just want to say that my thoughts are with you and I hope that things go the best they can.

If you're interested in a book, Paul Kalanathi's "When Breath Becomes Air" is a memoir by a young neurosurgeon who finds out he has terminal cancer and grapples with a life cut short at the worst possible time. I read it when I was going through the diagnostic process. I don't know if it would be useful to you, but I really liked it so I thought I'd just put it out there.

Any cancer diagnosis is a bit like a car crash. The good news is that your mother was diagnosed at an early stage. Conventional treatments can include surgery and/or chemotherapy and/or radiation. It can be scary, but learning anything and everything about this will help to guide you along your journey. The Mayo Clinic has a very informative guide. Best wishes to all.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cervical-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352501

you could help her find a clinical trial

search for data on the 100 or so trial options for recurrent non-hodgkin's lymphoma and pick the treatment with the most promising preliminary results. if nothing has promising results, enter a phase I trial or look for off-label drugs.

you could save her life if you quickly do a vast amount of research and get lucky.

I'm just curious...why don't you have insurance?

If you don't know, insurance via Healthcare.gov will be available for you starting January 1st 2017 (it was available for 2016 as well). I don't know your income situation or what your household is like (number of kids, spouse, etc.), but if you go to the website and look at plans (https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/), you can find out if you are eligible for subsidies.

I plugged in 44 year old female in TN (just picked a random zip code), and the cheapest plan for just one person was like $350/month. But, if your income for 2017 will be low, or if you have more household members, you can get subsidized for almost all of that cost. *

Now, will the ACA exist next year? I don't know. But, you could have insurance starting 1/1/2017 if you apply now. You can call them too (https://www.healthcare.gov/contact-us/).

*EDIT: well, if you have some income, like 20,000/year you can get a subsidy of about $376/month. If you have less than that, apparently you can't get any help, and it looks like TN medicaid, as billyvnilly said, sucks. But, that seems to be a problem with living in a red state.

Dr. Paul Kalanthi, author of the cancer memoir When Breath Becomes Air, he took Tarceva for about nine months before it became ineffective in treating his cancer. He was a neurosurgeon and performed day long procedures on people's brains while taking Tarceva. He wrote about how the drug made him feel: tired and nauseous at times, but he was still able to work while he was on it.

Lol sweet now we can exchange lawyer jokes! So happy to hear that things have turned out well for you. You've gotten a second chance that a lot of us won't get--make the most of it! I try not to wonder why me, bc the reality is why not me? Cancer can happen to anyone, and like you said, I've had 3 decades of happy lifetime which is more than a lot of people get. I've also had 3 friends die of non cancer issues since my diagnosis, which has made me at least appreciate this time that otherwise dominated by suffering and sadness as a chance to say a long goodbye and get my affairs in order. These are luxuries that my deceased friends never had. Funny you recommended "When Breath Becomes Air." I just finished that a few weeks ago. Excellent book, but very sad and I'm not sure whether I'm better off for having read it. Well-written for sure though. Anyway, thanks for your kind words. Continue to be well!

my fiance has stage 4 bladder with mets, bone, liver and lymph nodes, currently on her last round of chemo. 1st thing before every treatment she gets her port hooked up and labs. she meets with her Dr. and he goes over her lab results. the Dr. and nurses have educated me on reading her lab results. your dad should be able to request a copy from his Dr. its good information to have and can be helpful during treatment. in my fiance's case her liver function test (LFT) started high, 3 tumors and growing, through the course of her treatment the numbers started dropping, CT scan showed 80% shrinkage. your dads cancer and treatment are different than my fiance's... just passing on helpful info. here is a link from mayo, check it out. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/liver-function-tests/about/pac-20394595

information is power. good luck to you and your dad, we are here for both of you! it's good to hear you take the time and sit with him through his treatments... that's how we support our WARRIORS!

Nope, two big ones and a medium one. I'm very, very lucky and very, very tough.

I imagine if we knew how to get a cancer on the time scale you are talking about, we would also know much more about preventing it. That having been said, I imagine if you spent more than 24 hours at the old Chernobyl site you might have a good headstart. Or, get your butt over to Japan and join the group of older people volunteering to clean up the contaminated nuclear reactor in Fukushima. You probably would get cancer after that, and at least you would be making yourself useful. Now, leave us nice cancer people alone and go to a therapist, um-kay?

link to Japanese story, kind of cool: http://gizmodo.com/5807188/old-people-line-up-to-clean-radiation-in-japan

You won't find much on the internet other than phase I trials, which are looking more at safety of the treatment and not at survival. That isn't to say it is or isn't effective. I don't know. For example, they are still working on the drugs to actually do the killing (article). This is a safety paper, and an effect paper, but not really a survival paper, which is the part that matters (phase III). It seems this is very indiscriminate way of killing the cancer. This wouldn't be better than surgery in my opinion, unless the cancer is somewhere where collateral tissue death can occur (that isn't resectable). If your brother isn't a candidate for surgery, I don't see this being any better.

What kind of pain is he in? What kind of cancer does the doc suspect? Sounds like he just needs to manage the pain for 2 more weeks. This should be able to be achieved by a regular office visit and some meds. I don't like pain meds but I'm on them for my headaches (head cancer).

Also, I thought the ACA (Obamacare) said they have to cover preexisting conditions. They just might not cover it well, meaning he'll have a large out of pocket expense. Financially, he might be better off waiting until July 1st anyway, since he'll be on new insurance and will likely have a max out of pocket and deductible to reach.

Edit: added this ACA link about preexisting conditions.

https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/pre-existing-conditions/

If you want him around and not a vegetable you might want to at least watch the video... I have this one if its not the same video you posted. The one I posted is a 1h 45m documentary

[EDIT:] its the same video, watch the whole thing and pay attention to the data, this is all part of records, the lawsuits then look at the profit loss of the big Pharma companies its actually a no brainer there is NO profit in cures, ONLY treatments

So sorry to hear that. My dad has pleural mesothelioma, and while I know being diagnosed at 66 is nowhere near the same as at 32, the diagnosis was still a total shock, and a slap in the face.

I say that to say that I can relate to the feeling of hopelessness that comes with this particular cancer. I found Stephen Jay Gould's piece "The Median Isn't The Message" to be helpful. He beat peritoneal mesothelioma back in 1982.

As others have said, "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi, is also worth a read. He contemplates what he would do with his life if he knew he had one year, five years, or 10 years left. I still think you can make a difference in this world.

It sounds like you have an amazing fiancee. Best to both of you, and your family.

I'm sorry to hear about what your family is going through. I'm at work and can't spend much time on a reply but this might be worth checking into:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lynch-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20374714

It won't help you mother in the case of this bout, but when she recovers it may be useful for her and the rest of your family.

You have an ipad? If you have the money, I'd get one and use your netflix or other subscription, too. You can also browse the web, and I'll show you how to read comics and books if you want. I mostly read comic books on it. I used the amazon music to get music on my phone, and later my ipad. If you only have a phone, you can always chat on IRC with AndroIRC or Colloquy, there are reddit chat channels on the irc.snoonet.org server. On iPad it's colloquy too. irc.freenode.org is pretty good too.

(#reddit) itself is pretty popular as a channel

The other thing I did was radio plays and audiobooks. I'd recommend having a friend or family member do this as I think you have to jailbreak the iPad to use bittorrent from the ipad itself used for downloading even 100% legitimate and legal out of copyright radio programs (if I'm wrong here, someone jump in and correct me). This site has hundreds of free, completely legal radio shows and podcasts. I recommend the Shadow and the Phillip Marlowe One and the Foundation Trilogy. Audiobooks you can get from audible and other places.

https://archive.org/details/radioprograms

I was in for 17 days and 30 days another time. Largely immobile the first time, immobile for portions of the second time (was hooked up to lots and lots of drip IVs which constricted movement) but could be off the power for them around two hours or so in the morning most days if the battery was charged. I couldn't leave the room until about the 4th week. There was limited movement, but I don't know what situation you were in.

How's your arm mobility in bed?

What state does your mom live in? There are likely resources to help navigate the insurance system. At the least, you can contact healthcare.gov and see if there is something available via the ACA. She likely missed open enrollment, but as far as I know, an insurance company can't just drop someone because they make too much money. If it was a government plan, they would've suggested she get a subsidized ACA plan instead. In fact, if she lost coverage in the last 60 days, she can likely still enroll. Check here: https://www.healthcare.gov/screener/

A close friend of mine's daughter was diagnosed with Pleuropulmonary Blastoma, a very rare and very malignant form of pediatric cancer. They recently had to remove 1/3 of her left lung when they found a huge tumor attached to two lobes of her left lung, her diaphragm, and her heart. She needs many chemotherapy sessions to help control the tumors. 83% of children afflicted by this rare form of cancer develop tumors in other parts of the body, and Jaime is starting to experience this as well. The costs for her diagnosis/removal of the initial tumor exceeded $1,000,000.

Times are tough for everyone right now, but i'm not asking you to donate (you're certainly welcome to). Instead, i need your help spreading the word.

Indiegogo is our chosen platform for this fundraiser and they use a mix of social media buzz to determine a 'gogofactor' on their campaigns. The higher the 'gogofactor', the more exposure it gets on the Indiegogo.com website. I would ask that anyone who feels touched by her story tell one or two more people. Post it on facebook, twitter, etc. The more people that know, the better.

http://www.indiegogo.com/savejaimebaker?a=956282

An audio book maybe? If she loves books but is to sick to read, maybe she could listen to one instead.

I've been listening to this one: https://www.audible.com/pd/Science-Technology/What-If-Audiobook/B00LV6V4UW If she likes science it might be something.

Hi Winkle...so sorry to hear about your partner. The uncertainty is one of the worst parts of cancer. A couple of places you might look for hope and inspiration and learn what others have done are:

--inspire.com's lung cancer survivor community - there are SO many people there surviving lung cancer at all stages, and they openly share information about treatments they are on or have been on, side effects, etc. It's one of the most knowledgeable cancer communities I've ever seen.

--Look into young lung cancer organizations. Unfortunately, for some reason the number of people under 40 being diagnosed with lung cancer is on the rise. There are survivor stories on the Jill's Legacy page of the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation page (http://www.lungcancerfoundation.org/about-us/jills-legacy/), for instance. These organizations may be able to offer you support and additional resources.

-I highly recommend the book When Breath Becomes Air, the memoir of a young surgeon with lung cancer. Even though it is not necessarily a story of survival, I found comfort in reading a first-hand account of someone going through the disease. He also talks about how he and his wife coped together, which may be helpful to you and your partner.

I'm so sorry this is happening. I hope for a long life for both of you.

For perspective, I think that most younger cancer patients, and even older cancer patients, should take a look at "When Breath Becomes Air." It's about a neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer at age 36 and died two years later. Cancer is always an unfair blow, but before the age of 50 or so, so much more so. Best of luck in confronting your situation.

Meditation: There are many resources available to get you started. Headspace and calm.com are awesome apps for you phone or ipad, and doyogawithme.com has some sleep and chronic pain meditations (that's my rec). My doctor wants me to imagine healing white sunlight throughout my body when I meditate, and when I did rad I imagined the beam healing the tumor bed.

Here are some links for meditation: http://doyogawithme.bandcamp.com/album/letting-go-guided-meditations-and-relaxations I like sink into sleep, heal chronic pain (I have an alphabet soup of auto immune diseases) and yoga nidra for sleep. They are free through the browser, you only have to pay for them if you want to download them to keep.

calm.com, headspace apps

I would also recommend the following books:

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation Nhất Hạnh, Thích

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice Suzuki, Shunryu

If I were you, I would start with the guided meditations in what ever position is most comfortable for you. I lie down in bed first thing in the morning and last thing at night and meditate. There are a thousand ways to meditate, but starting with these books will give you a good foundation. The denizens of /r/meditation are super helpful and there are a lot of resources linked. As always, feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Excited for you! I think it will help.

God, I know how you feel.

Dad just retired and is starting to slow down. Getting harder for me to deny his terminal cancer. ::hugs::

I like to read, knit write, but when I was going through my diagnosis, surgery, radiation, I spent a lot more time outside, took up gardening (which may be hard to do this time of year). Did a lot of walking, killed myself with exercise, which is what we should be doing anyway.

Full Catastrophe Living is a good cd/book for meditation, would be good for your step-dad too, I'll be getting my dad a copy, or head over to /r/meditation. I can't tell you how much stepping up my mindfulness/meditation practice helped. In short, you sit for a few minutes every day, even 5 minutes, and try to live in the present moment. Calm.com and the headspace app are great resources.

You can pm me if you want more info or if you want to chat.

It was on my right arm. When I showered, I just kept it out of the stream and rinsed carefully. Moisture got in it (when I perspired). I was getting chemo at least 1-2 times a week so the longest I'd go with out it getting cleaned and re-bandaged was three to four days.

It didn't get in the way of clothes. But I didn't work out the entire time I had it because I didn't want to sweat and get it gross. The nurses gave me a fish net looking stalking thing that went over it to keep it secured. But I bought an ace bandage wrap and wrapped it up to keep it secured. The last thing I wanted was it being pulled out or snagged.

IF you can go 8-9 weeks without doing anything strenuous then you'll be fine.

I found this on iOS App Store https://appsto.re/us/uTDCQ.i

And this is on Google Play Store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.textsprecher

Edit: It looks like both those apps also have a "favorite" feature. So your uncle can "favorite" certain words or phrases that he uses often.

That's great. Like I said earlier, in the meantime, get some rest but try to also take a 30-minute walk outside, if you can. Also, if your sleep is not good, make sure to tell one of your specialists or GP.

Edit : Just saw your comment about sleep. I would advise to try to get off your computer about two hours before sleep and to had a filter of yellow/orange light to your computer/tablet/phone. Here's a great one for computers. I've been using it for years : https://justgetflux.com. You can adjust the settings for it to start when the sun sets.

Blue light from screen can have a negative influence on circadian cycles and impact sleep quality.

Hope that helps!

Here are some reasons for a high WBC: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/high-white-blood-cell-count/basics/causes/sym-20050611

If he has a fever then clearly hes got a bug, either virus or bacterial. Antibiotics are fine, there's nothing to fear there. If it's a virus, antibiotics will do nothing.

A high WBC can be cause by stress too believe it or not.

Make sure to get him a lot of water.

If you really want antibiotics go to the doc in a box with him, and they will treat him.

He may end up getting tamiflu or a zpack. this could help.

Were his lymph nodes biopsied? positive they came back cancer? sometimes lymph-nodes can get inflamed from a deep infection. in which case a more specific set of antibiotics are called into case.

Either way take him to a local minute clinic see a doctor and see what they will do.

I find it odd your surgeon would help you through this.

Here are the clinical trials that he may be eligible for.

Here is all the research that has been done sicne 2009. I recommend researching each of the trial drugs and going with whichever one has the most promising initial data.

The original research article link is here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MiamiImageURL&_cid=272196&_user=10&_pii=S0092867410005659&_check=y&_origin=browse&_zone=rslt_list_item&_coverDate=2010-07-09&wchp=dGLbVlk-zSkzS&md5=5939656d7074437a0d889b...

Apparently cannabinoids have beneficial effects for glioma. I don't know if that's the type of brain cancer your friend has, but it's worth looking into.

For reals! Part of dealing with cancer is just making stuff up as things develop since it's not something people don't typically have to go through (especially at this age). Unlike high school, this isn't an experience that you can share with 50-500 other kids the same age as you.

I found I like Reddit a lot because I am able to communicate with people much more easily who may have gone through things I can relate with about personal issues I have encountered; it can help make things seem like I'm not the only one in the world going through crazy shit.

If you do need to vent, feel free to post some more or send a PM if you need. Again, you are in a very difficult situation and I wish you the best of luck!! (Real quick, one site I find that helps me chill is this: http://www.rainymood.com/. It is very important to take time for one's self, and I hope you can find a way to make that happen in the midst of all that you are going through!)

Only 10% of cancers are from known genetic factors. You could test for the BRCA1 gene and the likes though. A lot of breast cancers are caused by low vitamin D, if the general population would take proper supplementation (or sun exposure) we would see a 75% reduction in breast cancers, and a 50% reduction in metastasis after surgery. Vitamin D influences the immune system, and strengthens the bond between cells, making them behave properly.

Also, iodine deficiency can be a contribution. The amount of research done is rather minimal, but rat studies show that just 35 micrograms of iodine rich seaweed can keep them practically breastcancer free after given a strongly carcinogenic drug. The equivalent for humans would be 7 grams of mekabu (a sort of seaweed) per day. It also helps against painful breasts (fibrocystic breast changes), according to a study by Symbollon.

But search for yourself on ncbi or Google Scholar, and read the Open Access papers.

I can't say anything specific about your particular case though.

Anxiety, depression, PTSD... cancer is a huge disruption in life, and it's really common for emotions to get intense after treatment has been completed.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer-survivor/art-20047129

Here is a documentary on netflix called "how to die in oregon". Someone on reddit recommended it not too long ago, but haven't gotten around to watching it. https://www.netflix.com/title/70167107,

and a separate frontline documentary on euthanasia in general - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicide-plan/

I would start scrubbing that computer now. Some tools that may help:

1. A password manager - This can either be local (Keepass) or cloud based (Lastpass). You then keep the passwords you want to share in this and only need to share one login for your digital presence.

2. 7-Zip - This can create password protected zip folders and files. This would be for content that you don't want to share. Don't put this password in the password manager.

3. (More Advanced) Encrypted Drive - Get a USB stick or external hard drive. Download Veracrypt. Use Veracrypt to encrypt the entire device and then move anything you don't want to pass on there.

4. Google Photos - Assuming that your pictures and photos are personal (e.g. not pirated movies), you can upload an unlimited number of them to Google Photos. Google will compress them a bit, but they still look fine. Any documents you want to share can go into Google Drive.

On Amazon they have sets you can buy and add multiple buttons. So I have a button in my mom's bathroom, near her bed and in their sitting room. It connects to an alarm on my part of the house.

I think this is what we have but there are others that come with multiple receivers and alarms.

CallToU Caregiver Pager Wireless SOS Call Button Nurse Alert System for Home Elderly Patient Seniors Disabled Personal Attention Pager 500+ Feet 2 Waterproof Transmitters 1 Plugin Receiver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075VM7TYD/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_TSx5Eb1PRTDYD

Very simple: theres nothing to worry about, until theres something to worry about.

I dont know why, but that really liberated me. It allowed me to take it one day at a time instead of worrying/stressing about what was coming/what could happen. Really resonated with me.

That, and this fan:

https://www.amazon.com/Optimus-4-Inch-Personal-Metal-Fan/dp/B001IYQPWO

Dear God the hot flashes! Best thing EVER! Portable, went right in my bag, quiet, and cranks out a shocking amount of air. Love this thing! Disclaimer: I am in no way affliated with the makers of this fan. I just really like it that much.

My bff is currently going through chemo and radiation for llla anal cancer. She’s always cold so I just sent her this... she fricking loves it!! cozy

Descriptions would probably provide better direction. They're all excellent books if you're interested in that particular topic.

"When things fall apart" is a good book to read when you're in a crisis to give some perspective on the nature of such things and dealing with them.

"Mindfulness in Plain English" is a primer on meditation and mindfullnes. I found it very helpful in getting started with my practice.

"Radical Acceptance" is a different approach to meditation, many of my friends have mentioned that it helped them through difficult times.

Jack Kornfield (corrected the last name) is an author of many books on meditation and related subjects, and also has a website and podcasts. He's part of the first generation that brought meditation to the West and is an excellent writer and speaker.

Well shit. That's about all I've got to say. Sorry to hear your situation. I recommend reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius or listening to the the audio book https://librivox.org/the-meditations-of-marcus-aurelius/ it helps me get some perspective when I'm worried about things, I hope it does the same for you.

I know it's a totally different perspective to go through it with a parent vs. a spouse, especially so young, but I just read a book that might apply to both of you. If you ever have time, I recommend "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi. He's a neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at age 36. The book talks about his relationship with his wife through it all, and she wrote the epilogue after his death. It was a little rough to read at times, but it was a comfort to me to see it from his perspective. Peace to you and your loved ones.

I did have this during chemo, but when my hands were cracking because I'd put them through hell doing dishes in hot water for days when our dishwasher broke, I would put a mix of aloe vera, rose hip seed oil and vaseline on my hands and put socks over them. It seemed to really help.

Aloe Vera gel is a good place to start as it's really gentle. Also for skin issues related to cancer treatment this is a really good book. It's written by a dermatologist who specializes in cancer treatment related skin issues, and its written for patients to read, and it's well written and easy to understand.

He mentions in the book that sometimes patients have skin issues that are so bad that they end up having to stop treatment. If she's in New York City she can go see him at Memorial Sloan Kettering and he can recommend things that might help her skin. He has seen it all regarding skin issues and cancer.

https://www.amazon.com/Lacoutures-Guide-People-Living-Cancer/dp/0615452264