I just need to vent, so sorry about being negative in advance! The post is in the title itself, really. I am usually a very positive person, but I am on my first recurrence and THIS SUCKS SO BAD!!!

I already had to stop my new treatment TWICE because of side effects. First it was because my face basically fell off: I got a rash so bad my entire face was an open wound, so we had to stop due to risk of infection. That happened in the first two weeks of treatment, so super quickly!! We sorted that out and my skin healed, so we started treatment again at a lower dosage. Three weeks later, and I have to go to the ER because I can’t breathe. I had to be hospitalized due to a pulmonary embolism… I almost died there.

It’s clear that my body doesn’t like this medication, but this is the best thing available for my type of cancer! There aren’t many other options at all! I don’t want to die, but I also don’t want to get killed by medication!!! I’m only 25!!!!!! I AM SO TIRED!!!!!!!!!!! I AM JUST EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I AM TERRIFIED OF WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I FEEL LIKE I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like Im going through the worst time of my life I know its unhealthy but let me just have one little moment of happiness. Especially since alot of us struggle with fatigue, weight loss, and nausea!!! Isn’t it better to eat something than to shrivel up and go on a feeding tube (speaking from experience btw because thats exactly what happened to me as I was to weak to even eat.)

Hi all,I am 29, I’ve been a cancer patient on and off since 2022, have had 14 chemos, two surgeries, a permanent colostomy and have been back to work twice since then and had to go off work twice due to the cancer coming back.

Most recently I’ve been off work since September 2025 and only this week I got good news that my current cancer treatment is having a positive result, shrinking metastases in my liver, which is amazing news but I’ve had such an errie feeling the last day or so, I don’t know what to do with my life now, I try to keep myself busy but I don’t ever see myself going back to full time employment as I found work very stressful on both the body/mind and my health.

As my friends are buying houses, having kids l, travelling etc I feel like I’m stuck in limbo, my journey is not over yet, I am not sure if it ever will be just wondering if anyone else here feels similar?

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense I’m not the best at putting feelings into words, I have a psychologist in my hospital who is amazing but I just want other patients thoughts on it. Thank you

Hello all.

About a month or two ago my dad had a period of diarrhoea which resolved on its own and was then followed by rapid - and I do mean rapid - weight loss. He was a big and quite broad sort of bloke thanks to his warehouse job, and now he’s skin and bone. He also couldn’t tolerate food, just zero appetite and instant fullness.

Two weeks ago he was sent for a CT scan which found nothing. Despite this, he could still feel a lump in his stomach that was corroborated by a doctor so he was sent for an endoscopy. The endoscopy technician (doctor?) looked a bit grim and said that he could see a lump. It’s considered to be potentially malignant. Four biopsies have been taken, and we have 28 days to see whether or not this lump (38 cm from incisors) is going to be considered cancerous.

So far he’s not having any trouble swallowing and there’s no vomiting. Some fatigue, a lot of weight loss, full feeling, acid reflux are the main symptoms. He thinks he has some back pain but it’s hard to tell.

I don’t know what to do now. All signs seem to indicate late stage oesophageal cancer. I’m despondent. How the hell do you deal with this? What a terrible outcome.

Just got diagnosed with bowel cancer. Still need scans to see the full picture. I just can’t deal with the idea of telling my kids. In a very weird place so reaching out to you strangers who might provide a crumb or two of good advice.

I'm a 17y hd lymphoma patient and had been cancer free for almost 2 months, but lately i had been feeling the same pain i used to feel before my first diagnosis but in the opposite side of my neck, also i had been sweating a lot in my sleep to the point i have to change my bed sheets

If anyone had experienced this before can you help me

Is there a multivitamin that can be taken, that's a capsule or pill, that they don't have to chew? They're not getting enough nutrition because "everything tastes too terrible" including the liquid shakes. They want some kind of supplement they can just swallow without having to chew or taste it. Does this exist? Their providers have been no help with this and just suggested Ensure. They have one chemo treatment left and another few weeks of radiation, and they're just not getting the nutrients and protein they need with the tiny bit of food they're able to eat.

(48M) I'm grateful I'm currently in remission from Stage 4 NSCHL. On my PET scans, radiologist flagged esophageal findings as indeterminate.

I'm scared about possibility of esophageal cancer. Doctor ordered an endoscopy and colonoscopy to assess. Doctor thinks it's unlikely it's cancer. I'm scared to death.

I have a history of smoking and I'm a recovering alcoholic. I used to take medication for GERD but I changed my diet, quit alcohol and cigarettes, and GERD resolved. I have CPTSD. My anxiety and depression are through the roof.

Copying, pasting my PET scan findings below. If you may've experienced something similar, I'd greatly appreciate your input.

Uptake in the distal esophagus with associated wall thickening is redemonstrated, maximal SUV measures 5.3, previously measured 7.6. This is indeterminate.

Small gastrohepatic node is again seen with low level FDG uptake, grossly unchanged. There is no suspicious FDG uptake in the osseous structures.

There are degenerative changes. Reference physiologic mediastinal blood pool maximal SUV: 2.5, previously 3.0. Reference physiologic hepatic maximal SUV: 3.5, previously 3.3.

Any input you may have would be greatly appreciated.

learned about my cancer june

synovial sarcoma top of manubrium as large as 16x14cm not sure if this included the 3cm healthy skin take took a long with surgery

For 6 years doctors told me it was Ganglion when it was size of Lollipop.
stubborn of me not taking care it asap, i was trying to avoid surgery since the same spot also had Tiezten syndrome which is some sort of chest wall pain when slight touched or pumped in to something is like 15x bee bite.
Around may-june tumor grow in 2 stages to 16x14cm

First session of chemo worked first but it grow larger & almost reached heart but luckily it never reached my lungs which is most likely to metastasized in to after failed first session of chemo we went straight into radiation therapy
Radiation therapy worked extremely well shrinking the cancer cells to the edges.

Surgery
Surgeons had massive task ahead 8 hour surgery with 4 different surgeon specialist.
They first thought they had to drill massive amount of my manubrium but luckily it was way less than they thought also they had to drill part of collarbone, sternum, manubrium and 2 ribs.
150 stitches/stables give or take. Skin craft to back &" skin transfer from back to tumor area

just got the call yesterday that they managed to remove all the cancer

Im just glad for now i dont have

no pain, no depression, no anxiety, No meds, no side-effect of radiation/chemo so far
no withdrawals from 2 weeks on strong opioids. Only bone/muscle stifness left.

my cancer is the most common childhood cancer acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) and chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) but I also have a genetic mutation called philadelphia positive chromosome and I’ve never met anyone with it since my treatment in a specialist hospital a decade ago. Most people with this mutation are over 55 but I’m 17 😅😅

I was diagnosed with stage 3C vulvar squamous cell carcinoma in January. After extensive surgery, 30 rounds of radiation, and six rounds of cisplatin chemotherapy, I finished treatment in May.

Unfortunately, my recent PET scan showed suspicious lymph nodes, including a para-aortic lymph node with an SUV of 25.2. My oncologist is now describing my diagnosis as recurrent vulvar cancer with distant metastasis.

I’ve been told the cancer is no longer considered curable and that treatment would focus on disease control. My oncologist recommended combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy, followed by maintenance immunotherapy. When I asked about prognosis, she shared that other patients she’s treated have lived approximately 1.5–2 years following recurrence with treatment. I understand everyone’s experience is different, but hearing that was difficult.

I’m currently asymptomatic and just starting to feel like myself again. I’m struggling with whether to pursue more treatment, delay it, or prioritize quality of life over potentially more time.

Has anyone experienced a similar recurrence? I’d love to hear what treatment you chose, how you tolerated it, how long you’ve been living with recurrence, and what your quality of life has been like.

I’m 43, single, and don’t have children. Quality of life is incredibly important to me, and I’m trying to understand what this next chapter could realistically look like. 💛

Hey everyone, how are you all doing?

I was just thinking about this because I feel lucky that I liked being in the hospital when I was really sick.

I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in June 2025 and I spent a month in the hospital.

I was really sick and spent most of my time sleeping but I just felt really safe there and I remember being a little worried when it was time for me to leave.

Now I go to the cancer center every three weeks to get chemo and I like that too, it feels like I'm being cared for and it's keeping me alive.

Anyway how do you all feel about it?

I hope your homes feel comfy cozy too.

So I know you’ve read my posts before that in My of this year I was diagnosed with follicular thyroid cancer that metastasized to the bones in my femur and pelvis. And that I had emergency surgery to stabilize my femur with a rod and some nails. And then I had two rounds of radiation. And then I had my thyroid removed. And then I had a Bisphosphonate infusion, Zometa, to which I had a horrific reaction. And then my medical oncologist, who is one of the five oncologists on my team at University of Florida, decided that he was canceling the rest of my infusions (I was scheduled to have five more, one each month and he did this with no discussion with me) and also would not be prescribing my pain medication any longer. Tomorrow is the last of my pain medication, which is 10mg oxycodone. I have been scrambling all day, working with my nurse advocate who is through my insurance company, to find a Pain Management Dr to prescribe something to manage my pain. It doesn’t even have to be oxycodone. Just has to be something that takes care of the horrific pain that is in my femur and pelvis. For a long time, the pain in my femur was completely gone. That was the original pain that I called lightning bolt pain because it was so painful. But now that I had the Zometa, it seems to be working and it’s causing a lot of pain in the areas with the metastatic bone cancer. I plan to leave University of Florida oncology care because I think that this man is a monster. He prescribed me opioids for months and then one day just said he was done prescribing them with no plan of care going forward. (He also could have ordered Xgeva, because that was the initial infusion he had ordered, but my insurance company turned it down and said no, but we will do Zometa. So since the Zometa failed so spectacularly, he could have gone back to the insurance company and said look it failed so now can we do Xgeva?) So now I think I’m going to transfer to Florida Cancer Specialists because they are local to me so I won’t have to drive an hour and a half every time I have an appointment which would be great, but that’s gonna take a minute to get established. I’m gonna call them tomorrow and see if they actually have Pain Management, which my friend who is retired from there says they do. I called Moffitt Cancer Center today to ask about getting established there because that’s where my dad went for 20 years so I thought they would be good. And they said they don’t prescribe opioids. I’m just so over all of this. I can’t even stand it. So I’m gonna end up back on Pain Management, I can already tell. And then the stupid oncologists can do whatever they need to do. I still have to have radioactive iodine, and they said if that didn’t work, I may have more radiation. I’m gonna miss the good doctors at UF. But he ruined everything. I’ve taken screenshots of our conversations, and I am filing a formal complaint against him. The University of Florida social worker this morning told me to go to the ER early Thursday morning and tell them the whole story that he prescribed opioids that I’ve been on for months and then he just dropped me and that I’m in excruciating pain which I will be by morning on Thursday and that I’m afraid of withdrawal symptoms because I’ve never gone through anything like this. I feel like I’m just repeating myself here over and over and I’m really sorry if that’s the case. But I am so frustrated. I’m crying every day and I am working with my therapist on my safety plan, yesterday she had me give the key to my lockbox to my neighbor. This is just the craziest thing I’ve ever been through and I’m tired. So tired. I hope you’re all doing well today and having a good day and a pain-free day. Those are always the best days. Peace everybody.

Bonjour à tous, maman d’un petit garçon de 3 ans.. avec un Neuroblastome récidive précose. Quels lignes de traitements après une récidive ? J’ai tellement peur si quelqu’un aurait un témoignage similaire, s’il vous plais.. le cœur d’une maman brisée qui parle

I had stage two Hodgkins Lymphoma as a teen a few years ago. I got a port, three months of Chemo and got the port out again. I've been in remission ever since and have a survival rate of over 95 Percent.

But then I see people getting radiation, surgery, getting amputations and being in treatment for years with a much smaller survival rate.

I know that cancer always sucks and there is no such thing as an "easy cancer". I just feel so weird labeling myself a "cancer survivour" just like they do and I can't imagine them not thinking "badly" about people like me who had it so easy. I guess I'm just curious about peoples thoughts when they hear about people with easier cancer journeys than their own.

(My OCD is going absolutely wild about me possibly jinxing myself with writing this post but sometimes you gotta risk stuff in life lmao. Fuck Cancer!!)

Going back to work in 38 hours and terrified suddenly. It’s been one solid year. In some aspects so happy to be going back. In others the anxiety is relentless. Like this has been a long long year. Surgery, 6 months of chemo, another surgery 6 weeks ago. And suddenly it feels too short. And my mind is filled with what ifs. And I have my 3 months labs and scans end of next week then my 3 months with oncology on 11/12. And it’s so so much.

Please, help me understand why this is happening to me now. How did you deal with this? Just help. Please. I need to figure out how to chill out.

After a stressful year, & 7 rounds of chemo plus a hysterectomy, my last CT shows that "I'm clear" of the cancer. (Advanced stage 3a uterine)

Other than my having an appointment with my gynocologist in Dec., I've just finished having a phone consult with a Dr. from Cranbrook. Long story short, I will be "under servailence" for the next year or 2, if not longer. Appointments will be every 3-4 months.

A CT & blood pre-requisite will be made prior to each gyno appointment.

I've always/often shared concenrns with my medical team, but am curious on what others would want to ask their medical team when they've got their appointments? I'd like to be prepared.

Thanks in advance.

Hello. I was diagnosed with liver cancer in January. I had MRI and a CT done. I got the results before speaking with my internal medicine specialist. I'm not a doctor, but I knew from that report that it was terminal. Which was later confirmed after being referred to an oncologist.

I'm not a candidate for liver transplant, because I wouldn't survive it. Nor a candidate for traditional chemotherapy. I was put on immunotherapy, which I'm fortunate, because there wasn't even a treatment 6 or so years ago. With a life expectancy of 8-12 months. Immunotherapy raises that to an average of 18 months, with outliers in the 5 year range.

Treatment was going well, even marginally shrinking the tumors. The side effects have become progressively worse. It started attacking my skin and nails. Now it's progressed into severe side effects, diverticulitis being one.

I've always been an intensely private person with poor social skills. I usually have 1 or 2 people in the "best friend" category. And a handful of people I get on with. COVID isolation didn't actually bother me, my wife was going nuts however, she's my polar opposite, social skills wise.

It's gotten to a point that I have to restrain myself from talking about the cancer, because people are pulling away. I get it. What do you say to a dying person?

I don't even know why I'm posting this to strangers on the Internet. I've never been in a situation that I couldn't talk to someone about. Maybe just to vent. I wish good health and good luck to anyone reading this.

I am absolutely crushed. I don't know what to expect. What are yall experiences with hair loss? Is it the same like from chemo? Is it hard to come back on your feet after the transplantation?