Hi all. First let me share a little about my own unique story. In April 2023, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The good news was that 98% of men survive their diagnosis. The bad news is the diagnosis was wrong. Three months later I was diagnosed with stage IV oesophageal cancer. There is no cure and I was told that I could have as little as two months to live. I was 42 years old and a husband and a father. Now, almost two years later, I'm not only surviving, I'm thriving and now I want to help other people meet the challenges of cancer head on by sharing my journey into cancer and dissecting some common cancer concerns from my own experience.
To be absolutely clear, I am not an advocate for alternative therapies and I do not believe that a miracle diet can cure me. Having the right cancer treatment is essential and I'm of the opinion that chemotherapy saved my life. I also currently have immunotherapy treatment every 6 weeks, which I think, along with targeted therapy, has been one of the most exciting advancements in oncology. That said, I did radically change my diet and lifestyle and believe that making healthy balanced nutritional choices, alongside conventional treatment, helped me to deal with the side effects and improved my quality of life.
I want to prove that you can live your best life with cancer, even if, like me, you have a terminal diagnosis but you need to find your own path and decide what's important to you.
I look forward to sharing with you all. Best wishes
memyselfandcancer
Hi MeMyselfandCancer and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community and it's great that you want to share your experiences with others.
The online community is divided into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the oesophageal cancer group, which is a great place to ask questions, share experiences and get support.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi PippaP and a very warm welcome to you too.
That's great that you found the post from MeMyselfandCancer inspirational.
The online community is divided into different support groups but as you haven't said what type of cancer your son is being investigated for I can't give you a direct link to that group to get support.
You could either reply to me telling me the type of cancer that's suspected, or look through this list to find the appropriate one. You'll then connect directly with others who have the same type of cancer to ask questions and share experiences.
You might also like to look at joining either the carers only group, if you are your son's carer, or the family and friends group if you're not. These two groups are great places to share your emotions and get support.
To join just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your son's symptoms and tests to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi PippaP
Yes there is a group specifically for testicular cancer. Clicking here will take you directly to it.
To join either click on the banner at the bottom of the page that opens or on the word 'Join' which you should see on the right hand side of the page towards the top.
If you have any problems navigating the website just reply to me and I'll be pleased to help.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
