New and scared.

Yes, CHF, & I am 75, so haven’t got as much at stake as you.  I do feel for you.  Please find comfort in the fact that these professionals are very highly skilled and Want the very best for you.  These things are thrust upon us.  Try to take it as it comes, a bit at a time, so that the fear doesn’t harm you.  You still have a life.  And they will endeavour to save it altogether!  Immunotherapy is the latest treatment & can work wonders.  I heard today of a correlation with a weed.  The weed is the cancer, which the specialists deal with.  The soil it grows in in something you can work on to improve & build up, by  whatever suits you.  Eg Yoga, Mindfulness.  The latter is especially helpful.  Macmillan have numerous resources online to explore - otherwise Penny Brohn can be looked at.  There is so much help out there.  They do Their bit, and we have to do our bit.  Best wishes & good luck x

Hi,

I’m 64 and I also had a lesion on my scalp which was removed in late 2020.  This was followed by a WLE and SLNB, which showed a spread of cancer away from the initial site.

In mid-2021 I had an operation to remove all lymph nodes from the left-hand side of my neck and this was followed by an MRI scan which showed secondary cancer in my liver & lungs.

I know this sounds grim, however following just over 12 months of immunotherapy (and the balance of 24 months of treatment to come), I had a call from my oncology team yesterday to confirm that the latest scan shows no evidence of cancer in my liver or lungs again (the cancer disappeared within the first few months of treatment).  My next treatment is tomorrow.

Not everyone is as lucky as I am I know, however I think you should take comfort that immunotherapy can be incredibly effective.  In my case, I have not had any nasty day-to-day side effects of the treatment and I am as fit now as I have been for the last 10 years at least.  Life is good and I’m very positive about the future.

Good luck to you and please keep this forum up to date on how things progress.

All the best.

That is absolutely terrific, Emo, I am SO glad for you.  And a huge encouragement to the rest of us, thank you for telling your story.  Go, girl!   x