Dedications

Dedications

These are the real life stories of those whose lives have somehow been affected by cancer. Whether they have fought and won, are still fighting, or lost the fight, each one holds a special place in our hearts.  If you have a story you'd like to share, please send it to fandom4cancer@live.com.  We ask that no names be included to protect the privacy of those involved.

@FigSk8ingAngel:
My brother is currently fighting Stage Three Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  He was diagnosed after going to the doctor for “marble-sized lumps” in his neck.  He’s currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments, which will continue for the next four months.  The doctors all say his prognosis is great, and a full recovery with low chance of relapse is expected.
Update August 2011: As part of the chemotherapy treatments, a second scan was done to check the progress of the cancer and find out if treatments are working.  He got a great report!  ALL TUMORS ARE GONE and he is now considered CANCER FREE!!! :-) His doctors want him to finish off the chemotherapy, but say that the chances of of the cancer coming back is very unlikely!


@nessyness90210:
 When I was eighteen, my sister, who was 22, started having some pains in her throat. It started off as just a sore throat but then she started growing a bump on the left side of her throat. She she went to the doctor and, they told her they were ninety-percent sure it was thyroid cancer.  She then underwent surgery, and they removed her thyroid.  Even through the  doctor said that everything had been removed she had to undergo radiation treatment.  The doctors all said that thyroid cancer is one of the easiest to treat.  My sister has a hard case; this year she had to undergo radiation treatment for a second time. It breaks my heart to see my sister go through this.  She’s not the same sister I had growing up.  That’s why I support Fandom4Cancer.

@katsflowergirls:

I'd like to dedicate my donation to Doernbecher Children's Hospital cancer unit, to several people I love very much...

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer and had to have a mastectomy then radiation treatments, but she is now happily cancer free!!! 

Also, I have two nieces (12 & 14 yrs old) who have pedo-pancreatitis.  When they have to receive treatments, they stay in the cancer unit at Doernbecher's, so this donation is also for them :)

Thirdly, my donation is also in loving memory of my boyfriend in college, who passed away from colon cancer...

Thank you to 'Fandom 4 Cancer' for giving us a way to honor our loved ones who have battled this disease!!!

 

Conquering My Cancer

by  @CharliDenae

I'd just graduated from high school and was attending the local community college on the way to getting my degree in Elementary Education. I was also working part-time at the nearby grocery store and had been dating my first real boyfriend for about 5 months. With all of this going on, and making time for my friends and family, I was a very busy teenager.

The first time I remember feeling that something was wrong, was just before summer break that spring. I was at work, I was a cashier and on my feet pretty much my whole shift, and I began to feel faint. I'd gone all day without eating and figured it was just low blood sugar. My grandma was diabetic and so I knew how your blood sugar levels could affect you. This happened a few more times over the summer, usually at work when I'd been standing for a while, and my mom sent me to the doctor to see what was going on. They did a complete physical, including blood tests, and told me they could find nothing wrong.

Over the next few months, I had more fainting spells and followed up with more doctor visits. School started again and, though I was having these spells, I felt normal most of the time and began to attend classes. Right before the Holidays, I experienced this horrible pain in my back. It was right on my spine, a little bit below where my bra strap sat. It took my breath away, as though someone had punched me really hard, and stayed consistent for an hour exactly. After the hour was up, the pain completely disappeared.

Over the next month, I began to wake up every night at 3:00 AM on the dot, no matter what time I went to bed, soaked through with sweat and freezing, and with that horrible pain in my back. After another doctor's visit proclaiming me perfectly healthy, again, I started to develop a cough. By this time, it had been over six months since I'd started feeling that something wasn't right. Soon, I was feeling a rattle in my chest every time I drew a breath and was convinced I had pneumonia. A chest Xray was scheduled and we were told it was normal and that I had a mild case of bronchitis. My mom was enraged, she marched into the doctor's office and demanded that he admit me to the hospital and find out what was wrong with me.

After much hemming and hawing, the doctor called the hospital and told them to expect me. I went home and got some stuff together and my mom drove me to the hospital. After two and a half hours, they finally admitted me and arranged for some tests. They'd done a chest Xray and we found out later that they'd immediately seen several dark spots on my lungs. The next few days were filled with needles, Xrays, surgery and barely any sleep.

After surgery to collect biopsies of my lymph glands, the same doctor who'd strung me along for over six months, came to my room early in the morning and told me, matter-of-factly, that I had Hodgkin's Disease. I wasn't sure what that even was but, ironically, I'd read an article in his waiting room about a young girl who'd had Hodgkin's Disease and had passed away from it. In tears, I asked him if that was a type of cancer and he told me it was. He patted my hand and told me how sorry he was and that he'd arranged for an Oncologist to see me later that day. Then he just walked out of the room and left me alone.

I was sobbing in fear when a nurse came in and tried to comfort me. She told me that, if I had to pick a cancer to have, Hodgkin's was the most curable. She was really sweet and said that, with a smile as beautiful as mine, surely God would watch over me.

My mom came bursting through the door, full of indignation that the doctor hadn't waited until she'd gotten there, and we waited for the Oncologist to come see me. He looked over all of my tests and it didn't look good. He was warm and compassionate, but he told us the complete truth. I was in the fourth stage by then and the fifth stage was death. The nine month delay had definitely not been in my favor, but he would do everything in his power to make me well again. I was moved to the Oncology ward and settled in for a month long stay.

Thankfully, the disease wasn't found in my bone marrow, but I had several large tumors in my lungs, hence the bronchitis, tumors in most of my lymph glands, spleen and liver, and a large tumor wrapped around my spine, exactly where I'd experienced that horrible pain. I learned that all of my symptoms were classic signs of cancer and that the first doctor should've been able to tell from both the blood tests and chest Xrays, that something was terribly wrong.

I started chemotherepy treatments within the next few days and they warned me of all the side effects. Miraculously, I didn't lose my hair, a mystery my Oncologist still hasn't solved, but the chemotherepy treatments were hell on earth and I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. I consider myself very lucky, though, after 13 months of grueling bi-weekly treatments, I was declared in remission and it's been 25 years since my last chemo treatment. I was also blessed to have a terrific doctor, a loving and supportive network of family and friends, and a fighting spirit. Blessings from above sure didn't hurt my case, either, and, to this day, I truly feel that I'm still here for a reason. I've yet to know for sure what that reason is but, despite the overwhelming odds, I have two beautiful and healthy children and I'd like to think that I'm here for them. I'm convinced that they're meant to make a difference in this world. I know they've definitely made a difference in mine.

Cancer is no longer a death sentence. With the advancements in science and focus on both nutrition and spirit, a person has a better chance of survival, more now than ever. Cancer research is an amazing cause and, since cancer effects us all, supporting this cause will help to provide a cure some day.

Hope is the first step.

Loopylou992 (Louise)

I am not only writing but will also be making a donation to a Cancer 
Charity, and my Grandad died of Cancer, as did his mum. Also I have just 
found out today that my Gran who is 95 years old has got skin cancer on 
her head for the third time. They are rushing through a specialists 
appointement for her to be seen as an urgent case.
 
Hopefully she will be okay this time as it has been spotted quickly, but 
it goes to show, I live in the UK not especially known for its hot sunny 
climate, and she certainly does not go on holidays abroad or spend hours 
sitting in the sun so it can affect anyone.
 
I am writing a one shot for the compliation and also making a cash 
donation in dedication to her.