پستها
Hello friends, I am one of the survivors of cancer and I have decided to write about my survival story in order to help loved ones who are currently battling this illness or helping someone who is affected by it.
Fighting this disease is not an easy task but it is not impossible. Apart from medical science, it depends on the person's willpower and the support of those around them. This is a corner of my fight against this disease and its side effects, and I hope it becomes useful for you and your loved ones who are currently battling this disease.
It all started when I went to the doctor for my annual check-up and everything started from there. For a while, a small lump similar to a pimple had appeared on my body and I didn't pay much attention to it. But after a while, I asked my doctor about it during my annual check-up, at the same time that I went for the check-up.
After a small examination, the doctor asked me to have a blood test, which fortunately came back negative for everything. But just to be cautious, the doctor referred me to an Iranian internist who happened to be one of the best doctors in Northern California, Dr. Mehdi. He had previously performed surgery on me and had also removed a cancerous gland. After examining me, he said that there was nothing important, but prescribed an ultrasound for me just to be cautious.
This is where everything started.
After the ultrasound, Dr. Mehdi called me the same day and asked to see me the next day. I had no idea what he wanted to see me for, but I went to see him the next day anyway. Apparently everything was fine until the doctor entered the room and that was when my life changed completely forever.
My Nice and ruthless doctor bluntly told me, without any introduction, "Babak, I have to speak very frankly with you. You have a 95% chance of having cancer!" The only thing I remember is spinning and running around like a caged chicken in the room. I was so shocked that I wanted to grab the doctor's collar and tell him, "Are you F*#$ kidding me?" I couldn't believe it. The doctor told me, "Of course, I am 95% suspicious, and you can have six months of drug therapy. Maybe it's not cancer." I asked for the doctor's opinion, and he said, "So, I have scheduled surgery for you tomorrow morning at 8:00." The decision had already been made in advance, and the question from me was only a ceremonial aspect. Since I had complete confidence in my doctor, I did not see any reason to question or consult with another doctor.
In short, I had the operation on the next day, which was Friday, and on Monday, my doctor asked me to see him. I knew that the news should not be good. The doctor told me that unfortunately, I had cancer, and he had more bad news for me. I was even more shocked and thought to myself, "What could be worse than cancer? Death?!"
The doctor said that my cancer was malignant, and there was a 95% chance that it had spread throughout my body. He believed that I needed a full-body scan. Anyway, we went to the CAT scan that day, and the doctor called and said that the results were ready. They did not see anything in my body, but he was not confident in the images because they were not colored. I thought to myself that until the doctor finds something, let it go. In any case, it was the secrets of my doctor that saved my life. In short, the next day, I went to the hospital for a colored CAT scan, and I found out that my cancer had spread to both my lungs and the inside of my abdomen, close to my kidney. My doctor's guess was correct, and it was the beginning of a new life, full of bitter and sweet experiences and lessons.
From now on, I will mainly focus on my words to friends who are suffering from cancer or those who are currently undergoing chemotherapy. Of course, the content may be instructive for those loved ones who do not appreciate their health and are ungrateful.
The chemotherapy period is one of the toughest periods of a person's life. Sometimes, I even wanted to compare it to the military training period, but I couldn't. Unfortunately, until someone undergoes chemotherapy, they cannot understand my feelings and yours. My chemotherapy period was five days a week and nine hours a day for almost four months. I'm telling you that those of you who receive chemotherapy for two or three hours a week should be hopeful and know that it can be worse. During my two months of chemotherapy, I lost about 33 pounds, or nearly 15 kilograms. I think this is the only positive thing that chemotherapy has for me. The hardest part of chemotherapy for me was at night. Of course, during the day, I only saw the sky because of the long chemotherapy period. But the effects of the medication and irrational thoughts made my nights a nightmare, especially being alone at night and sometimes having to be nauseous until morning. Another reason I hated the night was the recurring nightmares I had, and unfortunately, most of them were related to death. Another reason I hated the loneliness of the night was that I hated being alone at night, but my situation was like that, and there was no solution. In my opinion, the best time was in the morning, and I loved the morning because it gave me a fresh hope for tomorrow. It's funny that I thought about tomorrow Moring all day long.
Before I explain more about that period, let me tell you what chemotherapy is and how it works.
You may have heard of chemotherapy, but maybe you don't know what it is and how it works. Have you ever been hospitalized or poisoned, for example? Chemotherapy is exactly like a serum, but while a serum given to a poisoned patient contains food and nutrients, a chemotherapy serum contains toxins and poisons. Unfortunately, chemotherapy not only kills cancer cells but also healthy ones, and has side effects such as:
1- Weight loss
2- Loss of body hair, such as hair on the head, eyebrows, and eyelashes
3- Hearing loss
4- Mouth sores, which are one of the most important and dangerous side effects and require careful mouth hygiene
5- Constant nausea
6- Temporary memory loss in some cases
7- Loss of appetite, or complete loss of appetite
8- Constant fatigue
9- Constant stomach acidity
10- Hiccups (I once had hiccups for 11 hours straight)
11- Severe body and bone pain
12- Nighttime insomnia and boredom (although it's not worth mentioning after all the other side effects I've mentioned!)
13- Fingernails and toenails falling off
14- Skin peeling
15- The taste of iron that you feel in your mouth during chemotherapy
And... I think that's enough for now. Keep in mind that all of these side effects can occur together, depending on the person. But dear ones who are suffering from cancer, remember that the end of this story is ***sweet***. Don't worry unnecessarily.
I started chemotherapy on May 2, 2008. I will never forget the first day. I was very...
TO BE CONTINUING………
#Fighting_Cancer
#CANCER
