A Cancer Survival Guide for Everyone

 

A

Cancer

Survival

Guide

for

Everyone

You may share this and reprint it as you desire.

If this book helps, two last thoughts, never give up, and take time to enjoy being alive every day, no matter how painful your life is at the moment.

© Mark Winkle 2018

What Now?

There is no need for me to explain to you what Cancer is. You already know. A civil war has begun in your body that you can win many battles in. You can enjoy the life you have while you draw breath, and that's what this book is all about.

If your Cancer was detected ealy, you have a better chance at extending your life. You will wake up every day, until one day you won't. That's life. You are born, you live, and then you die.

There is only one exit, and you don't get to choose how your story ends. You are the main character in your story, but you are not the author.

As a Cancer survivor, I have good days and great days. My non-Hodgkins Lymphoma went into remission after nearly killing me five times in three miserable death wishing years.

My doctors nearly killed me. The first round of Ritauxin nearly killed me. My lungs nearly killed me. The beauty of the X-Ray technician at OSU Wexner Hospital nearly killed me. And God laughed at it all.

I have had eighty-one doctors look at my medical files in the past three years. I am a medical mystery. There is no Dr. House in any hospital that I have been in. Doctors, nurses, security, orderlies, X-Ray techs know me by name. I have been in hospitals so often that, thank God, I wake up above ground the next day. Waking up below ground is a bad way to start your day.

We are all dying to get out of here, but there is no reason why we can't enjoy every moment that we can while we are here.

No one knows how I got Cancer, and no one knows why it went into remission. I told my oncologist at my last screning visit that,”I figure it got sick from all of the strawberry and banana fruit smoothies and junk food I fed it, and died.”

Like she said, “It doesn't matter. A win is a win.” I like that answer.

For Mom, Dad, Brothers, Sisters and Relatives

You will never know what your Husband, Wife, daughter, son, Aunt, Uncle, niece, nephew, or in-law is going through. Just being there for emotional support is the best medicine a Cancer patient can ever be given.

Show them you love them. Show them you care. Talk to them about what is going on outside of the house and hospital. Help them build their hope.

Don't be afraid to show your emotions. Dying is tough for them to face as much as it is for you to face. We all will die one day. We all want to live nice long healthy lives that are carefree with money trees at every corner, but life comes with its problems. Cancer is just another obstacle to overcome.

Be honest with them and yourself. They know that they are sick. They know that they might die. Trust me, as someone who fought this demon for three years, hacked, coughed, and puked every minute and even planned my own funeral... they know how sick they are.

One out of every four people will get Cancer. If the Cancer doesn't kill you, the chemo will. If the chemo doesn't kill you, your doctor's mistakes will. If your doctor's mistakes don't kill you, the side effects of having Cancer will. Once you get Cancer, you will die one day.

You might live a hundred years after your Cancer goes into remission, but truth be told, you too, will die one day.

Trust me, your Cancer patient understands this fact at a deeper level than you can imagine. They think about dying hundreds of times a day, and even wish it was all over already.

Your job is to keep living your life and to love them. Give them hope that they will get better. Be there when they want or need to talk, about anything, even death.

Don't act like there is nothing wrong, because there is definitely something wrong. Dying is never pretty. Don't try to be brave, just be yourself- and let them know how much you love and care about them.

Make them part of your life, but not the center of your life.

Pray for them. Pray with them. Hug them. Kiss them. Hold them. Touch them. Listen to them. Be there. But, don't make them your world.

Changes

Facing a life and death situation changes the way you look at things.

I used to be a super serious guy. I had plans for the future. I had plans of what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go, and who I wanted to be.

I still have plans, but I am more honest about them now. I hope I get to Australia in my lifetime. I hope I can vacation in Hawaii some day. I hope I live a long and healthy life. I used to be more certain that life would turn out the way I wanted it to. Then, I was misdiagnosed for two years, by top lung doctors who guaranteed me that I did not have Cancer, until the day my lungs collapsed.

After Robotically lasering the calcium out of both of my lungs, a very rude doctor, full of himself, told me that he “thought I might have Cancer.” A second biopsy three days later confirmed it. A second opinion by the National Cancer Institute's top Clinician confirmed it.

I still remember the first line of the emeil I received.

Dear Mr. Winkle, June 2017

We regret to inform you that..... , the rest doesn't matter. We wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Dr. OhMyGod!

My life had suddenly changed. I had already had two lung surgeries in 2015 on my right lung. For months my immune system purged mucus to empty my lungs from the infection that the Cancer had helped invade my body.

My first round of chemotherapy sent me into shock and then into ICU. I never returned.

I looked into alternative therapies. Fruit smoothies, vegetable smoothies (yuk!), apricot kernels, baking soda, vitamins, probiotics, enemas, body cleansing, yoga, exercise, rest- try everything! Or give up.

If I had continued my chemotherapy, the chemo drugs would have given me Leukemia II, with an eight year life span.

The choice of doing chemotherapy or not doing chemotherapy is a personal one. Chemo works for some people. Radiation works for some people. Alternative therapy works for some people. The rest die.

There are two ways that Cancer works- either your body gets strong enough to kill it, or it kills you. Every day Cancer patients make a choice. Sometimes God lets you win.

Cancer makes you look at death in the face.

It makes you mad. It makes you afraid that there is nothing you can do about anything. And you can't. And that's the truth. Cancer changes the way you live your life. It makes you evaluate what is and is not important.

The scars that Cancer leaves- physical, emotional, and spiritual are with me every day. I never wanted Cancer. I am glad I don't have it any more. But, I am still not happy that I had to go through it.

There are days that it is hard to breath. There are times that I have to stop and catch my breath and let my heart slow down.

Some people go crazy and throw caution to the wind. I tend to pace myself for the long distance that my body still has to travel. I rest more often, taking time to look at the scenery and enjoy the moment. I am hardly ever in a hurry any more. I plan ahead. If things don't work out, it is no big deal.

I know what I want to do with some of the rest of my life, the rest I have left the myself open to. After all, God has a wicked sense of humor.

Be open to change.

Doctors, Nurses, and Medical Staff

The best medicine anyone ever gave me was a smile.

The second best medicine I have received is when someone laughs with me - at anything.

If you have read this far, you know that I am a medical mystery. My case is part of three clinical Cancer studies. At least three medical students wrote their research doctoral thesis on my case. Eighty-one doctors, including pulmonary, cardiology, radiology, and oncology specialists could not figure out why my body was trying to kill itself.

But, it does not matter. Since they could not figure out why my body was dying, they could not give me a cure. Every Cancer is different. Every Cancer patient is different.

But they never gave up on me. Despite working in a career where they face and make life and death every day, I received the best of care from 90% of my nurses, and 95% of my doctors.

I consider myself a very smart person, but I know that I don't know everything about anything. No one does.

Doctors hate going into a dying patient's room. I have seen them wait outside my room until everyone else has left the area, then meekly come into my room. Speaking softly, they ask me , “How are you feeling today?” I joke by replying, “With my fingers!” I try not to complain too much. They have no idea how bad I feel and I can't put it into words sometimes. The fear of dying is the worst fear anyone will ever face. My blood pressure goes up every time I even think about doctors, nurses (some really smoking hot), hospitals, needles, shots, and medicine of any kind. I take a deep breath and relax, and move on with my day.

We understand how the body works. We understand how Cancer works. There should be a way from doctors to shut off a body's immune system and then reboot it.

The hardest thing for patients to understand is that their doctor can't fix them. With Cancer, one part of your body is attacking another part of your body.

The hardest thing for doctors and nurses to understand is that they cannot save everyone. Sometimes the clock stops ticking on a patient's life. You have done your best to help me understand what is going on. You have prescribed the medication you thought would work. I understand your frustration, your pain, your anguish, your sense of failure. I empathize with you. And I/we want to thank you for caring when we thought our life was ending. For standing with me/us when my darkest hours came and I thought my life was over. You stood by me and with me/us and I saw the love you had for your fellow man in your eyes and on your face. You gave me part of your soul today and it helped me keep going into tomorrow. Your thoughts of care and concern for my/our well being washed over me like a river of emotion as I watched you struggle to keep your composure and not let me see you cry. You were strong when I was at my worst and gave me hope, strength, and courage to keep fighting- to live another day- when all I wanted to do was cover my head, curl up in a ball and die.

My nurse's kind words calmed my fears as well as my soul. Your smiles and laughter at my bad jokes made me feel human again when I felt like giving up. Your prayers and attention to my every need helped me make it through my worst days, when my soul ached and my body begged for death.

Your nagging kept me mindful of your high hopes for my body's repair, if I would just do what I was told and quit fidgetting.

Your persistence in finding a vein to draw another drop of blood from my poor tired body let me know you were not giving up on me. You were rowing with me to get me back into the arms of my loved one. You gave me empathy and listened to me when no one else would.

I/we thank each and every medical professional from the paramedic, doctors, X-ray technicias, Radiologists, oncologists, surgeons, pulmonary doctors, cardiologists, nurses, nurses aides, hospital nutrition staff, meal deliversy staff, utility staff, orderlies, security, lab techs, cleaning staff, and even billing staff for empathizing with me/us in our fight against Cancer.

To the unsung heroes...

my eighty-one clueless doctors who taught me to never give up one at a time.