ask a cancer patient

[cartzo]

Congats man and I'm sorry but were you prepared to die?

i never really thought about that, after the first month i was assured it was cureable with kimo.

Oh OK

How was chemo(?)

well it's definately true that it's the chimo you should be scared of and not the cancer, unless of course it's terminal.

apperantly it's not even a real medicine, it's just something that is designed to kill fast moving cell, which is why all your hair falls out.

 

[cartzo]

Are there any positives? Like when I got my tonsils out I got a ton of ice cream. That was awesome. Do you get ice cream?

i did get a bike for my birthday after treatment had finnished, a bike isnt something he'd usually buy me for a birthday.

 

[Ciarang]

Did your hair fall out ?
And if so was it just the hairs on your head ?

 

[cartzo]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

 

[The Kangaroo]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

Wait, what age are you?

 

[cartzo]

What did you do during your free time while recovering?

gaming, lots and lots of gaming, i suppose that was a plus.

 

[cartzo]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

Wait, what age are you?

seventeen in a week, i was diagnosed at 13.

 

[The Kangaroo]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

Wait, what age are you?

seventeen in a week, i was diagnosed at 13.

Shit...

...

That's really depressing.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

I hear you on that buddy, 17 and trying to learn is a nightmare I'm in the same position
Still glad you can, a friend of mine has such bad epilepsy that he can't drive

 

[cartzo]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

I hear you on that buddy, 17 and trying to learn is a nightmare I'm in the same position
Still glad you can, a friend of mine has such bad epilepsy that he can't drive

i'm sorry to hear that, what i dont get is why there isnt an insurance company espiecially for epilepsy sufferers.

 

[siege_1302]

Did you lose all your hair? If yes, did you get any flak at school when you got back for being bald?

 

[Smowy]

What hospital treated you?
Were you put in the childs ward? (like my unlucky friend, there was no middle ground from young kids to adults, so they just put all teens in with the kids)

 

[cartzo]

Did your hair fall out ?
And if so was it just the hairs on your head ?

yeah, but it was only the hairs on my head, which i didnt understand.

 

[The Kangaroo]

Did your hair fall out ?
And if so was it just the hairs on your head ?

yeah, but it was only the hairs on my head, which i didnt understand.

The radiation/chimo destroys the cancer cells and as a by product your hair cells

 

[cartzo]

What hospital treated you?
Were you put in the childs ward? (like my unlucky friend, there was no middle ground from young kids to adults, so they just put all teens in with the kids)

i was treated at sheffield, and yeah thats the problem, their is no middle ground so i (like your friend) ended up on the childs ward.

 

[ae86gamer]

How did you feel when you found out you had it?

 

[cartzo]

How did you feel when you found out you had it?

i can't really remember, i remember my stomach dropping though. i think its hard for everyone to remember those sorts of things.

 

[Tiny116]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

Wait, what age are you?

seventeen in a week, i was diagnosed at 13.

I just got to say well done to you, I don't think I could chat about this stuff online if it happened to me at that Age.

And now my question.
I've had a friend who survived cancer herself and she had to have a 5 years all clear before she could get another Job (she was working in a supermarket at the time) I think you said you've been clear for 3 years, have you been able to get a part time job or do you have to wait til you hit 5 years.
Or do you have no clue what i'm on about?

 

[cartzo]

Ouch, I never considered that another member of The Escapist could have cancer, or any disease

How mild is the epilepsy? Could you still drive a car?

i can still drive a car, in fact im getting driving lessons for my seventeenth birthday, but the insurance may cost a bit more though.

Wait, what age are you?

seventeen in a week, i was diagnosed at 13.

I just got to say well done to you, I don't think I could chat about this stuff online if it happened to me at that Age.

And now my question.
I've had a friend who survived cancer herself and she had to have a 5 years all clear before she could get another Job (she was working in a supermarket at the time) I think you said you've been clear for 3 years, have you been able to get a part time job or do you have to wait til you hit 5 years.
Or do you have no clue what i'm on about?

ive not been told that i'd have any problems getting a job, perhaps your friend had a specific type of cancer, but what happened to your friend seemed very unfair to me.

i have had a pert time job recently washing pots but i had to quit because of my A levels.

 

[Caliostro]

i'm sorry to hear that, what i dont get is why there isnt an insurance company espiecially for epilepsy sufferers.

As cold as this sounds, because they're too much of a liability. Same reason no sane insurance company will grant a clearly dying man a life insurance.

See, for all it's uses, insurance companies pray on the possibility of disaster, but make damn sure that possibility is only good in your head. If they think you have a very good chance of crashing regularly, they'll either refuse to touch you or hike up your rates so much you're better off buying a second house (hyperbole, yes).


As for my question: Did you ever at any point, after or during considering the doctors reassured you it would be cured, thought "Fuck... I just dodged a bullet..."? I realize you were very young at the time but, did it change anything in your life? Besides the obvious physical stuff off course.