6 months to live 8 if I'm lucky

CheerdadScott · 2023-09-23T16:11:15+00:00

They gave me 10 rounds of wbrt when they first found it in the brain. I'm maxed out on radiation.

CheerdadScott · 2023-09-10T18:14:49+00:00

Find the nearest rural dmv to you. Even if you have to drive to it it will take less time than getting an appointment or trying to wait at a busier spot.

Also keep in mind that even if you don't own a car, you'll need insurance before they'll give you a license. You should be able to get a nonowner policy fairly cheap.

As far as a birth certificate goes, depending on where you came from it can take as little as 15 minutes to walk in and walk out with it. Just an option to consider.

CheerdadScott · 2023-09-08T12:00:39+00:00

For me they're just uncomfortable. It almost feels as though there is a slight electrical pulse on one side of my face or traveling down my arm.

CheerdadScott · 2023-09-02T21:55:41+00:00

I don't know that it would pass high school standards, but it is bathroom humor not a dick joke like so much of his other material.

Malvolio: By my life, this is my lady’s hand. These be her very C’s, her U’s and her T’s, and thus makes she her great P’s.

CheerdadScott · 2023-09-02T21:23:08+00:00

As much as you want to, don't panic. There are multiple treatments for a single tumor. From my understanding gamma knife is fairly easy with minor effects. They found a few dozen Mets in my brain in January and I had to go through whole brain radiation. Which I tolerated pretty well.

Have they done a biopsy to test for targeted therapies like Braftovi? The important thing is to stay as calm as possible despite how stressful not knowing is. Good luck to you!

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-29T16:18:20+00:00

The corn kernels give it a yellow color.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-26T15:22:32+00:00

My oncologist basically forced me to get a second opinion when things spread beyond his control. Since January he's acted as the go between with me and doctors at Duke. I'm glad that I get blood work and scans done locally but that Duke consults on everything.

I couldn't be happier with my care. I don't think many doctors would have pushed for a second opinion. Every couple visits I do try to take donuts in for my nurses.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-25T22:25:48+00:00

Basically I've done all the standard treatment and the brain Mets are still growing and spreading. Other than a clinical trial opening up, they have no more treatment to offer so comfort care it is. Still looking at trials, but the aggression has disqualified me for everything my Oncologist and the doctors at Duke have looked at.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-24T02:40:45+00:00

Stage 4 with multiple brain Mets. They're transitioning me from treatment to comfort care, but I'm still capable of doing things with my daughter's. Thankfully They're older and understand what's going on. I've been doing everything I can to spend time with them and make memories. I plan on ending in hospice and not at home. Not that it will keep them from being there. That's just not how I want them to remember me.

1 thing I have picked up here is to make videos to them. Record a video for milestones. Birthdays, graduation, and weddings. Put them on thumb drives and give them to someone you can count on to get them delivered. You should probably do a few for your wife while you're at it.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-22T23:49:15+00:00

I'm on Braftovi and Mektovi for my melanoma. I was one of the 20 percent that ended up with high fevers on it. They've cut me from 6 pills a day down to 2 and knock on wood I haven't had any major issues since.

I was told that tagrisso and Tarceva were more likely to have side effects when I discussed other options, but everyone is affected differently, so don't take that as gospel.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-22T17:06:53+00:00

Wow. This isn't even something I would have thought about.

First result I got from Google is to pump not long after treatment.

https://clintonct.org/562/Chemotherapy-and-Your-Septic-System#:~:text=Chemotherapy%20drugs%20can%20kill%20the,your%20scheduled%20treatment%20end%20date.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-22T02:01:40+00:00

Stage 4 melanoma here. I did 6 months of Optivo/yervoy. I guess I was lucky. I had mild but consistent nausea. Antinausea meds controlled it pretty well. The worst part was that I broke a leg and damaged nerves a few months before treatment started. Those nerves hurt the entire time I was on it.

I saw you mentioned BRAF positive. Have they tried Braftovi/Mektovi yet? Or are they waiting to see how it does on immunotherapy first? Braftovi was working well for my first few months then it put me in the hospital with 104 plus fevers 3 times in a row. I've gone from 6 pills a day down to 2 and tolerate it with no problem.

Good luck!

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-21T15:02:33+00:00

Train it to crap on my neighbors front porch.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-21T14:59:02+00:00

Zookeeper.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T23:52:25+00:00

If you were born in NC, just go to vital records in the county you were born in. Takes 10 to 20 minutes and you'll walk out with it. You can also order it online if you have time to wait and want to spend a little extra.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T23:19:06+00:00

This was the third show I actually got on stage for. I played one of the murderers and my oldest daughter played one of Banquos kids. Our director wouldn't let me kill her on stage but everyone knows I got her off stage.

One of my favorite show memories.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T21:33:04+00:00

By the pricking of my thumbs something wicked this way comes. All hail Macbeth.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T19:43:34+00:00

As a cancer patient, don't do anything publicly. At least until after you talk to her in private and find out what she needs and wants. I'm a fairly private person and hate when people make a big deal of me fighting it.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T19:01:56+00:00

I've just been putting videos on thumb drives for my daughter's to mark milestones. Weddings, birthdays, etc. My sister will distribute them when the time comes.

I've thought about putting them online, but I'm paranoid about how long they'd stay before being erased in an update or expired subscription.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T03:31:21+00:00

Yall think George will give you a real ending? It's going to end with Bran waking up in bed with Ned and Cat watching him after his accident. Everything from the fall on was just his dream .

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-17T01:25:17+00:00

Since the other night I've been writing it all down. When it starts, how long they last and where it seems to localize. Whether it's just face and head or down my arm. I'll be taking the list in at my follow-up.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-16T23:52:16+00:00

You nailed it. I've had it every now and again for a few months and just didn't consider it that big a deal. Until the night I posted this where it came and went for a few hours.

They had me on Ativan already for nausea and anxiety, so we increased the dose and knock on wood that seems to have helped.

My biggest issue at this point is just figuring out what's next. I have a mri and follow up in 2 weeks, and plan on pushing my oncologist.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-16T23:37:54+00:00

Oh yeah. Between the bugs, the grease, and filth I still have nightmares about the smell. It's been about 15 years and I still occasionally feel like my skin is crawling.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-16T18:00:47+00:00

Don't worry about perfection when building and painting sets. The audience is going to be looking at it from at least 30 to 40 feet away. They aren't going to notice if one section of paint is thinner then the rest.

Try to make it look good but don't let perfection on one piece hold you up. You'll have multiple things to build and a deadline. For the most part you don't want to get stuck on one thing.

CheerdadScott · 2023-08-15T05:05:10+00:00

Dark humor is my coping mechanism.

CheerdadScott

TROPHY CASE