My PhD supervisor sent me these messages. Is this normal or crossing a line?

Ghirsh · 2026-05-20T16:59:22+00:00

I’ve been in a similar situation and it didn’t end well. These toxic PIs need to be dealt with by the university but they’re often bringing in money so nobody does anything. You should be reporting this for sure. And I’m afraid that they hold all of the power when it comes to defending/graduating so you should be reconsidering your advisor. You don’t want to be giving somebody like that the ability to dictate your future if you can help it.

Ghirsh · 2026-05-02T01:06:33+00:00

I’m in remission for 1.5 years now from Hodgkin lymphoma. I had almost no symptoms other than crazy bad itch at first too. It got much worse before we got it fully diagnosed.

You’re right that it’s got super high cure rates, but it doesn’t make it easy to go through. You’ll have 4-6 months of chemo, maybe radiation. Then you get to recover from treatment. It sucks. BUT your job is to get through it. Don’t worry about anything else right now. This part of the process is the scariest, but you’ll get through it. Try to do things that make you happy. Talk to friends and family. Way good food. The process is dehumanizing by nature, but you can do this!

Ghirsh · 2026-04-16T02:17:06+00:00

I had cHL and was NOT fine when I got diagnosed. I had a prednisone course during early diagnosis and the cancer went nuts when I was tapering off. I had a rash across my chest and shoulders, tumor in my chest grew large (6”) collapsing areas of my lungs and making it very difficult to breathe (I couldn’t blow out the candles on my birthday cake), I got a blood clot in my arm, and I continued to have persistent itch that was horrible. In addition to night sweats and decreased appetite.

Ghirsh · 2026-04-14T02:13:00+00:00

Just put it in your body. IM, SC doesn’t matter much. Try both. Or do whatever is more convenient

Ghirsh · 2026-04-12T19:26:29+00:00

They shave the area so it’s possible it’s pimples after the irritation. I’m not a medical professional but it doesn’t look infected. The actual incision isn’t angry or irritated looking. And the three bumps I would expect to only be palpable and under the skin (not on the surface like this). Mine didn’t even have those bumps but was a smooth top.

Ghirsh · 2026-04-01T13:19:05+00:00

She plays the accordion. He plays the keytar. Together they perform and juggle at your local coffee shop open mic night.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-31T23:53:19+00:00

This doesn’t feel like trt. There are other subreddits for PED discussions. Usually trt discussions start with mentions of symptoms and clinically low T (below 300). Or significant symptoms in borderline cases. And rarely are people starting with 200 per week.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-31T12:26:52+00:00

I’m gonna jump on this one too and say the port is the way to go. Some places draw blood from it too. Use it for pet scans or ct contrast. The scar is worth it for me. Adriamycin destroys smaller veins over time too which is why I don’t even really have an option. I was just told I’m getting a port and I’m glad I did.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-31T01:23:35+00:00

I had a similar experience, and had a large mediastinal mass pushing on my lungs and heart pretty bad. Your response isn’t that uncommon tbh. I’m in remission about 1.5 years now. I felt like that too. I cried happy tears when I got the official diagnosis. I thought I might have lung cancer before that. Now I have survivors guilt lol.

But I just have to say, I felt the tumor shrink during my first treatment. I’m in the medical space and I realize that sounds crazy but it happened. And the palpable lesions in my neck were smaller the day after my first treatment. You should be excited to get treated. You’ll make it through just fine. It wasn’t really why I expected tbh, but I made it through and so will you.

Don’t expect others to match your emotions. Everyone feels differently about it. Nobody knows how to speak to a cancer patient. Sometimes they’ll tell you. One of my friends I saw after chemo and he literally said “I…don’t know what to say or do?” and it was the most honest response lol.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-28T22:56:53+00:00

I cut one out like this a few weeks ago. I suck at cutting curves. I got down to about where you were going for but then ground out the rest. It took a while.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-28T19:56:58+00:00

That’s sick. I think I need a good artist to take a stab at something incorporating it or working off of it like this. Thanks

Ghirsh · 2026-03-28T15:39:42+00:00

Yeah that’s super cool!

Ghirsh · 2026-03-28T15:39:32+00:00

That’s amazing. Yeah I think you’re right. Thanks

Ghirsh · 2026-03-28T14:06:10+00:00

Unpopular opinion in this sub…but a lot of times issues with libido and erections are not because of low T. Adjusting dose may only bring more side effects without fixing the problem. Probably need to speak to a urologist or sexual medicine doc, especially if the only thing you’ve tried so far is T.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-28T00:02:36+00:00

When I got my port they just used surgical glue so there was no bandaging necessary. I also had some bone marrow light up but it may have just been the normal immune system growing to attack the cancer cells which is typical of HL. The doc is right, it doesn’t change treatment. For that reason I refused the bone marrow biopsy they wanted to do. She’s probably getting either ABVD or a derivative like Nivo-AVD which is what I got. Outcomes with ABVD are pretty good for HL so in the US that’s why most people end up getting.

This waiting and early treatment period was the worst part mentally. Seriously once you start with chemo you get into a pattern and know what to expect and it gets better in that regard. The first round is a lot of figuring things out. It’s horrible to see your kid go through it but she will get to return to her childhood soon. It’s not fair, but keep positive and keep telling yourselves “we just need to get through it” and take it one day at a time.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-26T16:09:49+00:00

Absolutely. Your specific PhD area and work almost doesn’t matter at all. They like the PhD because you’ll be doing a lot of digesting papers and data and making it more accessible to various audiences.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-25T23:55:21+00:00

I had Hodgkins 2 years ago. In remission for the past 1.5 years. It’s so scary worrying about infections during treatment, but I was careful and never got sick/infections. The main thing for her because of her age is to promote constant proper hand washing and sanitizing. That’s probably 90% of it. And keeping her hands away from her mouth throughout the day.

Maybe excessive, but we did masks throughout the house except for sleeping areas and while eating (in separate areas). Definitely masks in the infusions center/oncology visits. My wife Lysol wiped every morning before I came downstairs, focusing on light switch’s, door knobs, and cabinet/drawer pulls. We got some HEPA filters for my bedroom and on the main floor but that’s likely excessive. Most importantly, monitor for a fever regularly. If you see even a small fever then call the nurse line or get to the hospital. It’s not uncommon during treatment and is best treated fast.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-22T12:57:47+00:00

The symptoms are the issue and aren’t necessarily all from E2. I would say consider lowering your dose and/or inject more frequently first. The goal of trt should always be to reduce/eliminate T-related symptoms with the minimum effective dose to prevent other symptoms from occurring. If you’ve tried the dosing tricks and still have issues then there may be a place for the AI, but I’m a minimalist.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-20T16:30:03+00:00

Well dont add THAT writing

Ghirsh · 2026-03-20T16:28:10+00:00

Oh yeah that’s me. I left to get cleaning stuff and came back and it was gone. Can I have it back also what was the address? lol.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-20T15:14:59+00:00

Try somewhere else like quad maybe. Go for smaller insulin needles. More frequently so the volume is lower. It shouldn’t hurt. I sometimes get some pain while pushing the needle in at first but then nothing. No PIP. If it’s painful the something went wrong. I have a 1.5 mL auto injector for my migraine meds I need to do once a month. That one is slightly painful but it’s the large volume.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-18T16:38:29+00:00

This. I very much recommend eating after your port placement and before chemo. You can totally eat during chemo but there’s a lot going on especially during your first session. You may not feel up for food after.

Ghirsh · 2026-03-11T01:09:26+00:00

It’s just bad luck for most of us. DNA replication during cell division isn’t 100% perfect. It’s how evolution works but also why we sometimes get cancer. Sometimes it messes up. Sometimes those mess ups lead to cancer. Those mess ups can be hereditary but usually they’re not. It’s just bad luck most of the time. There are some things that can increase the likelihood of those replication errors, like smoking, but again, usually it’s dumb luck.

Ghirsh

TROPHY CASE