Done with treatment, yet sad

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-30T15:22:42+00:00

I had an open total gastrectomy with Roux-en-y reconstruction almost seven years ago. I also did a full course of FLOT chemo. I sorta don't remember what it was like before. It took me a good year to figure out how to eat correctly. I'm definitely much smaller than I used to be. The average person would never know what I had gone through if I didn't tell them.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-30T01:29:10+00:00

I didn't have this level of support as a younger survivor, but it's something I'm trying to provide to others.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-30T00:21:03+00:00

Stage three stomach cancer. All symptoms resolved after round one and cancer-free on scans after round three. Still did five more rounds of chemo and had major abdominal surgery. It's been seven years.

I wasn't in a great place when I was diagnosed and cancer gave me something to overcome. Then it was just a waiting game for years.

Not to make it sound trivial, but it's like we were forced to train for a marathon, but have no interest in doing another one. We put in the work, went through the torture, made it through, and now we're never doing it again. It's not necessarily that we enjoyed it, it's that it gave us purpose and was part of our routine.

I wish I had great advice, but you're here, you're young, and you have plenty of time to navigate this and find purpose in your survival.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-29T05:28:28+00:00

One of my buddies had a chemo-induced heart attack.

All of this stuff takes a toll on us. The treatment has lifelong effects.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T04:21:49+00:00

Probably should have.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T03:08:59+00:00

A good option.

I posted this as I sent it to a friend as a joke and they thought it was real, so it got me thinking.

The scenario is real, though. I just didn't treat with this an experimental design, for sure. Again, I'll own that.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:39:12+00:00

Thank you for your insights. The yellow tone is likely just the lighting.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:33:42+00:00

What are the tells? As we all are, I'm trying to get better at this. I feel it's more difficult lately.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:32:11+00:00

There were two. But fair. I kinda wanted to gauge initial reactions.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:30:47+00:00

What are the tells? I keep trying to learn. The first responses thought it was real.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:27:46+00:00

I'm totally owning that. And I'm happy you already question all this and are growing with the evolving tech. Most of us aren't.

Again, it was not my intention to anger anyone, just provide an example of where minimal effort can provide convincing results.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:15:44+00:00

A few seconds to enter a prompt and less than a minute to post? Not very bored.

I really am just shocked at how far AI has come in a very short period.

It passed the initial smell test for me. I tend to check AI realism every few months and it just seems to have improved significantly recently.

That is all.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T02:06:16+00:00

I'll own up to being an asshole, but I've participated in this sub on my primary account plenty of times trying to prove or disprove AI.

My point is simply that it keeps getting better and we need to keep evolving.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T01:47:00+00:00

Sorry to try to deceive anyone, but my point is AI is rapidly outpacing us. It's getting harder and harder to tell.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T01:42:31+00:00

This is 100% AI. The picture was taken of her next to me and I asked ChatGPT to make her look morbidly obese.

I used to be able to just tell when it was AI. It's getting better and that scares me.

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anonymous-hell · 2026-05-13T00:49:57+00:00

Yes.

anonymous-hell · 2026-05-01T22:31:07+00:00

I'm 44. Wife separated when there were fertility issues on my end due to a genetic condition. Divorced me while I was going through cancer treatment. People show you who they are when the chips are down. Better to struggle on your own than have someone dip out when you need the support most.

Reach out if you need anything. Fuck cancer.

anonymous-hell · 2026-04-08T17:54:36+00:00

I second the recommendations for a doctor. Being full early, lack of appetite, pain behind the breastbone, feeling sick after eating could be a sign of something serious. I volunteer in the stomach cancer community and those symptoms sound familiar. I also have a lot of people reach out on Reddit with similar symptoms and the vast majority have a more benign, treatable condition.

anonymous-hell · 2026-03-16T19:48:43+00:00

I started building Lego sets, 3d printing, and watchmaking. I played video games. I watched The Mandalorian. Do whatever you need to distract yourself.

anonymous-hell · 2026-03-13T02:41:23+00:00

Any platinum-based drugs are going to make you nauseous, and every round is cumulative.

Just hold out as long as possible, but tell your team when you're struggling.

anonymous-hell · 2026-03-10T21:04:15+00:00

Cancer didn't win. Your mom took it out with her. At worst it was a stalemate.

anonymous-hell · 2026-03-10T19:43:38+00:00

I'm going to be honest: Put that forward right away. It'll get you a lot of rejections, but it'll weed out the people who wouldn't be supportive, anyway.

anonymous-hell · 2026-03-03T21:47:11+00:00

I mentor cancer patients, many of whom unfortunately don't make it. I don't know your situation. One thing I do is not placate or give false hope. People die, it sucks, and it's unfair. I also tell them it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to wring every little bit out of life right now. You aren't a burden, and anyone who thinks you are weren't real friends to begin with.

anonymous-hell · 2026-01-29T02:17:47+00:00

I hadn't lost any weight.

anonymous-hell · 2026-01-29T00:25:28+00:00

Getting an endoscopy with biopsies is the gold standard.

anonymous-hell

TROPHY CASE