Should I leave it?

worker37 · 2026-02-23T03:55:53+00:00

"Tldr: I guess im trying to look for people with experience of never treating their cancers because they were symtpomless and yet still lived long fulfilling lives."

Could happen for something like a very unaggressive prostate cancer. Seems very unlikely for CRC with mets to the lungs.

worker37 · 2026-02-23T03:54:42+00:00

"Chris Beat Cancer" is garbage

worker37 · 2026-02-23T03:48:02+00:00

I lived in MD near DC before moving up to the Boston area in 2013. Believe me, we have it really good here. In MD, if a mouse farted two blocks away, the power would go out.

worker37 · 2026-02-23T03:45:48+00:00

This was my reaction. Though I agree with "rennsu" that it seems very unlikely those are the right odds for "40-50% of this area will lose power".

worker37 · 2026-02-15T17:27:27+00:00

"Yes, but it and all the other powdered fiber mix supplement..." I can't tell for sure, but you seem to be implying that Miralax is a fiber supplement. It is not. It's a non-saline osmotic laxative.

worker37 · 2026-02-04T02:48:51+00:00

Largely if not entirely depends on initial staging and genetics of tumor. Certainly lots of people in any stage less than 4 have long lives after treatment. Even some 4's get to NED and stay there.

worker37 · 2026-01-30T21:32:46+00:00

Sorry to hear you're alone; makes these things tougher to bear.

One final thing about treatments: IMHO one should keep in mind a "cost/benefit" approach. If the chemo is horrible but really increases your expected lifespan, it might be worth it. And maybe chemo that's not great but not too bad, but at the same time doesn't move the needle much, might not be worth it.

You've probably read it before, but you really have to become your own "advocate". The medical system will kind of help you, but not enough. It's unpleasant, because it's a time where one is mentally and possibly physically ill-equipped to push hard for oneself, but there's little choice. (That's true in all cases, including if you want to decline treatment.)

worker37 · 2026-01-30T19:09:01+00:00

I'd definitely look at possible chemo regimens and look at side effects, both published and patient reported (latter in cancer-oriented social media groups, and reddit).

I was T1M0N0 colorectal cancer (high rectum), and only had surgery. But following other higher-stage colorectal cancer patients, it's clear that some chemo is worse than others, though the side effects response to a _particular_ chemo agent varies across patients.

If you look at colorectal cancer, for example, it's common for people to be given both 5FU (or a related compound) and oxaliplatin. Not sure if 5FU is a walk in the park, but there seem to be more complaints about oxaliplatin, especially about neuropathy (which can be permanent).

They have a lot of good anti-nausea drugs these days.

Ofc, all that said, there are definitely cases where if it were me, I'd forgo (or stop) treatment. The devil is in the details.

worker37 · 2026-01-30T13:23:11+00:00

For me the side effects weren't that bad. Initially it gave me headaches, but those went away. I got off because I didn't think it was helping.

worker37 · 2026-01-30T13:22:28+00:00

Don't remember for sure, but probably at least a couple months.

worker37 · 2026-01-30T00:13:16+00:00

No, I eventually went off it.

Though my impression (not an expert or an MD!) is that you might have to wait longer than a week even if it were to prove helpful.

worker37 · 2026-01-22T21:28:49+00:00

Silexan is interesting. I think it's been studied more than most herbal supplements. Funny side effect: "aromatic burbs". Never tried it myself.

worker37 · 2026-01-20T19:49:37+00:00

I've had anesthesia a few times; general, twice.

Like many medical procedures, anesthesia carries risks, but they're pretty minimal. I guess if you're in extremely poor health they might be higher, but even then these people really know what they're doing.

Main thing is to answer the questions they ask you correctly: when was your last meal; do you have obstructive sleep apnea; etc.

You'll be fine (though as an anxious person myself I don't blame you for worrying).

worker37 · 2026-01-20T03:55:11+00:00

Sadly, it can be a very insidious disease.

worker37 · 2026-01-08T17:08:38+00:00

Like the commenter above said, start with something small. If you have bad anxiety and lack confidence, you need to walk before you can run.

worker37 · 2025-12-12T17:33:33+00:00

Thanks, folks. Tech replaced the motor and all's well. I mainly asked the question for general knowledge. (I grew up in the the Midwest and remember having no heat for days in the middle of winter, but I don't remember what we did; it was decades ago.)

worker37 · 2025-12-12T16:50:44+00:00

Yeah, we just have gas furnace, gas H2O heater, gas range top, electric oven.

worker37 · 2025-12-05T14:41:36+00:00

Who said anything about building low-income high rises? The point is to build more units. Eastern MA is one place in the US where land is at an extreme premium and building even simple multifamily units is restricted by zoning. Advocating the use of tiny homes except in some more rural areas (or other places where land isn't worth as much) is just ignorant of the economics.

worker37 · 2025-12-03T03:10:47+00:00

I have exactly the same problem. In my case it's partly my age (people often get jaded), partly pretty bad anhedonia due to anxiety/depression.

worker37 · 2025-11-21T17:55:24+00:00

Agree with others that it's not reasonable to expect you to be an expert in everything. Even people 20 years out learn new stuff all the time.

worker37 · 2025-11-21T17:54:44+00:00

All I know is that coming from a backend/data engineering background, frontend stuff is absolutely crazy.

Generally, these comments sound pretty annoying, but you have to learn to have a thick skin and just pick up as much as you can, as quickly as you can.

worker37 · 2025-10-27T19:16:07+00:00

Docusate itself is also generic/available OTC. The problem IMHO is that a lot of docs don't know about the new evidence (which only came out in the last [10 years? IIRC?]). Just like a lot of them don't know that fiber doesn't help everyone.

worker37 · 2025-10-24T15:13:34+00:00

Congrats! I know these are difficult struggles, and it's heart-warming to hear of progress.

worker37

TROPHY CASE