Not just a swollen knee

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
My Knee started swelling up about a month ago and putting ice on it did'nt change anything. So i went to my dr. she sent me to a knee specialist and he did a MRI. He called me the next day and told me to come in to talk and get crutches, dont walk on it. He told me i had a tumor and was sending me to Iowa City. He said one wrong move and it would break. Iowa city started testing me to see if it was cancer witch it is. They did a lot of MRI and cat scans and said they think it might have reached my lungs. They can't remove the tumor untill the cancer is dead or it will spread all over. So here i am with a swollen knee i cant walk on. Chemo starts monday. If the chemo works im ok. If it does'nt, my days are numbered. They gave me a 40% chance of living. So the main reason im posting this is to let more peaple know if you have swelling or pain you should get it looked at. If i had this checked sooner they could have just removed it. Now i will have to have a piece of the themor replaced, my leg removed, or i dont make it. Time will tell. Bad part is sitting around not being able to work. Good thing i have a good forum to read with some good freinds.:smile:
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
Yeah, all friends here. Hurts to read your post, but you have 100% of everybody's best wishes. I double-dog guarantee that. :thumbsup:
 

Matt

Member
Dec 2, 2011
4,019
:iagree: 1000% Hope all goes well for you mate!
 

jrSS

Member
Dec 4, 2011
3,950
I am definately here . I have had a lot of cancer running thru my family and yea... I'll be praying u and ur family. Just stay strong and have faith....
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
Thanks. beside the knee i fill great. 10 differnt meds lol. Im in good shape so with hope ill make it ok. Sometimes the chemo dos'nt kill the cancer.
 

markmc

Member
Nov 20, 2011
161
Best wishes for a positive outcome..

On the bright side, technology has improved the past few years..
Try to stay positive..
 

Voymom

Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Like I told you before, if you or the wifey ever needs anything, you have my number. And of course your always in my thoughts and prayers.
 

Mark20

Member
Dec 6, 2011
1,630
Praying for you!
 

Lima Tango

Member
Dec 4, 2011
242
My thoughts are with you. Had a good friend diagnosed with cancer at 32 years old two years ago. He adamently refused to accept any negativity while going through chemo and has now been cancer free for almost a year. You'll get through this.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Good thoughts for ya. Just keep up the good fight.
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
Thanks. I need all the help i can get. My knee got a little bigger yesterday. My knee cap is moved about 1/2" down my leg. Im gana post on here what chemo is like now days. Dr. said its better than it was in the past. Im still gana be a skinhead lol. Ill have to buy some new hats. I really miss driving the ss. I was looking foward to the nationals but allready went through the savings on dr. bills and gas going back and forth to iowa city. Well theres always biggies meet.
 

Voymom

Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
stormsurge said:
Thanks. I need all the help i can get. My knee got a little bigger yesterday. My knee cap is moved about 1/2" down my leg. Im gana post on here what chemo is like now days. Dr. said its better than it was in the past. Im still gana be a skinhead lol. Ill have to buy some new hats. I really miss driving the ss. I was looking foward to the nationals but allready went through the savings on dr. bills and gas going back and forth to iowa city. Well theres always biggies meet.

You should have the wife call me....I'd like to discuss something with the 2 of you.
 

mikeinDE

Member
Jan 4, 2012
855
My thoughts and prayers are with you!

Just stay strong and stay positive.

(I watched my mom go through some rough stuff about 13 years ago, and she's doing great nowadays.)
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
I lost my mom recently to cancer, hardest thing I ever did was bury my mom, while trying to support her parents. No parent should ever have to go thru that..

Thoughts and prayers man.. Chin up, and all that..
 

Black_tb

Member
Dec 6, 2011
817
man stay positive had a uncle in the same predicament he is staying positive and within three treatments things are already shrinking a little bit.. hope everything goes great for you, best wishes and prayers going your way man :grouphug:
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Ya got some more prayers going up for ya. Stay positive!

My lil bro was 2 when he had a kidney transplant and they said he would not make it long...now he is about to be 28 and is healthy, helping with transplant research, and giving speeches promoting organ donation. Anything is possible.

Some words my dad used to always say came to mind....God only gives us what we can handle, I just think he overestimates me sometimes.:biggrin:

Stay strong and stay positive, there is always support here and in more places than you would think.
 

davenay67

Member
Jan 16, 2012
217
Oh man. So very sorry to hear that a sore knee has spiralled into the 'C' word. Like the others have said, stay positive and upbeat as much as you can. A positive attitude (in addition to laughter) can often be the best medicine. It may seem tough to do at times, but this is where your character comes from.

We're pulling for the home team and a winning result....


Dave.
 

Voymom

Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
Hey bud, I seen that your wife tried calling me the other night. My phone has been giving me issues. I will give her a call later this evening...say around 8-ish. I hope you feel better. We're all praying for you!
 

Jkust

Member
Dec 4, 2011
946
Oh man sorry to hear this. Hoping for the best for you.
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
Well. Im going to lose my hair and im doing a bit better today. I have a few ideas for a haircut. Just gata see if i can find someone to do it. GMT Nation lol.
 

DARKASS04EXT

Member
Nov 21, 2011
193
Im so sorry to hear about your health issues. My mom just called me the other week that she is going in for testing, possible lung cancer. Best of wishes and prayers go out to you. Good luck.
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
If this bothers anyone please let me know and i wont post anymore. I looked for what to expect of chemo and didnt really get any good info. no one really wants to talk about it and i cant blame them. I am going to try to explain what its like. keep in mind i am on alot of meds and not all here so miss spells and stuff will be there. Chemo day 1. They put me in a room with about 15 loungers most filled. Put in a IV and sit for 2 hours to hidrate. Then they hooked up a smaller bag of red stuff and gave me popsicles to freez my mouth or i would get sores. OK. 1hour later they switched to a clear bag. Then the IV and a pump to take home. That was nice. Next day my knee got bigger with alot of pain. Same prosess as the first day but they tested a strong drug for pain to see if i could handle it. WOW. Good drug, no pain. So they put me on a patch with it. it helped alot. I never broke a bone before but i would think my pain was close to that. Day 3 i went back for a steiroid shot and they removed the IV. I really dont fill to bad with all the meds but its hard to think clearly or watch tv without spacing out. I lost 26lb's in the last two weeks. I dont really want to eat. I drink mostly water, i try to drink my pepsi but its not easy. The thought of my foods= tacos, pizza, exed. just makes my stumach turn. They say it gets worse but right now i fill about the same. Nice to have a place where i can right this down and get it out. It really dos'nt take long for work to try to get rid of ya. And disability was something i never though i would need or use if i can get it. Doc said i sould'nt have any problems. One thing that helps is having this forum to read about other things and to look foward to some great meets. Thanks all.
 

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Interesting to hear how it really happens.

If you need to vent, do it. If you need to bitch, do it. You need something...there are members that help each other out with about anything, so ask.

Glad you are still up to logging in and keeping us up to date. Was a big ole surprise to hear, but as shown...we all hope the best for ya.
 

navigator

Member
Dec 3, 2011
504
yeah, feel free to vent here if needed. Those that don't want to read about it don't have to. It will help you and likely help someone else in the process.
I have a friend from church (he is ~80yo) that has leukemiah. It flares up from time to time and he has to take a series of chemo to get it in check. He said the same thing about taste/smell, he lost a good bit of weight because food wasn't good to him anymore. The taste will come back though in time, sometimes it is a few days but usually a few weeks after treatments.

We went to see him the other night and when I walked in I thought to myself, they must have something rough in the garbage. They have a really nice home that is really clean etc. It is just like you expect from a couple in their situation. For them I would never expect to smell garbage, they have been to the dr a lot lately and likely just hadn't taken it out.

Anyway, we were there for a few minutes and he was talking about how he was able to taste a little bit now and said to his wife in a nice tone "wife, what is that smell?, that garbage stinks, can you take it out?" At least it indicates he is getting some of his smell/taste back!

good luck in your treatments, you are in our prayers.
 

jrSS

Member
Dec 4, 2011
3,950
We are definately here for ya...I don't care 2 shits what u talk about as long as it helps u thru
 

Voymom

Member
Feb 3, 2012
2,523
As Kyle said, if you need to vent...vent. If you need to bitch..bitch. We are all here to lend a listening ear, and reading eye. Being able to talk about this stuff does help relieve a lot of pent up feelings, and if it eases your stress or nerves in any way then do it. It may be extremely hard to talk about, but sometimes it's good for the soul.

I'm a phone call away, so if you guys ever need anything please, please, please do call. You and the family will remain in my hopes and prayers everyday.
 
Feb 24, 2012
133
Wow sorry to hear this. Just reading from the beginning and what a surprise that must have been.

I work at a small biotech company that has an experimental cancer drug in testing, they are only testing it on head and neck cancer, and there is a different drug of ours that was just approved by the FDA as part of a skin cancer treatment (chemo plus a combination of other drugs). But what you have is different (knee, lung etc). You should ask the hospital about clinical trials though, there are many different kinds of cancer and there are a LOT of experimental anti-cancer drugs out there in advanced stages of research.

I wish I knew more about it, but I'm just in IT. I hear a lot at the company meetings and talking to the research staff, but I'm no doctor or scientist. So I'm just saying you should make sure your doctors explore options. Drugs in clinical trials are not a sure thing, and could make you worse, but could also drastically increase your chance of survival and help anti-cancer research at the same time.

Chemo is rough on the body. Get lots of rest and focus on feeling good about yourself. Surround yourself with family and friends and don't forget about good times you've had in the past. A positive outlook and attitude can make a difference in how well you handle the chemo. It sounds like you are already doing well in that department!

Best wishes
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
deekster_caddy said:
Wow sorry to hear this. Just reading from the beginning and what a surprise that must have been.

I work at a small biotech company that has an experimental cancer drug in testing, they are only testing it on head and neck cancer, and there is a different drug of ours that was just approved by the FDA as part of a skin cancer treatment (chemo plus a combination of other drugs). But what you have is different (knee, lung etc). You should ask the hospital about clinical trials though, there are many different kinds of cancer and there are a LOT of experimental anti-cancer drugs out there in advanced stages of research.

I wish I knew more about it, but I'm just in IT. I hear a lot at the company meetings and talking to the research staff, but I'm no doctor or scientist. So I'm just saying you should make sure your doctors explore options. Drugs in clinical trials are not a sure thing, and could make you worse, but could also drastically increase your chance of survival and help anti-cancer research at the same time.

Chemo is rough on the body. Get lots of rest and focus on feeling good about yourself. Surround yourself with family and friends and don't forget about good times you've had in the past. A positive outlook and attitude can make a difference in how well you handle the chemo. It sounds like you are already doing well in that department!

Best wishes
I have a rare cancer. No trials are out right now but i do have one of the best dr's in the field. He said if this dos'nt work he will find something new.
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
Had the wife get me two cheeserights and fries for dinner and forced it down. Cant wait for the results lol. Already have the hicups.:eek:
 

stormsurge

Original poster
Member
Jan 29, 2012
386
Well its day by day now. Ill fill fine watch a little tv and wam. Cant focus, real light headed ad fill like i just ran a marithon. The bad part is the tumor itself. I forget how bad it hurts and then the drugs stop working. aaits like my leg is in a vise and getting smashed. Spirits are high and we are coping. Hard to deal with all the finances. always get that i missed something filling. :crazy:
 

jrSS

Member
Dec 4, 2011
3,950
Stick it out man!! I know its easy for me to say...but just think when this shits over with back in the SS u go...vroom vroom!!!
 

TollKeeper

Supporting Donor
Member
Dec 3, 2011
8,047
Brighton, CO
jrSS said:
Stick it out man!! I know its easy for me to say...but just think when this shits over with back in the SS u go...vroom vroom!!!

Sorry Sir.. We dont drive Mazda's around here...

[video=youtube_share;sl9F2SjZqfs]http://youtu.be/sl9F2SjZqfs[/video]
 

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