Hi Phoenix74, Hope the surgery went well. Its a roller coaster ride. I was diagnosed on 5 November with gastric cancer. Mine has been described by my oncologist as "curious" as it does not show up on cat or petscans. Not quite "impressive"! I am 50 years old and it came out of the blue for me too. I hear your mood swings, it was a real bugger for me for the first 3 weeks but it settles down once treatment starts. Good luck with it all. Joffaboy ... View more

Hi Denise and Max Congratulations on your wedding. Sounds like a great time with family camping on the beach. Congratulations on using Votrient. It is a proactive move and like my Sutent tends to give a bit of confidence and even a crutch to keep moving forward. I am unsure about Votrient but Sutent side effects are a bit of a lottery each cycle in my case - one cycle it may be diarrhea, next cycle it may be hand and foot while the next cycle may be lethargy which affects me more. A bit of good news for Max is that my taste is now quite ok - back to normal - but my appetite is quite small so I just eat frequently. Sutent is quite toxic so I keep fairly active to get rid of the toxicity in my system - particularly in my "off sutent" weeks. My work is fairly active and on the weekends I walk about 4 kms each morning. Congratulations on your cruise and your Canada trip. Congratulations on planning more getaways and trips. Going to work gets you up and about each day and planning trips gives you something to aim for. Like me, your role on this cancer journey is to keep living. As for me, nothing has changed, still on sutent (currently cycle number 20). Have been pretty quiet otherwise. When I returned from Hawaii in March one of my 2 workers had lost his license so I was short staffed. But that problem has resolved itself this week so am once again looking forward to a few getaways. Peru and Machu Picchu next year is still a top priority but am considering having a couple of weeks holiday in Oz over the next month or so - perhaps Tasmania or a cruise. You never know, maybe one day our traveling paths may cross. Keep safe. I will be in touch again soon. John. ... View more

Hi Jan Firstly I am saddened to hear your husband has passed. I am also on the north side of Brisbane in Burpengary....my husband was diagnosed in August 2009. He had the kidney out and according to his urologist all was good....unfortunately that was not to be. They found it had metatisised to his left lung in July 2011 (he had his left upper lobe removed), once again in December 2012 they found nodules in his right lung and had a wedge section removed. At the end of February this year he went for a check up and they hit us with 'sorry it is no longer operable....multiple nodules in both lungs' at the moment other then knowing it is inside him growing his health is good, we have been told he will start on a drug called Votrient within the next two months. I have found a lot of information about it all (mostly american cancer sites)...but right now we are after a support group for the Brisbane North area....any suggestions would be so greatly appreciated....as you probably already know...it can be a lonely road. Family and friends have been great....but talking with other people who are also going through it would be a help. Looking forward to hearing from you Denise ... View more