Hi,   This probably doesn’t help, but my surgeon provides his services under both private health insurance and public systems. I asked back at the beginning to be treated under the public system and used private health insurance on a small number of occasions that necessitated the additional costs (eg, urgent gastroscopy).    Ask your surgeon and oncologist gist if they can continue under the public health system.    Regards, Rick ... View more

Hi NickL,   I too wrote about my journey in emails (I called them "Communiques", 17 in all over 9 months) and set them to my family and friends. I did this for 2 reasons. First and foremost was for self-therapy. Secondly was to avoid having to repeat myself 50+ times to each person. Three reasons, there are three good reasonsfor recording your journey through cancer diagnosis and treatment, 1. self-therapy, 2. avoid repetition 3. so that I could remember what happened, 4. to achieve something while the time passes. "Amongst our reasons..., Cardinal Biggles...?" (reference is to Monty Python and the Spanish Inquisition).   I havn't made my Communiques more widly available because I didn't hold back on my criticism of medical practitioners involved in my treatment. For example the surgeon seemed to flip-flop between recommending partial and total gastrectomy - in the end I told him that he was the specialist and should do what was in my long-term best interests. And then there was the time while I was in hospital following my total gastrectomy, a trainee doctor took 2 attempts to fit me with a replacement cannula in my left arm, then took out my pain management line from my right arm before trying twice more to fit the new cannula in my right arm, before finally being successful fittning it to my left arm.   If you haven't tried it already, start writing now. Write about everything related to your emotions, treatments, physical condition. It will be fascenating for you, and even for society, in the future to look back at what we had to endure in our battles with conditions that will, eventually, be regarded as simpler to treat than the common cold.   Best wishes to all, Rick ... View more

I didn't catch the webinar, and I am in the fortunate position of being 12 months since receiving the last of the successful "curative treatment" for my stomach (actually gastro-oesophageal) cancer.   And my response below is more about "first contact" with family and friends, but I think that the idea about choosing your attitude is always good for yourself as well as other people...   In my opinion, the most important thing in discussing cancer is your attitude - be positive and informative and, where ever possible, throw in a little humour.   I try to talk about my journey in a way that encourages questions so that it becomes more of a learning experience for them. In particular, I believe that the more that we talk about the events leading up to our diagnoses, the more that other people might think about their own situations and seek assessment when something is not quite right. And hopefully it will be "nothing", but if it isn't then they can get the appropriate treatment before it gets "too late".   For me, I usually start discussions about my situation with "Apples saved my life!" or "I really can't stomach that!" followed by "No, I actually don't have a stomech!" and it just goes on from there.   Best wishes to all, Rick ... View more

Hi Eugene,   No picc line for me. Just standard cannula.    Best wishes, Rick ... View more

Hi Eugene,   I had very irregular bowel movements for quite a time following surgery. I took Coloxyl if I had gone for 3 days without a movement.   Warning, you might regret reading further...   My post-operative chemo was a slightly different mix of poisons. Instead of cisplatin (caused hair to fall out and made my tinnitus significantly worse and is unlikely to ever get better) I was put on oxaliplatin. This causes extreme sensitivity to cold (unfortunately I had this during winter - I wore gloves pretty much full time including to bed at night) and periferal neuropathy (tingling in the fingers and toes - the fingers are better now but the toes are still suffering). The other difficulty that I had with the oxaliplatin was during the actual infusion. About 3/4 of the way through the transfusion it became quite painful - I described it as being like someone dragging a wad of steel wool through the vein from the point of the cannula through to my bicep, and then soothing it by draping bluebottle tenticles over the top of the vein. Remember, "Everyone is different" so this might not be what others experience. I ended up not having the 3rd infusion (thank goodness).   I hope that you have a much smoother and less painful experience.   Best wishes, Rick ... View more

Hi kareh84,   Cancer is crap, but most types have some sort of treatment protocol and new treatments are being identified all the time. We live in hope.   Be there for your sister!   Rick ... View more

Hi Tracylyn61,   Welcome to our community.   It must be extra tough for people like you who suffer consequential effects from thei cancer. These consequential effects obviously range from negligible, as I have had with my goastro-oesophageal cancer, through to disfigurement from oral cancer.   I'm not entirely clear about the specific type of support that you are looking for here, but just keep posting to get everything off your chest. Hopefully we will have anacdotes or advice in response to each of your concerns.   And prepare before you attend any of your medial appointments so that you don't forget to ask questions that are playing on your mind. I kept a list of symptoms and questions on my smart phone so that I could add to it where ever I might be when they came to mind and then could go through them one by one when I attend my appointments.   Best wishes to you, and keep postig.   Rick ... View more

Hi blueeyedjess,   Congratulations in seeking advice - you are in a tough situation.   Do a search through these forums and you will see lots of people who have had to deal with beligerant partners or parents who are going through their cancer journey. There is already a whole lot of good advice posted in these forums on this subject. But again, good on you for reaching out - a really big step in the right direction.   One thing in particular that I would suggest is trying to compartmentalise your time with your mum between that as a carer and that as her daughter. That is, love her to the max when you are there as her daughter, but then become the tough hospital matron when you are there to assist in her treatment - tell her to back off if she over steps the mark. But also let her know which role you are playing at any point in time so that she learns what she can and can't get away with.   This approach also requires you to become as knowledgable as you can about her condition, treatment and responses so that you can work out where to draw the line about what is reasonable, what isn't and consequently when you should hold your ground or give a little.   Just remember the safety instructions given when you are on an aeroplane - if the oxygen masks come down, use it yourself first before you try to help others. You can't help your mum if you are an emotional mess. Take care of yourself first and exercise your mind so that you are in a good head-space to help your mum - and that will often require you to stand your ground and tell her what she needs rather than what she wants.   Good luck and hang in there. Rick ... View more

Hi Eugene,   Great to hear about your positive progress. I took a bit longer for all stages of my recovery, but "everyone's different" - I am just so fed up with hearing that statement, and I just can't stomach it any more.   Warning - I get into some detail about bodily functions below.   Interestingly, the only real way of telling what is going on in your intestine is by inspecting what comes out at the other end. Poo became my friend and told me how I was progressing. I would talk about it to the doctors ans nurses at every opportunity. It actually took quite a while for my intestines to settle into a standard diet and for my poo to settle in to a new normal. I haven't actually had a firm poo since the operation over a year ago now, even following periods of constipation.  But maybe that is a consequence of the museli I have every morning and nut bars that I eat as snacks to keep my energy levels up.   There is a really fantastic book about titled GUT: the inside story of our body's most under rated organ by Giulia Enders - get it, read it, laugh and learn.  And then pass it on to others to read.   Best wishes for your continuing recovery. Rick ... View more

Hope ... View more