I'm One Year Into Remission From Stage 4 Cancer
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- Опубликовано: 10 май 2024
- This stage 4 cancer vlog is a celebratory one, a culmination of many others that have documented my journey as a young adult stage 4 cancer patient.
Here's something I wrote about it earlier today:
Today, I’m exactly one year into remission from cancer.
Again.
It turns out that it wasn’t illegal to get cancer twice as I purported between 2019-2023 during my first remission from stage a stage 3c melanoma diagnosis.
But now that I’m in remission from a stage 4 recurrence, I’m POSITIVE that it’s illegal to get cancer a third time.😬
Ironically, I call cancer treatment ‘jail’ but had never associated the two jokes until this moment.
When my oncologist walked in the room last February, this was our initial exchange:
“Back to jail?”
“Back to jail.”
So in the most figurative sense, too, it is illegal to get cancer three times in my book.
But I’ve also never been much of a rule follower, unfortunately.
I think that’s why I’m approaching this remission anniversary differently than the first time I made it to a year. At my first year of remission in 2020, I partied like I had just won the Super Bowl. It felt like I had put a bad nightmare behind me - and I almost did.
At this point in time, I am guaranteed to have spent all of my 30’s as a cancer patient (whether in active treatment or monitoring).
I’ve had cancer for over 1/3 of my adult life.
I no longer have the option of pretending like cancer is just going to be a blip. But this isn’t lamenting the hand I’m dealt, because cancer hasn’t fully consumed my life, either - in fact, most of its presence in my existence is self-inflicted at this point.
(I guess it’s all technically self-inflicted) 🤷🏻♂️
But that existence is once again a one-year NED one.
This time the energy is different and I can’t tell if I’m stoic, pensive, or just too used to it now. Am I sad, hopeful, or have I just been here before?
I think it might be all of those things.
I write and talk a lot about cancer these days.
Physical health, mental health, emotional health, lifestyle impacts - I’m basically live journaling a guide on how to deal with cancer in one particular style. (That being said, it’s somewhat the style of a lunatic man-child; I’m not sure I’d recommend it unilaterally)
The fact that I can’t pinpoint where I’m at emotionally is actually a positive to me today. Because that means I’m not overthinking it, and I’m present.
Scrutinizing your emotions constantly in order to provide a label isn’t healthy, but when you are trying to fix your mental health, you do it a lot.
The fact that I’m ok with an array of possible emotions that have led me to a certain behavior -- in this case being reserved on my cancerversary vs. overtly excited -- will let me experience this day more organically than if I forced myself to be giddy the same way I was during my first remission.
Who knows; the day is young. I'm proud that I still feel as though I am, too.
If cancer has taught me anything, it’s that uncertainty is always lurking more than I had previously accounted for - and again, this is coming from a self-labeled arbiter of chaos.
But uncertainty doesn’t solely mean bad.
Uncertainty means I’m not sure whether this remission will be durable, or whether my mental health, finances, and social structures will rebound. But wild success is also included within the range of outcomes in ‘not sure’.
I have to remind myself of the possible upside even as I stare it in the face presently.
Being an arbiter of chaos has historically been kind to me, so today I’ll revel in both my present good health and the future uncertainty that is afforded by it.
Yay Mike! Congratulations on your one year cancer remission date. It's great that you have come back (twice). I am sending you love, hugs and hopes for a long, cancer-free, healthy life.❤❤
I'm almost one year in remission from stage 3C cervical cancer. Congrats on one year!
Same - thanks for sharing! ❤️
❤ Power and Strength to you! And everyone tackling this. Dear God! Help people come back to Nature.
Praise the Lord
Congrats Mike and thank you for sharing! My immunotherapy journey begins tomorrow. Clinical trials to include the same 2 drugs as you plus a new 3rd drug that may increase my odds of beating this. Your efforts here help more than you know and i appreciate you!
It’s scary, and treatment isn’t easy, but it’s the best it’s ever been. Rooting for you, and I’m always here to chat 💪🏻❤️
Congratulations! 🎊 👏 💐
We are so blessed to be able to listen to your presentation. It helps a lot of us going through this though journey.
Thank you for all you do. 🙏♥️♥️♥️
Byyyyyeeeee
Well, that's very kind of you to say! Thanks for watching and sharing, also - we all help each other ♥
Byyyyeeeee!
Awesome to hear this Mike! And I definitely lol'ed at your Padres comment :P.
Hey man, you feel my pain, too 😂
More importantly, hope you're doing awesome; it's been too long. Next time I'm down there we should catch up!
Whoop whoop! Dude, 1 year milestone in the books! Keep up the good work, stay strong, hard headed, and don’t let cancer get you!
You look better looking every video 😊
Love the insight and how you draw parallels from such powerful narratives that have stood the test of time. Very encouraging, congratulations on the milestone!
Thanks; was a weird tangent but I enjoyed making the comparison.
G'day Mate
Awesome to hear!!!!!!
Congratulations! So happy for your good news! You crushed the beast!❤❤❤
Thanks; certainly feels pretty great ❤️
Thanks brother, I appreciate what you do here.
Cheers! Thanks for watching and chatting.
Here's a big, warm CONGRATULATIONS, Mike!!!🎉❤ 🎊
Thank you for sharing. You are inspiring! You are hitting your mark not only by being blessed with his amazing remission but also by your vlogs and blogs. As a one year cancer survivor, I can vouch for our need for hope. My cancer wasn't nearly as advanced as yours, but I'm a lot older than you are with less stamina. I need to hear of victory.
BTW, you mentioned gastritis. I'm currently in gastric torment. Can you please tell me how you found your way out?
Cheers to you, too! Glad to hear you’re recovering, albeit in distress.
My symptoms were pretty acute to the inflammation from treatment, so I took prednisone to calm everything down. When I’ve had nausea or other stomach ailments, weed helps, or zofran if it’s extreme.
I hope it improves for you ❤️
@Linn_Laugh_Love Thank you! I'm looking forward to seeing a video of yours 5 years from now, after C has faded into the ever distant past, of your very happy, ordinary life.
Congratulations🎉🎉. This is amazing! I am so happy that you have achieved this amazing milestone. I can't help but smile for you. Look how far you have come since that 1st video. You look and sound awesome. Scars are a testament to healing and are a sign of resilience.
Looking forward to the things to come. Until next time, take care and byyyeee.
Also Go Padres!! (As a lifelong Indians fan, I get you 😉).
We live truly cursed lives… as baseball fans.
But past that, super glad to have digitally met you. Thanks for always being so supportive and kind ❤️
Byyyyyeeeee!
@Linn_Laugh_Love
I haven't been able to follow baseball as close as usual this year but I just checked the standings. Maybe, just maybe this will be the year the Indians and Padres make it to the World Series. That would be WILD.
It has been an absolute pleasure on my end following your journey. I have learned a lot about not sweating the small and keeping a positive mindset. Thank you! Congrats again on this awesome milestone🎉🎉
That's awesome Mike👏👏👏❤🤗😂❤💐🌞
It's not too shabby! ♥
What treatment was used for you, is it affordable? Thank you!🙏🏻
Can you be specific if you made diet and lifestyle changes? I have stage 4 rectal cancer. Thank you for giving me hope.
I would say that I became far more cognizant of sun exposure and reduced my alcohol intake drastically. I have always eaten relatively healthily - I cook most of my own meals, eat lots of protein & vegetables, but I also have a sweet tooth. As far as I understand, eating healthy is always going to be the best option for supporting treatment and giving your body the best chance, but it's not curative as some claim. But I am far from an expert, so don't take my word for it.
Fenbezadol..
pls fix your pure audio
Yeah that was pretty terrible 😂 I don't know what setting I messed up on my mic, but I definitely should have caught it.