And now for something completely different: I don't know how this is likely to pan out, but, here goes. Firstly I'd like to say, I am in no way looking for sympathy, (boy would I be...

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

I don't know how this is likely to pan out, but, here goes. Firstly I'd like to say, I am in no way looking for sympathy, (boy would I be looking in the wrong place?). On Monday I was due to go to hospital for some tests. Over the weekend I started experiencing some really horrendous pain, and had to call an ambulance to go toA&E. Anyway. Long story short. Diagnosis lung cancer. No idea of the severity yet. It seems that going forward the emphasise will be on pain management. We'll see how that goes after treatment. Anyway, the point is that this maybe a unique opportunity to have this conversation in real-time. So, I'm here to answer any questions you may have on the subject. I will try to be as honest and open as possible. So far I have to say that the NHS has been great. I came in in agony, (I realise that pain is subjective and everyone's is worse than anyone else's), I am now comfortable and being well fed and looked after. I'm doing this on my phone so please don't get too hung up over typos. Well we'll see if this topic goes anywhere.

drainbamage

I'm sorry you felt so much pain and am glad you are comfortable now. Did you smoke? When I was younger I smoked, but stopped when I noticed one day at work that going up a flight of stairs caused me to be out of breath. I realized at 23 years of age, and I was in fairly good shape then, that this was a bad sign. It was not easy to quit and it took me almost a year to do it. I remember the cravings when other people smoked, and at parties and social gatherings. There were no patches, etc. back then and very few remedies other than just grin and bear it. I sometimes wonder what damage I did to my lungs because of it.

ETA: I smoked for about 4 years before I quit. Everyone was smoking, even in high school then.

phcaan Loc: Willow Springs, MO

Sorry to hear that man, I don't agree with you politically, but I wouldn't wish cancer on anyone. If I were diagnosed with something like that at my age I would opt for pain relief rather than something like chemo who's side effects are sometimes as bad as the disease itself. I will pray for you, even though you don't believe in the practice.

amyinsparta Loc: White county, TN

My niece has lung cancer that mestastized from her breasts. She had breast cancer some years ago. She refused chemo and is taking the new pills developed for the lung cancer. Her tumor has shrunk considerably and she continues to teach school. She is in her mid 50s. She was diagnosed in Nov. So far , so good for her. You hang in there. Being positive is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

drainbamage wrote:

I'm sorry you felt so much pain and am glad you ar... (show quote)

I smoked heavily for many years. Gave up about 15 years ago. No idea how much that contributed.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

phcaan wrote:

Sorry to hear that man, I don't agree with you politically, but I wouldn't wish cancer on anyone. If I were diagnosed with something like that at my age I would opt for pain relief rather than something like chemo who's side effects are sometimes as bad as the disease itself. I will pray for you, even though you don't believe in the practice.

Thank you. I appreciate the sentiment.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

amyinsparta wrote:

My niece has lung cancer that mestastized from her breasts. She had breast cancer some years ago. She refused chemo and is taking the new pills developed for the lung cancer. Her tumor has shrunk considerably and she continues to teach school. She is in her mid 50s. She was diagnosed in Nov. So far , so good for her. You hang in there. Being positive is the best thing you can do for yourself.

I'm quite pragmatic about these things. We all die eventually. Some ways are better than others, but with care it doesn't have to impact others too much.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Cancer isn't necessarily the death sentence it used to be. Living with cancer is almost as common as dying from it
.

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

All the best Wellhiem. I had a different sort of scare awhile back and turned the corner about 3 months ago. I went down to 60 kg, I'm up to 64 kg now and hungry as a hog.

Keenan Loc: Central Coast California

That is very shocking and unfortunate news. I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Luckily you are in the civilized part of the world, where health care is considered a basic right of all citizens, so at least you have some amount of comfort knowing that you will get all the treatment you need. Please keep us posted when you find out more about the severity and prognosis. Have you had any other smoking related diseases? Does it seem to you that smoking was the cause?

Keenan Loc: Central Coast California

Texcaster wrote:

All the best Wellhiem. I had a different sort of scare awhile back and turned the corner about 3 months ago. I went down to 60 kg, I'm up to 64 kg now and hungry as a hog.

That's good to hear. I'm assuming it was cancer? Care to share? I'm curious.

Texcaster Loc: Queensland

Keenan wrote:

That is very shocking and unfortunate news. I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Luckily you are in the civilized part of the world, where health care is considered a basic right of all citizens, so at least you have some amount of comfort that you will get all the treatment you need. Please keep us posted when you find out more about the severity and prognosis. Have you had any other smoking related diseases? Does it seem to you that smoking was the cause?

Everyone here gets basic health care and visits to a GP, no waiting. Serious illness is treated straight away and no one loses their home or goes bankrupt. It's the elective procedures that we line up and wait for, unless you have private cover. Prescription drugs is not an area that outrageous price gouging is permitted.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Texcaster wrote:

All the best Wellhiem. I had a different sort of scare awhile back and turned the corner about 3 months ago. I went down to 60 kg, I'm up to 64 kg now and hungry as a hog.

I went from 11 to 7 stone and had no idea I was loosing weight. Taking loads of supliments now, all on the NHS. It may not be the ideal system but it's bloody close.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Keenan wrote:

That is very shocking and unfortunate news. I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Luckily you are in the civilized part of the world, where health care is considered a basic right of all citizens, so at least you have some amount of comfort knowing that you will get all the treatment you need. Please keep us posted when you find out more about the severity and prognosis. Have you had any other smoking related diseases? Does it seem to you that smoking was the cause?

I'm not sure it's smoking related, but there does seem to be a bloody good possibly. I'll keep you informed as long as anyone is interested. That was the point of this post. I'm sure that others here have been through similar things or may have concerns. It seems like a good topic for reasonable debate. Smoking was always a stupid thing to do and I believe we all knew it at the time. The things we do for peer pressure. Still in all honesty, I have to say that I have no regrets. It would have been a boring life to have never done anything stupid.

Wellhiem Loc: Sunny England.

Texcaster wrote:

Everyone here gets basic health care and visits to a GP, no waiting. Serious illness is treated straight away and no one loses their home or goes bankrupt. It's the elective procedures that we line up and wait for, unless you have private cover. Prescription drugs are not an area that outrageous gouging is permitted.

I think the main problem with the NHS is that whilst it's free at the point of delivery, many people undervalue it. That's why they make appointments and don't turn up. If they realised what a greally great institution it is they may treat it with more respect. Of course the government being obsessed that everything has to be run at a profit doesn't help.