I consider you all people I know pretty well, so I have some news. I have been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in my stomach. But it appears it was caught early enough for it to be completely contained in the stomach. There is no metastisis. And that's really GOOD news. It is operable, but the surgery will be a gastrectomy. I may get to keep a small part of the stomach, but probably not. It will be like a permanent gastric bypass and the surgeon and oncologist and GI assure me people live relatively normally afterwards. I'm about to start chemo before. Then there will be the surgery and recovery. Then more chemo. Between God, doctors, nurses, technology, my friends and family and positive attitude we're confident in a complete cure. It will be a real lifestyle change. But that has the word "LIFE" in it. So I'll be extremely thankful to be among the living. If you pray, I would greatly appreciate your prayers. If not, I'll take those good vibes and your fish pictures. This site will be a vacation for me while I go through the whole ordeal.

 

On a side note, after being diagnosed, but before the scans that showed cancer contained, I went out with my buddy and I caught a real donkey (7-4) on the Super Spook, Jr. This fish absolutely crushed the bait. I have 50 seconds of video after the fish had already jumped 2 or 3 times. I also saw a bald eagle that day, which is not an everyday sight in SC...yet. I considered these things very positive signs that helped get me through until I got the good news from the scans.

You have my good thoughts.   I applaud your attitude and outlook.

God bless and a speedy recovery!

You’re in my prayers - keep fighting the good fight and try to keep living as much as possible.

1 minute ago, Choporoz said:

You have my good thoughts.   I applaud your attitude and outlook.

Thank you. I have a lot to live for.

Welcome to the 'C-Club' (#sarcasmlives)

 

Good docs, new treatments, and a positive attitude go a long way....everything else is just window-dressing.

 

Good thoughts on the way - and you got this, man

 

(I really should update my own post....been too long and a lot has happened.)

This a feel good story for you. In 2015 I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The tumor was right at the junction of the esophagus & stomach just above the sphincter value that is supposed to keep your stomach acid from entering your esophagus. The tumor was graded as stage 2-3 but not metastasized. After 6 weeks of chemo they did a stomach pullup which consisted of totally removing my esophagus at my throat to my stomach & replacing it with my stomach. They removed a small portion of my stomach adjacent to the esophagus then formed the stomach into a tube to replace the esophagus. I got 6 more weeks of chemo after healing to make sure there were no cancer cells floating around. I too was left with a very limited stomach sack. Your intestines take over the digestion process. Consequently when you eat your intake capacity is greatly reduced. You get full from much smaller portions than before. You will  probably loose some weight permanently. The good thing is you can get your life back & function relatively normally. It sounds like your medical team has given you a good prognosis & advice. I wish you the best possible outcome going forward. Keep your positive outlook & believe in the outcome. I am cancer free 10 years later & enjoying my fishing as much as ever.   

@the reel ess 

Sending good thoughts. 

Hope your treatments and procedures go as planned with positive outcomes.

A-Jay

54 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

This a feel good story for you. In 2015 I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The tumor was right at the junction of the esophagus & stomach just above the spinster value that is supposed to keep your stomach acid from entering your esophagus. The tumor was graded as stage 2-3 but not metastasized. After 6 weeks of chemo they did a stomach pullup which consisted of totally removing my esophagus at my throat to my stomach & replacing it with my stomach. They removed a small portion of my stomach adjacent to the esophagus then formed the stomach into a tube to replace the esophagus. I got 6 more weeks of chemo after healing to make sure there were no cancer cells floating around. I too was left with a very limited stomach sack. Your intestines take over the digestion process. Consequently when you eat your intake capacity is greatly reduced. You get full from much smaller portions than before. You will  probably loose some weight permanently. The good thing is you can get your life back & function relatively normally. It sounds like your medical team has given you a good prognosis & advice. I wish you the best possible outcome going forward. Keep your positive outlook & believe in the outcome. I am cancer free 10 years later & enjoying my fishing as much as ever.   

Thanks for that info. It is encouraging. It seems this type of cancer is less common and most cancer survivors had a different type. 

@the reel ess, I will add you to my prayer list. Your attitude towards this will carry you a long way. I wish you healing.

They can do some pretty amazing things these days. Sending you best wishes.

Praying for you 🙏 

God and positivity all things are possible.

Hang tough, fight hard. 
Prayers are with you 🙏🏻 

Your positive attitude will go along way. Modern medicine is improving everyday. You have this!

Thoughts and prayers for you. 

Remember there is some huge bass waiting for you to recover!

Wishing you all my best

I have the same story as Dwight . 6 months later I'm cancer free and was enjoying fishing until winter hit. Its a scary situation to be in for sure. Wishing you the best.

Best of luck. My father is going through intensive cancer treatment at the moment, as is a very close friend. I have some idea of the road map as a result. 

 

You've got the right attitude. Keep pushing. It's a tough path and your mental fortitude is what is going to see you through. Your life is going to change, like you said, but it is still living. It also doesn't mean it's going to be worse on the other end. 

 

My loved ones have benefited from finding ways to stay involved with their hobbies. Glad you've got the forum. You'll be able to get back on the water and on fish in the future. 

 

I've been reading a book on the history of cancer and treatments called the "Emperor of All Maladies". Getting context for cancer helped me and my loved ones. It might help you as well if you're much of a reader or audiobook person. 

53 minutes ago, Rucksack said:

Best of luck. My father is going through intensive cancer treatment at the moment, as is a very close friend. I have some idea of the road map as a result. 

 

You've got the right attitude. Keep pushing. It's a tough path and your mental fortitude is what is going to see you through. Your life is going to change, like you said, but it is still living. It also doesn't mean it's going to be worse on the other end. 

 

My loved ones have benefited from finding ways to stay involved with their hobbies. Glad you've got the forum. You'll be able to get back on the water and on fish in the future. 

 

I've been reading a book on the history of cancer and treatments called the "Emperor of All Maladies". Getting context for cancer helped me and my loved ones. It might help you as well if you're much of a reader or audiobook person. 

Appreciate the recommendation

Really sorry to hear. Hoping all goes well with a good outcome.

 

Curious as to how the diagnosis came about. Were you having symptoms of something or was it just random? No worries if you don't want to share. I knew someone for a short time and they found out they had stomach cancer because they went in for basically indigestion that they had dealt with all of their adult life. They had also been to the doctor multiple times over the years for the indigestion. Idk if the two were related but that's how they finally found out.

 

Also really surprised you don't see more bald eagles in SC. It seems to me that SC is more "wild" than IL and I see way more eagles than I ever thought I would. Maybe it's a river thing...

Positive attitude is half the battle!

will 🙏for you often.

Tom

44 minutes ago, Kev-mo said:

Really sorry to hear. Hoping all goes well with a good outcome.

 

Curious as to how the diagnosis came about. Were you having symptoms of something or was it just random? No worries if you don't want to share. I knew someone for a short time and they found out they had stomach cancer because they went in for basically indigestion that they had dealt with all of their adult life. They had also been to the doctor multiple times over the years for the indigestion. Idk if the two were related but that's how they finally found out.

 

Also really surprised you don't see more bald eagles in SC. It seems to me that SC is more "wild" than IL and I see way more eagles than I ever thought I would. Maybe it's a river thing...

Well, I have had indigestion since I was a teen. I'm 55 now. About a year ago I started noticing that when I ate a good amount in one sitting it was uncomfortable and that slowly increased. I also developed these belches that seemed to bubble up all the way form my stomach, not just a burp. It happened more when my stomach emptied. I saw my PCP in May and discussed it and she gave me another acid blocker, though it wasn't really an upset stomach feeling. In the meantime I noticed inflamed gums and saw my dentist about it. She asked if I had ever had chemo/cancer or if I might be anemic. That was alarming so I went back to the PCP and she was of the opinion that the inflamed gums were caused by some mineral deficiency. The stomach was not doing its job completely. I basically demanded an endoscopy then and she agreed and referred me to a GI. The GI thought it was going to be a case of esophagitis. The tumor was discovered by that procedure. I'm really glad I pushed for the endoscopy. 

 

In SC, the eagles are more common over larger lakes. But they do have a range and travel pretty far from lakes. It's still kind of a big deal to see one. When I was young, they simply were not around here. I saw my first one when I was maybe 30.

Praying for ya buddy!!

Prayers for you, and for all the people who will go through it with you.

Real sorry to hear this @the reel ess! You’re off to a good start though with that positive attitude. It really helps a ton. Twenty three years cancer free here, stay positive, don’t over do it, listen to your doctors, and roll with the punches.

 

Sending positive thoughts.

I will keep ya in my thoughts and still send prays and good vibes your way too.

keep your eyes on the horizon