MRI concern
Back to the hospital yesterday for an MRI of my left calf, the site of my off the scale tumor. First time is always scary, because of the unknowns. The scan would last 20 minutes! Ended up lasting longer than that.
With the scan finished I was seen by the consultant who said there was something showing in the skin layer … *gulp*. On further investigation it could be the scar tissue, but even so I was advised to call in over Christmas to see if I can get seen in the next few weeks to talk about results.
What I have to do is not worry about it until I’m back in the hospital, so on with Christmas. Easier said, but I feel very confident that I’ll be ok. I read that even if your faith is dented, as long as you have hope you’ll get your faith back with time.
A few years back, someone very dear to me was diagnosed with lymphoma and, because she had waited so long to see a GP, not an Osteopath, it had until then gone undiagnosed, despite showing 9 of the 10 classic symptoms. When she was admitted into hospital for treatment, her prognosis was pretty bad. All the doctors were telling her it didn’t look good… all except one doctor. That doctor was realistic, but encouraging. He also recommended the writing of Dr. Bernie Segal, a cancer surgeon in the US who writes about maintaining faith though cancer. Well, she took it to heart and, 15 years later is strong, independent, and a mother as well (she was told the chemothrapy would make her unable to concieve children)! And, she never lost her hair in the treatment as well!
She had dips in her faith, but through it all, got stronger and stronger.
I don’t know if this helps, but I hope you keep your faith and stay strong.
a) Start doing regular Chi Gong NOW - to shift the whole energy of your body, and help your body improve its ability to recover and rebalance. THIS IS KEY
b) Change your diet, eat macrobiotically and organic, taking care of the acid/alkaline balance of your body - shifting it to more alkaline. (Macrobiotic theory says cancers are an acidic condition and can be overcome with a shift to a more alkaline diet). Diet is HUGE.
c) Meditate twice a day with Transcendental Meditation - release stress. THIS IS KEY.
d) Recieve regular Acupuncture.
Doing these things will help you tremendously, and should see you through.
Good luck.
Hi Bud,
Saw your story on the BBC news site and struck a cord as my girlfriends best mate ( Lia ) died from the disease aged 17 a couple of years back ( Sorry, if that hits hard! ). She was more advanced along the way than what you describe so I hope that things will be ok in that you caught it early enough.
I praise you in the fact that you are raising awareness to the disease, as you mentioned it isnt the “famous” cancer that everyone relates to. I’ll mention this website to the misses, and I know she will pass it onto Lia’s parents as they are actively raising awareness themselves.
Im not a religious person, but if there is someone watching over you I hope they are smiling.
Good luck for the new year.
Johnny.
Lee,
I just read the article on you on the BBC online. I appreciate your bravery in sharing your experiences as you pull the hardline. My hopes for you are only the very best. I plan on watching you beat this.
-g
Hi Lee,
I am sure you will receive many e-mails in response to the article on BBC new,s.
I would just like to say good luck in your fight ahead. It is difficult to imagine what you are going through, being 58 years old, and fortunately having had no serious health problems, thank God.
Stay positive mate, I think many peoples thoughts will be with you.
Kind rgards,
Roly Baker
Dear Lee,
I read about your blog on the BBC website and linked right to it. Well done for finding a way to talk about your own feelings.
I have had six months of worry similar to yours - I came back from holiday last June with an ache in my groin. I put it down to muscle strain, but had a worry in my mind about testicular cancer. Two weeks later I went to visit the GP, and fully identified with what you wrote about the strip search!
Another difficult thing to deal with is the long waits for hospital appointments, it was 5 months until I could get a scan. Again not the most comfortable experience laying infront of a specialist with them scanning your balls in the same way they scan pregnant women.
Now another wait for the results to be delivered back to my GP.
I will keep up with reading your log, Lee. Well done for starting it!
Hi Lee,
Just found out about your blog from the BBC website. I applaud your decision to publicise your illness. There is too much ignorance about skin cancer & people not taking enough precautions in the sun. I lost my brother to malignant melanoma in October 1999 just 7 weeks after being diagnosed.
Wishing you a complete &swift recovery
Hugh
Lee, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus as your only true saviour, he is faithfall to forgive our sins.
Jesus loves you and wants show his grace, mercy and miraculous powers by healing your condition and more importantly experiencing a new life and being as a born again Christian so that you can have life in abundance(John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water) and enjoy eternity in heaven (John 3:3 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”).
Jesus is alive and is our one true redeemer, have faith belive on him and watch what our awsome God can do in your life.
Isaiah 53:5
“But He was wounded (pierced) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed, punished) for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
God bless.
Happy Christmas Lee and wishing you all the best for 2006. Hope your scan comes back okay.
Hi Lee,
Here via the BBC News article posted today.
Just wanted to wish you good luck with good luck and health in the new year. As a 24 year old who’s always avoided the sun because of skin cancer history in the family, it’s making me realise that the most important part is to not be afraid of visiting the doc when in doubt.
Now that I live in the UK, I find young people shun yearly checkups and aren’t informed enough about the risks they’re running by doing that. Hopefully your story will help everyone realise the medical resources are there for a reason.
happy new year lee
the very best of luck this year.
i see you like music a lot!
couldnt think of a lot to say, but thought id post you the URL of my audio streaming site. all you need is realplayer. all original tracks. theres about 150 files from 10 or so artists. please dont feel insulted, this is not a shameless promotion.
the site is a labour of love, the artists are all my friends of many years.
http://www.alascom.co.uk
anyway, ill keep a check on these logs to see how youre doing.
yours sincerely
ian cooke
Dear Lee,
I learned of you through a melanoma listserv to which I subscribe. I wanted to say hello and to let you know that I understand your need and desire to increase the awareness. My life is now dedicated to that end. My heart goes out to you…especially considering your age…and to thank you for your efforts. Perhaps you will find some information or help on my website. I developed it after 18 months of research about this horrific disease. God bless you and good luck in defeating this monster.
Linda
Lee, I am really touched by your website. As a person who is liberally spotted with moles of soooooo many various colours, textures etc., (and as the niece of a woman who dies from skin cancer many moons ago) it’s something I am, as an adult and parent, very aware of.
I really hope you were able to enjoy your Christmas - pls let us know how the hopital visits go - I for one, wil be visiting regularly to see how you are…
I’ve had 2 moles removed, one from my abdomen and one from my cornea (yuck emoticon!!), but I often imagine that one or more of my other moles itches - at least I think I imagine it. I just think, where the hell do I stop - I couldn’t possibly get them all removed.
Do you have loads? Are you worried about those you still have. It’s such a surreptitious thing cancer - creeps up on us totally without warning.
Anyway, as I say, hope you keep in touch via this site.
take care.
xx
Lee,
Read about you in BBC news. Thanks for having the guts to publish and to educate dumb old geezers like me. I have gotten a tremendous amount of sun over my 55 years and will be on the lookout for the dreaded skin cancer. my mom had melonoma and would go in periodically to have them burned off. Same with my dad… RIP. they lived to a ripe old age and had some serious fun doing it.
Lee, keep your head up and have as much fun as you can. To go along with the treatments. We all here on this planet have a finite amount of time to live and we have to have as much fun and happiness as we can.. i am convinced of that. I take it easy, am bi polar, and love to read etc. But a lot of people love to party, get out and about and be with people. My son was one of those. I lost him Nov 12, 2005 in Miami, Florida due to severe depression and loss of his girl friend. RIP Joey Terry III.
Anyway, you are remarkable young man and a role model for us all out there the old geezers and the young and dumb. take care and HAVE AS MUCH FUN AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN.
Respectfully,
Joe Terry Jr
Guadalupe, CA
guadalupejoe@hotmail.com
I have just found your blog and wish you all the very best with the treatment for this nasty cancer. Faith and hope? Try anything in times of need, I should think. I ain’t being flippant, trust me.
Just to let you know that I’ll be thinking of you, and basically I’LL BE BACK, though my muscles are poorly developed and I’ve never been a governor of anything!
LOL
Happy New Year, Lee,
And congratulations on your first courageous year. Seeing your face on BBC/online today has provoked a rare response from me, for I want to share a little bit of my own history for you, since I too was diagnosed at 27 with advanced malignant melanoma. I learned I had a 35 percent change of a 5 year survival. Fair, with your same coloring, I too had ignored the change in the mole, and the pleading of my mother to have it checked. My ignorance was vast. So it was quite advanced by the time I went in.
Then, it was a lonely and harrowing upward ordeal, much as you describe, for then, there was virtually nothing known about melanoma. Here in the USA only a couple of clinics had begun to open up to study the condition. So there was nearly nothing available. It was pretty scarey. I found I had to take control of it all, in my own head, if I was going to survive. And I wanted to survive. So I spent a great deal of thoughtful time reflecting on what that really meant. And for me, it meant getting in touch with my own dreams, rather than those influenced by others, even those who loved me. I realised that what I had thought was health, was not only illusory, but dangerously deceptive. Took courage, strength, and integrity. Gradually I eliminated all negative thought, and I focused on finding/keeping a positive attitude–regardless. Every minute became valuable and not to waste on negative energy.
I started, as you, in trying to educate myself as much as possible. Then that led to a change of physical lifestyle. To increase physical strength. In diet, exercise….first walking, then running and cycling and then dance…. and then, in time, as body strengthened, so the mind began to need more, and I eventually returned to graduate school to balance body and mind…which led me into the love of my life–teaching.
It was kinda….an upheaval, to life as it had been known, done gradually, but with an unrelenting determination. And I suppose, I can say, now at 57, thirty years down the road, it was the pivot point in the making of a happy life. The first five years were the most difficult, but I can now say that the disease was a great teacher in my life. Opened my eyes, inside and out, wider than I had ever imagined possible before that. And the quality of each day improved with that, for I no longer, ever since, have taken a breath for granted. I suppose that when we come to confront our own mortality, however that great teacher confronts us, and it will, at some point, eventually…if we listen, as you are now, the whole quality of life is transformed. That is the gift, however backhanded it may appear. It’s not how long we live–but how well.
Vigilance is essential. In the first two years I had three operations. Some ten years later, I went through a phase when several new moles suddenly appeared and some old ones changed. I then had about a dozen removed. Two were premalignant melanoma. Nothing since then, though I keep a watch out regualrly. Clean diet, exercise and agility, clean attitude. Practice Kindness. And I am moved by your blog here, already you taking the reins of teacher, helping others, by sharing your story. Bless you, Lee. And thank you for reminding me again today…
Feel free to write, if you care more detail, or dialogue. Best Regards, Joan
I don’t have any profound wisdom to give, but I sincerely want everyting to be allright and pray for you to have complete recovery!!
I admire your bravery and your courage in telling everyone about it. I had a malignant melanoma removed from my back five years ago and have just been discharged.
Like you I was pestered by my family to get the mole checked when ot suddenly started bleeding. After the fifth change of sheets in as many days, I reluctantly decided to go to see the Doc.
Thereafter things moved fast - so fast I hardly knew when my feet hit the ground. An appointment to see the specialist was followed by an operation under local anaesthetic. Thankfully it was still shallow and the prognosis is good!
But like you, I suspect that I’ll always avoid the sun and make sure that I use a total block creme.
Good luck and be positive!
Nick
A Real Hero
Lee Jordan is 24, he has skin cancer and he wants the world to know about it so he’s blogging to prevent skin cancer and the BBC takes notice. Lee, I sympathize and share your desire to spread the word.
Take more vitamin A. Here is an important reference:
Alberts D, Ranger-Moore J, Einspahr J, et al. Safety and efficacy of dose-intensive oral vitamin A in subjects with sun-damaged skin. Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Mar 15; 10(6): 1875-80 http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/10/6/1875
Also, look into pyroluria
I wish you the very best, and hope the news is good..Good luck.. And for sure I will get my moles checked, after reading your story..
I am glad I found your blog I am just entering into the scary world of melanoma! And it is good to know I am not alone. And people do survive. I am 19 yrs old and have clarks stage 4 malanoma don’t know what that means?But its not looking good from the research I am doing:(
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