Stomach cancer

[watervole]

Richard looked up the figures on the web for me:

Ovarian cancer - 50% five year survival rate. I'd just about got used to that
idea...

Stomach cancer - 20% five year surival rate.

She has a thickening in the stomach wall - presumably the original cancer (they
have to culture the cells for a week before they know for sure)

There's a tumour on the ovary and another twisted around her bowel.

She can't keep down solid food of any kind.

I shall have a couple of lousy nights sleep before my mind adjusts, but it's a
different kind of adjestment that knows to expect the worst and to regard
revovery as a long shot rather than a decent chance.

My voice is starting to come back again. Once I can talk properly, I shall go
and visit her, but there seems little point until then.

I hope the pollen count drops soon. Once my eyes stop watering, there's more I
can do to distract myself.

Comments

[scarlatti.livejournal.com]

Oh, no... I'm sorry the latest news hasn't been very hopeful (understatement of the year). :( I hope you can visit her soon.

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

*hugs*:(

[dougs.livejournal.com]

It's not knowing, that's hardest. For me, at least.

Adjusting, that's a good word for it.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

Once I know, I can adjust.

It's like we all know we will die someday and we all expect to die in our old age and by and large we don't fret about it. (well, I don't anyway)

But when the unexpected happens, then it throws you off balance.

When I know, no matter how bad it is, then at least I can see ahead once more and make plans to cope.

[grumpoldusenaut.livejournal.com]

{hug}

It's not good at all, but at least you have a better idea what to expect now.

I don't really have any helpful advice on this - at least when my mother's lymphoma turned aggressive, I knew that if she made it through the chemo she'd almost certainly be in remission at the end of it.

The web is a two-edged sword - there is a lot of very useful information out there, but it can also be very depressing to read. Plus you have to learn what's reliable and where the quacks are. I'll do some browsing for you and do a bit of filtering, if it would help.

[kerravonsen]

*hugs*
Not sure what else to say.
*hugs*

[chairman-miaow.livejournal.com]

Judith... it's Sarah McEvoy here, borrowing Minsky's LJ account. I'm sorry not to have been in touch. My hard drive went down with my address list on it.

I'm so sorry about what is happening at the moment. I found out when I bumped into Julia on #afp and it turned out we'd met at the theatre trip in Edinburgh (Gareth in Hamlet), and she directed me over here.

You're in my thoughts.