Yep. That’s what the doctor told us. The news definitely shocked Meghan and I. What was I doing at the age 15 or 16? What was I exposed to?
This notion is difficult to comprehend, even more so when he explained that I was probably exposed to the carcinogens that caused my cancer even earlier. The youngest person he had ever seen with lung cancer at diagnosis was 26. I had the guy beat by 4 years……..lucky me!
His reasoning was based on the amount of cancer growth from the scans in Feb and June. If you recall from biology, the amount of time it takes for one cell to divide or for a group of cells (such as a tumor) to double in size is referred to as the doubling time. Every cancer’s doubling time is different and mine is a slow growing. That’s probably a good thing, but it also means that I wasn’t symptomatic for 7 years before I was initially diagnosed which is kind of scary. I’m not quite sure how to take the recent revelation. It’s mind-boggling and shocking and I really don’t know how to wrap my head around it.
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When you hear those 3 famous words - "You have cancer" - your life is never the same. Nearly 4,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer everyday. For survivors and their family and friends, a cancer diagnosis is scary, sad, and daunting - but not hopeless. While our lives may have changed for better or for worse, they are lives that still need to be lived, and in our minds, they are lives worth living.
There was a time when we ourselves didn’t know how to react when someone was diagnosed, what questions to ask, or what daily life was like for anyone surviving cancer. Now that we have some experience in the matter, we wanted to share our thoughts and feelings to hopefully help others who have been touched by cancer.
Please visit the National Collegiate Cancer Foundation http://www.collegiatecancer.org/ for more resources.
There was a time when we ourselves didn’t know how to react when someone was diagnosed, what questions to ask, or what daily life was like for anyone surviving cancer. Now that we have some experience in the matter, we wanted to share our thoughts and feelings to hopefully help others who have been touched by cancer.
Please visit the National Collegiate Cancer Foundation http://www.collegiatecancer.org/ for more resources.
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CancerCon8 years ago
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6 comments:
I really don't know what to say after reading this post - I guess I'm in shock more than anything, but as Meg told us its best to say something. I read this blog everyday bud - keep up the positive thinking and the good fight.
W.W.W.
SERGIO
So many unanswered questions... Keep on fighting, youth is on your side.
If you want company when you come to Baltimore, let me know.
Both of you are in our prayers.
Ana Maria
Dan that's just crazy! And it's even crazier that they can figure that out these days. Thanks for sharing that bit of info with us - seems unbelievable but every clue to cancer will help us beat it one day.
Dan
I guess there is a pro and a con in the delay you experienced in learning about your cancer rather than at its inception. The pro is the youthful years spent without worrying about the affliction. The con is the argument that early detection may improve the success of therapy. Life is full of contradictions.
I hope the new information about the estimated time of onset of your cancer will help in successful treatment.
DTB
I am also shocked by this and wonder what could have caused this? I think we need to do some more investigating. I also loved reading the art competition stuff-I love art and I think that must have been such a cool experience!!!
Hey Dan,
I just got back from my trip and am catching up on the blog. I don't really know what to say about this other than I think it's pretty shocking and wouldn't know what to make of it myself.
Td
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