Cancer survivor here. Wasn’t even 30 when I first got cancer.
What cancer was it? Glad you’re still around
Don’t downvote this guy. He’s just asking a simple question.
It was colon cancer, and I neglected the symptoms because I figured “what 28 year old gets cancer???”
Turns out an increasing number of people, actually.
What were the symptoms though that you didn’t heed?
Lucky you survived. How old are you now (ball park range) and how do you feel it has affected your life?
Weight gain without any increase in food intake. I gained something like 100lbs in 10 years, and then shed it in 1 year after I had surgery.
Blood in the stool.
Getting winded going up stairs/hills.
Being pale.
I was raised by a narcisist who never took me to the hospital, or dentist. So I was just used to walking it off. Finally my sister saw me at christmas and said “Holy hell!!! You look like shit!” And I thought she was just being an ass. But then she INSISTED I go to the doctor. And they took a blood sample, and refused to believe that I walked into the hospital on my own. Theres a number that measures your blood count. A healthy male of my age/size should have been in the 14-18 range. Any less than 6 is considered at risk for immediate death. I was 4.48. They said I should have been so weak that I should have died long ago from any amount of exercise. Even walking.
Here I was doing work pushing two wheelchairs at once. Sometimes 1,200 pounds at once.
Damn, glad you lived to tell the tale
Chad. Glad you’re around! Thanks so much for answering all these questions.
holy. shit. I am SO happy you’re still around!
it seems like the physical activity you did on a daily basis contributed to your survival? im no doctor, but i notice that people whoregularly stress their body in a healthy(ish) way are able to beat life threatening conditions. I digress, congrats 👏
The crazy part is, the nurse was INSISTANT I get a blood test, to check why I’m so pale.
And then I’m like “Yeah, ok, you do what you gotta do.” In my mind mentally rolling my eyes, knowing I was fine. I felt fine. If something was wrong with me, I’d know before some blood test would. But at least I could put my sister at ease, and say that I came to the doctor and everything was fine. At least I could say I tried.
Then she comes back with the blood results, and is STUNNED that I came to the hospital on my own. Walking. Taking the local buses. She had that tone when you want to berate your kids for doing something dangerous, but not because you’re angry at them, but because you want to see them NOT die. That was the the tone she was talking to me in, for walking in myself, and pushing wheelchairs at the airport. I had to end up staying at the hospital for 4 days. I thought I’d be in and out in an hour. I was there 4 days while they ran every test they could on me. I swear they created new tests to perform on me that had never been thought of, just because I was there. That last part is exaggerating, but it helps demonstrate what it feels like to be in a hospital for 4 days, with no news besides “you could have died, lets run some tests”.
At some point on day 2 or 3, somehow, someone in my family figured out I was STILL in the hospital, and they were freaking the fuck out. Because I wasn’t going to say anything until I knew what was happening. I wasn’t going to say “Well, they’re testing for cancer” and worry everyone, and then say “It wasn’t cancer”. I was only going to say that once it was confirmed. A choice that made my family worry more than if I had just told them. But I didn’t know any of this. All my clothes, and my phone, and everything I came in with were in a bag being held by the hospital. I had no idea I had something like 70 missed calls in 2 days. I was just doing tests, and watching baseball between tests. Thank god it just HAPPENED to be baseball season.
I also had NO IDEA how little content TBS, Comedy Central, and a handful of other networks actually have. They would put The Office on…for like 12 hours straight. I was like “Oh, at least The Office is on…oh…it’s on quite a bit…”
wow… yeah, I would never tell my family about tests until it was confirmed. Worrying does nothing good for anyone, yk? but I’m glad you beat it! 🙂
and yeah, tv just gets so stale with repeat after repeat of entertaining shows that aren’t pure brain rot material like reality TV shows and the 24-hour news cycle (been there, done that)
Glad you’re still with us!
Two of my coworkers in their early 20’s got it. One of them didn’t make it. It’s so fucking sad…
Do you know what kind of cancer it was?
Breast cancer
TLDR: Overall numbers still low + higher rates of obesity compared to previous generations is a likely cause.
