Jock67B's Cancer Ward (Cancer Support and Discussion Thread)

[Andrew P]

This thread has been set up in loving memory of Jack Wilson Kerr, (Jock67B) 7th July 1947 - 2nd May 2016 as a support and discussion thread for Cancer sufferers and their families by his Wife Joanna and Daughters in thanks for all the love and support afforded to our friend Jock by members of the R M Web over the last couple of years.

 

The idea for this Thread must go to Rick, (Gwiwer / Penhale Bay) who suggested the idea for this Thread and was approved by Joanna and Family.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Andrew P

[jamie92208]

Thanks for setting this up Andrew.    Though fortunately no one in my immediate family is affected by the dread disease at the moment, one of my very good modelling friends, who Jock knew about, is currently in Wakefield Hospice with not long to go.  He survived Kidney Cancer in his 50's, then Prostate cancer, then after having a leg amputated a routine chest X ray showed lung cancer.  That was just over 16 months ago.    His family circumstances are a bit tricky and his daughter is the main carer.  I am involved as well.    Though I am very happy to be able to visit him, it isn't easy.  Sometimes I can have a bit of conversation with him and sometimes he just sleeps and I get the odd word.  However he has been a very good friend over the years as well as a brilliant modeller.   Jock was a support to me, mainly via PM, so I just wanted to share this.   It's sad, but not sad if that makes any sense.   I'll be going in tonight on my way to the club and am taking a kit with me that he's helped me with in the past.  I just hope that he is awake enough to talk to but not I pain.

 

Jamie

[Andrew P]

We lost my Farther to the big ''C'' many years ago, he was 72, and just retired, we were told on the Christmas Eve after the surgeons had opened him up that there was just a few weeks, he died in the February.

 

RIP Dad and Jock.

[PhilJ W]

I lost both my parents to the big C. In my mothers case though she was in recession from another cancer the one that she died from was not discovered until they opened her up. As she was already on life support all that could be done was to switch it all off.

[Brinkly]

Andy,

 

I didn't know Jock had died, how sad. He regularly commented and was very supportive with my modelling. How awful. What a loss, he always seemed liked such a nice gent.

 

I will really miss his comments.

 

Nick.

[Purley Oaks]

My grandfather was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1972 and was operated on at Charing Cross hospital giving him a colostomy bag. In March 1974 our GP told us, but not him, that his stomach was "riddled" with cancer and he died just a couple of days later. I was raised by my grandparents and mother. There was much less understanding of cancer back then and no chemotherapy to my knowledge so it's good to see how far we've come since.

 

As you know I was diagnosed with appendix cancer (bowel cancer in all but name) last August and operated on very quickly, then went through six months of chemo which ended 6 weeks ago. Energy levels still improving daily but the chemo has left me with some peripheral neuropathy in my fingers and toes which should go in time. At the moment it makes me feel the cold more.

 

Weird, but three of us from work, all approx the same age, were diagnosed with cancer within a few months of each other; one lung and two bowel.

 

My next scan is due in August, a date I'm both looking forward to and dreading at the same time. Basically I want good news!

 

Mal

 

edited for spelling

Edited May 16, 2016 by Purley Oaks

[Phil Bullock]

Forgive me for going factual but cancer is a disease that will afflict 1 in 3 of us.

 

It comes in many forms - some of which are deadly, some more indolent and we are more likely to die with them rather than from them.

 

Essentially cancer is a disease of ageing - ie somatic - rather than familial - genetic. Although all cancer is genetic in that its changes in our genes - translocations, deletions - that give rise to this horrible condition, its the insults we throw at our body that causes the changes. Go back a few centuries and it was much rarer - because the population often did not live long enough to acquire these genetic changes.

 

Factors?

 

Nature - what we are born with

Nurture - how we treat our bodies

Luck - self explanatory

 

There is much we can do to reduce risk...don't smoke, eat well, protect ourselves when out in the sun are probably the easiest - but there is still no guarantee of immunity.

 

Its a highly emotive subject...I have a cousin who I used to fish with with my father and grandfather when I was a lad, he is afflicted with bowel cancer and probably going to succumb as recurrent disease is rampant despite chemo and surgery. He came fishing on the Wye for two days last Autumn and I suspect that will be the last time - but they were wonderful days. The Wye Valley was at its best, and he caught some fish. I shall treasure those moments - just as I do those I had with my dear Mother, who I tucked up in bed one Wednesday night knowing the end was near (breast cancer) intending to see her again at the weekend but you can guess the inevitable...

 

But I had already come to terms and said goodbye. My trouble is perhaps I know too much, which makes me seem unfeeling sometimes. But that is far from the case. Experience has shown me that strength of mind is vital to keep going...so do whatever is needed for that when challenged. Short term and long term goals are also important. Mum kept going as long as she wrote a diary - once that stopped she lost heart.

 

But always remember if the Big C comes knocking you may ask about survival rates - if so, they will be based on historical data and therefore your chances of survival will be better - wont they?

 

Of course they will! SWMBO has a 92 year old Aunt who has survived the test over the last few years...

 

Phil

[Tim Dubya]

I lost my mum to pancreatic cancer.  She'd had chemotherapy twice over the years but that made her so ill, with zero quality of life, that when it was offered again she refused.

 

She died sat on the sofa one lunchtime next to my dad, she was there one minute watching the tele and gone the next.

 

Miss you mum.

[russ p]

My grandfather was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 1972 and was operated on at Charing Cross hospital giving him a colostomy bag. In March 1974 our GP told us, but not him, that his stomach was "riddled" with cancer and he died just a couple of days later. I was raised by my grandparents and mother. There was much less understanding of cancer back then and no chemotherapy to my knowledge so it's good to see how far we've come since.

 

As you know I was diagnosed with appendix cancer (bowel cancer in all but name) last August and operated on very quickly, then went through six months of chemo which ended 6 weeks ago. Energy levels still improving daily but the chemo has left me with some peripheral neuropathy in my fingers and toes which should go in time. At the moment it makes me feel the cold more.

 

Weird, but three of us from work, all approx the same age, were diagnosed with cancer within a few months of each other; one lung and two bowel.

 

My next scan is due in August, a date I'm both looking forward to and dreading at the same time. Basically I want good news!

 

Mal

 

edited for spelling

Hi Mal, I was diagnosed with cancer in the tongue and neck last year I had three sessions of five day chemotherapy then seven weeks of daily radiotherapy which finished in September, I'm only now stating to get energy back ,but just take it easy. You may find like me that in a few months your memory of your treatment will become quite vague. It's really strange but it happens alot apparently.

Just try to keep your spirits up and best of luck mate

Cheers

Russ

[Phil Bullock]

Sorry to hear that Tim - that is one of the worst am afraid, also got SWMBO's Dad

 

Grieving is tough and is different every time - with my Mum I saw it coming and could prepare, with my father I got a phone call in Milton Keynes to get to Aberystwyth PDQ - but before I could leave there was another call, no need to rush...

 

A coronary took him, walking down the High Street, the staff in Hughes and Johns Shoe Shop on the corner (Now Habitat I think) did their best to make him comfy but there was nothing to be done. So much grief for what hadn't been done or said rather than as with my mother and cancer - a bit more time to prepare.

 

My father still fishes with me - I caught a salmon in the Ystwyth just where he said one ought to be - and my mother will always be with us in many ways.

 

I hope my children will feel the same. That's what marks us isn't it? Its what we leave behind....

 

Phil

[4630]

I lost my Dad to liver cancer 14 years ago.

 

Following the diagnosis he only lived barely for another 3 months.  He was determined to die at home and through the devoted care of my Mum (now sadly gone too but that due to Alzheimers) and the outstanding Macmillan Nurses, his final days were at least spent in familiar surroundings that he knew and loved.

 

I know it's trite, but there isn't a day that goes by when I don't think of either mum or dad and usually both.

 

Dad's passing made me really think about my own life; how short it is in absolute terms and to make the most of each precious each day.    

[New Haven Neil]

Aye, I'm another who lost both parents to it.  Dad went in for a new knee and had a lung tumour detected at the pre-op.  A smokers cancer, but he had never smoked - secondary smoking, shipyards, navy etc.  Mum had a brain tumour removed some years before and was OK, but many years later she got it again, (secondaries seeded I suppose) in liver and kidneys, she went very quickly bless her.

 

I am privileged to have 'met' Jock and corresponded with him, and I think made him happy sending a lot of photos of classic bike racing at the TT.  I'll never forget him, and the gracious and brave nature he demonstrated.  What a man.

 

My deepest condolences to his family, your hurt must be deep.

[Tim Dubya]

Thanks Phil,

 

My mum hung on for quite some time, longer than she should have really. 

 

I think (actually I'm sure) she was waiting because my brother had been very seriously ill and been in hospital for the previous two years (due, unfortunately to medical negligence - but that's another story).

 

He'd been out of hospital about four months when she died but she waited until she knew her baby was going to make it, which he did for another two years. (Cheers Wood).

 

Thanks Andy & Rick for starting this thread and thanks to everyone else for listening / support.

 

Better out than in!

[Ian J.]

I lost my mum to liver cancer back in 2008. I mentioned it here at the time (in RMweb's previous incarnation). A friend's mother and father both died from it. It's an insidious disease, but much is happening on the research front to tackle it. A different friend of mine's wife is currently battling it, a pretty nasty one too. It's only through advancements in treatment in the last few years that she's been able to keep up the fight. Had it been even just five years ago she would have passed away pretty quickly. So it's been around me for a while now.

 

A minor quibble - the OP needs editing for the year of passing. Wasn't it 2016, not 2015?

Edited May 16, 2016 by Ian J.

[Andrew P]

I lost my mum to liver cancer back in 2008. I mentioned it here at the time (in RMweb's previous incarnation). A friend's mother and father both died from it. It's an insidious disease, but much is happening on the research front to tackle it. A different friend of mine's wife is currently battling it, a pretty nasty one too, so it's been around me for a while now.

 

A minor quibble - the OP needs editing for the year of passing. Wasn't it 2016, not 2015?

Thanks Ian, I re read it a thousand time and still got it wrong.

[trisonic]

Another Cancer survivor here.  It is survivable but one has to be very proactive - and even then  you may still lose.

 

Lost my only brother to Colon Cancer and my Mother (and her Mother) to AML (dreadful disease).

 

Get checked out!

 

Best, Pete.

[brianusa]

Following on to a previous comment, I had colon cancer four years ago and my latest check up was good.  Next year, DV, I shall be deemed free after five years so my doc tells me.  Take heart!

 

Brian.

[chrisf]

My father was taken by lung cancer 11 years ago.  That it was 20 years after he gave up smoking is something I find particularly cruel.  One of the first things he said to me after I had found out that he was ill was: "Don't you dare cancel your trip to South Africa".  So I went and he hung on until I returned but his decline was rapid.  It still saddens me that he never got to see the photographs I took out there.  The only comfort is that he was given between six and nine months to live and managed barely three.  I call this merciful.

 

More recently, about a year ago, my cousin died of prostate cancer.  He had been quite carefree about it until suddenly it became aggressive and took him.  Imagine how I reacted when I learned that I have it too.

 

As I have said elsewhere, if only I had been blessed with a fraction of the resolution and fortitude that Jock showed us in his valiant fight.

 

Chris

[Oldddudders]

I think this is the disease of our time, just as tuberculosis was for previous generations. We are all surrounded by it. And the medical advances mentioned by others have been truly remarkable in combatting several forms, so there is lots of good news, too. Breast cancer, which killed my mother in 1973, is a particular triumph, with the drug Tamoxifen being a worldwide British success, I think, and better than 90% of cases being treated successfully to the extent of at least 10 years survival. Other lady cancers are tougher to detect until too late, including the ovarian form that killed Deb at 57.

 

One of my brothers formerly worked for a Cancer Research charity, and I think ran a lab for them in Drury Lane for a while. But now his twin has a brain tumour, and treatment to date has not prospered. Adrian was Best Man at our wedding only last October, so it's all a bit sudden.

 

My two best friends from skool both succumbed. Peter at 26, to mesothelioma, probably from blue asbestos in the electronics lab he worked in in Hayes, Middx, while Mike lasted until almost 64, when pancreatic cancer took him. He'd fought a doughty fight, mind, lasting well over two years from initial diagnosis. Addenbrooke's did well. 

 

The subject of this thread has a lot of scope for producing prodigious amounts of doomy-gloomy stuff. But simply pouring out our sad memories can also make us think fondly of the victims. Warmth out of misery. Thanks again Jock.

[Purley Oaks]

Following on from Phil's Nature, Nurture and Luck, my specialist said that the factors in my bowel cancer could be DNA (Nature), Western Lifestyle (Nurture) - and very presciently for Scotland, a lack of Vitamin D.

 

We're bombarded with information about staying out of the sun for the sake of our fair skin, yet we need around 20 minutes exposure to sun daily to make vitamin D. In winter it's difficult to get any decent sun at all in the 7 hours of daylight. A lack of Vitamin D is thought to be the main factor for the Orkney Islands having the highest number of MS cases per head of population.

 

Science is moving ahead so fast now that we read of new cancer treatments almost monthly; great news!

 

Mal

[PhilH]

A valuable thread. At the moment not directly affected but who knows what tomorrow will bring. For me it's about time this terrible disease was defeated...amongst others Cancer Research and Macmillan do incredibly valuable work in research and support to combat this disease.

 

But they are charities, so my point is I would urge anybody who is able to support these causes to enable them to continue and grow their work...we never know when we might be grateful for their efforts.

Edited May 17, 2016 by PhilH

[russ p]

A lot depends on your frame of mind Phil, to be honest I didn't want to know much about it, I never asked it into my body.

Macmillan does a great job and say sent a chap who had had the same to see me. A really genuine nice chap. But I found this made me more upset. I prefer to take each day as it comes and did throughout my therapy, some fellow patients knew all the ins and outs of their disease I just bumbled along

[Judge Dread]

I also wish to thank everyone for their efforts in constructing this memorial to Jock.

It comes at a strange time for me. For the last few years I have taken part in the Bowel Cancer screening programme every two years with no positive results until this year.

Traces of blood where found and a second sample requested which was also positive. I had to see a nurse from our local hospital and she forwarded my details for a Colonocopy. That all took place last week and this morning I received a telephone call from that nurse to tell me all was clear.

I wish to go on record, thanking the staff from the Bowel Cancer Unit at the Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham near Hull.

Whilst they waited for me to recover from the injection, they gave me to relax; I was given a drink and a biscuit. I returned the next day with a box of biscuits, the very least I could do.

[Waverley West]

I can only add to the support for this thread. I waited for a couple of days on a possible cancer diagnosis earlier this year and was lucky as it was negative, but it was the longest two days of my life by some distance. The stark statistic of the big C affecting one in three of us and the stories above show how important it is to beat this dreadful disease and it seems that real progress is being made.

 

My thoughts and very best wishes to everyone on here who has gone or is going through treatment or waiting for a diagnosis. Despite personally being a bit of a whimp (just ask Mrs WW), I do believe that strength of spirit is a huge factor in overcoming any adversity and I think Jock was truly a model in that respect, amongst his many other qualities.

 

Cheers

Dave

Edited May 17, 2016 by Waverley West

[Ian J.]

I believe by some measures that the cancer ratio is nearly 1 in 2. However, this is offset to some degree by improvements in treatment, and in earlier detection due to better awareness in the general public.