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Trigger warning - Cancer

ClockFaceSenior Contributor23 Apr 2025, 8:26 pm AEST

Trigger warning - Cancer

Apart from my mental health issues I have a lot of, for lack of a better word, physical health issues. I spend far more time at doctors, specialists etc than I should. I was diagnosed with bladder cancer about 3 years ago and I underwent a procedure to have the cancer removed and have been in remission since. I have regular procedures to check that it hasnt regrown and will do for another 18mths or so.

Two weeks ago I had surgery on my shoulder/neck area to remove a lump. At the time of organising the surgery the surgeon was pretty confident that it wasnt cancer, though he said he couldnt be sure.

Well turns out it was cancer, Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans, a rare type of skin cancer. Its quite treatable, another surgery to remove more from my shoulder and then take a chunk from my chest and fill the hole left in my shoulder. Another 5 years of checks to make sure I havent had a reoccurrence.

The hassle I have at the moment, if that wasnt enough is, this cancer likes to metastasise into the neck and lungs. So, I had to have a CT of my neck and lungs yesterday and now I am waiting to find out if it has metastasised and I might have to wait a while, its a long weekend this weekend and my surgeon is going away for like a month mid-next week.

Just a lot at the moment.

2 replies

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In response to: Trigger warning - Cancer

Till23Senior Contributor23 Apr 2025, 8:44 pm AEST

Re: Trigger warning - Cancer

Hi @ClockFace there are many people on the forums with physical health problems, so you are not alone there.

I am sorry to hear though that you have had cancer twice and you are now going through the waiting process.

It's good to hear that your bladder cancer is currently in remission.

I have also had cancer twice, the first in 2022 was a rare one and then at my one year follow-up another cancer was found and treated. At the time of the second cancer it was thought I had metastatic cancer, however it turned out I had another rare kind of immune disease, which I will have long-term. I have just had a PET scan for that (and the cancers) and am awaiting results - so I know how that feels. I will have some other imaging in a few weeks more specifically for the cancers and will do so for at least the next 3 years. I will have long-term follow-up for the other thing. I have a couple of more minor physical things although arthritis will get worse eventually. And of course I also have three MH issues.

It is a lot so I am here should you want to chat, vent etc

In response to: Trigger warning - Cancer

MJG017Senior Contributor23 Apr 2025, 11:12 pm AEST

Re: Trigger warning - Cancer

@ClockFace

I've been dealing with very aggressive prostate cancer for the past 2 and a half years, that waiting for scans and results can be so incredibly stressful... on top of everything else. As you say, it's a lot! I just found out a couple of weeks ago that the "plan" now is just to do nothing, keep having scans, and wait until it moves to stage 4! It can be so difficult at times to deal with it all, and it can be really hard to find people willing to listen, let alone talk about it.

So i'm sorry you're having to deal with it all again after getting into remission before. I'm always happy to chat about it and listen if you need it. I know sometimes it's all we can do.

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