Cancer is a scary word but in my experience it’s not a be all and end all - given so much research and treatment options.
Share strories of cancer survivors of you know.
Re: Cancer Survivors
my best-friend has had cancer 3 times, twice in her breast, once in her uterus.
First time the cancer hit, she was pregnant with her daughter (in her teens), the other two times, she was in her 20s.
She's the toughest, most strongest person I know ... and she's in her early 30s. Fighting hard, alhamdullilah.
Re: Cancer Survivors
My mom was diagnosed with thyroid cancer about 3 years ago. It did spread into her lungs. She had several sucessful operations and AH id doing well.
But numerous cat and pet scans, radioactive therapies are a part of her 6 month schedule.
My coworker was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 year ago and has been cancer free for about 3. She had a tough run, lost her hair and had horrid chemo sessions. But she is one strong woman and MA she is insipration for all that are around her
Re: Cancer Survivors
My Nani survived 10 years after being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.
She passed away 1.5 yrs ago. Allah swt unko jannat naseeb karein.
Re: Cancer Survivors
My Aunt...she is so strong. She was first diag. with breast cancer in 2002 and was cancer free til last year. New cancer appeared (breast cancer again). She works really had and may Allah bless her with a healthy, cancer free life Ameen.
My younger brother was diag. in 2008 (at age 24) with stage 3 of duodenal cancer. He lost 75 pounds in 4 months...was on IV's food for almost 3 months. BUt mahsAllah he is doing great. His first year CT scan was clear and we are praying the second will iA be clear as well.
oh and he gained all his weight back as well :) even after chemo.
Pray Allah gives them both long, healthy and happy life. 
Re: Cancer Survivors
my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer back in late 80's. her doctor didn't diagnose it correct the first time and by the time it was finally diagnosed it was too late. she didn't survive.
my step mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in November last year. she had her surgery Feb 01. according to doctors she is cancer free now cuz all her tests came back negative and she doesn't need chemo or radiation... hopefully they are right cuz i really don't trust them.
Re: Cancer Survivors
^ sorry to hear abt your mom Fatso, may she rest in peace.
and iA your step mom will stay cancer free forever.
My Aunt and brother were both treated at west houston...they have a good oncology dept. But my brothers cancer n surgrey was too big for them to handle...so he ended up at a different hospital.
Re: Cancer Survivors
I work at West Houston but do not trust them :( they majorly messed up my brother in law's parents cases.. but yeah their oncology department is good.
Re: Cancer Survivors
One of my aunties has had breast cancer twice.. she's very strong tho.. mentally and physically, used to go and enjoy herself shopping, having lunch with friends between sessions of chemo and when my mum asked 'doesn't it hurt?' she would say 'no, it's fine.' When she lost her hair she never even shed a tear. She wears hijab and is v.religious so maybe her faith keeps her going..
Re: Cancer Survivors
My dad was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer 5 years ago. He is a physician himself ... and didn't even think anything was wrong with him. When he went in for his annual check up, one of his best friends is the one that realized something was wrong. They wanted to operate the very next day... that is how bad it was... a couple of his friends scheduled his surgery at the nearest hospital. But my dad told them no...he wanted the best treatment out there... and within 24 hours flew to NYC and met with a surgeon at Sloan-Kettering and my khala (who is a radiologist). They gave him a surgery date of 3 days later. He then flew to Buffalo to Roswell Park Cancer Institute... and met with the surgeon there. This surgeon told him he could operate on him the next day. That is what they went with.
I was with my dad during this time... I saw him get wheeled into surgery only 2 days after this devastating bombshell was dropped on us. It was very hard... no child should see their parent in this situation. I was there when my dad woke up in the recovery room... first thing he said was "beta ji... its cold in here...why are you not wearing a jacket" ... as always... looking out for others over himself. I stayed with my mom and dad during that entire time he was in that hospital. That hospital is one of the best in the country for cancer.... he was in good hands.
When he came home, he took only a month off to recover. His doctors told him he needed atleast 3 months. My dad told them that he himself is a doctor... and that two thousand people depend on him (his patients and their families, as well his own family) ... and that he can't let them down. He would go to work WITH a chemo IV in his arm. I have never heard of anyone going to work while simultaneously undergoing chemotherapy session. But that was my dad for you.
He lost soooooo much weight ... 80 pounds :( Was forever shivering.... lost feeling in his fingers....lost his taste buds.... lost his hair....etc... but he never gave up on fighting it .... he NEVER complained.....or stopped leading a "normal life". He forced all of us to lead normal lives as well. All I wanted to do was take a semester off from college and be with him ..but he wouldn't let me.
MashAllah - he is the strongest person I know. Our entire town and all of his friends tells us even today that he is an inspiration to everyone on how he carried himself during that difficult time. He tells us that he has a lot to live for .... my youngest brother was only 5 years old when this happened and literally devoted his little life to taking care of my dad. My dad said that this only made him want to fight harder. He wanted to see us all grown up and taken care of.
Allah ka shuker hai ... he has been in remission the past 4 years. I cant' even believe its been four years already. I continue to pray for his health. Please also pray for his health. May Allah keep him healthy for a very long long time.
Re: Cancer Survivors
^ That's an amazing story.
Punjabi Rose, your father is strong but so are you. MashAllah.
How hard must it be to watch your family/friend deteriorate right in front of you :(
May Allah (SWT) bless all our families iA
Re: Cancer Survivors
PunjabiRose - that's an inspirational story, and your dad is so strong Masha'Allah. If you dont mind me asking, how old was he when he was diagnosed? Had he had his screening colonoscopy?
One of my dad's friends who is also a physician was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer, it had spread to his liver. He also had a resection and is currently undergoing chemo. He also continues to work.
My youngest phupho had breast cancer picked up on mammogram around 2003, she had a lumpectomy. She's recovered from that. However, 5 years ago she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer picked up by CT when she complained of vague abdominal pain. She had surgery, and then radiation + chemo. She was in remission, had timely repeat CT scans. She now had some metastatic findings in her lungs. She currently undergoing chemo once again. She's lost a lot of weight. Please pray for her.
And for anyone reading, it's very very very important for you guys to push your parents to get their annual physical exams even if they feel well. All your moms should get annual mammograms. Anyone over 50 should absolutely get a screening colonoscopy.
Re: Cancer Survivors
mA all very inspirational stories.
They are all indeed warriors to stay so strong.
All throughtout the course of my moms treatment - she was more worried about us than her. I think it's just her postive atitude that pushed her through. Being a physican herself - it was scary because she knew exactly what the impact would be of drugs, surgery and how much chances of her getting better. But she pushed through.
I agree with Sehar - we should be pushing our parents for getting their exams done.
Re: Cancer Survivors
Not just about pushing your parents ... but you need to make sure the surgeons are experienced and qualified to do these operations.
Re: Cancer Survivors
I think it's hard to make that call - when docs scare you that the time is limited and you go with the first and quickest option.
Does anyone know of the a websites that ranks cancer center in North America?
Hey Sehar - I totally agree with your last paragraph. Annual doctor visits, screenings, etc. are VERY important …even if one feels perfectly fine.
I do not mind you asking at all. My father was 58 years old. And his last screening colonoscopy was at age 50 …and since they found nothing then and my dad had no family history of it… they told him to come back in 10 years.
Now that we know there is a family history of it. It is recommended that us kids have our first screening at age 40.
After this happened to my dad …who everyone thought was so healthy (and he himself thought was healthy) all of his friends AND acquaintances went in for screenings themselves… can you believe that 4 of them ended up getting diagnosed also with colon cancer??? 
All of them survived except for this one lady… who was also a physician in our town. After battling with it for 3 years…she passed away. Really really really horrifying and sad
Yup same here with my dad. MashAllah our parents are so strong to have gone through this process and not getting defeated despite being extremely knowledgeable of all the risks and dangers and consequences of everything.
I agree with Mehnaz on this actually. Getting the best in regards to cancer treatment is very important since it is such a deadly and fast spreading disease. General surgeons know how to perform these surgeries… but surgeons who only deal with cancer have a superior knowledge of what to look for and what to do. It is for this reason that my dad did not immediately get operated on. He took actions…very fast ones and thought fast… and let 2 days go by … but the result was of him getting treated by one of the 10 best cancer specialist hospitals in the country. The only thing this hospital deals with is cancer… better treatment was available there as opposed to a regular hospital …even despite the fact my dad knew more people in the regular hospital … his closest friends worked there…and he himself is affiliated with that hospital.
Here is the website hun: Cancer Treatment Centers, The Cancer Information Network
Sloan-Kettering in NYC is the best in the entire country. That is where my dad went for his initial consultation. They gave him a surgery date of 3 days later which is why he then flew to Buffalo within 24 hours to get another consultation. They gave him an earlier date BUT … my dad asked the surgeon himself… what would HE do if he was in my dad’s shoes… wait the 3 days and go with Sloan-Kettering which is the number 1 cancer hospital in the US or go with Buffalo which is the 10th best… the surgeon said that he would go with Buffalo only because not only is it an amazing facility and my dad would get an earlier surgery date… but he himself was taught everything he knew from the same surgeon that would have operated on my dad in Sloan Kettering. This put my family to ease… especially when we called Sloan-Kettering and that surgeon himself told us go ahead and get the surgery done from the Buffalo Roswell surgeon since he is “just as good as me since I taught him everything”. That is when we ultimately cancelled the Sloan-Kettering surgery and went with Buffalo Roswell Park Cancer Institute.
Re: Cancer Survivors
Punjabi, 58 is very young. They caught my dad's colon cancer at the age of 63, but it had progressed to Stage 4. They said that they believe he had the cancer building inside of him for 5-10 years. The physicals didn't catch it ...
Which brings me to my main point. Stool tests. They make people uncomfortable, but you must do it cause that is the only way it can be caught. In my dad's case, he started having fevers on and off for weeks but by then it was already in Stage 4.
So yes, you MUST make your parents do these tests. If it is in your family history, you have to test regularly. If your doctor tells you that you don't need it, you need to insist and get these tests done ... colonoscopies are very, very, very important. Make sure your parents get their colonoscopies done. Over here, in Ontario, you can get a colonoscopy done after the age of 55 I believe, but honestly, I would insist on getting it done much earlier.
Re: Cancer Survivors
A friend of mine got blood cancer at the age of 17. Now Alhamdulillah it is cured now.
Her description in her Facebook she changed to:
'I beat cancer, imagine what I can do to you.'