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Melanoma

todman
polycounter lvl 18
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todman polycounter lvl 18
Hey fellow polycounters,
Recently I've been diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma. (Cancer)I had an 8 hour surgery last month to remove 25 lymph nodes. Fortunately only 1 was infected. However tommorrow at 11am (Friday 4-1)(Oh crap it's April Fools) I have a PET scan to check if there's any Cancer anywhere else in my body. I could use some good shouts out and prayers if anyone else besides me is religious. Life has been very different for me since this happened: 3d models, texturing, internet surfing, airbrushing, etc, just seemed unimportant. I found diving back into modeling and texturing has taken my mind off it and has been very therapeutic. I don't wanna bring anyone down, it just seems to help me to talk to my friends about it. And to anyone who doesn't know much about melanoma it's not just a "Skin Cancer" it's very deadly and spreads through the body very quickly. If you have a mole that has gone weird, like changed appearance, bled or has no defined edges, get to your doc or dermatologist right away. the sooner it's stopped the better. I'm also posting this as an awareness!! It happened to me and I never thought anything like this could. It's on the rise among young people, so I don't mean to scare anyone, I'm just givin a heads up. Everyone here has been super cool-helping me with my models and I really appreciate it. I will let you know the results tommorrow. It's been really f'n skary!!!
seeya
todman
www.todd3d.com

Replies

  • JDinges
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    JDinges polycounter lvl 18
    damn man, that really sucks frown.gif

    good luck to you
  • D63
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    D63 polycounter lvl 18
    I'm not religious in any way, but I do wish you the best, good luck.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    I'll be rooting for you!
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    Good luck dude. Let's hope it was only that one node. I took a course on the lympatic system last year. Very important function of the body many people tend to overlook. Having 25 nodes removed sounds unbelievable.

    It's these situations that cause me to question whether I should be working outside anymore, especially with summer approaching. Here's hoping the Doctor doesn't pull and April fools joke on you, and that everything is fine.
  • usagi
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    usagi polycounter lvl 18
    dude, 2 years ago i was diagnosed with colitis. ive had 5 operations, and spent 3 out of 6 months in the hospital, mostly for a month at a time. so i know what youre going through. luckily for me im done. no operations and most importantly no medication.

    hopefully youre ok now too. good luck man and, yeah, its fuckin scary
  • Daz
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    Daz polycounter lvl 18
    Thats incredibly rough Todman. It must be pretty scary to say the least. And Im not surprised it changes your outlook on life. I hope you have loved ones close by to help you through this. All I can really say is good luck man.
  • TomDunne
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    TomDunne polycounter lvl 18
    I've sort of been-there-and-done-that with a cyst on my neck (twice, actually), but they were fortunately benign both times. I don't make a habit of praying, but in case my vote counts with the big man, I'll put in a word for you all the same. Good luck, Todd.
  • hikagesan
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    hikagesan polycounter lvl 18
    good luck with the PET scan and best wishes for the future. also, thanks for the heads up on getting moles, etc, checked out. once again, best wishes.
  • steady
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    steady polycounter lvl 18
    best wishes man, keep your head high, i will pray for ya whichever way i can
  • TNSLB
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    TNSLB polycounter lvl 18
    Good luck today, we'll all be thinking about you!
  • Thegodzero
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    Thegodzero polycounter lvl 18
    Good luck man, and thank you for reminder to be nice to our bodys. May only good news come to you today.
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    I hope everything turns out as well as possible for you. Good luck.
  • jdevin
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    jdevin polycounter lvl 18
    Good luck, and best wishes.
  • frosty
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    frosty polycounter lvl 18
    That is rough stuff. Sorry to hear about it. I had a scare a few years back about adrenal and kidney cancer. Lucky and blessed all came back negative. I feel fortunate because my Mum and several relatives have battled but won out against cancer. A vendor of ours had your similar situation years ago, 1985? and he had surgery and is still doing great now and reitred. Hang in there.

    My thoughts, prayers and wishes go out to you.
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    I'M GOOD!!!The Pet scan/Cat scan ran up and down my whole body and no cancer anywhere! I can't tell you how relieved I am and can now focus on my Mod building again. Whew! I didn' sleep much last night, no shit, huh. Thank god they gave me a Zanex at the hospital. I wanna thank everyone here for your support, to get so many responses so quickly says a lot about this community. Just remember be careful with those nasty moles and wear sunscreen!!
    todman lives!!!
  • Dukester
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    Dukester polycounter lvl 18
    That's good to hear. I'm happy for you smile.gif
  • milla
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    milla polycounter lvl 18
    In NZ melanoma is a major problem, due to insane UV levels here. Awareness is high though; we even have UV levels in our weather forecasts here.

    Nobody with a clue spends more than ten or fifteen minutes out of the shade between 10am and 3pm here in summer, even with light cloud cover, suncreen is really required all year around, and those without a clue tend to end up having moles cut out regularly...if they're smart enough to have their GP 'mole-map' them regularly that is.

    I'm really glad you got off so lightly, todman. That's fantastic news smile.gif

    "In New Zealand, overall, there are an estimated 50,000 or more new cases and around 300 deaths per year from all forms of skin cancer...."

    We have a population of four million. That's a lot of people dying a year from gardening, sports, walking to work, etc!

    Though the visible cells don't kill them, the subsequent tumours that form throughout the body do, making melanoma a huge threat to us, given that NZ is a lifestyle mecca, with almost every form of outdoor sport and recreation situated on a few small islands right under a hole in the ozone layer.

    Melonoma being a primary cancer makes it one of the scariest there is, and kiwis are paranoid about it. My grandfather died riddled with cancer, and it started with a mole on his head and a tendency to forget to put on sunscreen when he was over here on visits.

    There's a campaign here that's been going in since I was a kid: "Slip, slop, slap - slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat". I think they added something about sunglasses recently too, eyes also being prone to the carcenogenic properties of UV and all. Slide on some shades maybe. Makes sense smile.gif
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    Milla,
    Wow, almost sounds like an epidemic. I'm glad that you're aware of Melanoma and other skin cancers. I wasn't; I would've caught it a lot earlier. Mine can still come back, although it probably wont I'm not taking any chances and am taking some chemo and medical trials to keep it away. I can't believe how important it is for people to get tan and have the "it can't happen to me attitude" You wouldn't believe how many fatal stories I've heard about Melanoma since my melanoma inception. A girl who was 23 died as it went straight to her brain. It's been a nightmare. Had I waited any longer, I wouldn't be here in a few months, it was on its way to my whole lymph system and then my organs. Why can't people just open their eyes and figure out that being white is a good thing!!! thanks again everyone for your kind hopes and words. I'm not goin outside again without at least 45 sunscreen!!
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
    [ QUOTE ]
    Why can't people just open their eyes and figure out that being white is a good thing!!!

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Not exactly. Melanocytes within the epidermis act as a natural sunscreen protecting us from harmful UV rays. They produce a pigment that protects the inner layers of tissue from damaging and developing into cancerous cells. So having a lack of melanocytes, being a whitey, is a disadvantage. Having a tan is a natural human defense of the integumentary system. The problem with the world today is that having a tan is associated with being sexy, even though is causes many to age quickly in appearance. So naturally...everyone rushes out and grabs a tan as quickly as possible. Many believe you cannot develope a nice tan until you've burnt. Stupid. Others take the artificial route, and go to tanning beds. These devices give the tan women desire, but does not give the protection from UV's as natural sunlight. Some even try spray on tan, which is fucking retarded. So it's no wonder this has become a huge concern throughout the world. The problem is overexposure, and of course the Ozone we've destroyed. Best route is to tan very slowly, and only lightly. This is how I explain to people why I'm so white...and like it that way.

    The more you know, the less medical bills you pay.

    Glad you're ok. I still can't believe how many lymph nodes you had removed, what kinda treatments to they put you on after that? I plan to avoid the sun a little more from now on.
  • Rwolf
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    Rwolf polycounter lvl 18
    Good luck,
    I kinda freaked out myself finding the odd mole, one biopsy later and I found to be ok :P
  • JonMurphy
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    JonMurphy polycounter lvl 18
    Actually, I think the Thai woment have the right idea... being as pale as possible is sexy for them.

    Glad to hear you got the all clear. smile.gif
  • flachdrache
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    flachdrache polycounter lvl 18
    Allways good to hear some good news once in a while smile.gif - nice that people filled your head with such a bad story.
    [ QUOTE ]

    ... and can now focus on my Mod building again


    [/ QUOTE ]
    Glad that you didnt lost your humor. smile.gif
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    Ely, wow you're more informed about this than I am. Yes, it's usually us paley's who have to watch out. In fact I suppose I could still tan if I want to, but I don't want to. They removed so many lymphnodes because he wanted to be agressive. Melanoma is a very aggressive cancer and spreads fast. He said he didn't want to have to go back in again for more. The surgery recovery time is 6 weeks with lots of pain killers. The pain has been minimal though, I have to work my arms and neck so they loosen up, I still have adema (sounds like a Tool album)in my neck so it's still hard and they're having to drain serum out of my neck once a week, it's almost all gone and I have about a week or so left to recover. I will be taking some chemo and clinical trials for a while to help keep it away. But chances are it's gonna stay gone. FLACH-yeah, that was really nice of people to tell me about someone they know who died from this!! What are they thinkin?
  • MoP
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    MoP polycounter lvl 18
    Good to hear you're going to be OK.

    Oh, and while Adema isn't a Tool album, they are a poor-quality "nu-metal" band :P
  • milla
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    milla polycounter lvl 18
    Sorry dude, should have put in the rider that my grandfather never monitored his moles, and a melanoma was left for years to run rampant. Being a Swede who came to NZ for six weeks every second summer he was at risk, but didn't have the bludgeoned in vigilence that kiwis have. His specialists thought his melanoma had metastasised years before. Yours was obviously caught way earlier. My grandfather is a cautionary tale, rather than the norm. He was diagosed at a stage you will never get to since you're obviously alert to this.

    I actually posted about him because there are a lot of misconceptions about melanoma, especially outside of danger areas, i.e. that it's just a topical cancer, that it takes decades to happen, that it only happens if you don't use sunscreen, etc. People don't realise that it's a serious danger, or that it can happen anytime to anyone, even if they do wear suncreen. The best defence, aside from not exposing yourself to UV beyond what is necessary is vigilence; getting your GP to draw up an annotated mole map, and monitor for any changes regularly, self-checking, and learning about what to look for.

    I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I just wanted to get a message across. I'm really sorry.
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    MILLA!!
    I didn't mean you! It's cool, I've had a lot of other people tell me stories worse than yours about young people, your grandpa was older and I figured his case was like you descibed. You've put a lot of important info on this link and that's what's important. No harm done, you totally rock for your awareness. Also stories like yours help people. So don't worry about it at all!!
    Mop, aenima was the Tool album and I disagree, they totally rock!!
  • flachdrache
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    flachdrache polycounter lvl 18
    Whoops, didnt pointed to someone in person, sorry. Just had a picture in mind of - waiting for the doktor and people start playing "dont you know jack" with someone who is allready down. frown.gif
  • milla
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    milla polycounter lvl 18
    Whew! I thought I'd hurt you, and I could see how if I had. It is amazingly insensitive to mention dire cases to people going through something, though, so even if my post didn't upset you specifically my apology stands in general. I should really have thought that out a bit more. As someone who's had an inordinate number of things go wrong, and way too many surgeries to treat those things, including cancerous lesions, I should really have known better! smirk.gif

    Anyway, back on-topic, I need to get my molemap updated - I have a new one....on my thumb! crazy.gif

    There are probably others too.
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    Milla, You've had cancerous lesions too? I'm sorry to hear that. So, what are they saying? And by the way, I'm sorry about your Grandpa. I didn't even think twice about you telling me that story, I found it interesting. I have to get used to those stories anyway, it's just people sharing and it's reality. you rock!
    todman
  • frosty
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    frosty polycounter lvl 18
    Good to hear the great news Todman! smile.gif

    Milla love that avatar!
  • ElysiumGX
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    ElysiumGX polycounter lvl 18
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    heehee Moles suck! Thanks Frosty, I really appreciate it. Now if I can just find a job!! I have a cool pic of my scar but can't find it, it's a big-in!! about 10 inches around my neck.
    piece owt
  • milla
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    milla polycounter lvl 18
    I'm fine. I'm a lot more vigilent than I was before, though I was obviously onto it enough to catch the problem early, and I value things differently. I've just taken a much calmer and more philosophical approach to life, and do whimsical things to expand my place in the world.

    For example I am currently fostering monarch butterflies. I have ten swan plants (milkweed in the US I think), on which are currently 15 chrysalises and more than a dozen caterpillars in various stages of progress, and yesterday my first butterfly flew off to mate. Given that there were few to no monarchs in the area where I live until I started this little enterprise I think I'm having a positive impact on the neighbourhood - there are more monarchs and I'm going to suggest to my immediate neighbours that they also grow these plants.

    I just like life a lot and am more content and ambitious, an odd combination I think. It's all good though smile.gif

    My grandfather was someone I was very close to, and he was an astonishing man. He had a prodigious political career in Sweden, was a cabinet minister for years, and even after his retirement was active in Swedish politics. He was also a fantastic father to my mother and my favourite relative. I still miss him, and think of him every time I get into our car (a classic Mercedes-Benz - he was a huge fan of MB).

    Reality has a way of being full of sadness, and yet inspiring and exciting. I lost my grandfather, but he's had an indelible impact on me and my life, and that's all we can really aspire to do after all.

    Frosty: thanks - it's my final design drawing for my tattoo smile.gif
  • todman
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    todman polycounter lvl 18
    I agree Milla,
    I don't want to sound melodramatic but I will never look at life the same either. It sounds like you had a very close relationship with your grandpa. That's cool. I remember when mine passed away and I was very say. However he was very religious and was not afraid of death. I learned from him! Boy, I'd sure love to visit New Zealand (I'd bring lots of sunscreen!!)I bet it's beautiful
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