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MustHaveCleverHandle
u/MustHaveCleverHandle
Great article on “the long middle” of stage 4 cancer
theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/22/i-have-st...10
I’m only two weeks out from my first treatment for stage 4 adenocarcinoma (chemo and immunotherapy) and this past week has been quite an emotional roller coaster. I had unbearable anxiety the past few days. I’m still early in all this and I know I haven’t fully come to terms with my diagnosis or processed all the existential stuff that goes with it.
How do you cope with the fears, and manage the anxiety?
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I guess this is both support and advice seeking. Stage 4b adenocarcinoma, just had post-obstructive pneumonia (basically, caused by the tumor blocking my lung, no outside infectious agent). Has anyone had this? I just got out of hospital after four days of IV antibiotics and was told to remain on oral until I see my oncologist in 8 days. It was very painful, very scary, and I made the mistake of Googling it rather than relying on my treatment team’s more positive feedback about how I was doing.
Six more days till I fly to CA. If worst case scenario I get off the plane and go straight to the ED at my medical center.
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I (49 F), never smoker, had a chest xray at the end of December for coughing up a tiny bit of bloody mucus. Suddenly they were ordering urgent scans and on NYE I was told (by phone, by a non-oncologist, that’s a whole other story) I had an incurable lung cancer based on a CT.
I’m American living in New Zealand which has a failing public health system. On their timeline it would have been 90 days before I could see an oncologist for treatment! After a couple of weeks of demanding to be seen sooner and being in a state of panic I got myself admitted to hospital where they did another CT and a bronchioscopic biopsy.
Today I met with the oncologist (by paying privately; again it would have
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I’m sending a package of treats to a friend back in the US (who has lived in NZ but claims to not remember any candy she liked). It’s mostly for her kids though. What would be the BEST sampler of treats??
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We’re moving due to the shift towards fascism and Christian nationalism in the US. If US politics are part of your reason for moving, would you like to share your experiences for an NYT article? (Note, this isn’t mine).
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