DJ, you will be in my prayers, of course, but slso please let us know if there is anything you or your family need.

My mom is a two time cancer survivor. She has been cancer free since I was in college -- almost 20 years now. Do get a second opinion, but then do what you need to do to get better.

Take the stuff on the internet with a grain of salt. It is great for helping to know what to ask the doctor, and if necessary, even to push for tests for certain things, but it will make you crazy reading that stuff. I read up anytime me or my kids or husband have any kind of symptoms and I swear there are always at least a couple of horrible diseases that fit the symptoms perfectly, no matter what they are.

Most of all, concentrate on getting well.

DJ, you will be in my prayers also. Keep us all up to date on your prognosis.

My brother had colon cancer and fought it for several years before it go the best of him!

Praying for you right now.

May God bless you.

Don't know you, but your honesty in writing leads me to hope for the best for you. Find strength where you can, in the stories of others who have gone though things like this.

You have my prayers.

One note, my F-i-L had a large mass removed from his abdomen that had entwinned part of his GI tract. That was 25 years ago and he's still fine and whole. In his case, the doctors theorized that he had had (years earlier) a minor tear or some other breach from his gut into his abdomenal cavity and the resulting mass (partly calcified) had been the body's defensive response (and saved his life from potential peritonitis).

I add this to illustrate that not all strange anomalous abdomenal masses mean C.

Well stated in all respects. I can only offer what I have experienced over the last year in being told that I have a type of cancer that just does not have a real cure, is so rare that it is often missed or not diagnosed before it is far to late, and only seen in about 400-600 individuals.

I am a survivor of merkel cell cancer. Started a group to locate any other survivors. Have found 90 in the last year, world-wide. We have lost half a dozen members in the last three months. We are a diverse group, different than the so called profile for this cancer, located from Australia to Italy, Hungry, the UK, Canada, and the USA. The majority of our members are in the US.

What distinguishes our members is that each of us is fighting a battle that will only be won by as many as you can count on your two hands. Yet, none have given up hope, are ready to discuss their daily survivorship, have the need to get as much information out as possible that those that will follow will not be alone in their journey and have the resources needed to make sound choices are their continuing care.

George
Group Admin & MCC Survivor
Google Groups Merkel Cell Cancer

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/merkelcell?hl=en

May God bless you and your family. Take care.

Thoughts and prayers for you and your health. The 'c' word is a scary thing.

DJ...I'm in your intellectual fan club...now I am in your human family fan club....

I was 9 years old when I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma...I am 60 today.

Obviously, it didn't get me or my leg!! Many during that time survived through amputation. I had a young pediatrician from Duke Med School who treated my cancer like a dog with a bone...and she isolated and got it early with help from Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Sounds like you are experiencing a similar scenario. You're ahead of the curve.

Cancer is not a death sentence.

You are on God's timing. In my humble mind, your gifts are so strong that you will be here for a long long time to help the rest of us understand this complicated world.

I have vauluable research from Southwestern Medical School, Baylor and others that may be of interest to you.

If you would like to read about it let me know.

Though I don't know you, I feel tremendous respect and love for you.

Dallas

DJ, I'm a survivor myself -- 25 years -- and working for a surgeon who treats colon and breast cancers. We see a lot of survivors -- it's not an automatic death sentence.

Get your 2nd opinion. Try to find someone Board Certified in Colo-Rectal Surgery (www.abms.org). Ask your doctor about your CEA results -- thats a marker for colon cancer. If he hasn't run that yet, ask why not, and if it's not a good reason, find a new doc.

I'm praying for you -- but if there's any other concrete suggestions I can offer you, please don't hesitate to ask.

katey

You're in my family's prayers, DJ.

Please accept my best wishes for a full recovery.

John

I will pray for you.

And your post reminded me of the McCords. Keith has cancer and is dying. They have a baby.

It does attack families.

May the God of all comfort be with you and your family.

D.J.

My wife is a patient at the City of Hope cancer treatment center just East of Los Angeles. Yes, the "C" word is scary, for the family members of cancer patients as well as for cancer patients. Yet, cancer is survivable. The person who is currently the most famous cancer survivor is White House press secretary Tony Snow. He had colon cancer.

Thank you for your suggestion about how to help cancer patients. Much of my wife's support comes in the form of prayer. You and Mikki will be receiving that same support.

Where are Lee and company? If they can't say somethign nasty, they won't say anything at all?

DJ - While I haven't had any form, my father has had prostate cancer, and while it was small, and they think they treated it completely, you can see that gnawing worry every time a test result is about to come in. I pray you don't have to deal with this, and that your second opinion brings good news.

Godspeed, DJ.

I will add you to my prayer list this morning.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 05. My surgeon told me that I had likely had the cancer for 6-8 years yet I had mammograms every year including a clear mammogram one month before my diagnosis. The absolute low point is worrying about the unknown. I studied everything I could get my hands on about my cancer and that knowledge gave me a measure of control. I felt so much better when I engaged the beast in battle. I plan to win.

Wishing you and your family well.

Sharon

My husband was diagnosed with colon cancer 3 1/2 years ago when he had pain in his right side that we mistakenly thought was appendicitis. He is doing fine now....after surgery, chemo and radiation. It was a long road and scary but there is hope. If you do end up with the diagnosis of colon cancer, there is a tremendous online support group that I can highly recommend - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/colon_cancer_support/

You will find a very knowledgable group of patients and caregivers who have been through what you may be facing. In addition, there is a ton of information for researching the treatment options.

This is the first time I've read your blog, so I know nothing about you at all but I had to comment. I remember how meaninful it was for us when people who had been down the road and survived took a moment to let us know that cancer was not necessarily a death sentence. God bless and best wishes.

One more prayer added to the list.

DJ,

Please know that my family and I are praying for you. You are right to get a second opinion, but I know that with your fighting attitude, you'll beat this cancer.

Don't hesitate to ask if there is anything I can do.

Prayers and all best wishes for a full and speedy recovery!

I pray that you do not have the "C" word. I can tell you from personal experience, it is life changing. The cure rate is so much higher today than it was even 10 years ago, and for that you must remain positive. That is the best advice I can provide -- be positive.

DJ,
You most more than likely will be diagnosed with PMP (pseudomixoma peritonei), that is if your MD is a good one. This cancer is treatable and curable when caught early. PLEASE LISTEN TO ME. I am a normal person who had a normal father. My father lost his life to this cancer because his numb-skull oncologist treated him like it was colon cancer. When you get this email, please email me back and I will give you intruction on how you can SAVE YOUR LIFE! You need the appropriate oncologist. PMP is rare, occurring in only 1 in 1,000,000 people. This cancer ALWAYS begins in the appendix. PLEASE EMAIL ME! My name is Marcom Majors, and I live in San Antonio, Texas mmajor1@gvtc.com