r/cancer • • May 01 '23

Welcome to /R/Cancer, sorry you're here. Please read our sidebar before submitting any posts!

292 Upvotes

Hello – If you’re new here please take a second to read our rules before making any posts. Specifically, do not ask us if you have cancer. We're not doctors and we can't diagnose you; I will remove these posts. This is a place for people who have already been diagnosed and caregivers seeking specific help with problems that cancer creates. All posts should be flaired as either patient, caregiver, study, or death. You are also welcome to make yourself custom flair for your specific diagnosis.

If you have general questions about how you can be supportive and helpful to anyone you know that has cancer please check out this thread – How can I be helpful?

If you are seeking a subreddit for your specific cancer please check out this post – Specific Cancer Subreddits.

A crowdsourced list of helpful things to mitigate side effects - Helpful Buys


r/cancer • • 23h ago

Moderator Mandated Bonding Free Talk Friday!

9 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

Noticed things have been especially dour here in the last few days (imagine that?). Thought we could use some off-topic conversation to remind ourselves that life outside of cancer exists. Read any good books recently? Seen any good movies? How's the weather out there today?


r/cancer • • 1h ago

Death My father passed away few days ago. Thank you to everyone who gave me hope when I was desperately searching for a way to save him.

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• Upvotes

r/cancer • • 4h ago

Patient I’m 29F fighting cancer and trying not to disappoint everyone I love. Sometimes I feel like giving up on relationships altogether.

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4 Upvotes

I don’t know what to do anymore.


r/cancer • • 22h ago

Patient I can fell the cancer growing...

71 Upvotes

Hi,

After a few immuno treatments we discovered that my 3C endometrial cancer doesn't respond. (It shrunk by 80% with the combo chemio/immuno though). Immuno caused me very bad side effects as well.

So since my last chemio April first - or more exactly a few weeks after - it started to be active and to grow again.

And for the last month I can feel the pain coming back. I tried not to think about it but it is freaking me out, like I KNOW cancer is growing inside me.

It's not like it was before my verdict last Autumn as I know what it is now.

My teams is preparing me for a surgery in November (I have many test before because my nodes are at a risky place) but in the meanwhile I found it hard not to think about that thing growing inside me :(

How do you cope?


r/cancer • • 13h ago

Patient Life after cancer: What have you changed after cancer treatment?

12 Upvotes

People usually talk about diagnosis and treatment. Very few will share life after cancer. I heard people’s points of view totally changed… so it impacts careers, family, diet , fitness and everything. Sometimes it is very difficult to make the adjustments, so I would like to know how you do it.


r/cancer • • 40m ago

Patient Anyone else have a foreshadowing?

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• Upvotes

r/cancer • • 14h ago

Patient Leiomiosarcoma

6 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I am writing this because my father was recently diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, and we would like to know if there is an oncologist specializing in sarcomas who could provide a recommendation or suggest treatment options, in addition to the chemotherapy currently being received.We were told that this treatment is one of the things that could save him, given that his cancer has metastasized, but we wanted to seek a second opinion just to be sure. Thank you very much.


r/cancer • • 14h ago

Patient Anal melanoma

5 Upvotes

I was recently diagnosed with anal mucosal melanoma in my mid-30s. My doctor recommended opdualag and radiation. He recommended opdualag instead of opdivo + yervoy because opdualag has lower incidence of severe side effects, and since I also have psoriasis I’m likely to get side effects.

Opdualag was only approved a couple of years ago, but I wanted to ask anyone have experience with it?


r/cancer • • 19h ago

Caregiver Fastest way to put on weight with cancer?

5 Upvotes

Should I buy a mass gainer supplement like with high carbs and protein ?


r/cancer • • 21h ago

CML Question

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3 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I have diagnosed in 2025 sept and since then I was on dasatinib 100mg within 3 months my levels were from 33% to 0.0168% and in Aug I saw rise or 0.0408% but doctor said flatuates are common on 0. 1% less than ..but about the side effects I’m starting I saw acne and notnhing else ,from Aug it all started with ankle pain and some dizziness but from last two days i won’t say dizziness it’s like falling or feel like drunk alcohol , I went ER they scanned said nothing has damaged or everything is ok but still I feel that he says meet oncologist and say what’s going on !


r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient FINALLY!

66 Upvotes

To use a Navy term, I'm down to a wake up! After six months of just chemo in three week cycles then 59 days of radiation therapy with chemo, I'm down to one more treatment tomorrow morning. All of my scans and blood tests have come back clean.

I started in January with stage 1a hCCC liver cancer. They took out 1/3 of my liver plus most of the tumor

After a couple months of complications, we got down to treatment with the chemo. It's been rough but I'm so glad I'm done!


r/cancer • • 19h ago

Patient Free Gift cards for cancer patients

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

 

I’m reposting this link for a free gift card. All you need is a screenshot of your name and diagnosis. I used a screenshot from MyChart.

 

They close the link once all the gift cards are claimed so if you’re interested, you have to be quick.

 

I got a $100 gift card from Amazon last year.

 

I would love it if you could follow up and let me know if they send you one! And hopefully I can post other freebies here soon.

 

https://www.cancercardxchange.org/request-gift-card/

 

previous posts with comments from some who have received cards

here

here

 

and here


r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient 1 Year on…

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2 Upvotes

r/cancer • • 2d ago

Patient I folded 1,615 origami cranes while battling stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma. Years later, they became something I never expected.

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348 Upvotes

In 2008, I was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma. After initially reaching remission, my cancer relapsed in 2010. I underwent an autologous stem cell transplant, but unfortunately, it failed, and my disease proved refractory.

During that difficult period, I couldn’t do the glasswork that had been such a big part of my life. So I started folding origami cranes. I eventually folded 1,615 of them. At the time, it was simply something constructive to focus on—a cathartic and creative way to keep my hands busy and my mind occupied in the hospital, while navigating an uncertain future.

In 2012, I began treatment with a newly FDA approved immunotherapy called brentuximab vedotin. My original treatment plan called for 16 cycles, but after five treatments and clear scans, I stopped. I never went on to have the planned allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Today, I’m approaching 15 years cancer-free.

I didn’t assemble those 1000 of those cranes into a Senbazuru until September 2025. In the years between folding them and bringing them together, I learned about Sadako Sasaki, the Japanese girl whose story became associated with the thousand origami cranes. Learning about her and her connection to cancer inspired me to finally bring my cranes together into one piece.

Looking back, there’s something deeply meaningful to me about having folded all those cranes during one of the darkest periods of my life, long before I knew how my story would turn out.

I’m sharing this here because I know so many people are navigating their own difficult journeys with cancer. I don’t presume to know what anyone else’s experience is like, and I know that surviving doesn’t look the same for everyone.

For me, these cranes began as a way to cope. Years later, they became a reminder of a chapter I never thought I’d be able to look back on from where I am today.

I hope everyone here finds moments of peace, something meaningful to hold onto, and reasons to keep moving forward, whatever that looks like for you.


r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient Relearning how to ride after cancer treatment...

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6 Upvotes

r/cancer • • 23h ago

Resección de hígado + epidural

1 Upvotes

En pocos días me operan del hígado por unas lesiones que encontraron y el anestesista que ha propuesto ponerme epidural antes de dormirme con anestesia general para que cuando me despierte de la operación que sea una forma de controlar el dolor, me gustaría saber si alguien ha tenido una experiencia parecida y si le pusieron epidural para controlar el dolor tras la operación? Qué tal la epidural ? Duele mucho que te la pongan ? Por otro lado realmente sirvió la epidural para controlar el dolor ?

Gracias a todos


r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient Looking to connect with childhood cancer survivors

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1 Upvotes

r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient 👋 Welcome to r/ExerciseAndCancer - Introduce Yourself and Read First!

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4 Upvotes

r/cancer • • 1d ago

What would you if you were me?

8 Upvotes

I’ll try and keep this concise, and any advice is appreciated

Live in the UK 31, stuck at home and just had a baby, baby and gf live in the house too.

10K in debt from being an idiot when I was younger, thinking it would be easy to pay off once I had a proper job.

I have about £800 in the bank to get by, I have office/sales experience, but since I had cancer treatment I just simply do not care or have the patience for those kind of roles anymore.

I have been doing agency temp work since my treatment finished earlier this year, I am currently labouring but the post chemo fatigue is making it almost impossible to drag my feet around for 40 hours a week grafting on a building site.

I don’t know what else to do but soon I will have nursery fees to pay and everything else, I am very restless knowing that I’m not where I need to be but I just don’t know what to do.

All the jobs online indeed etc. are either sales, care work or just general garbage, I don’t have time/money for an apprenticeship and can’t keep doing low paid work forever.

What would you do?

Cheers


r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient How long did it take your loved ones to recover after major abdominal cancer surgery? We’re really worried about my father.

16 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

My father recently underwent a major surgery for liposarcoma, a type of cancer that develops in fat cells. The surgery lasted around 7–8 hours, and the doctors removed one of his kidneys, his spleen, and part of his intestine.

He spent 5 days in the ICU and another 2 days in a hospital room before being discharged home.

He now has a colostomy bag, and a drainage bag is still attached. His doctors told us that his albumin levels are low and that he needs to improve his protein intake to help his body heal. They will assess when the drainage bag can be removed.

The problem is that ever since he came home, he has been extremely weak, and we’re really worried about him.

Before discharge, the hospital staff gave him a shower. It was the first time he had seen his body after surgery, and he has a huge incision with stitches. That experience seemed to drain whatever energy he had left.

On the way home, he urinated on himself, and ever since then, he hasn’t seemed like himself. He appears lost and has almost no energy to do anything. We suspect he might be experiencing ICU psychosis or delirium, but we don’t know for sure.

We have started using adult diapers because he is currently too weak to manage going to the bathroom. His colostomy bag also keeps leaking, which is adding to our stress, especially because he has such a large surgical incision.

For context, my father is generally a very active, cheerful person. He doesn’t go to the gym, and he weighs around 90 kg, but he was otherwise healthy and independent before all of this.

We understand that this was a very major operation, and recovery will take time. However, seeing him so weak and unlike his usual self is heartbreaking.

I have a few questions for those who have been through something similar:

1- How long did it take your loved one to regain their strength after a major abdominal surgery like this? When did they start walking and doing basic things independently again?

2- Did anyone experience extreme weakness, confusion, or changes in personality after spending several days in the ICU? How long did it take to improve?

3- Can a leaking colostomy bag cause an infection, particularly when someone has a large surgical incision? What helped you manage the leakage?

4- If we continue using adult diapers because he is too weak to get up, could that affect his recovery or make it harder for him to regain his independence? We don’t want him to lose strength, but we also don’t want to exhaust him.

5- For those who cared for someone after a similar surgery, what helped the most during the first few weeks at home?

We are extremely worried and would really appreciate hearing about your personal experiences, recovery timelines, or anything you wish you had known during this stage.

Thank you for reading. ❤️


r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient Synovial Sarcoma Diagnosis; Time to see a Specialist?

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5 Upvotes

r/cancer • • 1d ago

Patient In Your Eyes

5 Upvotes

Well just another reason to say f$@k cancer. I’m 8 months post immunotherapy, chemo, and radiation. My eyes were burning and I thought my fall allergies were acting up at first. I went to optometrist because I knew something wasn’t right. She told me that the treatment messed up the oil producing glands in my eyes. She said it is common. There is a treatment for it using an OptiLight machine. It should be easy to fix and the treatment seems tolerable. Anyone else had this happen?


r/cancer • • 2d ago

Patient Refusing to bankrupt my family (a rant)

70 Upvotes

Insurance continues to deny coverage for Keytruda. The hospital sent me the application to apply for assistance directly from the manufacturer. But we make too much to qualify. But we still don't make enough to shell out $13k every 3 weeks for a 20% chance of it maybe having any effect.

So, I guess that's it? It's a weird head space to be in, feeling mostly fine day to day but knowing there's nothing to be done.

Palliative has set me up already with stuff for pain management (some days are bad, some days are fine.) I feel weird about the fact I'm probably going to become reliant on opioids.

If you ever want to feel judged go pick up a big Rx for oxy and a box of Narcan from the pharmacy.

Sorry for ranting so much lately. I guess this is the anger stage of grief?

EDIT: Hey everyone, I appreciate the sentiment, but flying to Mexico every 3 weeks isn't really in the cards.

For anyone who is curious as to why Keytruda is SO expensive this is an interesting (if long) read...https://www.icij.org/investigations/cancer-calculus/merck-keytruda-cancer-drug-price/


r/cancer • • 2d ago

Patient Feeling increasgly alone the further I go into my cancer journey.

39 Upvotes

I was diagnosed in November 2025 with osteosarcoma in my distal tibia. Since then I've had 6 cycles of MAP Chemotherapy, a below-knee amputation, sepsis, incredibly painful mouth ulcers and an infected tooth.

Last week I entered into remission, however being given the all clear was a relief but overall I just feel numb and pessimistic.

The more that time passes and my experiences grow and evolve, the more I feel isolated and alone. The vast majority of people just don't understand or 'get it' when it comes to cancer.