tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post3534603967351411914..comments2023-10-21T05:56:15.949-06:00Comments on Utah Savage: ZUtah Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16385093247915560752noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-87880495656876443302009-06-28T15:38:34.356-06:002009-06-28T15:38:34.356-06:00Such terrible pain! It looms so close: if only we ...Such terrible pain! It looms so close: if only we <i>could</i> share each other's pain--share it so that as you hurt for your friend and I hurt for you--and her--she might hurt that much less.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12306491903311869968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-24873644579599139462009-06-25T21:00:49.353-06:002009-06-25T21:00:49.353-06:00This is one of those situations where all the word...This is one of those situations where all the words in the world cannot help much, so I will say what I feel for both of you: I am so very sorry for your pains.<br /><br />MarthaThe Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846997590157958766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-31079648313774309302009-06-25T00:30:23.912-06:002009-06-25T00:30:23.912-06:00Hey now! Don't be apologizing. We choose to co...Hey now! Don't be apologizing. We choose to come visit - we want to support you , supporting Z. Consider us cheap therapy!Franhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198689517878201943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-19117234463916142872009-06-24T16:01:57.120-06:002009-06-24T16:01:57.120-06:00Anit, I'm so glad you came back so I could exp...Anit, I'm so glad you came back so I could explain that. It is bad writing that left that reaction to the radiation department in my mind and not in Z's. I have two friends who work at Huntsman Cancer Institute and they have nothing but good things to say about it.<br /><br />It is Z's view of herself that she's projecting onto other women with cancer getting radiation treatments. It isn't reality, it's fear.<br /><br />I'm sorry to put you all through this post. It is the only way I have of releasing pain and frustration and fear. So I unload it on you. You are all so kind to travel this difficult journey with me. Thank you.Utah Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16385093247915560752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-50184799855962332232009-06-24T08:45:29.242-06:002009-06-24T08:45:29.242-06:00I hate it when I feel so much but the words are ju...I hate it when I feel so much but the words are just inadequate. I am so sorry is all that comes to mind, that and the impulse to hug you. Take good care of your sweet self. Loving your friend is all you can do and that is no small gift.xoLa Belette Rougehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686717070120116918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-25422777621087488182009-06-24T05:02:31.129-06:002009-06-24T05:02:31.129-06:00Stopped by to tell you I'm home from a long jo...Stopped by to tell you I'm home from a long journey. Wish the post was more upbeat, but that's life. The reality of it. Sometimes there is just nothing to do but be a friend. How could you be expected to have answers for these things? If they were happening to you, you might feel you know what you would do, but then again, how do you know? I wouldn't. Most people couldn't guess how to handle this kind of trauma.<br />As I sit here, I want to send good positive vibes out your way. For you, for Z. Then out to all who suffer and their family and friends who care and suffer with them. It's all I seem to be able to do. That, and be a friend to those that need one, like you do.<br /><br />Peace.Spadomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17781369901345409341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-50877563583347396032009-06-24T04:43:29.147-06:002009-06-24T04:43:29.147-06:00no problem utah. i just wanted to clarify things ...no problem utah. i just wanted to clarify things a little.<br /><br />and yes, cancer is one bloody motherfucker of a disease. and despite all the "strides" the experts say they are making (i'm thinking in part of that awful corporate-sponsored 'pink ribbon' farce), the bottom line is that the only true "cure" (if you can call it that) for cancer is early detection. plain and simple. <br /><br />and i think we do have to respect the wishes of those who have been diagnosed with late stage cancer and allow them their process of working through their treatments. what they are willing to put themselves through and what they just want to leave alone so they can have some modicum of dignity in their final days.<br /><br />and as someone above just said, we all want certainty, but a doctor worth his or her salt will acknowledge to the patient that there is typically no certainty at all when it comes to cancer diagnosis, treatment or prognosis. all they really can do is tell you about the results of the clinical trials that have been conducted that form a basis for their treatment plans and recommendations. bottom line, they are almost as unsure of things as the patient is.anitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11950712894174167863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-81863552240702181142009-06-24T00:03:40.266-06:002009-06-24T00:03:40.266-06:00My Father-in-law was diagnosed with Cancer last ye...My Father-in-law was diagnosed with Cancer last year. The diagnosis took what seemed like forever, he went to a lot of specialists & endured a ton of invasive, expensive & painful tests. When one goes to a specialist, you expect to get some answers. He was bounced around like a pinball. At some point, one test involved taking a bone marrow sample from the hip. in his case his bones had "shark bite" chunks of bone mass that had been eaten away- so they told him taking the hip bone marrow sample **may** shatter his hip, and he would not heal since his bones were so badly deteriorated. <br /><br />I swear, I think I would have stopped right there, if it were me. <br />But he forged ahead. Many of these tests involved sending samples to a one-of-a-kind distant lab & the results did not come back for weeks. <br /><br />Finally! They had a diagnosis. <br />They did Chemo & radiation. He is 82 & now in remission. But at some point the chemo wiped out his immune system so badly, it almost killed him. <br /><br />I really respect peoples choice to not endure treatment, if they so choose. <br /><br />It may be chemo that has people feeling more ragged. It can do a serious number on your intestines, hair loss, all kinds of strange side effects. Many people have reported feeling like hell during chemo treatments. <br /><br />Anyway, I am sorry they do not have answers right away. <br />It is difficult and frustrating & sad all at once.Franhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198689517878201943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-71378431643257943992009-06-23T21:25:10.498-06:002009-06-23T21:25:10.498-06:00This was so hard to read, Utah. I feel very bad fo...This was so hard to read, Utah. I feel very bad for your friend and understand how she could be sad, frightened and angry to the point of being irrational in her stories to you. Knowing the worst isn't the worst, it's not knowing at all that can drive someone over the edge. I hope you're looking after yourself.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-85495152341396507782009-06-23T19:12:12.566-06:002009-06-23T19:12:12.566-06:00Anita, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I ...Anita, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I am reporting Z's impressions. I have not visited Huntsman as a patient. I have no experience with radiation so I can not counter Z's assertions. And if I contradict or argue with her she gets very angry and tells me not to fight with her. I could speak fairly specifically about the adult psych ward, but not the radiation department at Huntsman or any other medical facility.Utah Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16385093247915560752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-36782191163409253532009-06-23T19:06:23.820-06:002009-06-23T19:06:23.820-06:00Utah
I have found over the last 5 years that the r...Utah<br />I have found over the last 5 years that the rights of being a friend may not hold up in a court of law they hold up with the most important court.<br />And that is the person you love.<br /><br />You know I am always here for you and Z go through this difficult time.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09113649615898017098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-2421669305263587202009-06-23T18:19:27.204-06:002009-06-23T18:19:27.204-06:00Well, that definitely sucks. Sorry to hear Z's...Well, that definitely sucks. Sorry to hear Z's lost confidence in her doctors. We all want certainty, but the good doctors, the honest ones, will never offer it. <br /><br />And I'll second what Anita said about radiation. I used to volunteer as a driver for people who were going from Blacksburg, VA, up to Roanoke for radiation; I hung out in the waiting room at the clinic while whoever I drove was were being treated, and to me the patients in general didn't look any better or worse than the general population. Tired, yes, because radiation exhausts you (which is why they relied on volunteers to drive them), but zombie-like, no.Nanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18359007443116549436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-9371066758978178492009-06-23T17:21:00.230-06:002009-06-23T17:21:00.230-06:00"She has seen the patients shuffling in and o..."She has seen the patients shuffling in and out of radiation. They are the walking dead. Their skin hangs from their flesh. They are the sexless, neutered near dead."<br /><br />That statement is SO VERY untrue. Radiation does absolutely none of those things. Radiation is a treatment focused on one specific location of the body (the tumor), and at its very worse causes exhaustion dehydration (therefore people undergoing radiation tend to sleep a lot and drink a lot of water), and some tenderness (almost like sunburn) to the skin, in a localized way only. If one is having radiation to the head or possibly neck, it will cause hair loss.<br /><br />If radiation is being used as a last-ditch effort to give someone a little more time here on this earth, then it is more likely that those aspects you describe above have been caused by the progression of the cancer, not the radiation.<br /><br />No offense Utah, but please do not exaggerate or scare people with such overtly bizarre statements about something you obviously know very little about.anitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11950712894174167863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-61591008869820857332009-06-23T17:02:11.590-06:002009-06-23T17:02:11.590-06:00me too.... just like Catme too.... just like CatGhost Dansinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15216056025402469120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5954604416278665691.post-32913045733796735842009-06-23T14:09:35.072-06:002009-06-23T14:09:35.072-06:00I cannot fathom - do not even want to know what yo...I cannot fathom - do not even want to know what you are going through it sounds so terribly painful and almost torturous the wait on the final diagnosis and treatment options...<br /><br />Sending good thoughts your way.Wait. What?https://www.blogger.com/profile/16914656489970904052noreply@blogger.com