AFF Cancer Survivors Thread

[Buzzard]

I told Roger's daughter Mel that I would send her an email on Thursday as I would like to say a few words. Those that are responding here I shall include you and pass on your condolences and remembrances.

 

[drron]

Sad news indeed. Condolences to family and loved ones.
This has given me a bit of a shake to be frank. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic bowel cancer back in Sept 2021. Been through 12 cycles of chemo including Folfox and cetuximab. Horrible cytoxic that cetuximab is. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Mentally and physically challenging on all levels. Now on Xelabine and my markers have dropped from >2000 to less than 20.
The weird thing for me is I have a absolutely no symptoms from the cancer or side effects from the current treatment. Told I have (statistically) less than 2 years to live. Hard to reconcile as I feel fine. Anyway, plenty of challenges ahead. Planning lots of travel. If not now, when?

Well just don't become a statistic and make sure you live life to the fullest. sometimes remarkable things happen.
Nearly 50 years ago I was looking after a 60 year old for his heart disease. About 6 months after his bypass on a routine visit he mentioned his bowels were playing up. So off to the surgeon for his colonoscopy. Results aggressive metastatic bowel cancer with every bone involved. the surgeon decided on a colostomy bag to prevent the misery of dying from bowel obstruction. His report was that the peritoneal cavity was full of cancer. the surgeon gave him 1 or 2 months.
He came back to see me and asked what should he do. As I usually did in those circumstances was to tell him if there was anything he always wanted to do then go and do it. He took that literally. Took up smoking again and ran off with the 16 year old girl next door.

However 18 months later he returned to see me to ask why he was still alive. First just a plain chest and abdo X ray. The bones that were moth eaten initially were now normal. The surgeon looked up his rectum and no mass seen so he had the colosomy reversed and absolutely no sign of cancer. The diagnosis was definite as the surgeon initially had taken several biopsies.

Miracles sometimes do happen.

 

[Pushka]

Well just don't become a statistic and make sure you live life to the fullest. sometimes remarkable things happen.
Nearly 50 years ago I was looking after a 60 year old for his heart disease. About 6 months after his bypass on a routine visit he mentioned his bowels were playing up. So off to the surgeon for his colonoscopy. Results aggressive metastatic bowel cancer with every bone involved. the surgeon decided on a colostomy bag to prevent the misery of dying from bowel obstruction. His report was that the peritoneal cavity was full of cancer. the surgeon gave him 1 or 2 months.
He came back to see me and asked what should he do. As I usually did in those circumstances was to tell him if there was anything he always wanted to do then go and do it. He took that literally. Took up smoking again and ran off with the 16 year old girl next door.

However 18 months later he returned to see me to ask why he was still alive. First just a plain chest and abdo X ray. The bones that were moth eaten initially were now normal. The surgeon looked up his rectum and no mass seen so he had the colosomy reversed and absolutely no sign of cancer. The diagnosis was definite as the surgeon initially had taken several biopsies.

Miracles sometimes do happen.

Miracles happen. I was told by MrP's oncologist at the age of 22 he had just a 50% chance of living for just 5 years. Still here, decades later.

 

[Cossie]

Very sad news, we caught up a few times with Roger and Kanya for coffee organised by love_the_life, with FM and Jess and others. He was always very interested in Max and his antics and we talked cars.
I hope Kanya is ok, I know she had recently retired and they were looking forward to traveling again.

Condolences to family and friends.

 

[straitman]

Very sorry to hear this sad news. My best wishes and thoughts are with the family.

 

[QF WP]

Very sad as I appreciate the messages here, to follow the different cancer journeys we undertake. It certainly makes me appreciate my brush with it and how lucky I was (malignant melanoma) . But that is unlikely to get me as I'm 24 years clear, much more likely to be prostate cancer as my father and his twin brother have both had it (and my uncle died from metastatic cancer from the original prostate cancer).

@Buzzard, please pass on my best wishes and condolences to Mrs RK and her family.

 

[OZDUCK]

I never had any real interaction with him but I was always impressed with how he described his fight. My condolences to his family.

 

[Princess Fiona]

He was a great contributor to AFF, kind, thoughtful and engaging.
A very sad loss for our community. Please pass along my condolences to his family.

 

[love_the_life]

For anyone in Canberra, Rogers’s death notice is in today’s Canberra Times.

 

[Flyerdude]

Thankyou to all of you for your support. I am Roger’s daughter, Mel. I thought I would join to be part of his community that he enjoyed so much. Thankyou for all your kind words about him. He was a strong & kind person…

 

[Buzzard]

Thankyou to all of you for your support. I am Roger’s daughter, Mel. I thought I would join to be part of his community that he enjoyed so much. Thankyou for all your kind words about him. He was a strong & kind person…

Thank you for joining our group @Flyerdude and thank you for letting us be a part of celebrating Roger's life.