My neighbour just soiled the street..............

Pretty cool Garry.
 
That jacket is a great score, wicked. Enjoying your positive attitude, that is the first step in kicking cancer's a$$. I am looking forward to hearing about your preparation for spring planting. From what I understand the cancer teams in Edmonton are first rate, My buddies wife is fighting cancer as well; 2 rounds of treatments and two operations so far; very frustrating to say the least. Your explanation about PET/CT scans explains a lot.
 
Hi Garry...I haven’t posted to you before, but having read the entire thread I am touched by your candor in discussing the challenges you have had and are now facing. I think the support you are getting from friends is well deserved.

I too have had life threatening challenges recently which with the love and prayers of family and friends and good doctors, I have been able to beat. My corvette in fact was bought as a bucket list dream I was now able to fulfill.

Please continue to see humour in life. Advocate for yourself, keeping on top of the doctors as you have, because their opinion a lot of times is a educated guess.

I have a strong feeling that you will have the best possible outcome and beat this cancer once and for all.

Warmest Regards

Kevin
2010 C6 M6
 
Good morning and thanks so much for getting my Monday off to such a great start!

I have found that with a number of things in my life, it is always better to share them. You learn as a result that you are not alone, the only one to be challenged and that you can encourage others to be open about challenges that they are facing and how to deal with them.

While not directly related to this, I spoke with an old friend and coworker last week who shared with me that he younger brother killed himself at Christmas time. No obvious problems in his life, great wife, children and job. he just found himself in a dark place with no way out. I think especially for men as we don't have the same sort of social connections with our male friends that women have with their female friends we need to add some sort of #I'mopenwithmyemotionsasaman sort of movement to our lives. For most of us, at some point, there will be major challenges and if we're there for each other we can give support to others and then with grace accept it when we are in need ourselves. It doesn't mean we are weak or less of a man, in fact I see it as making us the stronger man.

12cents, oddly my oncologist from my first round with cancer is in your neck of the woods, he is the Canadian Cancer Society Research Chair, University of New Brunswick; Medical Oncologist, Saint John Regional Hospital; Assistant Dean, Research, Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick. I haven't emailed him for two years and I sort of need to bring him up to speed as well I guess. I'm also pretty excited about the upcoming spring, it should be an easy run as mom and dad are still renting out 1/2 their land that I did all the field work on. We get sort of a feal crew effort, my gf who operates the other seed drill takes time off, my cousin Brad usually helps too so it is generally a low-stress enjoyable time. And unlike last spring it will hopefully be a more normal one in terms of snow melt and there is no outstanding crop to harvest either. It should be a walk in the park! Let your friends wife know that I'll be thinking of her.

For you Kevin it is like looking in a mirror as my Z06 was bought for the exact same reason, for having beaten cancer the first time. Oddly the lesson is that I should have been treating myself better all along but sometimes we need a push to get us to do nice things for ourselves. Sadly I can't see having bought the car had I not had and beaten cancer so maybe that is one plus from the experience? Must be one of the few plus's though! Still I have to admit when I'm doing things like watching Grand Tour and they talk about some $500 k European car with 500 hp or 600 hp and how fast it accelerates blah blah blah and I keep thinking puh yeah right, how about my now 12 year old American V8 with $25K of goodies that produces 850 hp and usually in a lighter car as well, now that is acceleration!

Actually one thing that the doctors and I have been thinking about was that it took two tries to deal cancer the first time and it might be the same this time too. Heck it took me two marriages to get that right as well so maybe that is just the way it is for me!!!!! And I had a Datsun 280ZX before the Z06 so again two sports cars to get that right...........sort of noticing a pattern here. But just one son and let me assure you I got that right the first time around - as I got sterilized by the cancer treatment I'm not getting another chance there anyway.

I have learned so much about myself. People find this hard to believe but my life now is a lot better for having had cancer the first time. I was able to use it as motivation to make an endless number of positive changes in my life. Not that I was sad or unhappy about anything but the way I see my life and how I conduct myself day to day is much different. It is, as someone once told me when I asked them "am I different now that I'm divorced"? He replied after a pause "yeah, you're happier". Sometimes changes does have to get forced on us as we're not able at that moment to do it for ourselves................

Pontificating over for the day!

But truly, thank you all for your kind words and support. I'll try to live up to being deserving of it all.

Cheers,

Garry

One of my all time favorite photos from a few years back where we did a family race together, under the category of something I'm glad I lived to do......................
P1230664.JPG
......................
 
Inspirational Garry, times two of course!
 
nice jacket you got a reasonable deal I guess

I look upon the price of this jacket is the price in the open market

so if I may can this retail sale be used when negotiating with another forum member for the sale of a Corvette jacket, I certainly hope so. (Ziggy R U listening).

embarrassed to ask him to see the jacket as one feels obligated to buy and uncomfortable about price between friends

Will let you know how the negotiations go


Jeffy. ; < )
 
Good news all around Garry! Your posts are a testament on how to approach life. Inspirational to say the least.

Haha, hit VV every now and then. A few years back my son was looking for suit coats to he and a friend could be the brothers from Night at the Roxbury. I found a set of Cerwin Vega speakers. You know, the ones that are 2' x 2' x 4' high. 18" woofers! the woofers were kicked in but everything else was perfect even the grille covers! $10 each. My son thought I was crazy until I ordered the woofers online and set them up in his room. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea! Holy Cr#p do those things sound great! Still have'em.

Take car Garry and stay positive. (don't have to tell you that!)
 
Great inspiration as usual Garry. I really enjoyed reading through your experience. The jacket is a wicked find! Very nice and it looks to fit you like a glove.
Thanks for writing. It’s very unfortunate that you have to go through this but I feel fortunate that we get to be part of this journey with you.
 
I think that part of the lesson that I have learned about this is to be open and honest about the less enjoyable challenges that I am facing in my life. I sometimes preface my conversations with people with the statement "if you think you are currently having problems in your life I'm going to make you feel a lot better about your situation..............". I mean not that there are not people who are in a worse situation than I am but I hope to give some perspective to people about what they consider to be the bad things in there life. I mean I wish my worse problem I was facing was climbing household debt or my employment situation. Not to belittle those who face those issues but neither of them have life ending outcomes. I think I want people to realize that whatever you're undergoing don't feel shame about it and don't keep it to yourself. The best therapy can sometimes be just to talk about it with others. Often you will gain strength and support from unexpected places and this will give you the ability to carry on and to face the battle. Sharing not only lets others see how minor their problems might be in comparison but I hope may also give others courage to tap into the strength and support of the people they have around them.

People are often only too willing to help you in whatever way they can, they just need to be given the chance to do so and if we're not going to open up to tell them what is rally bothering us they can't have the chance to help.

Speaking up is not about being weak but about being stronger than you thought you ever could be.

You wonder why we have a crisis of mental health issues and problems with suicide these days?

I love that quote oddly from the old Hercules series with Kevin Sorbo (yes as corny as it was I loved it) when Nemesis comes to punish his friend Iolaus when she tells him that she had been send my the Gods to punish Iolaus because in the eyes of the Gods he was getting too big for his britches -"Pride cometh before a fall..............." and that really resonated with me. Don't think that you have to do or carry your problems alone. Many hands lighten the load and while you may have offered help to others in your life, have the grace to accept help from others now.................hey you've earned it!

I keep as positive outlook on my cancer situation even though I know for the most part I am simply a passenger and I am not sure if I can have much direct impact on things. I get lots of exercise, try to control my weight, eat healthy and to be as happy as I can. Often for those around me. I mean as dark as it might ever become I'm got a son, gf, parents and friends that I have to be upbeat with. Ending up in the depths of despair would not be helpful to anyone. And until they tell me so, I have to believe that the treatment is going to work and live my life with that outcome in mind.

There is as they say, lots of living left to be done. Even the mundane things in life, like facing semi functioning windshield wiper nozzles for the past several years on my sedan - where they don't work at all in the winter - real fun when it is slushy with lots of spray on the roads. You might recall I seemed to be cursed with this issue with my vehicles - when I was talking the Z06 to be shipping to Manny's I had to lean out the window with my hand and a squirt bottle to manually spray the windshield before hitting the windshield switch! So I finally read about how to remove the nozzles and in the process of taking the cover off under the blades discovered a kink in the hose that perhaps was contracting more in the winter than the summer and finally blocking the flow. While not as uplifting as discovering the treatment was finally working I was actually so happy! I have my next PEMBRO treatment in GP today and the temperature was looking to be warm enough that the roads were going melting. I'm actually now sort of excited to try them out on the road to see if they problem is solved.

Living life one victory at a time - and with my new Corvette jacket looking damn fine while doing so.

Cheers,

Garry
 
Garry, interesting conversation. I went through hell in October with cancer and I am still struggling. I had lots of PM support from the good folks on here. It was so helpful to me.

I just want to say that this is your thread. I do not want to take this in any other direction, although I must admit it has changed course a few times in search of some much need humour.:Biggrin:

I come here for inspiration and hope. And positive thoughts for you. What you have to say is important. Please continue to share.:thumbs:

Thanks Garry.
 
Hahaha. I love the story about the windshield wiper nozzles! I've had a few things like that where after some time and investigation, the problem gets fixed and it's funny that it's such a small item to take care of, yet feels so good when it's repaired.

Nice words on having the confidence to speak up about problems being faced. For myself, I give people the typically "good" answer when they ask how I'm doing. Most of the time I am good, but other times I just say 'good' because I don't want to be a burden, or I realize others have much more legitimate trials than I do, or it's someone that I don't know well enough to speak with. I have a couple other people that I can actually bounce my concerns over and it's a help. Sometimes it's legitimate, and they give support or sometimes they point out that I need to suck it up and then looking at it from an outside perspective, I do. And both help. So, I agree with you that talking about issues helps and adds perspective and/or simply support.......however, with writing all this, all I can think about is that I now want to find a Corvette Jacket at VV. :rofl:
 
When I had my recent challenge the support I got from friends was beyond belief...normally I am a pretty revered guy...when asked how I was doing my standard answer was good or great....my friends started to say don’t lie to us ...lol. I guess in a way it was self talk in a way.. The number of people who sent me prayers and followed my progress through my recent surgery was inspiring...even to this agnostic! Going into battle would you rather be alone or have a army behind you...So lead on General!
 
6th PEMBRO treatment done and over with. It went as well as it normally does. But I was happy that K, my old chemo tech from 10 years ago was in today and we spent about 45 minutes talking which I really appreciated. They plumbed me up and then we started talking and next thing I knew the machine beeped that it was done. Now that was the way to have treatment!! The time passed so quickly.

THE WIPER NOZZLES WORKED!

Almost as good as finding out I was cured! I even, within limits, followed behind vehicles on the way home just for the pure joy of having functioning nozzles! Small pleasures in life eh!

B03Z, I had no idea you were going through cancer as well. If I might ask what type and how long have you been under treatment? Time to belly up to the bar and to share! And no worries, threads are meant to be oven together so all stories are welcome. The thread was more of a humorous jibe at my poor neighbour so I like the fact that it wandered. But hey I'm sharing so it's expected of everyone to contribute.

And while I'd rather have a FTF group to share with, this is working out pretty fine for me. Oddly my fear is more my gf ever find out that I do this and getting the "why don't you tell me this things that you're feeling" lecture. Don't worry, she does know about everything I post here already. Her only surprise might be that I'm as open here as I am with her.

The CCF therapy is as good as I could ever imagine it would be, just that it doesn't cost me $100 per hour to get..................

I'll keep an eye out for similar jackets!. If I ever find any I'll post with the size and we'll see who wants it......................

Cheers,

Garry
 
Garry, back in 2004 I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a degenerative lung disease with no known cause and no cure. I will never forget the Doctor saying "get your situation in order, you have two to five years to live". A year or so after the good news I needed 02 to do even the simplest things. Over the years I have learned to live with it and as you can tell I am still here some 13 years later. I tried a number of clinical trial drugs over the years, some of them made me very ill. I believe that although the trials were all terminated something or a combination of somethings helped.

Back in the early summer last year I started passing blood when urinating. It would stop for weeks on end. Then start again. It got worse so I went to the hospital and they made an appointment with a urologist. Specialist appointments as most know are tough to get quickly, I was no different. In the meantime my wife had some serious problems with her health, that took priority for both of us. When she got out of the hospital I simply had to go back. Something had changed and it was not for the better.

Fourteen hours in emergency and finally the Doctor came with the news I knew already that I had a mass in my bladder that was likely cancerous. There happened to be a specialist on call and he came to talk to us. He advised that this could not wait and was willing to operate the following morning to try to remove the mass. Shortly after that operation my kidneys stopped draining and another emergency surgery. That one caused a great deal of pain. A week later they operated again to remove the mass and a bunch of other parts as well.

So three operations in less than three weeks. Being put under had a very negative effect on my lungs. When I got home my breathing became very difficult. I guess the drugs and being on my back for three weeks did not help one bit. I used a lot of bottled oxygen over the next few weeks. I am having trouble with the mechanical side of the operation because I now pee in a bag attached to my stomach. Problem is trying to keep that bag attached. What a mess. I go for a CT scan late February to see what has happen since the operations.

I look for humour in this. A week ago I went to see my mother at her nursing home. Every once in a while the place really smells of well, old people and this morning it was really bad. I thought how can these folks not notice this. I said good bye to mom walked out to the truck and realized the smell was me. Damn! One time a guy said "a man is but a man once but a child twice". How true I am now back to peeing my pants!:Biggrin:

Things have improved with time, I am back to walking my dogs. My wife's health has thankfully returned. Family and friends have been such a great help. We have a small but incredible neighbourhood and those folks have been so supportive. I got a lot of support from people on this forum as well, it meant so much to me. Two Corvette friends from Toronto came up prior to my last operation, changed the oil and filter in my Corvette washed it and put it away for the winter. A worry these guys put to rest as I could not do it.

Garry I must say your words have been inspirational. Until now I had never really talked openly about what was happening but you had the courage to speak up about what has to be some very difficult times for you and your family. So as always my thoughts and hopes are with you. Get better keep writing.:thumbs:

Murray
 
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You know, it's funny, not haha funny, but funny that you go on a car forum. Everyone is great, or so you think everyone is great. The cars are beautiful and the weather is gorgeous, but you don't realize the trials some of the members are dealing with. Reading about the difficulties that some are going through is eye opening in a good way. A) as Garry mentioned, to realize that there are some real struggles out there and small petty problems where your not facing your mortality aren't really as big as they seem, and B) there is an amazing depth to people when you get past the shiny paint.

Murray, I'm sorry to hear about the challenges you face and want to thank you for opening up. I wish there was more I could do than type on a computer screen and hope you will be able to make it out to the meet in the middle event. But, both you and Garry, wow, great inspiration. I never expected to get this from the forum and it has been a wonderful gift on how to live with the right attitude. So, thank you to both of you.

Oh! And Garry, I take my jacket in an XL :D
 
Riley P said:
You know, it's funny, not haha funny, but funny that you go on a car forum. Everyone is great, or so you think everyone is great. The cars are beautiful and the weather is gorgeous, but you don't realize the trials some of the members are dealing with. Reading about the difficulties that some are going through is eye opening in a good way. A) as Garry mentioned, to realize that there are some real struggles out there and small petty problems where your not facing your mortality aren't really as big as they seem, and B) there is an amazing depth to people when you get past the shiny paint.

Murray, I'm sorry to hear about the challenges you face and want to thank you for opening up. I wish there was more I could do than type on a computer screen and hope you will be able to make it out to the meet in the middle event. But, both you and Garry, wow, great inspiration. I never expected to get this from the forum and it has been a wonderful gift on how to live with the right attitude. So, thank you to both of you.

Oh! And Garry, I take my jacket in an XL :D
Click to expand...

Well said Riley. And I totally agree. Other than the XL Jacket.... Get in line my friend...:p
 
Good morning to Murray and company,

Thanks so much for sharing that with us. Your situation makes me feel like a pale imitation of what I am going through. No surgeries of that type, no pain, no loss of body functions. I know it sounds pretty stupid, but to look at me you'd never know I have cancer and without seeing my arm that I'm packing a whole bunch of tumors. I think that we all tend to feel a sense of isolation when we are faced with a event like this in our lives. I know I was thinking that it was impossible for anyone to understand how I was feeling. And when you get the notice from your doctor that you need to get your things together, it really hits home. I can still vividly recall when Dr. R. told me that if the 2nd treatment I had 10 years ago didn't work that was it for me or if I didn't proceed with treatment I had maybe 6 months to live. Your experience has reminded me that overall we've got a great group of people that are working to help us and they have the ability to move lightening quick if needed.

While amputation is currently not something they feel should be pursued I was happy (odd adjective) that Dr. W. said he would be able to arrange it in a week if that was what I decided, it would not be a several month waiting period.

Your situation is much different from mine in that for the strangest of reasons, if it were not for the lumps on my arm I would never think that I even had cancer. I live my day to day life now as I was two years ago pre-melanoma. I still go for my exercise and physically do everything that I used to do before. I know that could change if the cancer were to spread into some possibly useful organ in my body but I deal with it now as almost more of an inconvenience than something that is going to possibly kill me. It makes it seem unreal for this reason. Well maybe also if I didn't have the lymphedema. Perhaps that is the one solid indication that something is wrong other than the lumps and bumps. While not something that interferes with my life for the most part, having a forearm that is more like my thigh and a hand that is swollen like a mitt is bothersome. Trivial, but I can't now wear my wrist watch on my left hand and for some reason this really bothers me.

Murray your strength of character is just beyond words to describe! If you have gained anything from my story I'm taking loads to heart from yours. Sadly it is sort of cool to know that there is another person out there who is facing a health challenge and has a love for wonderful V8 two seater cars! You have that I'll be damned if I'm going to let this slow down my ability to love my life attitude that we all need good doses of these days.

I got the call this morning about the lump they biopsied on the 10th from my inside wrist. Melanoma. The poor nurse sounded so sorry and I had to tell her it was no biggie. I've had melanoma now for about 20 months. The only thing this tells me is that is is spreading but it is still in my arm and what is one more lump to join the other 3 or 30 that are there already.

A small victory, the synthoid pills they are giving me for my ratched thyroid seems to be finally working. We started with a TSH level of 65 on 50 mg a day. Then next time the TSH level was 99 so we up'ed it to 100 mg a day. Tuesday it is now down to 45 but I asked them to bump it again so I'm getting some new 125 mg tablets. Not relevant cancer-wise but it may help me to shed the 6 kg I gained in 6 weeks recently which emotionally would put me in a much better place.

Thanks for giving me inspiration Murray. Here's one guy feeling a bit less unique thanks to your being open about your life..........................[HASHTAG]#menneedtosharemore[/HASHTAG]

Cheers,

Garry
 

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