I was first diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma in Sept. of 1986, and went
through all the chemo regimens they had at the time: Cytoxin,
Actiniomyacin, Adriomyacin, Vinctristine, plus 3 months of radiation
concurrently. The tumor was located in my T3-C7 vertebrae, so you
can imagine how much fun that was. So now I am going to fast forward
to Sept. 2002. I started getting aches in my lower back, and didn't
think much about it, I took some Advil, and it seemed to help for a
while. A couple of weeks later, the pain moved to the middle of my
back, but again, I didn't think much about it, it had been over 15
years, and I was well out of the woods. The pain eventually moved up
to the same spot that my tumor was in before, and became so intense
that I could do nothing but stay in bed. I new at that time what was
going on, and it was confirmed by the Oncology dept. at the
University of Kansas Hospital. My insurance considered this a pre-
existing condition, and promptly cancelled my policy. I was able to
get medicaid, and went through a years worth of Ifos and Messna. I
am also not nearly as resilient as I was when I was 16. This time
the cancer took away my ability to walk, and it took me 6 months and
four surgeries just to be able to get around by myself. I am 33 now,
and I have lost my career, and a large part of my life. I feel for
anyone who is going through this as a teenager now...but I have to
warn you...this may not be the last time you have to deal with this.
I read in one of the messages that someone was just waiting around
for the other shoe to drop, and frankly I could not agree with that
person more. I guess I am just wondering where to go from here...