IamA 17 Year Old, and today I beat Cancer. AMA!

Hey! I'm 17 years old and sadly I was diagnosed with leukemia a few weeks ago. Do you have any tips for me to get through this?

They are two different things, so I can't give specifics. Just try to be happy and a positive influence for the people around you. it may sound silly, but being positive in the hardest times and inspiring others will make you happy. You can do it!

Sounds as though you have a great family and strong support system. Be positive. Glad you beat cancer! Now that you're in remission, what are your plans? Are you a senior in high school this year?

There is something that the doctors have said is "new" and a "miracle" and it's called a Survivorship Plan, where you plan how often you will get scans and check-ups for the next few years. Not sure how that's new, but maybe there is more to it. That's all I know about that.

I plan to get a job and finish my last year in high school strong! Then I want to get into a nice college for business or music production. Yes I am a senior in high school this year (:

Congrats! I'm also in complete remission for the second time. I'm 23, had cancer at 19 and 22. How bad was your chemo? I still get nauseated just thinking about it, the saline solution that they use to flush the lines still makes me gag!

Congratulations! You've been through hell but you made it back! Chemo for me was very bad. I had bad nausea and would get nauseated on the pre-meds. The chemo lasted 6-8 hours and I would try to sleep as much as possible. The saline flush didn't taste too bad to me, but I know some people absolutely hated it. What is bad for me was the popsicles I had to eat during that "red death" chemo drug. I can't stand popsicles, ice chips, or ice cream anymore. I get sick thinking about them.

Yeah I had three...3 week cycles. Like 4 or 5 hours a day for one week then 2 weeks with once a day that lasted 30 mins. The food that I can't even stand to smell or look at is homemade tacos. I can eat tacos from a restaurant, but something about homemade tacos make me vomit. That and the contrast for the ct scans is awful.

I had a bad experience with Chic-fil-a (only food on the chemo campus) during a chemo treatment and now I can't stand chicken.

Serious question: I remember seeing a post of this person who only had months to live. He/she mentioned that they felt like they were the one's having it easy while the people around them are the one's suffering. How do you feel about this sentiment? I can't imagine what it's like to face possible death and to survive it, so of course congratulations on making it and sharing your story!

It's very inspiring to me that they viewed the world that way. I can understand their view a little bit (of course not entirely because I've never been told I will die). Having to deal with this situation has made me more patient, understanding, and positive. I have never been happier. I don't want anyone to have to deal with what I, and many others have; however, I wish people would view life with a more positive perspective and understand it's all about being happy with yourself and those around you.

I can't stand it when people talk about 'beating' cancer, and kicking its arse. Does that make everyone who's died of cancer a loser? Were they not as strong, perhaps?

It's time people stopped thinking about how surviving cancer is somehow down to willpower and strength, and realise it's largely down to luck and access to good medical treatment.

Not at all. My grandfather died of the same cancer I've dealt with. Perhaps wording it as "beating" cancer isn't correct. I look up to him because he fought. He didn't give up. Sure he didn't make it, but it didn't make him weak at all, because he died fighting as hard as he could.

I am now where you were several months ago.

I have lumps on my neck and have had two biopsies that have come up inconclusive. I go in for another one in a week and a half, hopefully this will give an answer. Even though the biopsies were inconclusive the Dr. says there is a good chance that it is Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

I try not to think about it because worrying won't help, but it scares me.

Any words of advice?

When I had biopsies they said it wasn't certain but a high chance i had Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Just know that it's a cancer that has a HIGH cure rate. I was very unhealthy and let the lymph node grow for months. They found more deeper in my neck later. I was in that situation and still beat it. Someone at my school was diagnosed with the same cancer and had it probably three times worse and still beat it. I hope it's not cancer at all, but if it is you can beat it! Also be positive! Even when you feel like giving up, don't! I felt like giving up many times but just accepting the fact that it was there and I wasn't going to let it stay there was what got me to every chemo to beat it!

Another thing, your life may be a jumbled mess for a little bit, but you will adapt and it will get better!

I see that you wrote the worst part was the 6-8 hour chemo treatments and the nausea in the days after. How did you cope with this? Were there any foods that were easier to gulp down?

At first I had strange cravings (pickles, ramen noodles, chicken nuggets) but eventually I couldn't eat ANY food for a few days. As for the nausea, they gave me Promethazine and Ondansetron. These wouldn't make the nausea go away entirely (still too bad to get out of bed or eat) but they would relax me enough to sleep.

First of all, congratulations! You're a fighter! I think I speak for all of us when I say your story is inspirational.

Secondly, what was your initial reaction when you received your diagnosis?

Initially I laughed at the thought of me having cancer. My past three years in high school I had put people down and only cared for myself and now I was being punished in a way. I cried one good time and promised myself that whatever I went through, I would be positive. Even the people I had put down showed support for me and it blew me away. Now I am only positive and am the first person to become friends with "that new kid" or "that kid with no friends."

Hey man! We survived the same kind of cancer!!! Congrats on beating it and I hope you lead a long fulfilling life!

What are you gonna do first now that your cancer free?

Hey! I am going to start getting healthier and exercising my "freedom." Now I'm not held back every other week and I can start doing things I enjoyed to do before all of this nonsense!

You are AMAZING! I am a survivor of a life threatening flesh eating bacteria infection, so I can relate to almost dying and feeling blessed to be alive. I also survived the aftermath which was opiate addiction, then heroin junky status for 5 years, and now I'm clean as of 8 months. I'm proud of myself....most days. I hope you have a fulfilling and eventful rest of your life, buddy! IS your cancer 100% gone with no chance of returning? Is that even how cancer works? Could you get another tumor at any point in your life randomly?

I am very inspired that you have overcome so much in life! I have feared that I would become addicted to the promethazine that was prescribed to me for nausea. Stay strong!

My cancer is not 100% gone, it never is. I am in remission which means right now the areas of my body that took in extra amounts of radioactive sugar from PET scans no longer are taking in abnormal amounts. Everyone has cancer cells in their body, but when they mutate out of control is when you are considered to have cancer. As of right now I have the normal amount of cancer cells. There is a chance of it coming back (higher than someone who has never been diagnosed) so that is why I will be doing regular scans for the next few years to make sure it doesn't come back.

Who is your favorite superhero? I like superheroes.

Deadpool!

So you had the good Hodgkins?

Haha, yes I did have the "good Hodgkins."

First of all, congratulations on kicking ass!

Now to my question. Could you describe how chemotherapy feels like?

So chemo can be taken two ways (that I know of). One way is through an IV and the other is through a chemo port. I had a chemo port. They would stick a needle into the port (located on the upper torso over my heart) and push a saline flush and some other drug I can't remember to keep the port from clotting. You can taste the saline flush for a few seconds (it's like a metallic taste for me, it's different for some people). After that they start the chemo pre-meds. The pre-meds are different for each type of chemo. I had anti-nausea medicine (that made me nauseated) and benadryl that made me sleep. The benadryl had a real use (not to make me fall asleep) but I can't remember it. After the pre-meds were done I started one of my chemo drugs called the "red death" or "red devil" and I would have to eat something cold during the fifteen minute push to keep from getting mouth sores. After that I two other chemo drugs that took 30 minutes each and then one last one that took two hours. I personally didn't feel any of these drugs entering my body. Plus I had to pee a lot, and my urine is toxic for two days after the chemo.

I've heard people who take chemo through IV's have a much worse time.

Was today the day you got diagnosed as "beating" cancer, or today was the official day that your cell levels were detected under a normal range? Nonetheless, congrats.

They were diagnosed in normal range. I honestly didn't know the difference. I feel like I've beaten it and I'm ready for anything else that might be thrown my way.

/u/RepWurk thank you for taking time to do this AMA today.

Great job beating cancer's ass and I'm really happy to hear about your remission.

Two questions

What was the most difficult part of your journey?

Was there anything that shouldn't have been funny but was for some reason?

The most difficult part was the actual chemo, it was 6-8 hours in one day every two weeks and I would be sick and hardly eat for a week afterwards. I had chemo during school weeks and struggled to do my work (they helped me a ton though!) and when I was out for summer vacation I could hardly go anywhere because every two weeks I would have a chemo and be sick for a week.

My friends and I have a darker sense of humor, and I told them I was perfectly okay with cancer jokes and even joked about it myself. So the entire situation was funny when it shouldn't have been. Plus I lost my eyebrows about a month ago and we joke about that.

I'm happy for you. They can do so much more with cancer these days and it looks like they'll be able to do so much more in the future with all the progress they are making.

(I have an audio recording from when my doctor walked in to tell me I'm in remission to when he left the room. Might upload later if anyone is interested.)

Just make sure you have the doctor's permission before you do that. Does your doctor know you recorded his or her voice? If your doctor didn't know about it at the time it wouldn't be a good idea to share it with anyone.

The voice recording is private and I don't plan to share it without permission from the doctor. He does know about the recording and he is a long-time family friend. Thank you for the heads up on that one, I would get permission before sharing it If I did.

I have a friend that had cancer in her senior year of hs. She went through chemo and been cancer free for the past 11 years. Best of luck to you. My questions are: PET scans requires the patient being exposed to lots of radiation. Was there no other imaging or technique for the docs to find out if you still have cancer cells in the body? Also did your insurance company cover all the costs?

I'm happy for your friend! I'm sure you were great to her! In my case the lymph nodes that had the cells in them were deep in my neck. That required a PET scan for sure, I'm not sure if there are other methods. I had an ultrasound a few times but that was just to find swollen lymph nodes.

Do you play an instrument or sing?

Music can be a great friend in hard times and good times it will never let you down.

Best friend ever. Next to loving a dear one it is the best thing about "this place."

I play Tuba, Trombone, and Piano. I love music, I wouldn't mind doing music production in my future. I work with musicians everyday and I've helped promote an album a friend of mine has made. Singing isn't something I do everyday, but I do love to sing as well!

2nd question, what do you think about people on Facebook that have cancer and post it all on Facebook for attention?

Sometimes people get down and just need to know that someone cares. I post on Facebook because it's easiest way to get updates to my friends and family; however, It does feel good to see the likes and shares, and read the comments.

Did cannabis have any role in the battle against the cancer?

Not for me personally. I had potential to get cannabis oil but never asked for it.

Did you start making meth to support your family like Mr. White?

We need to cook Jesse.

Hi OP! I have Hodgkin's 2B, possibly 3 but they are uncertain, and am 21 years old. Almost one month into treatment so far, shaved my head two days ago. Thanks for doing this, nice to see you got through this okay. I left school due to depression and what were probably early symptoms of cancer like fatigue. I figure that for getting back into school, both of us have a really nice "overcoming difficulties" story that college admissions people will just eat right up. Should make for good scholarships, hopefully I'll end up at a better institution than the one I attended before.

How dramatic were the changes that you went through over time during chemo? For me, the first treatment was barely bad at all, but the second treatment was worse. Does the unpleasantness peak soon? Probably not. Does it peak eventually? I'm assuming they had you do ABVD, right?

Best of luck to you! I hope you get into a college that you enjoy! The changes I went through during chemo were drastic at first, but I adapted and was able to do more and more as it went on. For me, each chemo was different. Some left awful side effects and some left hardly any. I wouldn't say it really peaks, it's different from each visit but as it goes on you will probably notice it's more likely to have bad side effects.

Yes! I was on ABVD, thank you. I couldn't remember the acronym.

Only a 104 Facebook likes?

You need to set that post to public so we all can make it go viral.

I appreciate it! If you want to like the post I think you can here: https://www.facebook.com/charlie.m.sanders/posts/980686361953661?notif_t=like

I'm also 17 and feeling pretty lost. Any advice? Glad you made it. My mom beat cancer too and that is just the best feeling in the world to hear. Never give up!!

Feeling lost? I shouldn't give advice because each situation is different; however, you should do what makes you happy. Being happy is what matters in life, above all else. One day we all die, and that day comes sooner than we'd like, so live a happy life if you can. If you are unhappy, makes changes that make you happy. Sometimes you just have to power through it. If you are sad or depressed I'd suggest getting professional help. I had some issues with depression a few years ago and a psychiatrist helped me so much.

So I have a close friend that had sarcoma went through chemotherapy and is now in remission. When she was goin through the whole process of things I would do little things for her to lift her spirit up.

My question to you is What are some things that you really wanted but we're to afraid or embarrassed to ask for?

Finances were an issue for me. I have an excellent insurance policy that pays for all my treatments 100%; however, surgeries were expensive and not paid for. I asked for some help on gofundme and was very nervous and embarrassed to do it. People helped out and even the little bit I got helped a great deal!

Congratulations on beating the shit out of cancer's ass! I hope you keep on inspiring others who are still struggling with cancer. Now for my question.. hmmm.. honestly I really don't have any question to ask you right now, just wanted to congratulate you on your journey.. anyway, what was the first thing you literally did after receiving the news?

The doctor walked in told me "My friend, you are in complete remission" and handed me a paper on Survivorship Plans. I stared at the paper in disbelief and held back tears. Then I texted my mom.

I've got a depression problem so I wanted to know: how did you deal with being depressed frequently?

If you have frequent depression, or it keeps you from doing what you love, I would seek professional help. I didn't like the idea of a psychiatrist; however, they helped me a great deal in being happy. I had one or two days during all of my chemo that I was truly depressed and they were the days I was told I had to do more chemo than planned. I would just talk to my friends on skype and play WoW or other games to cope with it. Please help yourself, it's worth it!

How did you handle having cancer emotionally? Did you goto counselling? And will you need something like that now that you beat it? Way to go by the way!

Emotionally I was very stable. I was rarely depressed and just stayed positive. I hope I can stay that way and won't need help now, but If I get to that point I will seek help.

Congrats man! I'm 21 now and I was almost the same case as you when I was 15. I had a tumour right above my left collar bone about 6cm in diameter (and 9cm was on the inside). Only difference was that I had the relatively less lethal non-hodgkins lymphoma. Although Hodgkin's was a possibility.

The next 6 months (and some time after) were hell. I still can't stand the smell of the spirit they used before injections. Always reminds me of those times.

Guess what? It's been 6 years and I'm hale and hearty. Even my follow-ups are more sporadic now.

Good luck for the future dude. You're a tough guy to beat (:

Thank you! I'm so glad you are doing well! I hope you remain well and in great health.

A 17 year old with your patience is hard to find. #Respect

So what stuff are you going to love to do again which you couldn't do while you had cancer?

I want to start working out and losing weight. I've felt so unhealthy the past few years and my chemo port has kept me from lifting weights like I want to. So excited to get healthy!

Whats your favorite meme?

Pepe the frog. (:

Good job kiddo. Could you please tell us what the worst part was?

Easily the chemo, 6-8 hours one day every two weeks and I'd be sick for a week easily. Too nauseated to eat anything for a few days too.

You have been given a second chance at life. Do you feel like a whole new person? And do you feel a greater sense of purpose and more motivation to go after your dreams? What are your dreams?

Before my cancer I was negative and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. After my cancer I am very positive and I want to work in music, somewhere in the business world, or a motivational speaker If I could! I feel like I can do whatever I put myself to. I am motivated to reach my goals, but not relax and slow down after I've reached them. My dreams are to give back to the community that has helped me. I want to be able to donate money to a cancer research foundation someday - a large check I hope, but I'll do any amount I can!

During your stays at the hospital, what did you do to pass the time? Did you have access to the Internet?

I actually never had to stay at a hospital. Both of my surgeries were out-patient and my chemos were at a specific center for chemo treatments. At the chemo center there was free wifi and it was fast. (:

Holy shit OP, good fucking job! I don't have any questions that are relevant because hey, it's in the past now.

Obligatory question: If a flower had lips, do you think it would sing?

Thank you! If a flower had lips, would it sing? I'm not sure flowers have the required organs to sing. (:

Go out there and seize the world!

(?)- the bot required i have a question mark haha but i want to say good job. you did it!

Thank you! I plan to not give up on my dreams! If I could do this, then I can do whatever I put myself to!

first off I want to say congrats and your positive attitude is really inspiring. My mom had to do something similar to chemo for chrons and I remember how sick it made her. It sucks, but you pulled through it and that's amazing! My grandpa died of cancer of the nose/throat (forget the name). It truly is a terrible disease that I think has affected almost everyone in one way or another. A few questions : What do you like to do in your spare time? How did the cancer affect your friendships/relationships? You said it brought you closer to your faith, were you religious before the diagnosis? Congrats man.

But seriously whoever is going through and down voting all your posts needs to fuck off. This kid just went into remission and is extremely happy/excited, understandably. You really have nothing better to do with your free time than down vote him? You're pathetic. I know I shouldn't "feed the trolls" but seeing all your happy, positive comments with a "0" really pissed me off.

I believe cancer has affected everyone in some way. My grandfather died of the same disease I had, but his was much worse.

In my spare time I like to play games such as WoW, LoL, HOTS.

When I was diagnosed and word got around: all of sudden had a lot more friends than I remembered. I didn't mind people showing support, infact I loved it - it did bring people closer to me.

I was religious before; however, I was fading from it and wondering if it really mattered. After I was diagnosed and realized all of the blessings in my life I grew closer to my faith.

And I had no idea someone was downvoting my posts. No worries about that, everyone has an opinion and I can't blame them for expressing it! (:

Just want to say grats man! Graduated this past year and heading into my first year of college. Enjoy it man. I really hope you do. But, this is an AMA so favorite food?

Thank you! My favorite food "genre" is mexican food. My favorite food has got to be rice.

Hello. So happy to see you are alive and well. Knowing what you do now, do you believe that "fighting and beating cancer" is a good analogy? In other words, to those have died of the disease, do you believe that the people who died from cancer just did not fight hard enough? Does a strong will to live make a difference in overcoming cancer? What positive acts or acts of compassion moved and/or influenced you the most?

I'll make a slight repost from someone who asked a similar question. My grandfather died of the same cancer I've dealt with. Perhaps wording it as "beating" cancer isn't correct. I look up to him because he fought. He didn't give up. Sure he didn't make it, but it didn't make him weak at all, because he died fighting as hard as he could.

I believe a strong will live to brings a positive view, and that certainly helps; however, sometimes things don't always work out no matter how positive you are, and that's just the sad nature of the disease. Personally, being positive helped me to just be happy no matter what happened.

People just showing love and support (sharing my facebook posts, sending me letters, texting me supportive words) was something that really moved me and influenced me.

Fuck yeah man! Congratulations! I've always wondered though, what causes cancer in people so young?

It's my understanding that, among other things, cancer is a random mutation in cells. So it's mainly chance, correct me if I'm wrong.

are you allergic to peanuts and do you often post on twitter while driving? #ihopeitsnotapeanuttruck

Haha I am not allergic to anything as far as I know, and I don't use twitter at all.

Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs just overcame his Hodgkin's Lymphoma and managed to gain a pound over the course of his chemotherapy, my question to you is - How did the chemotherapy go for you and what changed after going through the treatments?

Chemo was hard, but it worked very well for me. After treatments, I'm able to lose weight easier and I'm able to eat less because days after chemo I ate nothing.

What you think about the meek mill drake beef?

I've listened to both artists for a while. I think Meek Mill should have sadly kept his mouth shut. Sure if Drake didn't write his own lyrics, it wasn't a fight to pick. Both great artists.

Congrats on beating cancer! I hear chemo is horrible pain, but what is a way you can describe how it feels?

For me, I had terrible nausea and didn't eat and slept for a few days. The worst part for me was just being awake for the first two or three days afterwards because the nausea was so bad. As for physical pain, I took a Nuelasta shot to increase my white blood cell generation and it caused my bones to hurt and my muscles to be sore.

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Reddit might consider the AMA over, but I'm still open to answer questions. (: I am very sorry for the diagnosis, just be positive and there for your family member - it helps a lot. I'm currently doing very well. I am only one day into knowing I'm in remission, so not much has changed yet but I'm ready to start moving on (besides check-ups)!

Congratulations!

A quick one: ever since the whole thing started, did your diet change? If yes, what kind of food did the doctor recommended you to eat? Solid or liquid?

My diet has changed, eating a lot less. My doctor suggested eating what I normally did, but my nausea kept me from eating as much for sure.

This must be destiny, I'm not sure but I really need your help. My mom (60 y.o.) is currently at hospital, they did a TAC and found a cancer, she feels good in the bed now (she had a lot of pain in a lot of parts of the body before going to the hospital) but they will probably start a chemotherapy soon. Do you have any advice to give? Sorry for my bad english

We are giving her all the support from the family everyday

Congratulations on beating cancer, this gives me hope for my mom

I pray she will destroy that cancer and be happy. My advice is to be there for her, and understand that she may not be the happiest for a little while at least. I had episodes of random anger from the chemo and just kept my mouth shut. Be patient with her and love her. I hope for the best.

What's hip with the kids now a days?

Memes.

What is the first think you'll do that cancer has stopped you from doing?

Working out. I can't lift weights with my left arm because of my port. Once they remove it I can lift weights normally again.

Congratulations, first of all! What are your favourite TV shows?

I watch a lot of YouTube and not much TV; however, I do love South Park and King of the Hill!

Did you ever think of planning your funeral? Like did you want to be buried or cremated or anything like that. Anything you wanted to buried with or did you even make a will?

I won't lie, I considered making a will. Mainly because you never know what could happen and the thoughts of having issues during surgery did cross my mind. I don't like to think of death, because I want to be positive and live focusing on life and not death.

Hey OP, congrats! I'm a final-year pediatric resident, about to start a pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship. Is there anything that the physicians could have done better during your care, or anything that you really appreciated them doing? Would love your ideas!

Personally, I felt out of the loop on some things. I wish they had taken more time to go over specifics of what it's like to do chemo and so-on. If possible.

I really appreciated the fact that I was treated like someone special to them, and that they built friendships with me and everyone else there. It made each chemo visit a little bit easier.

How's the financial part of beating cancer? It's great that you beat cancer, but a little insight on the financial aftermath would be great.

Each chemo treatment, nuelasta shot I had to have (because my white blood cells were being created too slow) and each surgery were four digits each. So it's expensive; however, I had a GREAT insurance policy that paid for all of it except surgeries.

Congrats!

What color was your hair before?

And, what color is your hair now?

Actually, I never fully lost my hair. It thinned out a lot and I have a few bald spots. It was dark brown before and now its a lighter brown.

Next year you will be 18 and able to vote. Which presidential candidate do you dislike the least?

I haven't been a good future voter and I've not read too much into any of them. I personally like Trump the most right now just because I've always looked up to him as a business model. That may change before I head into the voting booth of course.

Trump is a psychotic bully. Please reconsider :)

I have heard a lot of bad things about him lately. I will have to research the candidates.

Yo man! Congrats! At age 23 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage 3B. I was super positive with my outlook as well. Didn't let it change me at all. Still went out with friends, worked as much as I could, etc. It's crazy is almost been a year since they told me I was in complete remission. Now I'm on my "survivorship plan" as well. Keep it up! But I gotta ask a question....what was your favorite snack during chemo?

During the actual treatment I didn't eat; however, my favorite snack while I was able to eat at home in between treatments was probably rice. Sounds strange but I grew to love bland. I'm so glad you are in remission as well! (:

It's a rare 17-year-old that has a good grasp on the benefits of practicing gratitude. You must have had terrible days filled with doubt and chemo and nausea where all you could do was appreciate the warmth of the sun on your skin as you returned home to rest. What advice do you have for savoring "the small things" in life?

Every small thing is part of a bigger picture. You talk about the sun on my skin and I have fond memories of being sick walking up to my front door but feeling the heat of the sun on me and just being glad to be home. I love the little things in life, from the cards I received in the mail (nearly 30 of them!) to the texts every week from my friends asking how I'm doing. Just appreciate that someone thinks of you, or that you have those small things. (:

Hey I'm a young high school student and that's pretty badass beating cancer, but advice on being positive?

For me being positive came down to just telling myself to be positive. It sounds strange but just telling myself that it will be okay and that being happy and strong inspires people made me more positive.

So I'm 19 and I have had a bump under my chin for a couple years. I have had a couple blood tests done and nothing showed up. Should I get another opinion?

Well for me, my blood tests came back normal as well. Might be worth getting it looked at somewhere else.

I also have a lymph node in my interstine which is growing a bit unnaturally. I did CT scan and Doctor said its fine. I have been ignoring for two years and sometimes there is pain. What do you suggest?

How recent was this doctor's visit? Doctors are wrong more frequently than people think. I hope it's nothing but a swollen lymph node, but it sounds similar. I would go back to the doctor and ask for a biopsy of the lymph node. Plus, get a cancer insurance policy if you can.

I don't want to ask you a question, I just want to tell you that I'm proud of you for being so strong. Life is hard, it's the last thing you need at 17. But, i guess i need to... So what's your favorite color?

Either green or orange! Thank you!

What religion do you associate with and how have you grown spiritually?

Personally I'm a Christian (Baptist) and it has made me grow closer to God. I will admit I've been having strange thoughts with people saying "Glory to God" or "I told you God could pull you through this!" I do owe God for my life; however, It feels like they are taking away from the fact that I went through this, and I struggled daily with it.

First congrats I want to know if people started to pity you if they found out you had cancer? I feel like that would be one of the worst parts of so because it would be like people won't treat you like they normally would.

Some people did pity me, and some people treated me the exact same. I preferred to be treated just like how I was before; however, in some situations (like school) it helped to be "pitied" and given a break on some assignments.

Are your odds of getting cancer again much greater? What will you do proactively to prevent future issues?

I do have greater odds of getting cancer again in my future. It sucks, but it's the reality. Personally, I will do checkups and scans even after the five year mark (when people usually stop scans and checkups).

I have also experienced cancer in my close family so I think I know a bit of what you and your family have been through. Did you also have a lot of people telling you about all the other people they knew who ALSO have had cancer? "Oh man, you have cancer. I'm sorry to hear that. By the way, I have an uncle who had cancer.." etc etc. This bothered me a lot. "I don't give a shit about your uncle or your colleague. I'm going through this right now. Talk to me instead of telling anecdotes."

Almost everyone that found out I had cancer, or that I told, would tell me about someone they knew that had it. It just made me feel worse honestly, unless it was a success story. It made me feel like they weren't interested (not like they had to be) and were saying "Yeah you have it, but so does so-and-so."

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You're right. People are diagnosed with it everyday and beat it everyday; however, for me this has been my life for the past six or seven months. It has dominated what I can and can't do, so it's a big accomplishment for me to be able to start getting back to normal. (: