I start my first chemo treatment this Tuesday for non-hodgkin's lymphoma. I went to the doctor a little while ago for a cough. I thought I had a bad chest infection but an x-ray turned up a mass. I had cat scans, a PET scan, a broncoscopy, and finally a biopsy showed that I have lymphoma. The good news is that it hasn't spread beyond the one spot in my chest and my oncologist says the type that I have responds very well to treatment. My prognosis is very good. He says they should be able to cure me and I should make a full recovery.

Apparently lymphoma is the second most common cancer in younger people (I'm 35) next to testicular cancer. I live in a semi rural area where they think pesticide use for farming gives an increased risk. I also do machine work with oil and solvents and that could have something to do with it. Or it could be just bad luck.

I'm finally almost done with then engine in my Camaro and it looks I'll be driving it around this summer without any hair.

Best of luck with the chemo. I have a friend who went through the same identical type of cancer (5 years ago) and he's doing great. We'll keep you in our prayers.

Remember, when driving a bowtie like yours...everyone looks cool!

:beers:

I'll be doing some hat shopping soon. The doctor says that many of his patients end up keeping a shaved head after their hair grows back. I'm thinking of giving myself a Mr. T style mohawk before it all falls out.

All the best of luck to you. You are in my prayers.

Good luck Chris! Drives in the car should be a form of therapy in and of itself.

Chris...
Get a hair cut shorter, then shorter then shave it. It will be easier for you to deal with. Glad that you caught it in time and that you are in a positive frame of mind. Hey, driving a Camaro with a Chevy hat is cool too. Best of luck on your treatments and enjoy your Camaro..

Kev

Good luck man. I'll be thinking of you and rooting for you.

Who said men don't go to the doctors! Good thing you did!

Best of luck, John

I'll be doing some hat shopping soon. The doctor says that many of his patients end up keeping a shaved head after their hair grows back. I'm thinking of giving myself a Mr. T style mohawk before it all falls out.
Dude, I gotta get a pic of that!!!

AE2
Good luck Chris.

Hang in there good buddy. One prayer coming yer way.

If any buddy bugs you about the lack of hair... just tell them that you've had a solar sex panel installed for the summer.:)

Cheers,:beers:

capt

Hang in there. Glad to hear to prognosis is good.

This reminds me of the time a former neighbor (Mustang owner that always tried to talk me into working on his car) pulled up and had no hair. First words out of my mouth was nice hair cut, I like it (I have a shaved head) and he looks at me and says it's from chemo. I have never EVER felt so low in my life.

Having a shaved head is not all bad and you just might like it.

A friend had that about eight years ago and he's fine now. buy some parts for your camaro from Summit.they usually throw in a free hat.:thumbsup:

Hang in there. Glad to hear to prognosis is good.

This reminds me of the time a former neighbor (Mustang owner that always tried to talk me into working on his car) pulled up and had no hair. First words out of my mouth was nice hair cut, I like it (I have a shaved head) and he looks at me and says it's from chemo. I have never EVER felt so low in my life.

Having a shaved head is not all bad and you just might like it.
I was coughing at work Friday and a guy I work with told me he hoped I didn't keel over. He felt so bad after I told him. I thought it was kind of funny.

Had it not been pushing into my lung I still probably would have no idea.

Best of luck and keep a positive attitude!!

Good luck.
I myself and a cancer survivor. I'll be 35 this week, but was diagnosed with Hodgkins Disease 8 years ago. I received treatment (chemo) for 6 months and have been in remission for 7+ years.

Words of advice.
-Don't read up on the disease on the internet. It will only freak you out. Trust in your doctor and listen to them.
-Get to be friends with your nurses and doctors. Go in with a positive attitude and they will go the extra mile to help you.
-Do not ponder the disease. The more you think about it, the harder it is. Sure you have to go through it, but to me, looking back on it, the mental part of it was far more worse than the treatment was. I did anything I could to get my mind off of treatment. I went to car shows and cruise nights, hung out with friends, etc.
- Follow doctors orders. Your immunity will be compromised. Don't smoke, drink, be around sick people, stay out of the sun, etc. It's really not that long of a time to give certain things up or limit them. In the long run, it will only help you
- stay positive. It helps a ton! I had great support from my friends, family, and nurses.
-pain is ONLY temporary. It's only going to make you a stronger more tolerant person.

I can honestly say that going through cancer, it made me a stronger person. I have a better outlook on life, I learned to not sweat the small stuff, and I work harder to get what I want. I met my now wife 2 weeks after my last chemo. I was 30 pounds under weight and bald as a baby. She has been with me ever since and was/is the most understanding person that I could have met. I only wish I met her through my treatment.

Oh yea, and shave your head or get a real short haircut. It honestly sucked to have long hair and it falling out like it did. Just trim it down and you won't have that initial shock. It grows back. Get a cool hat. :thumbsup:

If you have any questions, shoot them my way. I have no problems talking with people going through similiar situations.

Good luck. +1 on the positive attitude. Garage time is some of the best therapy you can get.

Best of luck Chris, you can beat it. Also keep in mind that a lot of us here don't have much hair either. LOL

Best of luck -- keep up the positive attitude

good luck chris. the shaved head look is in now, so you should look cool ;), dont forget the sunblock.

Forget about the hat .. just get a lollipop and walk around saying " who loves ya baby"! :) Lots of cool cats going with the clean shaven head.. Yul Brenner was probably one of the coolest .. Of course Telly , Billy Zane and Jason Statham (the Transporter, Crank , Lock Stock and two smoking barrels)
Most importantly I am glad you got checked out and caught this early . Should be a reminder to all of us to go in and not only get basic physicals but to get checked for things like colon cancer, etc.

Telly , how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/ChevyThunder/savalas.jpg

I recommend a Fresno State baseball champions 2008 hat. ;) Good luck dude.

Joe has it right ! Stay positive and you'll come out of this even stronger.
I didn't lose all my hair, but it got mighty thin.....then came back curly for awhile. Surgery was 2 years ago and it seems like an eternity.

To all of you guys (and girls) out there......stay healthy, go see a doctor !

ss

Good luck man. I'll be thinking of you and rooting for you.


Ditto.

Best of luck to you, stay positive and strong.

Chris,

I will keep you in my prayers. You are a few years younger than me and I hope they caught it early. God be with you and I hope you get through this better than ever. Try to stay positive and I hope the Camaro is good therapy for you. Be strong!!

Sincerely,

SSG&H aka Greg

Good thing they caught it! Better to drive around with no hair than the alternative. Best of luck with your treatments and recovery. Driving around with no hair isn't so bad..... I do it all the time!! :beers:

You will beat this...say it! over and over! My family went through this!

Just got home after 9 hours. I feel like I shoveled rock all day. I'm exhausted. Otherwise the chemo wasn't too bad. The only reaction I had was that I got hot once or twice. I met another lady with the same thing going through her last treatment too. She's doing great which was encouraging.

you will never forget these people you meet.....especially the nurses. (and the children) They are the best !

ss

good luck chris. i wish you the best. if you send me your address, i can mail you a sfpd sniper hat.

http://a404.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/37/l_8d5dc5806bb024fb713d7ed21a3d4873.jpg

My hair started to fall out yesterday so I hurried up and shaved most of it. Here's my Taxi Driver look.

http://a404.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/37/l_8d5dc5806bb024fb713d7ed21a3d4873.jpg

My hair started to fall out yesterday so I hurried up and shaved most of it. Here's my Taxi Driver look.

"You Talkin to Me?" Looks good, it will grow back soon...

I'm sorry I missed this one at first, I was on vacation that week, and it musta fallen down the list before I got back.

Best to ya, Chris, get well!

Hang tough Chris!

Is that a cat on the wall next to you in the picture?!?!

best of luck to you, you will be in our prayers. you can bet this.

Good luck Chris, Wait until your brows fall out! LOL.

I just finished June 3rd, 6 months 12 sessions, I wish you luck if you need anything feel free to PM me.

Thanks everyone. That's my Abyssinian cat Merlin sitting on his perch next to me.

I hope everything went well for you Rich!

Thanks Chris, Make sure you ask your Doc about being out in the garage, Mine ban me from it! Risk of infection from low white blood count.

Rich.

Thanks everyone. That's my Abyssinian cat Merlin sitting on his perch next to me.

I hope everything went well for you Rich!

I thought that was some sort of wierd cat thing you had hung on your wall :D

Gotta love that haircut dude that's great, now all you need is some punk rocker leather, some docs and a broken cig and you would have that Sid Vicious look down.

Anyhow best of luck to you. I have a friend of 25 years that just went under the knife last week for prostate cancer. His prognosis is good and he seems to be doing very well. He is already up and came to work to see everyone. While every other guy at work shook his hand, I just walked up to him and gave him a hug, told him I was glad to see him, then shook his hand. That's when he hugged me and we both shared a few tears of joy that he's going to be ok.

Moral of the story guys......don't be so much of a man that you forget to tell your friend when they really need it that your there for them and love them. Also don't be affraid to show it eighter!! We talked afterword and it was like a wieght lifted from both of us....just not knowing what to say etc, etc for the last 3 months really sucked. So to you Chris the only advise I can give about any of this is comumicate with your close buddies, they might not know what to say to you. You might be doing this already.

I'll shut the hell up now............

Joe

Chris, I've passed by this post for some time now thinking who cares about this guy cutting his hair,then it hit me.The big 'C' man I'm so sorry to hear this wish you all the best in the world,good luck.I lost two brothers to cancer one at 51 the other at 58.My buddy is in remission from lymphoma he was stage three.I would say I would pray but I don't think it would help you because I'm not so sure he listens to me,but good luck to you go on with life the way it is and dont let it get to YA.

Hey Chris thought you had either a flying cat, or one stuffed on the wall:D... was hoping for the former.

Hang in there guy. You're in his hands.

capt

Chris brother your a Young man and it sounds like your in good spirits. Thank god that you and all of us will be cruzing this summer.

Love the hair and take it one day at a time and enjoy life.

Now lets see what you are cruzing in.

Keep up the positive outlook. We will do the same on our end. :yes:

http://b5.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/01540/54/38/1540668345_l.jpg
http://a721.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/37/l_f97d2d24c2ca8d55c51ff996b7cc5180.jpg
http://a683.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/2/l_76bde44c4e90034ba2e6d1350eac05ba.jpg

If you like cats get an Abyssinian. They are very active and people oriented. My cat gets along with my boxer like he's also a dog.

chirs, i never got a hat size. let me know

http://a404.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/37/l_8d5dc5806bb024fb713d7ed21a3d4873.jpg

My hair started to fall out yesterday so I hurried up and shaved most of it. Here's my Taxi Driver look.

Dude..didn't you star in a Mad Max movie :)

Chris..nice to see the positive flow out of you. Best all the way around..

Kev

chirs, i never got a hat size. let me know
I still have to measure my head.