Well, I HAD cancer.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu May 08, 2014 4:58 pm

I was hoping to just make a comment or two in Random Randomness and not end up with anything that warranted its own thread. No such luck.

I just got back from the ear, nose, throat doctor, and am sitting on a preliminary diagnoses of throat cancer, specifically base of the tongue cancer, probably at stage 3. Any more details won't come until after a biopsy, which is scheduled for a week from Monday.

This is either 'oh crap' bad, or 'OH SHIT' bad, depending on whether the human papillomavirus is involved. If it is, I've got a fairly decent chance of survival. If it is not, then I'm somewhere short of flipping a coin. In either case, I'm looking at a wave of thoroughly entertaining chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments, which, if my education is correct, may result in super powers if I survive.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:00 pm

Good luck. My best goes out to you.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:02 pm

Best of luck, BH. You know we are all rooting for you.

noxiousdog · Post by **noxiousdog** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:02 pm

Good luck, Blackhawk.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:02 pm

What caused you to have it checked?

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:02 pm

Also, you might want to start studying your chemistry.

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:02 pm

Keep us posted, and here are all sorts of good thoughts coming your way for your biopsy. One step at a time.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:05 pm

Hoping for the best Blackhawk.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:06 pm

Moliere wrote:What caused you to have it checked?

Swollen lymph nodes. From my research, what makes this particular cancer so bad is that it doesn't have any symptoms until it has advanced, usually (like me) to stage three, at which point it spreads to the lymph nodes.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:07 pm

Oh damn.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:08 pm

Please PLEASE keep us posted.
Sending you good vibes along with some of my new found today mellowness to help with the worry.
xox

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:10 pm

Really sorry to hear that. Good luck and may you indeed get these superpowers.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:14 pm

Best of luck.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:14 pm

Really sorry to hear this. You've been through a lot, you can get through this too.

I don't pray but I will meditate and send energy your way.

MHS · Post by **MHS** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:24 pm

Thinking of you, and your boys. Hopefully it'll turn out to be the easier to deal with kind.

Redfive · Post by **Redfive** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:25 pm

Seriously, fuck cancer. Sorry man.

Please keep us posted and get ready to fight.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:26 pm

I'm sorry to hear this news, BH. Stay strong.

Remember that people are beating cancer every day.

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:30 pm

Holy crap! I sure hope it is the lesser kind!

Stay strong!

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:38 pm

Kick cancer's ass. As others have said, we're here for you.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:38 pm

Very sorry to read your news, Blackhawk. Best wishes to you on your treatment, and hopefully, the road to remission.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:39 pm

Horrible News, Blackhawk. Best of luck with your treatment!

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:40 pm

Sorry to hear it. I'll start picking out a sidekick uniform just in case you need one. I'll also need to lose some weight and get in good enough shape to run at least a block without throwing up.

tjg_marantz · Post by **tjg_marantz** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:42 pm

Fuck you cancer. Here's to knowing you'll make it your bitch!

Kelric · Post by **Kelric** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:48 pm

Well that's a giant suck. Here's to good things for ya.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:50 pm

Best of luck Blackhawk. Kick cancers ass.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:53 pm

Sorry to hear about this and I hope you find out the best.

My current dentist does a lot of checking around the tongue and jaw areas as part of every six month exam. I wonder if this is the type of thing he is looking for.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:55 pm

Stay strong, BH. Be sure to get as much information as possible. As dumb as it sounds, knowing what you're up against and knowing exactly what the doctors are doing really does help.

Blackhawk wrote:Any more details won't come until after a biopsy, which is scheduled for a week from Monday.

Also, the waiting sucks.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Thu May 08, 2014 5:57 pm

Awful news, hoping for the best.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:11 pm

Two of my best friends have been living with cancer for >5 years now and are still going strong. Here's hoping that yours falls into the same "manageable" category.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:14 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:Any more details won't come until after a biopsy, which is scheduled for a week from Monday.
Also, the waiting sucks.

The waiting does suck. Thankfully, the ear-nose-throat doctor was up front when I asked him to be and told me that it was almost certainly cancer, and that the biopsy was to determine the details.

If he'd just waffled on telling me that (and a lot of doctors would,) the waiting would have been twice as bad. One way or another, I know I'll be facing cancer treatment. One way or another, I know that it may kill me. I can start working through that. It is a hell of a lot easier that all of that being likely, but not being sure what I'd be facing.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:15 pm

Kraken wrote:Two of my best friends have been living with cancer for >5 years now and are still going strong. Here's hoping that yours falls into the same "manageable" category.

I need ten. In ten, both of my kids will be through high school and into college/life. After that, I couldn't care less. Now, though, I need ten years. Honestly, that's all that matters to me.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:16 pm

Here's hoping for the best possible result from the biopsy.

Cancer.net is a good source of information for patients, including information on specific cancers, financial issues, and questions to ask your doctor. Here's a link to their page on oral cancers. They also have iOS and Android apps, if that's how you roll. (Disclosure: the oncology organization that runs Cancer.net is a client of my company, though not of me personally.)

Once the docs have a better sense of what you're up against, consider asking about clinical trials. Oncology clinical trials these days are generally a good deal for patients, due to the advent of rational drug design and targeted cancer drugs.

Newcastle · Post by **Newcastle** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:16 pm

Sending positive thoughts your way. Kick its ass!

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:20 pm

coopasonic wrote:Also, you might want to start studying your chemistry.

Too soon. Although I almost posted something similar.

Anyway, that really sucks. We're both wishing you the best, Blackhawk.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:23 pm

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:41 pm

Redfive wrote:Seriously, fuck cancer. Sorry man.

Please keep us posted and get ready to fight.

This. Let us know how we can help.

Bad Demographic · Post by **Bad Demographic** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:42 pm

Now I know what people mean when they say "it was like a punch in the stomach".

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu May 08, 2014 6:44 pm

Sorry it was this diagnosis Blackhawk. You're an Overlord and I know you will kick it's ass good.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Thu May 08, 2014 7:21 pm

Oh man, I'm really, really sorry to hear that. I'll be rooting for you all the way to beat this thing. Wow.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Thu May 08, 2014 7:27 pm

Fuck, man. I don't know what to say. It isn't fair.