new thread
Thanks to all my friends who offered their encouragement and prayers on my last post. It has now been confirmed that my cancer has relapsed after being in remission for the past five years. Thankfully it can be treated, and I will soon be undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Almost certainly I will be loosing a lot of hair, so I will probably have it cut short before that happens. I will still be lurking on the board and offering encouragement to everyone who want to grow and maintain long hair. It's been a blast. Thank you
I'm very sorry, Ian. Cancer is such a horrible disease. I'm thankful to hear that yours can be treated. You will beat this and once your treatment is over, your hair will be back.
You're a long-haired in your soul, and we all know it. I wish you lots of will- and physical strength to fight against the disease. Wish you well!
I'm so sorry Ian. I was so envious of your hair, and you look amazing with it. You're a handsome dude though so even without the hair you're going to look great!
I hope you have a speedy recovery and all goes well with treatment. I'll keep you in my thoughts, brother.
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Hi Ian, have you considered SODIUM DICHLOROACETATE to treat your cancer? It is very cheap and no bad side effects. The reason it is not promoted is because it is NOT PROFITABLE to the drug companies or medical corporations. Cancer treatmet is driven by profit. Be sure to look into it.
Scott
Hi Ian
I am so sorry to hear of this, even worse. How completely horrible. At least the disease can be treated which is the most important. But still, having to go through those treatments is worse than any nightmare could ever be. As for cutting your hair, I myself would choose to do this and spare myself seeing it all fall out. A very sad posting and my thoughts are with you that in the end all will end up ok and that one day soon will once again see you with that gorgeous mane back and be healthy without such a dark cloud hovering above you as it is now. You have my full support Ian. You are such a very special and wonderful person who I have always admired and looked-up to.
hug
Justin~
A man with a mane is the "real you". Put a few photos of yourself around your home to remind yourself of that. Get them taken and hung on the wall before your temporary hair loss begins. And don't change your avatar. Let yourself, and others, know you regard your current appearance as temporary every time they see "the real you". Pictures speak a thousand words. Let them speak for you.
Like having a cast on your leg or any other adjustment that medical situations require, this is temporary and it will pass. Treat it that way, and not like a permanent change. This should help you keep your spirits high during this tough time.
Good luck my friend,
Bill
Good Luck Ian ... having survived cancer myself I know the battle you face ... my wish for you is courage, determination, serenity & an unshakable faith that God will see it thru. ... I gave up my reins to Him, very early in the piece & I'm still here 8 years on ... all the best & kind regards CEM.
Ian - I am sending my best wishes to you for a speedy recovery!
I have a friend in Tennessee who has won the battle twice with cancer, and has his long hair and long beard.
Hugs
- Oren
Ian,
My thoughts and prayers are with you. Thank you for sharing. Cancer will mow through many of us here too, eventually. Sounds good the area is controllable. Using many control techniques at once as you are doing appears the best way to deal with this. Surgery, a combination of a wide variety of chemo, and then the newer therapies applied at the same time if possible, is the best way that I am familiar with. Cancer becomes resistant to the chemo as it multiplies and then a few survive the treatment to need to be treated by something else. Steve Jobs didn’t make it with a slow pancreatic cancer that he declined to treat with surgery and chemo that might have stopped it. He just ate organic food instead for months before it spread. I know of several people still around today because they took an aggressive but painful approach.
Please post here anyway as you join the ranks of those who have to cut their hair for reasons beyond their control and then grow it back when they can. It will be a blast again.
Don
Best wishes in your treatment and recovery, Ian. I won't say I hope it goes well, because I know it sucks severely, so here's hoping it sucks as little as possible.
Let us know how you're doing from time to time, and we'll keep the thoughts/prayers/good vibes/magic energy/whatever we can think of headed your way.
Frodo
I am sorry to hear of this. However, I think that you live in England and I gather that some NHS units offer some form of cooling 'hat' which can preserve hair through chemotherapy.
There is one reference to it part way through this and I am sure that searching on the internet will tell you more of it.
http://www.hairloss-research.org/UpdateChemo10-07.html
I also noticed that that page mentions some things you can take to prevent hair loss during chemo.
My mum's hair grew back fully after chemo. In fact at first she was pleased that it grew back dark, only for it to turn white all over again, LOL!
I'll be thinking of you.
That is so sad Ian, my thoughts are with you for a speedy and full recovery.
Take care my friend,
Dave
Ian I so feel for you my friend as I would be beside myself having to face such a reality.
Cancer certainly is not foreign to me as I lost many a family member to the disease.Most recent was my mom who passed three years ago this past May.
In her case I feel the doctors missed warning signs and by the time they found it the fix was in.She had treatments but they failed because it was too advanced.I'm relieved yours was caught in time to be treated. Do take care of yourself and keep us posted if you don't mind.Your contributions here have been tremendous and have been noticed by our membership.I'm in your corner during this difficult time just do you know. All the best.....
Mârk
Ian,
Oh man, horrible news >< !!! While I was in Colorado, I peeked onto the page every so often and saw that you were going in to see the Doctor, but man, I can't believe :*( !!! Knowing the news, though, what's most important is getting better, so focus on that as much as you can. Must get better, please get better, do get better! I really want to see you back here when you're feeling better, so please concentrate on what's important - you're health ^_^ !
Sincerely always,
Eric
Ian,
This comes as a big shock to me, but I do thank God that it's said to be treatable. I feel like it's come upon a close friend of mine. When I first came to MLHH, you were one of the first ones to welcome me warmly and your friendship has continually been offered to me as long as I've stayed around. I've gained numerous amounts of encouragement and displays of positive attitude from you and I hope you know how much I appreciate you. You will continually be in my prayers for healing and I look forward to seeing you back to your old self in no time. I'm forever in your debt, my friend.
Steve
Hi Ian, I am so sorry to hear of your cancer. I am mostly a lurker, but feel the need to respond as I have always enjoyed your tremendously positive comments and the inspirational pics of your magnificent mane. I will keep you in my prayers and positive thoughts for a full and speedy recovery. Warmest regards, Lance
Dear Ian,
I am sorry to hear about your cancer relapse. There are a lot of people here wishing you a godspeed recovery. I have no doubt you will make a fighting comeback and kick the cancer out of your life, hopefully for good.
Best wishes,
Duncan
Hi Ian,
Oh, I am so sorry to hear about this, and you can count on my thoughts and prayers every step of the way that you make a full and complete recovery. Cancer is such a horrible disease, I absolutely hate it, and it strikes so many genuinely good people. Please take care, look after yourself, and I am sure your long hair will be back in the future.
Take care,
David
Hi Ian,
My thoughts will be with you too. I hope all goes well and you beat this evil disease.
Darrin
Ian, my prayers go out to you. You are a strong man and you will have good health. That, I am certian of.
Sincerely,
Bruce
Words feel so inadequate at a time like this, so I hope the spirit of what I'd like to say speaks louder than "the letter"...
First of all, this photo of you is what I consider to be genuinely "regal" -- your grace and dignity shine through, and you have that rare quality about you that few men seem to ever attain: true maturity, manhood, and poise.
I'm not necessarily saying that the photograph in and of itself solely communicates this. It's also the fact that we've all gotten to know a little bit of how you think, how kind you are towards others, and how much your words of encouragement have helped so many others. These are all qualities that cannot be taken away from you, regardless of whatever medical condition you might have to face at present or in the future.
As best I know how, I will be holding in mind this image of you (both the physical image of you, as seen in this outstanding pic of you; but also the mental image of your incredible grace, dignity, and poise).
I hope this view will help explain, to some degree at least, what I mean by saying, "I'll be keeping you in my thoughts & prayers."
My best to you!!
With Much Love & Admiration,
Ken
Once again, I am overwhelmed by your kind comments and good wishes. I am meeting with my haematologist tomorrow and Radiologist on Friday. Next week I have some bone marrow to be taken and a PET Scan. Then the treatment starts. Your thoughts give me strength. Thank you.
Ian,
I wish you all the best in your battle against this foe. I hope the therapy is successful. Keep us informed.
Bear