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Monday, November 7, 2011

On Hatteberg’s People, last night we learned about anal cancer and Michele Longabaugh’s two-year battle with this rare disease. following treatment, her health improved, but she lives life four months at a time. That’s the time between her CT scans. last night, we watched as she received her latest scan to see if the cancer had returned. Tonight, she gets the results.

The hardest part is always waiting for the news of what the scan did or did not show. Michele keeps busy with small things, like wrapping a birthday present for her mother in law.

“I guess when you are faced with the fact that there is a chance that you could die, you realize how much you under appreciate the little things that are enjoyable to do,” said Longabaugh.

A week after her CT scan, Dr. Johnson will tell her if the cancer is back.

“A lot of times you can tell by the patients facial expression how they feel. You walk in, get their weight, see how the patients demeanor is doing, so you get an idea of how they are doing and how that fits in with the test results,” said Johnson.

With professional subtlety a near art form, Dr. Johnson tells Michele and her husband Jerry the scan results.

“You look great, your weight looks good, and your scan looks negative,” said Johnson.

This was the best news. Michele’s scan is clear and shows she is cancer free, but there will be another scan in four months.

“I just try to fly under the radar and stay cancer free,” said Longabaugh.

But as all cancer patient’s know, living with it and not knowing if it will return is difficult. Since she was diagnosed, Michele has kept an intimate blog. It’s called “I Have Butt what?!” in it, she shares the innermost details of her feelings and thoughts. in one entry, Michele remembers when they first got the cancer diagnosis:

“Jerry and I look at each other in stunned silence, I begin to cry and so does he. We hold each other. This is a precious moment in my life. I know that sounds odd, but it is. Me and my husband on the same emotional ground….with nothing to cling to but each other.”

While her sister took care of her during treatment, Michele shared these words:

“Sometimes I was heaving and retching so hard my sister said she expected to see my body invert on itself and disappear into the toilet. I felt such despair and anger at those moments… out of control. Scared. I would sob between heaves, begging God and anyone who would listen for mercy. my sister would stand by me her hand on my back whispering encouragement, murmuring words of comfort and crying with me.”

Michele says she hopes her blog helps others understand.

“I think that is why my blog is so important. I’m able to articulate it so if somebody reads it, they know who I am as a person and not just as that ‘lady’ that had anal cancer,” said Longabaugh.

Living between CT scans has changed Michele’s outlook on life.

“We’ll take what we can get., four months at a time, and it’s the best four months we’ve ever had… We live it like it is the last four months we’ve got, and then if my cancer comes back we know that times are going to get tough again… I’m not afraid to die, I’m not afraid. I just don’t want to.”

Sunday, November 6, 2011

“When you say you have anal cancer, you really shut down a room. All people want to do is change the subject.”

Her name is Michele Longabaugh. she has anal cancer. so, this is a special Hatteberg’s People two-part series. I met Michele when I was told I was on her bucket list of people she wanted to meet in case she died. That’s never happened to me before. so we met. When I heard her story, I thought she should share it. All cancers are bad, anal cancer seems to be worse because of its location and stigma, but Michele is incredibly open about it because she wants to help others. for two years she’s been living with it and with an uncertain future.

Michele grew up in Johnson City, New York. she had a normal childhood with the usual fond memories. she is one of those people you immediately like with a warm out-going personality and a reality-based optimist with a sense of humor. Married with three children, Michele’s life was following the script.

“People get married and you stand up there for better and for worse, in sickness and in health. they don’t know what they are saying until you are really in it for sickness and in health,” said Michele Longabaugh.

Michele had what she thought was a bleeding hemorrhoid. the doctor disagreed.

“I will never forget the look on his face and he said, this is not a hemorrhoid.”

It wasn’t. it was Stage 4 Anal Cancer.

“It was a speechless moment for my husband and I. I remember literally my mouth hanging open and not being able to shut it.”

Michele’s husband, Jerry Longabaugh, is Principal at Eisenhower Middle School in Goddard.

“But as for that day, that was perhaps the worst day of my life… At that point in time, we only had each other. That’s how tough it was. it’s like getting hit with a Mack truck,” said Jerry Longabaugh.

“It was the lowest I felt like I had ever been. I felt so hopeless just at that moment,” said Michele Longabaugh.

Anal cancer is rare. it affects about 5,000 people in the U.S. each year. Dr. David Johnson, of Wichita, is Michele’s oncologist.

“The interesting thing about anal cancer is the treatment is relatively short but very intense… but it’s a tough, tough go.” said Johnson.

According to the Mayo Clinic, risk factors for the disease include old age, multiple sexual partners, anal sex, smoking and the HPV virus. Michele says, that doesn’t describe her. she doesn’t have a single risk factor for the disease.

“When they told me that there was a possibility that, in three years, I wasn’t going to be here I made up my mind at that minute. I wasn’t going to waste any more time. it is being in the moment, not just going through the motions,” said Michele Longabaugh.

Recovering from the chemotherapy, Michele wanted to get back to life as usual. She’s a nurse and a businesswoman. she and a business partner sell sophisticated medical devices to doctors and hospitals. getting back into the swing helps, but not knowing the future is difficult especially with her college age kids.

“When you get cancer, everyone in your family gets cancer. I said you can do something for me to make me better, and they said, ‘What mom, we’ll do anything.’ I said stay in school, get good grades and don’t give me anything to worry about. and all three of them did that.”

Michele lives four months at a time. That’s how long she has between scans that will tell her if the cancer has returned.

“One bad scan can mean Michele’s life,” said Jerry Longabaugh.

I went with Michele to her last CT scan. the barium didn’t go down well, but it’s necessary. she made the best of it.

“I just think to myself, there is nothing I can do to change what’s going to be on that scan. there is not one thing I can do… I feel that I buried my head one because of ignoring the symptoms, and to not do a scan would be like a relief. But I can’t bury my head. I have to know,” said Michele Longabaugh.

Now the wait for results begins. Monday at 10, we go to the doctor with Michele to get the results of the latest scan to find out if the cancer has returned. We’ll also take a look at her intimate personal blog where her emotions are laid bare.

Symptoms for anal cancer can include bleeding that is sometimes confused with a hemorrhoid, pain in the anus area, a growth in the anal canal and anal itching. If you have any of these symptoms contact your doctor. Early diagnosis is key.

I have a very differnent discharge never had it before. I have had a std before so i know its not that. it has a blood tinge greyish yellowish look to it. it doesnt have a funny smell but it has a strong sent to it kinda almost like amonia. could be cancer it runs in my family please dont answer unless you know what im talking about dont scare me but be honest

In 2007 I had the horror of my life, over 30 and diagnosed with a High risk HPV. I was mortified. My GYN doc did a procedure called Cryrotherapy (freezing the affected area) as soon as possible. Well, it's 2009 and I am coming to two years since that diagnosis. My Pap's have been normal and my HPV test results negative. Is it possible that my body has suppressed the virus and I may never have to worry about cancer or it affecting my cervix?

…mine never came back…some people are like that. Others have a different experience.
You still have the virus but it may never affect you again.
Then again it could stay dormant for years and years then randomly become cancer.
From now on you know you have to just keep getting regular checkups and pray that things stay positive

I had HPV 16 years ago and I've been clean ever since. Back then they didn't type the different kinds, but they were very alarmed at my colposcopy and removed a lot of lesions. after that, it went away completely. All PAP tests have been completely normal.

Hope that helps ease your mind.

It looks like you did all the right things, so good job for taking care of yourself.
And yes I believe the body is capable of healing itself, body cells can change, especially if immunity has been built up by lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking, eating healthier, lower stress, regular excercise.

If you are receiving good pap results then that can only be a good thing. That's great news. So I would just keep on being optimistic and believe things were nipped in the bud and nothing bad will return, it's better than worrying about something that may not even happen.

About 5 days ago she noticed a pain in her lower right hand side of her body. she works in the medical career and she thought it was her gall bladder. So she went into the docter and they did an ultra sound and she said they found a mass on her pancreas about the size of a dime. they weren't sure what it was. so she is going down to maryland (where they specialize in pancreatic things) to console with a docter and plan a possible surgery to figure out what it is. They said they would't have even noticed it, the only reason they did was because she is so thin (she always has been ..she hasn't lost weight). Could this be pancreatic cancer. and if so….would it be bad because she never found any symptoms before a few days ago. and Im hoping that because it is small they cuaght it early….but I know that Pancreatic cancer doesn't show up until the last stages.. so What do you think? we are hoping its benign or that its anything other than cancer because I heard of people finding out they had pancreatic cancer and never showing symptoms and then dieing the next week…??????please helppp

Diabetes causes pain on the lower side from inflamed kidneys.
Avoid sugar. Get tested.
search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oG…

my uncle had pancreatitis, so could i get it?
im worried because pancreatitis can lead to pancreatic cancer which has like a 20% survival rate :..(
and what are the symptoms of pancreatitis?
if i have it, will it matter if i realise sooner?

Copyright ©2010. the Associated Press. Produced by NewsOK.com all rights reserved. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.  

Tulsa veterinarian Steven Hodges often likens his work to that of a pediatrician.

Though his patients are four-legged versus two-legged, many are regarded as children, or family members, by their owners, Hodges said. and like infants and young children, dogs and cats can’t verbalize their feelings or symptoms, so to diagnose and treat illnesses can be challenging, he said.

But they are challenges Hodges said he finds extremely gratifying.

Hodges is not a general practice vet; he’s a board-certified internal medicine specialist who diagnoses and treats back problems, diabetes, cancer and other illnesses.

Similar to their human medical counterparts, such specialists must complete an internship and residency in their specialized field, or an additional three to five years of training over and above their undergraduate training and four-years in vet school.

Oklahoma City’s Mollyann Holland was more than willing to invest in the time and education.

“I love improving an animal’s quality of life, and developing relationships with their owners,” she said.

Holland said she especially enjoys getting to the know quirks and idiosyncrasies of all of her patients — from the retired show dog, Elvis, who every visit had to make an entrance, to her own three-legged, people-loving cat “Truman,” who she adopted after he showed up dragging a paralyzed leg.

Holland’s goal is the same with all of her patients: remission and quality of life.

“We want as much time as we can get with them, as long as they’re not miserable, and can still do the things they enjoy,” she said. “For dogs, that may be long walks with their owners, playing ball or going on family vacations. for cats, it might be sitting in the window and sunning themselves.”

Holland knows what it’s like to lose a pet to disease. she had a white standard poodle, “Peyton,” that after several months of treatment died of nasal lymphoma 18 months ago.

“I still miss her terribly,” a teary-eyed Holland said. “I think most of us in our lifetimes have one special dog or cat. I call it your ‘heart dog,’ and Peyton was mine.”

Holland treats many pets that have important jobs, including service and police dogs.

Mary Bowles, an internal medicine specialist in Stillwater, said her job can be discouraging when she sees pets that have widespread illnesses without good prognoses.

“But other times, we can help and I’m glad to be able to do that,” she said. “We see a variety of problems that we can approach in a lot of different ways. Every day is different.”

Business Photo Galleriesview all

By TOM JOSEPH, M.D.

For most women, monthly menstruation becomes a regular part of life by the late teens, but not every woman experiences the same symptoms — or at the same severity.

While the variance in symptoms has a variety of causes, one symptom in particular may be caused by an underlying condition that is generally treatable with a straightforward and safe procedure.

Uterine fibroids develop in half of all women by age 50, but they are common at younger ages as well, particularly by the mid-30s. Many women, though, are not familiar with their symptoms, which include heavy and painful menstruation, a frequent need or urgency to urinate, lower-back pain and even fertility problems.

A uterine fibroid is an irregular growth of tissue that develops from the uterine wall. they are almost entirely non-cancerous — only 1 in 1,000 will develop into cancer — and can vary in size. Smaller fibroids can cause no symptoms and go entirely unnoticed, but larger fibroids can cause severe symptoms and require treatment.

Discovering and treating fibroids

Without the presence of related symptoms, uterine fibroids will usually go unnoticed without consequence. when patients experience symptoms, though, your doctor may order an ultrasound or MRI to pinpoint the size, placement and number of fibroids.

In the past, hysterectomy — the surgical removal of the uterus — was the treatment of choice for patients with problem-causing uterine fibroids. Today, however, several less-invasive options are available; and, for some patients, it is even possible to have a normal pregnancy and delivery after treatment.

One of the newest treatment options, called uterine fibroid embolization, helps shrink fibroids by cutting off their blood supply without affecting the surrounding tissue.

The treatment requires a single 6mm incision and has a low risk of complication and comparatively short recovery time. in fact, most women are able to go home the same day.

Other treatment options include medications, varying surgical options (including hysterectomy), and a procedure called ablation — which uses high-frequency sound waves to destroy the fibroid tissue. Medications, however, only offer temporary relief from symptoms.

If your physician diagnoses you with uterine fibroids, the treatment options he or she offers will depend on your specific case, but most women can choose from a variety of treatments. Fortunately, fibroids generally grow slowly. however, treatment shouldn’t be avoided or put off.

Dr. Tom Joseph is an interventional radiologist specially trained in uterine fibroid embolization.  He is affiliated with Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley.

They want my friend to have a colonscopy done because it runs in her family, but wouldn't she notice something was wrong bowel habits or pain or blood showing when she goes to the bath room.

Hi there

It's sound like the doctors are just taking precautions with your friend, as you do say it runs in her family.

If she is not showing any signs of colorectal cancer, then it is unlikely that she has it. Im sure the colonoscopy is just being done an appropriate precaution to rule out any possibilities that they have come up with.

In the unlikely case of it turning out to be colorectal cancer, it has most likely been caught in its early stages, the reason why I state this is because you mentioned that she has no symptoms. So this would mean that treatment would be very successful for her.

But I a feeling that all will turn out to be normal.

Best Wish's

The majority of cancers have no unique symptoms until they are advanced . .that is one reason cancer is so deadly . . and the reason is simple. Cancer is your own cells, your own DNA that for an unknown reason mutates and loses the ability to stop growing. A cancer cell will grow indefinitely unless treatment stops it. Since cancer cells are your own DNA the body does not recognize the danger . . the immune system treats a cancer cell just like it treats a normal cell . . the body will feed and nourish and protect the cancer cell the same way it does any other cell in the body. A tumor can co-exist quite nicely inside the body for an undetermined amount of time just by bending around organs or structures. It isn't until tumors either grow big enough or begin to interfere with normal body functions that they are noticed. The reason for the colonoscopy is because small colon malignancies can reside quite easily and unnoticed inside the colon for quite some time . . it stands to reason that it is far easier to treat a small tumor than it is a larger one that has spread. So the doctor will exam the inside of the colon and remove anything suspicious while it is still small.

In other words, if your friend has the hereditary type of cancer than it may just be too small to be causing any issues at all . . the doctor is just being cautious. It's a relatively easy procedure and your friend should do it for several reasons . . one – to make sure she does not have anything cancerous right now and two – to establish a well baseline so her doctor can compare this colonoscopy to any future colonoscopies she may have – again checking for early signs of cancer.

Sometimes symptoms take months to appear. if it was me personally I would be glad the dr. is actually taking precaution. Colon cancer symptoms are tricky and like I said do not appear right away. if it can be caught early that's awesome and if everything comes back normal then that's just peace of mind. I would recommend your friend get it done, just to be on the safe side. Cancer is taking too many lives now adays, because it's getting caught too late.

Recurrent persistent occult in stool microscopy is most warning sign with anemia in a person with family history must have regular colonoscopy to rule out cancer colon.
Due to family history she is high risk group,need not have any symptoms.

Many colon cancers don't give any symptoms for a long time. by doing colonoscopies in people at significant risk of developing colon cancer the doctors can remove adenomatous polyps before they become cancer (or detect cancers while they are very small and easily curable).

I had ask a similar question before but I think wasn't clear enough. in the last 5 days I started to get stomach pain & cramps and sharp back pain when I swallow food. taking a sip of water helps with the feeling like the food is getting stuck. the pain only occurs when the food is being swallow, and not after I eat. I think its getting better with time but I'm not if it go away. I think I will see a doctor soon, but someone online told me most likely all the doctor will do is schedule me for testing a another week. I really want to know what are symptoms of since none of my symtoms don't match any illness 100%.

Please don't panic, but difficulty in swallowing is a symptom of cancer. You need to see a doctor or a gastroenterologist to rule out anything serious. It could be heartburn that has irritated your esophagus. I am having a procedure on Monday where the doc goes down my throat with a scope to check on my esophagus. It isn't as bad as it sounds, although it is no picnic. Please get checked out soon.

he has been tested for std's and says that the q-tip test says that he doesnt have anything…what should i suggest? please provide me with websites and documents to support your answer if you can

Personally, the best way is to know eachother's history as well. ask him if any of his ex's have HPV, cause even if it doens't show in him, it might have in a past partner.

I know it doesn't seem very "right" to ask about his exs, but trust me, it's better than finding those bumps, going to the doctor and finding out you have HPV, going through test after test when they tell you that you MAY have cancer, finally getting the all clear, but still feeling horribly guilty and shamed about the fact you've got an STD.

I'm still slowly accepting it…but it is hard. I had protected sex with a good friend, only to find out later that his ex had HPV/Genital warts. and he didn't tell me and I didn't ask, cause I didn't think it was right… but I wish I had.

There currently no test to detect HPV in men. Q-tip test is just trying to check if he has other STD's. He may have gotten a q-tip test but he doesn't realize that it can't detect HPV. HPV in men is somethign hard to detect unless you can see gential warts on him.

Have you had yourself checked for HPV? if you haven't you should, or on your yearly check up you might want to ask your doctos about the precautions you could take to not get HPV.

I did a search on HPV and one of the sites I found helpful was hpvsafety.com/how_to_get_test…

Good luck!

There is no male test for HPV, so if he said he got tested for it, he's lying. I'd ask to see the results on paper before you go anywhere near him.

HPV is very hard to trace in men.MOst studies have been on women. for a man to know he has HPV for him to have Genital Warts if he has HPV but not hte genital warts kind he will never know. Men are more like the carrier of all types of HPV.

3/4women have some type of hpv and many dont know this cuz there are not always signs.many types of HPV can be dormant (sleeping)in the body.it's important to get a pap 1yr .2 trace back the one is impossible as again men are carriers and may never know if they are carrying the virus.

please check out Gardisil this is for prevention of 4 types of HPV.

there are so many types of HPV some are still being discovered

good luck

go to the doctor

there is no hpv test for a man unless he has genital warts

You should both see a doctor. you may have already been infected.

just go to see doctor get checked and tested if is positive let all u have been sexual with and have them get treatment