Where the ketchup has Bob been?

Discussion in 'Community Discussion' started by BobTheTomato9798, Sep 2, 2014.

  1. Hmmmm how to explain my absence from this wonderful server this summer... I guess just straight up?

    In short, I have been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma or bone cancer in my dominant right arm.

    In long, earlier this year (March or May) I had been experiencing a lot of pain in my right arm. Logically, my parents and I had thought it was just something to do with the amount of frisbee golf and ultimate frisbee I play. So we gave my arm a couple months, I iced it all the time. Around comes the good ole month of June and I'm at one of my buddies house playing some ultimate frisbee. Yes, I was playing with an arm that already hurt. I get the frisbee and throw it basically as hard as I can and net thing I know I am on he ground in the most pain I have ever been in my entire life. I didn't sleep for about 3 days due to the pain and sadly the birthday party was Friday night so no doctors offices were open. We go to the doctor Monday and get an X-ray. The doctor said from the X-ray that I have a bunch of bone fragments in my arm and that I need to get an MRI immediately. I got an MRI Tuesday and based upon the MRI we get sent to a cancer center. Now that was all in June.

    Fast forward to today, I just finished my 4th round of chemotherapy yesterday and go in for my 5th round next Monday.

    Now I don't say all this to receive a pitty party. Not in the slightest bit. I say all this because I abruptly left the Empire without any warning and I feel bad for leaving many of you in the dark and for that I am sorry.

    If you have any questions about me, my cancer, or my therapy please don't be afraid to ask. I am more than happy to answer them! I hope to be playing again soon! :)

    EDIT 1:
    For those wondering what a tumor on a bone looks like, here ya go! (Yes I have full permission to post these)

    My arm -
    photo 1.PNG

    Normal arm -
    photo 2.JPG
  2. Hope to see you soon! Also, never have had anyone I know have bone cancer. So, when you had all those fragment's in your arm, how did it feel? Could you feel them moving in your arm? Also, Frisbee Golf is awesome! #Represent!
    Patr1cV and BobTheTomato9798 like this.
  3. Omg I hope you beat this cancer and get well soon! I was wondering where you went! We surely do miss you here! I hope that the MRI goes okay, You have us here at Empire Minecraft if you ever need anyone to talk to during this hard time. Please do send us a message if you need to. Krysyyjane9191 is a wonderful person to talk to as well (Don't be afraid of messaging a Staff member to just chat). Master Bob, My hope is with you on this.
    Patr1cV, 607 and BobTheTomato9798 like this.
  4. I hope to see you soon as well. I'm sorry to hear about your predicament. :( It sounds quite painful, and it's a shame that anyone should have to live with that burden. I wish you good luck with your future health and hope to hear about some good results! :) Nice to see you again.
    Patr1cV and BobTheTomato9798 like this.
  5. Fragments do not feel good, I don't think they know what happiness is. Haha. For a couple months I had lost literally all movement in my arm, I could move my fingers and my hand but anything else was near impossible.That is the main reason for my lack of playing time here is because I only had one arm. Haha.

    The cancerous tumor sits right on top of and right below my shoulder, there were nights I didn't sleep at all due to the pain I was in because of the tumor growing. Osteosarcoma is one of the more aggressive cancers and grows very quickly.
  6. Welcome back :)
  7. Thank you for the update, and sorry to hear the bad news, but the progress sounds promising.
    Welcome back (when you can).
    Bro_im_infinite likes this.
  8. Welcome back...

    Hey, and just in-time too, 1.8 took 300 days and only came out this morning :p
    deathconn likes this.
  9. Glad to hear you are okay and back with us. :)
  10. Thank you all greatly :)
    Sanargama likes this.
  11. welcome back .. hope u r feeling better.
  12. Welcome back Tomato, sorry to hear about what has happened but glad to see you are back with us and are on the mend! :)
    BobTheTomato9798 likes this.
  13. I've missed the tomato. Good to have you back!
    BobTheTomato9798 likes this.
  14. Wow, that sounds bad. I'm currently in a bit of pain myself. :p
    I hope you feel better soon.
    If you don't mind answering, will the chemotherapy cost you your hair?
  15. Yes. I currently have no hair.

    EDIT - let me see if I can find a picture...
    Sanargama and 607 like this.
  16. Sucks that your 9/11 tower got unclaimed ;-;
  17. Welcome back!

    In some ways I can relate to your situation, although a bit different. In February I started having hip pain and then soon after leg pain and finally I was unable to stand for any amount of time without a lot of pain. Doctors told me I might have slipped a disk and that I should take some time off to rest, which I did, but upon returning to work, the pain came right back. Finally a back surgeon told me it was a pinched nerve at l5 and I might need a procedure to have the pressure taken off the nerve. Sent me in for MRI to be sure before surgery. Came back that my back had been broken for many years and the disk was completely gone! bone on bone and pressing on the nerve. I have been complaining of back pain for years, but this finally explained it. No disk left to repair, so they had to do a fusion with bone grafts and screws into my spine.

    Life has it's way of taking your plans and turning them on their head. I am improving quickly due to my youth (I'm only 38, which is young for this type of operation) and recently returned to work and can even tie my own shoes again, although I still have another 6 months before I really expect to be back to my regular self. Come to think of it, I should be even better considering I have been living with a broken back for about 10 years (nobody really knows how long cuz I never had an xray before)

    I hope that you are improving well and I know how difficult it can be to face such a potentially life changing issue. We are both lucky to have such good health care to support and hopefully cure us. This will make us stronger, what can life possibly throw our way on a normal day that compares with what you've just been through.

    Hope to be seeing you around a lot more now and keep getting better.
    Sanargama, 607, mba2012 and 1 other person like this.
  18. Holy moly! I can't even begin to imagine how that must of felt! I'm glad you are doing much better and are recovering quickly!

    I will have my surgery to remove the tumor in about 6-7 weeks and the will have to put a rod in my arm and do some bone grafting to replace all the bone that the tumor "ate" away.
    Sanargama, CyborgTed and Hashhog like this.
  19. Sounds like you will be knowing a lot about how it feels all too soon. It wasn't so terrible, they had me so drugged up the first couple days that I didn't feel much of anything and then it got better pretty quick to the point that I stopped needing pain meds after 3 weeks and it's just stiff usually, but only hurts if I do a lot in a day when I should still be resting a lot. The hard part was the waiting and not knowing what was going to happen. Once I had a plan and a goal, it was easier to focus on that than feeling afraid.

    I noticed that your res was reclaimed, so if you are wanting some building materials or tools or anything, let me know and I will dig into some of my personal stock so you have stuff to play with while you are on the mend.
    607 likes this.
  20. You the real MVP. Hope you feel better, four people in my family have had cancer so I know how tough these times can be.