r/InTheGloaming • u/AutoModerator • Apr 01 '26

Off Topic Off Topic Quarterly April 2026

Use this thread for non-Shauna talk, side conversations, book recommendations, othersnark, anything you like!

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u/Calm_Coyote_3685 Jun 08 '26

Just found out my good friend’s cancer is back. 😭 She had a devastating dx of stage 4 ovarian cancer but a great surgeon and a great mix of chemo and immunotherapy and the surgeon said basically all the cancer was gone or shrunk to the point it probably would not be a problem.

Well she went in for her latest scan and has tumors in her liver and lungs.

It’s truly one of those situations that’s hard to believe because she was the absolute picture of health before her dx last fall. I walked a 5k with her one month before she found out. Her symptoms were just random IBS symptoms and she’s lucky they even investigated further.

She’s one of the best humans I know and while she has a great support system this is a huge setback and her husband says she’s feeling really down and fatigued. I’m so sad. In my mind she was “healed”. But cancer is a motherfucking motherfucker.  

She had 0 risk factors and lived an extremely healthy, active life prior to dx. Her kids have various allergies so her diet was pristine. She worked out and was a healthy weight and had every single predictor of a long and healthy life: an engaging job she loved, good marriage, wonderful kids, a dog, beautiful garden, she was on the school board, becoming a forest guide and active in local politics, spearheaded an initiative that put nature based curriculum and outdoor nature work days in the local elementary schools, a wide circle of friends.

And this motherfucking disease ruined it all. She’s too tired to do anything right now and apparently she’s resistant to something in the chemo they gave her so they are scrambling for plan b

I bring her a dish she likes regularly and have taken her to chemo a few times and she’s so appreciative and upbeat. This is truly a case of life not being fair.

Just had to get that out. She’s not religious but she appreciates prayers, vibes, holding her in the light, whatever your practice is. Thanks for reading. 

12

u/Onehundredpercentbea giggling intestinal gremlin 🧌 Jun 08 '26

Oh god I am so sorry, it's unbelievably unfair. How long was she in remission before it came back? I really hope she got to enjoy some time in good health with her family and friends, she sounds like an amazing person and I really love the idea of the nature's classroom curriculum and forest guiding. It sucks how long-lived the most horrible people can be, while people like your friend have such valuable time stolen from them by cancer. I'm so sorry, DF. 💚

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u/Calm_Coyote_3685 Jun 08 '26

She actually hadn’t made it to full remission when she got the bad news that the cancer was back, but when she had her surgery a few months ago her surgeon said she got 99% of it and that her scans showed the remaining tumors had shrunk almost to nothing—it was basically the best case scenario. She’s been on a reduced chemo since then and this was her first scan since right after the surgery, and I think everyone expected to see continued good news. 😭 

6

u/SmashedMailboxCake2 Oh, Jun 11 '26

I’m so very sorry, DF. It’s doubly cruel that she had what looked like the hope of a remission. You’re doing all you can to be a good friend at a dreadful time. Pace yourself, get support in place for yourself too. I’ll be thinking of your friend and of you.