This poem shows what it was like for me to be with my bubbly, stubborn, beautiful best friend as I watched her die.
Thomas Palfy, writer-photographer, creator of several Australian travel-photo books contracted lung cancer. He decided not to despair but to create a light-hearted, witty account.
What can be done? The doctor and oncologist advise against any surgery, including minor and radical. Does that mean I have no possibility of a cure? What do I do now?
She does crosswords and puzzles and always wants to find the solution before finishing. Unfortunately, in this particular situation the solution wasn't that easy to work out.
I was a single parent caring for a disabled 16 year old, the only one of my three children still living at home, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994.
All I could say to the doctor was ‘Am I going to die?’ I have 5 boys and my youngest is only 3 - I want to see them grow up.
We all go around with a big smile and say how lucky we are, but the scars are imbedded forever, and only fellow sufferers, survivors, family and friends, will ever know just what we've been through.
I developed bipolar disorder directly due to the loss of my thyroid and I live on a constant regime of hormone pills and doctors visits... but I'm alive... and for that, I am very grateful.
I haven't told many people yet - I can imagine the headlines 'Pastor's wife gets implants!'
Like many people with cancer, Paul was shocked when he was diagnosed. He shares his story about how meditation gave him strength.
I thought of George Costanza from Seinfeld when he was worried about having cancer and was expecting the doctor to say 'Get out of here! Cancer! Are you kidding?!'
My children were both 4 years of age when they were diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
A stomach cancer survivor shares the story of her survival and coping with ongoing complications
All the results indicated the possibility of endometrial carcenoma (Cancer of the Uterus).
My mum was about 38 when she got her first breast cancer...
...has been a long year without our best friend to confide in, but have taken Mum's advice - you just have to move on.
I'd like to share with you a story and poem about my mother's fight with breast cancer.
It's been 3 and a half years and I still cry when I hear the word 'cancer', for you see I had 3rd stage bowel cancer and had nearly all my large bowel removed.
Lynne had stayed awake to speak with her children and for them to hug her and say they loved her...
Six years on, I'm constantly in the misery room that's my loo. I've tried changing my diet so many times - nothing seems to work.
I had absolutely no fears when it came to the subject of cancer. I didn't have time to be dealing with or thinking about mid to old age issues.
My mum always wanted me to go to Australia and study Biotechnoloy, to help those who are sufferring from cancer.
It started with a lousy pain in the kidney area and turned out to be lymphatic cancer.
I was diagnosed with Mesothelioma about 16 months ago. The doctors gave me a life expectancy of between 12 to 18 months but I dont listen to that.
That was my doctor's idea of humour. As I'm just about to turn 62 and still alive and very well it just proves that cancer can be beaten.
I was 28 and in good health. A lovely wife, new house and a 2-and-a-half-year-old son. I awoke from the operation to be told that my right testical had been removed and I had to have follow up ray treatment.
I asked how much time I had and they said, on average, 6 months to 2 years. At the time I had been going to a support group... I was advised to go get another second opinion once again!
Prior to all this, I would have seen a diagnosis of cancer as the end of my life. I'm proof this isn't always so, and my understanding is that there are a lot of people out there just like me.
Well, it all started in January 2008 when I noticed my period hadn't stopped. This continued and I decided to see my GP in February just to get it checked out.
She says she looks ugly but to me she still looks like the lady I fell in love with 14 years ago.
One quote that was especially helpful - "Your body will cope with the treatment and recovery in its own way."
I was diagnosed with what they then thought was Cervical Cancer but after a major hysterectomy the pathology showed something much more sinister...
Just over 2 years ago I was at home on a Saturday night getting ready to go out. In a matter of minutes I went from feeling a bit 'off' to a screaming heap on the floor.
Mum seems to accept she is going to pass, but finds it difficult to accept how. Gasping for breath, her children watching her, changes in her appearance.
I've been fitted with a 'tongue' using the muscle of my calf ... From on now I will only be able to eat pureed food and my speech will be slurred. I wrote this poem and would like to share it with you.
When I was just 4 years old I had cancer in my overies, I had both of them taken out and I survived. I tell you now I am very lucky.
They'd advised me I'd need to have part of my cervix removed, I took it all in, and asked questions that came to mind. Next day I get a call back advising they were now looking into removing my whole cervix!
I am young, But I PROMISE I CAN make a difference! My name is Kasie. I'm 16 years old and a survivor of cancer.
It can't be totally removed as it involves the cavernous sinus, carotid artery, numerous important nerves, facial muscles and sphenoid bone. I've already lost most sight in the right eye and total hearing on the right side.
Each morning I greet the day at the break of dawn, and ponder at the miracle, of the sky's colour as I walk along the foreshore watching the sun rise to its many splendid changes.
At the age of 16 I lost my younger brother to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He was 10 years of age when he had passed. Six months later a school friend who was 16 had passed to from suffering with a brain tumour.
Ever since I can remember my grandma has been affected by cancer. When I was about 4 years old she came back from Florida complaining she couldn't breathe.
As a confirmed workaholic I had few friends and no functioning family - could I do this without support? ... I was being put into hospital later that week ... as I lived in rural Victoria I'd need someone to take me home.
I couldn't for the life of me work out how to unlock the car. I thought this was strange and went inside straight past the wife to my computer to shut it down. I couldn't remember to click on start ...
The Doctor, a tall, warm, brilliant man who I came to admire greatly over the course of my treatment, took a lock of my hair in his hand and said, "I'm sorry, but all this lovely hair is going to go."
Less than 9 months ago I was working, going to the gym most days, playing tennis and planning all the things one does. Life as usual.
Have you ever turned the corner and been surprised by what was there? Well that is what happened with me when I was diagnosed with secondary cancer.
Despite 3 brushes with cancer - of the endometrium, bowel and breast - for the past 5 years all has been well for 'Lucky Lady'.
I wear my scars with pride. They are a reminder that I fought and won a battle for my life ... I'm an avid believer in mammograms. I know early detection is the key to a good prognosis.
"We both stopped work that day and spent the rest of the week doing things together like horseriding and going for drives. It was a strange week - I felt like a warrior going to battle!"
I am the most proud mum in the world, knowing what we've all been through, I only wish they could have some recognition, as they were the trailblazers for the wonderful success rate achieved with Leukaemia
Being diagnosed with cancer at just 23 came as a big shock to me since I thought I had years ahead of me to achieve my life goals...
My husband just didn't understand domesticity and didn't quite know what to do with me. I heard him call my daughter after he'd brought me home and say, ‘Well, I've given Mum a cup of tea. What do I do now?'
It was certainly a shock but, believe it or not, I was quite pragmatic about it. I didn't have a lot of time to play with and I made some fairly quick decisions.
Meet ‘Maria', a 36-year-old woman who was treated for breast cancer 3 ago. "The hardest feeling for me was the feeling of isolation; I was constantly reminded that breast cancer is an older women's disease."
‘Moira' is a 68-year-old woman treated for breast cancer in 2002. "I didn't have any sense of mortality, I just had a sense that I had to get ready for something."
'Leroy' is a 67-year-old man who was treated for prostate cancer 3 years ago.
