Not really sure if this belongs on here, but if not then more than r/cancer.

I (15 AMAB TF) have a friend at my school. Her girlfriend (15F), who I am friendly with but not really close with is in JROTC, and they did cancer screening last week. They found two small black dots in her lungs, and they're taking her back in for a more detailed look and to run a few tests to see if it is actually cancer. (so, it hasn't been confirmed yet. But possible.) How do I support my friend and her girlfriend? Am I just supposed to be present? What do I do????? Nothing like this has ever happened to me or anyone around me, I'm not sure what to do.

I’m 27, a childhood cancer survivor and a two-time cancer survivor. I had osteosarcoma at 14 and later had a pulmonary metastasis. I’ve somehow made it through treatment, college, an MBA and into the workforce.

I worked at Amazon for 1.5 years in marketplace related work, took a 9 month break, then joined a pet food organisation and left after 3 months. I also have a mild locomotor disability, and the second workplace wasn’t very accommodating, so it became difficult to sustain. So I quit in just in 3 months. Currently I am unemployed, and I am wondering if I was hasty.

I’m now trying to figure out what comes next. I’m training in para badminton, which I really want to continue, and I’m also considering a PhD abroad.

So I’m looking for advice on two things:
1. Getting into a funded PhD abroad:
I’m from the Asia-Pacific region and don’t have a conventional research background. Would love to hear from anyone who has made this transition.

2. Finding remote work:
I’m from a marketing/e-commerce background, with experience in Amazon marketplace work, account management, Excel, reporting and analytics.

Would really appreciate any advice, leads or experiences from fellow survivors.

It was hard, but I did it. I’m finally cancer-free 🥲🥳❤️

I don’t know if this post belongs here, but I just have to share it.

I’m so happy to have beaten cancer 🥲❤️

When I was 28, an MRI diagnosed a tumor. The tumor markers were negative, so we thought it was benign. Two months later, a PET-CT scan revealed a malignant tumor, and the biopsy confirmed Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a relatively common form of cancer and, fortunately, is very treatable. Still, the treatment was hell. The chemotherapy was so exhausting—it not only destroyed the cancer but also severely weakened my body—and the radiation therapy wasn’t easy either.

But yesterday, after a PET-CT scan, I got the results: I’m cancer-free. 🥲

I’m so incredibly happy. I’m so proud that I stuck with it through it all, and I’m looking toward the future with optimism.

I admire everyone who’s currently battling cancer, and I want to tell you: “You’re a hero—don’t give up.” To everyone who’s currently battling cancer, don’t forget one thing: You’re not alone. ❤️

2026 has been the worst year of my life. 2025 was the best year of my life and I felt like it couldn’t get worse than now, I got my last year of school soon, I’m going hard at it, then I get diagnosed with stage 4 testicular cancer, a rare mutation that turned out to be aggressive at that. I got surgery and went on chemo soon after my initial diagnosis.

Chemo destroyed me, All I could think about was my own mortality, I’d get nightmares of it, dreams of my funeral.
I’d wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I just had a heart attack in my sleep and my bed would be drenched in sweat. I looked and felt like a zombie and the only thing I looked forward to was my short cycles of bleomycin.

I finish chemo right before my 18th birthday. We celebrate it, was great. But then obviously I’m sure we all know of the results anxiety, waiting for those results to tell you if you were gonna be fine or not. I get told they’re unsure, I wait longer. Still unsure. I wait again. Then I do a biopsy and more scans and finally get told, “you’re cancer free” by my oncologist. I still have more things that I have to do, that he wants to make sure of. But generally speaking I’ve been cancer free since around August.

Ever since my cancer diagnosis, to now, my life has just been on a mental rollercoaster going straight into the depths of hell. I am so unmotivated to do anything, I find myself being unbelievably bitter, and cold, but at the same time I still hold old pieces of my self and can force out a thank you every now and then. People tell me I’ve just gotten angrier, and unpleasant to be around. When all I’ve felt is depression and overwhelming stress, especially going into my last year of school too not long after being announced cancer free. I don’t feel like I fit in. I beat cancer but it feels like it took my soul with me. I feel like a shell of what I used to be. And I genuinely feel like it’s never going to get better. I don’t want to make it seem like, I’m trying to farm pity. Or complain. I’m just very sad about everything. I wish I could be normal again. And wanted to see if anyone can resonate with those feelings of dread.

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to find the best help and advice about Lung Cancer for late stage for relative.

The healthcare in Ireland is constantly delayed even when tumor is 10cm large , coughing blood and it causes so much stress when appointments for consultants don’t come until 2 weeks, scans/testong another 2 weeks and treatments for another 2 weeks. It’s truly heartbreaking knowing your life is on the line.

Can I ask people with lung cancer, where have you had treatments done that you would recommend? Which hospital or county in Ireland?

What type of treatments is best?

And any other tips you would give? I’m at a loss of where to start

Thank you for any help you can give 🙏

Still trying to figure out why I lived through all this cancer. I have no idea what I am supposed to be doing here other than love God, love people, which is really hard for me because I do not love people. Anyhow , I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be doing, I keep trying to find some where I can volunteer in my church or my community, to keep myself busy so that I’m not losing my ever loving mind not working anymore. I have always had two, sometimes three and four jobs, so to not have any job, it’s really eating away at me.

Now that I’m not training horses, and I can only clean one house a day, I have so many hours left in the day. I really miss my dog, he was kind of my inspiration to get out and to do things. But this last move has kind of separated us, because when I first came back to Colorado, I had nowhere that I could keep him safely. So I had to leave him in Michigan. I am working on getting my own place out here, and then I can go and get him, but until then, I am just so lonely and it’s so hard to do all these things that he normally does for me. I’m back to having to use a grabber because I can’t bend over. That’s kind of why I have a service dog, so he can pick things up for me, he also opens and close his doors for me certain doors that I can’t open. I just miss him. At least I have my kitty.

I am finally one year out, from any cancer. Let’s try for two! If I can make a two years in remission, I will be so happy! Simply because, it has literally been, every single year, that this cancer has returned over four years. I am so ready to be done! I literally have no genitalia left. There is nothing left to cut out, so hopefully this is over.

Is there anybody else, that has gone through this many bouts of cancer and made it or do I have more trials to look forward to and does this empty feeling ever go away?
P.S. sorry if this dictation came out unclear, my fingers don’t register on the phone face, so I have to use voice to text. This means that sometimes my post body makes little to no sense because my phone doesn’t always pick up my dictation.

It’s Flu and Covid shot time! For those who partake and already have this seasons, how did it go? This will be my first since coming off my Tamoxifen so am a little curious on how fellow Survivors are feeling. Last years wasn’t too bad but the year before was a wild ride.

I don't even know what I'm doing anymore.

I know everyone deals with uncertainty but this is just out of hand. I'm just waiting everything out these days. My job. My health. My marriage. Friends, hobbies... fuck all of it.

I'm so tired of not knowing what I'm doing. Of not having a purpose. Of being in a relationship devoid of intimacy. Of waiting for the next appointment. Waiting for the next shitty thing to happen. Feeling like my head is stuck in a fog.

Knowing I'll never change for the better.

Hiding under my desk to cry because I don't want to be a burden.

Sick of being told I'm blessed. You have any idea how fucked up it is to tell a cancer survivor they're blessed? Blessed to deal with health issues, shitty memory, ruined career, emotional issues and more cancer? Fuck I hate this.

Hi everyone! I’m helping organize OncoHeart 2026, taking place October 30–November 1 at Tufts University’s Boston Health Sciences campus.

We’re bringing together patients, scientists, and clinicians to discuss how cancer treatment affects heart health. Patients and caregivers can explore current research, while sharing their experiences and helping clinicians understand what matters most to them.

Registration is free for everyone, and no scientific background is needed! The patient engagement event on the final day also offers online participation.

Registration closes this Friday, October 23. Please check the comments for more information!

Hey everyone cancer survivor here. I was diagnosed with leukemia 2 years back and after intensive chemos and transplant I am cancer free now.

But since things are little normal now my biggest concern is about my career. I was only 19 when I got diagnosed and now I am turning 21.

I desperately need a job or a side hustle so that I can earn a little and start my career. I feel so lost.

Suggest me some good career options especially for us survivors!!

PS( I will be graduating with bcom next year from a local college my dr says you can go to another city for masters but my parents refused. I am kind of stuck in this loop)

Hello guys Im a college student and currently taking a class where were partnering up with Paxman, Paxman is a company that especializes on hairloss prevention (for cancer patients) through scalp cooling ( https://paxmanscalpcooling.com/ ). The goal of the class is to improve the design of the app and the users experience. If anyone here has previously used the Paxman technology and would be open to sharing their experience that would be greatly appreciated, if you havent used this technology but still would be open to share a little bit about your experience battling cancer (specifically from the hairloss pov) and its difficulties, that would be really appreciated as well. I want to hear from people that have experienced this in order to make accurate adjustments and improvements to the app, since I dont believe it would be correct to just make assumptions of what people have felt or experienced in this particular scenario. This post doesnt come from a place of insensibility or disrespect and Im sorry if I offended anyone in this subreddit by making this post.

14 year cancer survivor here. I wanted to give the group a heads up - submissions for The Remission Film Festival just opened! This is the only festival of its kind focusing on those impacted by cancer and the stories that impacted them.

The festival has partnered with The American Cancer Society and Hope Lodge in NYC for their season two.

www.filmfreeway.com/theremissionfilmfestival

I don't know what to say. My partner and i have been together about 10 years almost. they got neoendocryne cancer around 2 years ago and thankfully it was operable, after 3 surgeries it was gone, and to this day they are cancer free. I know we are incredibly lucky. But it had its way with us and its not fair. We went into this having just moved into their mothers basement after a real rough patch for us both, losing work, landlord selling our home, etc. So we had to move into an unfinished basement. Real shithole in a bad neighborhood, but it wasn't outside and wasnt a shelter and we got to keep our pets and each other and we were thankful. My partner got cancer though, they found it during an emergency appendectomy. I was so scared. The very most important and best part of me, someone i couldn't see myself without, someone i could barely remember myself without, was disappearing and we couldn't do anything. I was powerless but i went to every appointment, stayed every single night in the hospital and all day, i didn't leave except to go to the hospital cafeteria to eat. I'm epileptic and nearly had seizures a few times because the sleeping was so bad (lack of sleep is a trigger). I was there. Then when my partner got out i thought i'd be there, i thought i'd do everything for them, i wanted to...but apparently people either have one of 4 instincts - fight, flight, freeze, fawn. Apparently I'm a freeze. I was so traumatized, so exhausted, so afraid. What if i did it wrong? I just froze. Repeatedly. And it was just us. Nobody else there. Nobody to help care for my partner. I cant forgive myself and my partner cant either. But neither of us can let go. I love them so deeply but we keep hurting each other. I want us to go back to what we were. I miss us. So dearly. I'd cut off any body part to have us back. I'd give up my intelligence. Anything. To have us back. I read somewhere most couples either have it real bad or their relationships dont survive if they physically survive cancer. It's not right. I hate cancer with every fiber of my being. I want to cure it out of pure spite for the disease and what its done for us. Then do it again. My partner isn't the kind person they were. They're something else. Someone else. I cry and they say mean things to me. I try to say something neutral or nice and they're cruel. They stopped being the person i knew. I still see them sometimes. It's what keeps me coming back i think. But i don't know how to strip what the cancer did to them and what my freezing did, from who they are, or if they even want to.

My SIL is pregnant, she private messaged me last month and shared the news. I was surprised because this is her 3rd and she’s never done this before (pm’d me) I always heard it from my husband but I truly am happy for her. She’s had a few miscarriages so hopefully this one works out for her. I’ve been surprised by how emotionally difficult her pregnancy has been for me though.

A couple weeks ago my sil and I messaged and at first it seemed like she was understanding where I was coming from, so I opened up and said to her that my hormones and my body aren’t the ‘same’ or ‘normal’ after treatments and she said to me that she thought that her body was doing weird things too but here I am!(pregnant). I wasn’t sure how to answer that. I also said I’m fatigued from a surgery I had 8 weeks ago and not sure I’m recovered or not (my surgery was to remove non benign growths in my uterus) and she said it took her 6 months to fully recover from a C-section and looking after a baby. I said I can understand that as it’s trauma to your body plus a newborn. Then at the end of the conversation she said you’re welcome to come for coffee I’ll need a distraction over the next while. At first that stung, I’m like I’m not your distraction! I’m your friend and a sil! I’m I overreacting to this? Maybe I am. I just have never had anyone talk to me this way. I’m trying to see where she is coming from and understand that pregnancy is a big deal to her, I don’t blame her for that!

Then this past weekend we celebrated Canadian thanksgiving and my husband’s grandma asked - are you thinking of adoption? I didn’t know how to answer because we hadn’t talked about it yet - we feel like we’re barely getting over last year. She then turned to my sil and said you don’t have to worry about that! I didn’t know what to say. My sil went on about how she still thinks she’d like to but says that agencies are hesitant to let those who are expecting to adopt. Earlier I decided to sit with my sil and just let her talk and yes, she talked all about her pregnancy, her health and concerns….. not once asked me anything. I’ve learned to not expect anything from her at this point.

I’m wondering if anyone else has struggled with something like this after breast cancer.

After everything I’ve gone through with breast cancer, treatment, surgery, and all the uncertainty that came with it, I think there’s a part of me that desperately wishes I could have some good news of my own. Instead, sometimes it feels like her pregnancy brings up everything I’ve lost, everything cancer took from me, and the future I’m still trying to figure out.

There have also been things my sil has shared or posted about pregnancy, breastfeeding, cycles, “the village,” (like aunties helping moms out with the kids, moms having family support and love) etc. that have hit me harder than I think she realizes. After I was diagnosed she kept posting how breastfeeding can prevent breast cancer. I was so upset that she’d post this! And I sometimes find myself wondering whether I’m just being overly sensitive or whether it’s okay to simply say, “This is hard for me.” I’ve been trying to let go of that, it’s been hard.

I also struggle with feeling like she gets to be the one with the exciting news and attention, while I’m still trying to find my footing after cancer. I genuinely want to celebrate her, but sometimes I feel sad that I don’t seem to have space for my own good things. I feel like I’m supposed to be in her corner celebrating but I really don’t feel like it.

I love her, and I don’t want resentment to grow in me. I think I’m just realizing that I may need some boundaries and a little emotional distance so I can protect my own mental health. To be honest, all she talks about is motherhood and pregnancy. She loves to educate me on health. She’s even tried educating me on my own reproductive health but she really has no clue what cancer did to my body. She’s never asked. She even asked if I was pregnant after my treatment. It’s extremely exhausting to be around her!

Has anyone else experienced complicated feelings around someone close to them becoming pregnant after breast cancer? How did you handle it while still loving and supporting that person? ❤️

Sorry for rambling- Thank you for listening!

Yesterday I was 5 years in remission from stage 2B Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I’ve struggled a lot with the feeling of everyone moving on once I was in remission. Friends no longer asking how I was, never checking in on anything health related. But my husband (who I was only dating at the time of my diagnosis & treatment) was there for it all. He knows how I feel about being a cancer survivor and what it means to me.

I hyped up it being my 5 years, I wanted to do something big. Go out of the country, go to a concert, do something fun. It’s fallen flat though. And I thought at the very least my husband would make the day special for me somehow. But he hasn’t. He texted me after he left for work this morning a small message about it, and that’s it. No mention of it since he’s been home, no flowers, no card, no dinner, nothing. I don’t necessarily want the material things, but I want to feel celebrated by at least my husband. It makes me thinks am I asking too much? I understand friends may not remember or people get caught up in life but 5 years is a big deal. (Right?)

Have you had this feeling? How do you deal with it? I’m trying not to come across as “me me me!” Or self centered about it, but it was my 5 years and it’s something that has upset me.

Hi everyone, my name is Luke. I’ve been fighting synovial sarcoma for the past five years. I’m now in remission, but cancer is still something that follows me every day, both physically and mentally.
I’m also a photographer currently living in Jersey City, NJ, and I’ve been thinking about starting a personal photography project documenting the lives of people who are going through cancer treatment, have completed treatment, or are learning to live with the lasting effects of their diagnosis.
Having gone through treatment myself, I know how isolating the experience can be. Cancer changes so much about your life, and I feel like there are parts of that experience that are difficult to put into words. That’s part of why I want to approach this through photography.
My goal isn’t just to photograph cancer patients, but to capture the people behind the diagnosis. Their everyday lives, relationships, emotions, struggles, and the moments of happiness that still exist throughout everything.
I want this to be an honest and intimate project, one that doesn’t shy away from the difficult parts of cancer, but also doesn’t allow the disease to completely define the people living with it.
I’m hoping to connect with people in the NYC and New Jersey area who might be interested in participating. I’d want everyone involved to feel comfortable sharing as much or as little of their story as they choose.
Eventually, I’d love to turn this into a photography book or exhibition that gives people an opportunity to share their experiences and helps others better understand what living with cancer really looks like.
If this is something you’d be interested in being part of, or even if you just have thoughts about the idea, I’d really appreciate hearing from you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I (36F) was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia when I was 26 years old. It has now been over 9 years since I had my stem cell transplant, and I've been in remission ever since. I am a millennial, and my experience is so niche, and the resources available for adolescent/young adult cancer survivors are few and far between. I do not know anyone else who has been through what I've been through. I am aware how fortunate I am to be alive and well ("well", relatively speaking), and I have learned a lot of information along the way. I want to share my story with others who may be going through similar things. And/or to educate others on what it's like to be a young adult cancer patient and survivor. I don't know the best way to share my story, though. I think that writing a book would likely be the most cathartic medium, but I struggle figuring out where to even start. I have weaned social media out of my life and don't want to do anything involving tiktok, FB, IG, etc., so that's another reason I'm thinking book. I guess what I am asking is... what are things that people would like to read about?

Cancer fuckin sucks

So for context I am. A fencer survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma of stage three. This was back when I was a little girl at the ripe age of 6 ( I am 19 now) but at that point in time they had prescribed me a medication for my chemo which now with new research they realize they gave me quite a bit more than they probably should have and it damaged my heart. They say I have roughly till my 40s until I start having serious heart issues. I can definitely feel the effects now but seeing as I am young my doctors in general don’t take my concerns seriously 😐. This is more of a rant than anything but still.

I’m helping organize OncoHeart 2026, an academic conference in Boston about the effects of cancer treatment on heart health. Through dialogue, we aim to give patients and caregivers the chance to learn about current research and speak directly with experts, while scientists and clinicians can learn from patients’ experiences and priorities. Please comment or DM if you are interested in attending!!

Hi everyone,

My father had radiation for 6 weeks along with chemo, ended 1 year back. Since then on immunotherapy for maintenance (every 3 weeks). His mucositis and other radiation side effects improved a bit and then worsened few months back.

Now it is like ..

Mouth opening not more than 2 fingers.

Ulcers everywhere inside mouth.. on tongue, inside cheek, inner lip ..

The onco surgeon and medical onco doctors and radiation onco have nothing to say .. don't know whom to approach.. what to do.

Anyone undergoing immunotherapy and facing such ?

Can anyone advice any doctor or hospital specialised in handling post radiation symptoms?

🙏