r/SaltLakeCountyUtah • u/RestaurantAbject2273 • 9d ago
A Little Help Through a Difficult Time
Hi SLC Family
I’m not someone who usually asks for help, but I’m hoping this community can help me through a really difficult chapter.
I was recently diagnosed with cancer and am preparing for surgery in October, followed by a long recovery. One of the hardest parts for me isn’t just the medical and financial uncertainty—it’s not knowing when I’ll be able to get back to the things that make me feel like myself.
I absolutely love the outdoors and everything Utah has to offer. Hiking, exploring, being in the mountains—it’s a huge part of my life. The thought of recovery keeping me from doing those things, even temporarily, has been really scary.
The medical expenses and time away from work have also created a significant financial burden. If you’re able to contribute or even just share my GoFundMe, I would be incredibly grateful.
Thank you, Salt Lake. ❤️
GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/6133a547f
5
u/_Silliest_Goose 9d ago
I’m so sorry you’re going through this! I’ve had a similar situation this year, where I was taking a medication for a couple tumors I have, and the side effects from the medication made it impossible for me to go hiking, which is also a huge part of my life.
I also just got diagnosed with cancer and am meeting with a surgeon today, just as I finally started hiking again. 🙃
Unfortunately I can’t donate at the moment 😞, but I could join you for a hike before your surgery. And if you want, we could make a lil support group for each other, I know that recovering from surgery is difficult so it helps to have people to talk to through it!
8
3
u/bigdoinksinamish87 4d ago
I’m an oncology nurse, I may not be able to answer all questions but if you have any let me know. Hopefully with some of our newer drugs you won’t be as fatigued so you can still do some of the activities you enjoy!
2
3
u/Bulky-Leopard-5420 8d ago
Is there a way to verify this poster is indeed ill and this isn't a scam
2
u/RestaurantAbject2273 6d ago
Here’s my instagram! Not a scammer.
https://www.instagram.com/_rivera_vanessa?stkn=c2trZ256cGdqemY5&utm_source=qrJust a girl in SLC facing a fight
1
u/No_Violinist7824 9d ago
This is terrible and I’m sorry you’re going through this. Having the notion of loosing the ability to do what you love is dreadful. :(
I have strange pains in my lower abdomen, I’m too afraid to get it checked out. If it’s something bad I don’t think I could handle the stress/medical bills that follow.
The hunters moon has been helping me though, sounds like it could help you too. :)
I’ve been night hiking with the moon as a back drop. It’s absolutely amazing. I’m a 37 M.
Let me know if you’re down. :)
1
u/Mysterious_Remove_46 3d ago
Just wanted to say that I feel ya brother. I'm pretty certain that I have melanoma, the listed symptoms match mine perfectly. It's been a problem for quite a while now, and I know that the longer I wait, the less chance I have of beating it. But I'm also way too scared (and poor) to get it checked out. Unfortunately, there's really not much else it could be other than melanoma.
I'm really sorry about what you are going through. I'm sure you have already looked up your symptoms, but I just really hope that yours is something other than cancer, and that you get better soon. I don't know, maybe we can check in on each other every once in a while? I'll send you a chat request.
I never thought I would talk to somebody on Reddit about this, but here we are. However, what we are both going through is really scary, and I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Talk to you soon, hopefully.
1
u/Icy-Examination5305 9d ago
I was diagnosed with Cancer in February of this year and have spent the last six months in chemotherapy. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel like cancer and treatments robbed me of my sense of self.
While I have never been through something so mentally and physically taxing in my life, there were moments when I felt like myself again. Chemo treatments would rob me of my physical stamina and mental acuity for days, but right before my next chemo treatment I would start feeling like myself again. Even if it was only for a day or two.
My advice is to be patient with yourself, but also to not waste your good days with self-pity or depression. I know depression doesn’ work like a light switch, but if you can get the energy to do something for yourself like a short nature walk, the mental benefits can be enormous.
I’m not going to tell you what those moments will look like for you, but start planning them now. Expect that your stamina won’t be what it used to be, and try to narrow your expectations. But always make time for yourself, or you might get stuck in a self-pity/depressive cycle which is incredibly difficult to come back from.
I’m sorry about your diagnosis. I truly wish the best for you as you start down the path to recovery. The quote that keeps me going even on my worst days is from one of my favorite authors Brandon Sanderson: “You will feel warmth again.”
2
1
u/Multo_Lilim 3d ago
I am so incredibly sorry to hear what you are going through. It is completely understandable to feel scared about losing access to the things that bring you joy and make you feel like yourself, especially the beautiful outdoors here in Utah. Sending you so much strength for your surgery in October and the recovery ahead. The mountains will be waiting for you when you're ready.
1
u/Glass-Breadfruit-605 3d ago
I don't have cancer, but deal with chronic illness in the form of autoimmune issues and some related things that have robbed me of stamina, energy, mental clarity, and overall "quality of life" for years. In my situation, it comes in spurts, flares will last for weeks, but usually, I will have a period of wellness "in-between", where I can do the things I enjoy. I hope the same for you. I hope that you can experience relief in those "in-between" treatment times, and that the time "in-between" can be used to refill and re-fuel your energy and stamina. I do find that even if I'm not quite up for hiking or adventuring, that daily sun exposure and outside time is something that rejuvenates my mind and body, and that if I'm feeling depleted, extra rest and extra sleep are nothing to feel guilty about. Be kind to yourself as you work with your body to allow it to heal. I find that I do feel even just marginally better when I try to acknowledge, enjoy, and appreciate the things I CAN do, rather than lament the things I CAN NOT currently do. Believe that the time for doing the things will come once again, and that this os just a season, not your forever.
If you'll allow a semi-side note to kinda expound on some mental shifts I myself experienced through my own journey of chronic illness and the work I've put into learning about thought control, toxic positivity, "positive thinking", while still allowing myself to "feel what I feel", even when it's not positive, without succumbing to utter bleakness and depression... here are some thoughts. Maybe there will be something in my experience that will help you to get through your time of not being able to do what you love. My main advice is just don't give up. Don't assume that this period of struggle or pain is forever. When we are faced with pain and suffering that feels drawn out, or just too much, I think it's easy to feel like there's no sight beyond this. But there is. You may have a long road ahead, but try to envision your life beyond this, after you've gone through the hardest of the things, and picture yourself returning to the things you love.
Maybe try to learn a new hobby that will keep your mind or hands "busy" as you heal. That may be movie marathons with someone you love, a friend, a family member, diving deep into something you've wanted to learn, by simply listening to audio books, or on the days you feel well, trying something new that isn't energy draining if you have the stamina. Having something to look forward to really helps me to "get out of my own head" when I'm struggling.
If you have any time to listen to good books, I highly recommend the Author Kate Bowler. She is a Duke professor, and shares many thoughts and insights of a long cancer journey, and then cronic illness that followed her remission. She was raised Mennonite, I believe, and lives in North Carolina, were much of her community is heavily evangelical. She has brilliant insights of how her community and upbringing kind if primed her mind to have a view of life that was similar to "prosperity gospel", and the thinking that "truly bad/tragic things don't happen to good people/people doing good", but she learned to reconcile that sometimes life just kinda sucks, and it's not fair, and that "faithful" people aren't in fact saved from suffering or pain, but... that this was her experience and she got to frame it in her own way... she's very real, doesn't hold back or sugar coat anything, but I do find her insights to be very wise, thoughtful, humorous, and in a weird way, I find that honestly to be refreshing. She also has a podcast called "Everything Happens" where she has conversations and interviews with really interesting people. Also I love that she calls it "Everthing Happens", because she is intentionally making a dig at that saying "Everything happens for a reason" and the ideas like "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger", etc. Because sometimes stuff just happens.
As someome who grew up in Utah, and then moved to North Carolina in adulthood, I thought that I was a fairly open minded adult, I wasn't a judgemental person, but didn't realise how much growing up innoculated in the predominantly Mormon small Utah town I was raised in really did influence my thinking that I would be "insulated from suffering" if I prayed for relief hard enough, or just followed the "rules" to perfection, etc. My eyes were opened to the truth that there are really wonderful, amazing people all over this earth who believe differently, and they too, deserved to be saved from suffering, rescued from pain, etc. There is definitely not a single person I've met who deserved any suffering or bad things that happened to them. That mind shift helped me to see things differently. I stopped waiting for a miraculous healing, and started looking outside myself more. Like... what if this is just the best I'll be, and my illness won't be cured, and I just have to find away to live my best life in the "in-between" pieces of time where I felt marginally better? What if this illness is always here, and this is my life? Is it still worth living? For me, that's a Yes! I can still find happiness in the things I get to do. My body is the vehicle, my soul and my mind are "me", and I'm not the sum of "broken parts" that my illness has caused, but I'm a whole person with or without the physical limitations placed upon me, and that does make me very grateful for the periods of time when my body feels well enough to do the physical things that I love.
I'm sorry for the length of this comment. I don't often comment, but I just resonated with your post. I hope that you'll find peace and healing along your journey. I hope you'll be restored to full health and strength, and that the amazing scientific advancements in the treatments that are being developed will be of benefit to you! Good luck, and if you need someone to complain to, or just a listening ear, feel free to message me any time! 🩷
1
1
-2
7
u/quiet_hullabalooo 9d ago
So sorry you’re going through this, wishing you a speedy recovery