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Thread: When not talking furniture.....

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default When not talking furniture.....

    I love to ride motorcycles and help on cancer hotlines.

    My pal Bobby (who helps ADMIN here because he knows what he's doing with the computers and forums) and I just got back from the AMA Vintage Races in Ohio two weeks ago. We had (8) of us total ride there, and though we are from all over the East Coast we meet up for these rides about once a year. This trip, our plan was to avoid interstates and take the swoopiest, curviest roads we could find for 400 miles. That's the only way to go and its amazing what you find and see when linking up a hundred small county roads together and avoiding the big highways. Not sure if I enjoy the ride or the camadrie the most...probably both! Bobby and I like to strike out on the gravel and dirt road when we can as well, but for this trip everyone else was mounted on pure street bikes and they're not too happy when we try to take them off the blacktop.

    I'm a Stage IV Carcinoid Cancer Survivor. Had a rough go of it in 2005/6, and its a life-changing experience. Not one day goes by in my life that I don't marvel that I'm cancer-free thanks to the amazing talents of Dr. Michael Choti at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, who saved my life when the doctors and surgeons in Virginia told me to begin to plan for my death. I "Pay It Foward" by volunteering these days for various cancer hotlines (R.H. BLOCH Foundation and Caring for Carcinoid Foundation) to help others keep the faith in fighting a deadly disease. While helping with furniture questions is fun, my passion is showing cancer patients who have lost hope that there can be a way out of the tunnel if they are willing to fight and move out of their comfort zones. One of life's all time best feel-good moments is to have someone call you who is in total despair and darkness to seek you out for help. You nurture them, advise them, and coach them, and then a few months later call you back with joy in their voice and say 'You were right, I'm cancer-free now!"

    -Duane

    P.S. Heres a photo of my pals in the parking lot ready to set off on Day 2 of our trip
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    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  2. #2
    Bobby Guest

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    Here's a pic of Duane on his 12GS



    I managed to find some dirt and mud on the way home after I lost those turkeys on street bikes .



    (yes, I did ride thru this)



  3. #3
    Join Date
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    Thumbs up Small World

    Duane,

    I read you post about riding and your challenges with carcinoid with great interest. It seems that the cancer world touches us all in so many ways.
    Last year (just about the time you first met my wife, Anna) she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We too had a difficult year but she is doing fine now and we just celebrated her first cancer free year. The world is even smaller since I spent my entire career (36 years) working for a major pharmaceutical company. Much of that time was spent in research and development of cytotoxic agents (sometimes refered to as cancer drugs, but more realistically cell poisons) to treat many types of cancer. Included in this arsenal were mitomycin, cisplatin, etopocide, taxol, platinol and a host of hundreds of others that never made it to the market. I don't know if any of these were used in your treatment but I do know of the joy you describe when you are able to help someone through their trauma. I too can look at the legacy of my 36 years and know that in my small way I too have made a difference in sick people's lives. It's this joy that in some ways soothes the pain of losing someone to cancer or having to share in the pain and suffering of a difficult treatment. So congratulations Duane on your victory and just keep riding and "playing it forward"

    Cuse69

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by cuse69 View Post
    Duane,

    I read you post about riding and your challenges with carcinoid with great interest. It seems that the cancer world touches us all in so many ways.
    Last year (just about the time you first met my wife, Anna) she was diagnosed with breast cancer. We too had a difficult year but she is doing fine now and we just celebrated her first cancer free year. The world is even smaller since I spent my entire career (36 years) working for a major pharmaceutical company. Much of that time was spent in research and development of cytotoxic agents (sometimes refered to as cancer drugs, but more realistically cell poisons) to treat many types of cancer. Included in this arsenal were mitomycin, cisplatin, etopocide, taxol, platinol and a host of hundreds of others that never made it to the market. I don't know if any of these were used in your treatment but I do know of the joy you describe when you are able to help someone through their trauma. I too can look at the legacy of my 36 years and know that in my small way I too have made a difference in sick people's lives. It's this joy that in some ways soothes the pain of losing someone to cancer or having to share in the pain and suffering of a difficult treatment. So congratulations Duane on your victory and just keep riding and "playing it forward"

    Cuse69
    You are SO right on that one. Cancer seems to be all around these days but the good news is treatment regimens are getting better and better every day. I'm glad to hear that Anna is doing well and you've reached the 1 year mark. . Hope you celebrated!

    I was all surgery, pretty advanced. Had 60% of my liver removed, 18" of my small intestine, gall bladder and half a dozen lymph nodes. But I'm at the 2.5 year mark and hitting on all cylinders so I'm a happy camper about that. Slowed me down lifting furniture for about 8 weeks post-op....as you can probably imagine.

    Cancer is some really scary stuff. You get THAT phone call from your doctor or nurse and then your world turns upsidedown. The worst time is when you first learn of it, and are confused, anxious, and scared. That eventually evolves into a form of grim determination and grit but the whole ordeal certainly changes your life and those around you.

    Thanks for sharing, L.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    I'll share this cancer story while we're on the topic....one of my adventures with the disease.

    With my particular kind of cancer, which had invaded my liver, I had to take a drug made by Novartis called Sandostatin. It requires 4 injections a day, six hours apart, and you have to self-inject. I was absolutely horrified by this news in my Oncologists office, as I have always had a severe needle-phobia since I was 2 years old. I whispered to my wife in the doctors office "I'll never be able to do that!". Not only shots....but I have to give them to myself and four times a day? Worse than any medival torture imagineable. I was stunned.

    However, I had made myself a promise to do whatever it takes to fight this cancer, and never flinch no matter what was thrown at me. So it was with grim determination I came in for injection training and to pick up my syringes and medicine a week later, my wife by my side.

    I can hack it.

    First stop, the Pharmacy to pick up all the supplies. They fill my order and hand me over a huge white shopping bag nearly full to the top. I look inside and see.....over 150 loose syringes. OH MAI GAWD. My knees shake, literally. My wife encourages me with "You can do it".

    We get up to the doctor's office and I am a jangle of nerves. Ready to bolt. I had a very nice, very patient nurse who was going to show me and my wife how to do the injections. We went slow, steady and watched a movie on it, then practiced on some blocks of foam rubber. I was doing OK for the most part until she said "I think you got it, now lets see if you can inject yourself".

    PANIC.

    I don't mean simple nerves, I need to get out of here NOW!!! I tell my wife and the nurse "No, I can't do it!.....I need to leave!" Shotphobia has taken over and I am shutting down.

    The nurse says "Rather than leave, lets just take a break, Mrs. Collie will you join me in a cup of coffee down the hall?" They both leave and I'm in the room with my thoughts and all those damn syringes. I soon get angry with myself and remind myself that I have to do this to stay alive and slow the cancer. Failure is not an option - I have committed to the fight and this is one of the battles.. They return (clever of them to leave and let me work this out in my mind) and I'm good to go. I can do this.

    The nurse says, "Shall we watch the movie one more time and do some more practice?"

    By this time I've been in this training room for two hours and there is nothing left to learn. I say "No, lets just do it". I grab my loaded syringe, aim for my prepped site atop my thigh and plunge it forcefully in! Inject and withdraw. DONE!!! What a relief!! I ask the nurse how I did and she said "Well, you don't have to pound that shot in like you just did, you can be a little more gentle and it won't hurt so much." Heh, I was a little worked up.

    Make it home and as I come in the door with my bag of supplies and my two kids (ages 14 and 11) what to know what it was like and how did they teach me? They were very curious about giving ones self a shot!

    I told them: "It was easy, we had baby Golden Retriever puppies to use for shot practice". The look of instant horror on their faces was priceless..... "YOU PRACTICED ON BABY PUPPIES!?!?". I kept a straight face for as long as I could.

    Well, that was the end of my shot-phobia. I was able to do the injections pretty easily from them on. Now they and blood draws don't bother me in the least - and I no longer have to do the daily injections. Yahooo.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  6. #6
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    Smile

    Duane

    What a great story. Have you ever thought about putting togrther a collection of your unique experiences with your treatment, everything from the beginning to now with your own lessons and reflections. It could be a best seller or maybe just a great journal for some others to lean on or grow by. This could be another way to play it forward!!

    Thanks for sharing yourself through your experiences.

    Cuse69

  7. #7
    todd_kachadoorian Guest

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    Great story!! I am a true believer in that one reaps what one sows. You were given another shot at life and you have taken that opportunity to not only live life to it's fullest but use your enthusiam and zest to bring others up and provide hope in the face of despair. I wish you nothing but continued health and happiness. In the end, we are remembered by HOW we lived our lives not by WHAT we are in life.

  8. #8
    McCall Guest

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    Yup great story, are you saying you are only 36? Heck you are younger then my two oldest children. Here I pictured you as some old guy my age! [which by the way is 56, I married and had first child at 16]
    By all means continued good health to you!

  9. #9
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    36? Oh no, not me. I think Bobby is 36....but I'm 54! Ugh. I hate getting old. Everything starts not working as good as it used to. And reading glasses are pure torture.

    But then the alternative of not aging is no good, either.
    Duane Collie
    Straight answers from thirty-six years in the business.
    My Private Messages are Disabled - Please ask questions here in the forum.

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    I just turned 61 last week, and as you say the alternative is not very attractive. Most days everything works OK it just takes a little longer to warm up the parts.

    Cuse69

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