{"id":8844,"date":"2020-10-06T16:19:28","date_gmt":"2020-10-06T21:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/?p=8844"},"modified":"2020-10-06T16:40:03","modified_gmt":"2020-10-06T21:40:03","slug":"honest-thoughts-of-a-sarcoma-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/honest-thoughts-of-a-sarcoma-warrior\/","title":{"rendered":"Honest Thoughts of a Sarcoma Warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Karen<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Essay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Karin Ryan<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today I am alive. A little sad and a bit depressed, but happy to be alive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having sarcoma is different. It\u2019s the sabre tooth-version of the mountain lion. It\u2019s the deadliest of all the poison snakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless you have it, you don\u2019t get it and you never will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t try to encourage me with \u201cYou got this\u201d\u2014because I don\u2019t want it. I never asked for it in the first place. And saying \u201cYou can beat this,\u201d makes me want to throw up some days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just need you to acknowledge that maybe I can\u2019t, and that possibility just totally sucks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of all, don\u2019t say some trite, meaningless little words and walk away. Hold my hand and let me cry. I just need to do that sometimes because it\u2019s really hard some days. Not all days\u2014but maybe today is one of those tough days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hug me really tight (you won\u2019t catch my cancer, honest). Hug me every time like it\u2019s the last time because it might really be the very last time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This beast is cruel and vicious\u2014and so very unpredictable. You never know what it\u2019s got in mind, or when it\u2019s going to bite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Karin Ryan lives in the beautiful Northwest with her husband\/childhood sweetheart. They have one adult son and lots of fur babies. Karin was diagnosed with sarcoma, a very rare cancer in July 2019. The 100-plus subtypes of sarcoma make up less than 1% of the cancers diagnosed worldwide, making research and treatment options very limited. While her subtype of MPNST is not considered curable (most sarcomas are not), she is currently NED (no evidence of disease), since her second sarcoma surgery in November 2019. She never misses an opportunity to share her advice:<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, always pursue treatment with a sarcoma specialist at a sarcoma center. (https:\/\/sarcomaalliance.org\/<\/a> is a great resource)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Then get a second, or even a third opinion. Pursue these opinions as if your life depended on them because it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Insist on genetic testing; this will help the sarcoma team identify the best treatment options. Don\u2019t pay attention to survival rates or statistics. Research is limited because this form of cancer is so rare, and that translates into scant information and skewed statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Use social media to find others who know what you\u2019re going through. Facebook has several sarcoma groups, some even dedicated to specific subtypes. Remember Jesus loves you and will be by your side on every single step of your journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Image Credit:<\/strong> Patricia and Friends<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may also like:<\/strong> Faticharan and the Shoes of Faith<\/a><\/em>
here at FaithHope& Fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honest Thoughts of a Sarcoma Warrior<\/em>
by Karin Ryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Essay By Karin Ryan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHonest Thoughts of a Sarcoma Warrior | Faith Hope & Fiction<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/faithhopeandfiction.com\/content\/honest-thoughts-of-a-sarcoma-warrior\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honest Thoughts of a Sarcoma Warrior | Faith Hope & 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