GB - Where have you been?

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werner99
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by werner99 »

Thanks for the update about your health.
This is great news. I wish you the best
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Gaybutton
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by Gaybutton »

I haven't posted anything about this recently. I've been through a few cystoscope exams since last I posted and today, August 15, 2022, was the latest. I am still clear of any signs of the cancer returning. The doctor was very pleased with these latest results and so am I. He took me off any further medication and no more should be necessary. He said we can wait 4 months for the next exam and if that one is clear we can wait 6 months after that. If that one is also clear, that will be the end of them and I will be considered cured.

None of this has been any fun, but at the end of the day I have been very fortunate. I never even needed any kind of chemotherapy, radiation, or anything else.

The whole ordeal taught me a lesson and I hope everyone reading this takes heed of it. When you start getting on in years, if something is wrong go and get it checked - immediately. I don't want to have to hear about any more deaths (especially my own) because you didn't. This cancer was caught in its very early stage. I don't think anyone needs me to explain what might have happened if I had put off getting myself checked.

In other words, if something is wrong, don't wait. Get it checked. And I'm definitely glad that is one lesson I did not have to learn the hard way . . .
thewayhelooks
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by thewayhelooks »

I agree with you 100%. And get those wills made out or updated, just in case.
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by Gaybutton »

thewayhelooks wrote: Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:46 pm And get those wills made out or updated, just in case.
Also a living will. Undaunted posted in another topic that Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital provides living wills. You get it in the Customer Service office, right next to the check-in counter. A highly trusted Thai friend was with me at the hospital. We stopped in. It is a two page form to fill out, available both in English and in Thai. It includes witness signatures. It includes your own wishes and also allows you to designate a surrogate to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to make your own. The surrogate needs to sign the form too, to agree to make those decisions. In my case the surrogate will be that highly trusted Thai friend. While I realize there may be a few around here who would love to be in a position to decide whether I go or stay, sorry - you don't get to be my surrogate . . .

You even get to include your preference as to whether you wish to die in the hospital or at home.

You take the form with you, fill it out, get the witness signatures, and return the filled-in form to the Customer Service office. That is where it will be held in case ever needed. The price is free.

I didn't think to ask if the form is valid in other hospitals where you might end up. I would suggest making a couple copies of it and also storing it on you computer. If it comes to that, maybe showing the form to a different hospital will be enough if you couldn't make out a living will at that hospital. I don't know how it works, but I can't imagine it would be necessary to go from hospital to hospital individually to make out living wills. I'll try to remember to ask about that when I turn in my form.
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by windwalker »

I did everything you stated above regarding the Living Will Form and returned it to the hospital. Then they said they needed signed copies of all persons ID/Passports who were signees to the Living Will Form. Why couldn't they have said that when I asked for the Living Will ? TIT
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by Dodger »

windwalker wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:13 pm
I did everything you stated above regarding the Living Will Form and returned it to the hospital. Then they said they needed signed copies of all persons ID/Passports who were signees to the Living Will Form. Why couldn't they have said that when I asked for the Living Will ? TIT
Just imagine how confusing they'll make it after we're dead.

I think I'll ask Jai to staple a copy of my Will to my forehead when I'm dead just to make sure they have it. Better yet, I'll have him print multiple copies and stick them up my ass.
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by Gaybutton »

windwalker wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:13 pm Why couldn't they have said that when I asked for the Living Will ? TIT
Thank you for letting us know that. Nothing was said to me either and there is nothing on the form that says it. I guess you are supposed to somehow just know it or get it through osmosis.

And I won't be at all surprised if I submit the correctly filled forms and the ID/passport copies, but they tell me that isn't enough and they want something more. I actually expect that to happen.

Dodger wrote: Tue Aug 16, 2022 2:46 pm I think I'll ask Jai to staple a copy of my Will to my forehead when I'm dead just to make sure they have it. Better yet, I'll have him print multiple copies and stick them up my ass.
Do you truly believe that will be enough . . . ?
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Re: GB - Where have you been?

Post by Gaybutton »

I've had a few people ask me what the cystoscope exam is like. I'm not going to post any pictures. You can see what it is by looking it up on Google Images. There are also YouTube videos, but I haven't watched any of them.

Don't be frightened of it. It is nowhere near as bad as it looks. It makes you feel as if you have to urinate very badly, but that's all. Just try to relax when the doctor inserts it and starts probing. Don't give in to the urge to resist it. The more relaxed you are the easier it is for the doctor to insert and work with it and the less uncomfortable the process will be for you. If you ever have to have it done, the first one is the worst because even though you might have read up on it, you still don't know what to expect or how it's going to feel.

How long does the procedure take? I'm not sure. First, the length of time it takes may vary for different people and what the doctor finds going on. It seems to take a long time, but I doubt it was actually more than 5 or 10 minutes.

For me one of the worst parts is the nurses disinfecting the area before the doctor proceeds. I'm not the least bit embarrassed by the nurses seeing my private parts. First, it's nothing they don't see every day. And especially at my age, if there is something attractive about it for them, then they've got something really wrong and are in need of intensive psychological therapy . . .

The problem is the disinfecting process. It is cold - very cold.

The other worst part is the aftermath. You're going to have burning urination for the next two or three days. It has never lasted longer than that for me. How soon after the procedure does the burning sensation start? Immediately - but only when you urinate.

And make sure you have good insurance. Otherwise you're going to have to cough up a good 35,000 baht for it.
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