So, it took me about 5 or 6 months to start this blog. I have no idea how often I’ll update it or if I ever will. But, some things are best written down and released upon the internets, just so it’s easier for me to live through life. Here’s my story of who I am and what I do in life as well as what I’ve been doing for the past almost 2 years now. I’ll start off simple…
My name is not important but if you’re reading it, you probably know it. I’m Vanja. Some folks call me Vance, other Turk. I’m 31 years old and I’ve got cancer. But not just any run of the mill cancer. No. Fate would have it (and apparently genetics were also fond of the idea) that I grow cells of Neuroblastoma within me. If you don’t know what Neuroblastoma is, here’s a quick rundown (from Wikipedia):
Neuroblastoma: “is the most common extracranial solid cancer in childhood and the most common cancer in infancy, with an incidence of about six hundred fifty cases per year in the U.S., and a hundred cases per year in the UK. Nearly half of neuroblastoma cases occur in children younger than two years. It is a neuroendocrine tumor, arising from any neural crest element of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). It most frequently originates in one of the adrenal glands, but can also develop in nerve tissues in the neck, chest, abdomen, or pelvis.”
Here’s another little trivia (from cancer.org ): “Survival by Children’s Oncology Group (COG) risk group
Low-risk group: Children in the low-risk group have a 5-year survival rate that is higher than 95%.
Intermediate-risk group: In children in the intermediate-risk group, the 5-year survival rate is around 90% to 95%.
High-risk group: The 5-year survival rate in children in the high-risk group is around 40% to 50%.”
Now, you’ll notice one thing in common to those two quotes. It keeps saying children. And for the more perceptive of you, I’m not really a child. Well, at heart, yes, but not when it comes to actual time spent on this beautiful...