Guest Blog: My story of surviving stomach cancer in Turkiye – PART VI

Guest Blog 7 – PART VI

By Mehtap Savaş

January 2025

Ankara, Turkiye

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This guest blog consists of seven parts – hyperlinks will be added as they are published in order:

PART I – INTRODUCTION (please see here)

PART II – LIFE WITH CANCER AND TREATMENT (please see here)

PART III – LIFE WITHOUT A STOMACH (please see here)

PART IV – RETURN TO WORK AND IMPACT OF CANCER (please see here)

PART V – FOLLOW UP: GOOD DOCTORS, BAD DOCTORS (please see here)

PART VI – CURRENT STATE & FINAL WORDS

PART VII –  SILENCE OF THE MOTHERS (please see here)

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PART VI – CURRENT STATE & FINAL WORDS

MY DAILY LIFE AFTER TREATMENT

While life goes by, a significant part of my life is spent in hospitals. After my treatment ended, I went for check-ups every month for a year. Immediately after the check-up, I had to do the next check-up, make appointments, and donate blood for creatinine measurement before CT. The following years passed in the same way. 

Meanwhile, other diseases entered my life. I last had a lung infection over a year ago. I had pneumonia 2 months ago. A pulmonologist also joined the doctors I go to regularly. I have had thyroid checks for 15 years. I also go to the psychiatrist. A few weeks ago, I had a problem in my right eye. I will go for check-ups for that from now on. 

My sister jokes that “I get better healthcare than the Queen of England” 😊

From the first year onwards, among all the examinations, you always think about what will happen in the next examination. You feel more comfortable having annual check-ups. It is a constant reminder that not having a stomach requires careful eating and drinking.

My home in Ankara has become synonymous with hospitals for me. I adjust the medical appointment dates accordingly so that I can go to the summer house during summer months. 

Low or high values in some of my blood tests affect my depression. I say “come one by one” but they don't listen to me :-) .

While I was preparing this article, my brother came from out of town to visit me. I had thyroid control and he supported me. I had a thyroid biopsy two days ago. The endocrinologist showed my nodules on ultrasound and said it looked like a potato field :-) Sweet potatoes? :-) Purple potatoes? :-)  Yellow potatoes? :-)  .

We started medication because my T4 level, one of my thyroid hormones, has been low for a long time. These low levels cause extreme fatigue and I feel dizzy when I stand up. My doctor asked for a check-up after 2 months. I have been on an iodine regime for 8 months. It was found to be extremely high in the tests. Still high :-( It causes low T4 hormone.

My life in Ankara is quite routine. I'm usually at home and spend time with my hobbies. I never watch television. I love listening to music. Sometimes I go on a song hunt  You also do things that make your life better. 

I love being in the summer house because there is no hospital on the island except for the health center and one family doctor. I feel free because I don't have to go from hospital to hospital.

Another thing that makes me happiest at the summer house is taking care of and feeding stray animals. Last summer, I stayed on the island for the first time for nearly 5 months. I was doing pretty well. I have an interesting relationship with stray animals. When I come across a cat I haven't seen before while returning from somewhere, I say, "Come on, let me feed you." They walk beside me and come with me. 

I don't swim much in the summer. In September and October, I walked by the sea a lot and collected stones and seashells. One day, 3 pitch black dogs and 1 brown dog in the distance on the empty beach started running towards me, barking. They didn't attack me, they just surrounded me, put their paws on my chest and asked me to pet them. One of them stuck his head inside my fleece coat. I loved them all, I talked to them. Another day a dog hugged my legs. 15 min. He didn't leave me 😊 I love them so much.

I have walked away from most of the toxic people in my life. This can be perceived as relative loneliness. But it is not. Being alone is not a problem for me, except for the absence of my mother. I would rather be alone than exposed to toxic people. I never get bored, I have so much to do. In the summer, I make home vinegar from my fruits. I don't use it, but my brother likes it very much. I give away some of it. Last summer I tidied up the front yard of the house. It took me a lot of time due to my fatigue, but I was happy while doing it.

One of my dearest friends told me that I was a geek. I like and enjoy doing research on a subject that I am interested in and curious about. I am not antisocial, on the contrary, I can communicate with people very quickly. Mine is a conscious loneliness. Because I'm tired of people's selfishness, their efforts to present themselves as something they are not and cannot be, and their desire to dominate me. My independence is very important to me and I do not like and do not want people in my life, who try to interfere with my personal space. 

After all, we are members of a society and we have to do many things even though we do not want to. The important thing is to minimize these as much as possible and focus on things that will make us happy. Sometimes doing nothing is also an option :-).

LAST WORDS

The first thing that keeps me alive is that my mother took very good care of me, her support and the support of my siblings, the second is having access to very good doctors, and the third is having high morale, according to my oncologist. 

One of the reasons why I tell my story of signet ring cell type stomach cancer, which has a low survival rate, is that we always have a chance of recovery, no matter what type of cancer and at what stage it is.

I know there are some of you who are going through much harder things than me. We are not just statistical data. We may surprise some scientists by not being where these data indicate, and we may change the statistical data with the help of advancing medical science. We must believe in our own power.

In this struggle, patients should also demand social support assistance. They should be able to access advanced examinations and specialist doctors as soon as possible, regardless of the disease. The first priority of governments, including my own country, regarding health should be people's right to life and their fulfillment of these requirements.

Since cancer treatment is very long and financially challenging, patients in need should be supported by the governments. I guess I'm asking for too much 

Another important issue is, of course, social awareness. For this reason, I find my sister Sevtap's work in this direction very important. I really appreciate how passionately she works for the platforms she leads.

Thank you very much for listening to me in this long story. I am very happy to be among you who share your illness stories here. Stay healthy, happy and well.

NEXT: PART VII – Silence of the Mothers