I got my first anomalous test result the same week my wife was getting clearance, post surgery and radiation, from her treatment. I was into surgery about 4 months later.
Made for an "interesting" few years 😀
Treatments are so much better now, but so are testing.
I have/had/will have had renal cancer. Now there's a test that takes the DNA from my tumor (from the removed kidney last year) and then scans my blood for that particular DNA, so cancer can be found before a tumor pops up.
But it's so new, so while 0 is good and a big number like 47 is bad, they don't know what a small number like 1 means. Do I need more treatment? Will I be fine? We don't know yet! We'll know after enough people live or die based upon the numbers.
A friend was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer last week. The prognosis is not good. That made this comic hard to read. I try to be happy for everyone who beat cancer. But right now it's hard to see past my friend's situation.
Kitty cuddles are definitely helpful, at least in the short term.
Such a beautiful comic; whenever I feel stressed I think of a friend whose daughter lost an eye to cancer, but being RB gene positive had to go every three months until six years old to see if she'd have to have the other eye out.
it has always given me a sense of proportion about what I consider 'stressful' events in life; when cancer suddenly comes out of left field it does focus the mind.
This comic brought it all up again, and I'm typing through tears here. Randall and Megan deserve all the happiness they can get.
You're up for a rare treat. Get the book and read it. The cartoons are... something entirely different, no judgement. edit apart from Se-Ma-For series but nobody knows it exists.
Eh, after reading that Wikipedia article, the books seem neat and all for kids, but I think I've simply aged out of the sorts of stories you can find there, sadly. Thanks for the recommendation, though!
I would put Jansson on the same level as, for example, Le Guin and Tolkien; authors who wrote books for both adults and children, with no difference in quality when writing for each audience. Sure, I wish I read A Wizard of Earthsea as a kid, but even as an adult I found a lot to appreciate because Le Guin was such a phenomenal author. There's no reason to rob yourself of great fiction just because you aren't the target audience.
There's no reason to rob yourself of great fiction just because you aren't the target audience.
For sure, but me not being the target audience is very, very likely to result in me not considering it to be great fiction going by the descriptions of these books I read on wikipedia, and luckily, I'm not stuck with an empty to-be-read queue at the moment. Thanks for the advice though, maybe I'll give them a shot someday.
I'll admit, watching the neurotic weasel-creature flub the shit out of a social interaction and then learn to let go as all her stuff flies off in a hurricane was more entertaining than I expected. I suspect that if I had read this as a kid, it would've been the sort of thing I'd remember forever, as I also used to be a similar sort of over-thinker. I'm largely over that stage of my life now, though, so I think I'll keep my earlier assessment. Sincerely, thanks for the attempt anyway!
You might actually be the target audience, if we're talking about the later books
I don't think saying they're for both kids and adults is really accurate. They start as kids books, but get more introspective and philosophical which each volume, to the point that I wouldn't recommend the last books to kids
I remember reading a comic version of one of the stories from 'Tales from Moominvalley' as a kid and just not understanding it. But when I read the book a few years ago as an adult I really liked it
I don't think reading plot summaries on Wikipedia really conveys the tone of the books
This hits hard. Some of us got choked up in the early days of the saga and fiercely hoping for positive outcomes. Then a few years later made our own 'Fuck Cancer' bumper stickers in solidarity.
Some of us were in a different lane.
This gives me hope, though, and it's nice to smile about something so deeply intertwined in life. Congrats to all who've had a better go of it, and hugs to though who haven't.
It's amazing how easily humans can empathize with one another. Here we have a story, told through some stick figure drawings and a handful of sentences. It's a story barely told, about two people we've never met, whose existence is to us purely abstract and theoretical. And yet, when we reach the end of the comic, we feel a kinship with these people. Our heart goes out to them, across the physical and social distance between us, as if they were our dearest friends.
It's a wonderful attribute of man, this boundless empathy.
Currently dealing with cancer, non terminal thankfully, only 6 months of treatment and generally an easy one, done in a month and a half. My GF has been by my side (though long distance). Getting to see the northern lights has been such a dream of ours as well, and the last few slides got me all emotional.
Damn, has it really been 15 years? I remember the cancer announcement, took me a moment to realise it was real and not just a fictional comic story.
Really pleased for them both. Though looking back at the last 15 years, somehow it seems sad that they didn't have kids. Can you imagine how awesome having Randall as your dad would have been?
This is a nice comic. I recently browsed some Penny Arcade strips and got a real wave of nostalgia for what my life was like 20+ years ago when the site was one of my weekly visits. XKCD is the only one I still see occasionally because of this sub.
This is so beautiful. This made me cry in a breakfast buffet at some random hotel we are staying. Pretty similar story, so I can relate to it more than I wish I could.
I lost my father this May to lung cancer. He knew, 30 years ago, stopped smoking, cold turkey. Met his third wife, learned how to Irish dance, and ran marathons. Top in his age category.
He was 88 when he passed, and I think his life was not cut short, but lived to the fullest despite what he was up against.
I wish that there's another 15 year comic after this one. And 15 after that. And 15 more after that. And so on.
It makes me so happy to see this XKCD today.
My wife and I are 3 years and 18 months respectively each into post-cancer monitoring. Looking forward to celebrating 5, 10, and 15 years too.
Rooting for you both to keep on celebrating well past those milestones!!! 🤘🤜
Just hit Year 5 myself. May both of you have many celebrations in years to come.
May all your medical updates be boring.
You both had cancer at the same time?
I got my first anomalous test result the same week my wife was getting clearance, post surgery and radiation, from her treatment. I was into surgery about 4 months later. Made for an "interesting" few years 😀
Damn, that's scary, so glad you both made it out
10 years: https://xkcd.com/2386/ https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/jvl7mr/xkcd_2386_ten_years/
7 years: https://xkcd.com/1928/ https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/7jlui7/xkcd_1928seven_years/
2 years: https://xkcd.com/1141/ https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/141dl1/two_years/
Emotion https://xkcd.com/1048/ https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/sus33/emotion/
Lanes: https://xkcd.com/931/ https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/j2xd9/xkcd_lanes/
Probability https://xkcd.com/881/ https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/gi3fx/probability/
Angular Momentum https://xkcd.com/162/
And yes, alibi onions are still necessary a decade and a half later.
(related: Piled Higher and Deeper - PHD "tales from the road" talks about Cancer) https://phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1162
Can confirm, ninjas chopping onions appeared out of nowhere in my living room.
I believe they were chopping onions in the AC vents as I read this comic.
Don't forget https://xkcd.com/931/
Thank you. I've added that one and hunted down the contemporaneous discussion.
That is a staggering freeway
Treatments are so much better now, but so are testing.
I have/had/will have had renal cancer. Now there's a test that takes the DNA from my tumor (from the removed kidney last year) and then scans my blood for that particular DNA, so cancer can be found before a tumor pops up.
But it's so new, so while 0 is good and a big number like 47 is bad, they don't know what a small number like 1 means. Do I need more treatment? Will I be fine? We don't know yet! We'll know after enough people live or die based upon the numbers.
Great to hear they're making progress on figuring this all out! Wishing you the best outcome, hope the numbers turn out good!
https://xkcd.com/1048/ can be added as well I think.
Probabilities https://xkcd.com/881 always makes me tear up
I'm so fuckin happy for them
I've been waiting for this one for a while as well :)
I have rotten timing. Haven't looked at an xkcd comic in years, was doom scrolling in bed at thought to have a look.
As someone who was in a similar situation that didn't get a happy ending, I absolutely wasn't prepared.
im going to go cuddle my cat now.
Hugs.❤️
Fuck cancer. I’m so sorry 😞.
Same, my friend. Same. It's been over nine months and it still sometimes feels like yesterday. Not as often as it did, but still.
Genuinely hope you're doing better. Tell your cat hi for me.
*Hugs*
A friend was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer last week. The prognosis is not good. That made this comic hard to read. I try to be happy for everyone who beat cancer. But right now it's hard to see past my friend's situation.
Kitty cuddles are definitely helpful, at least in the short term.
I get you. Hard to be happy for people who still have there person 😔
Mobile Version!
Direct image link: Fifteen Years
Alt text: "Want to feel old?" "Yes."
Don't get it? explain xkcd
"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many"
I'm not crying you're crying
We're all crying.
Such a beautiful comic; whenever I feel stressed I think of a friend whose daughter lost an eye to cancer, but being RB gene positive had to go every three months until six years old to see if she'd have to have the other eye out.
it has always given me a sense of proportion about what I consider 'stressful' events in life; when cancer suddenly comes out of left field it does focus the mind.
This comic brought it all up again, and I'm typing through tears here. Randall and Megan deserve all the happiness they can get.
Well I am for sure ugly crying
You're absolutely right I am
Nah, someone's chopping onions in here. Yeah, that must be it.
Terrible day for rain
No. It's a beautiful day for rain.
The alt text is what really got me. So impactful. I'm so glad for them
I'm for sure crying.
My cheeks are sweaty.
I remember coming across the very first one of these and I'm honestly shocked it's been 15 years. We're all getting old together.
The alt text is so simple and yet so profound to me. People fear getting old, but for them, being able to get old and feel it is an accomplishment.
As soon as I saw the title I started tearing up, and then got worse as I reread the previous years.
Coming up to what should have been my 20th wedding anniversary - glad to see they're still together.
So much left unsaid. I’m sorry for your loss and not alone in wishing you the best.
Whenever he breaks out the color, you know it’s going to be a special one, and this doesn’t disappoint
Congrats Monroe’s - grow even older together
What book are they reading? I think the second part of the title is midwinter, looks interesting.
Moominland Midwinter
Aww, that's adorable! I remember managing to catch a few episodes of an animated version of that series as a kid, they were always cute.
You're up for a rare treat. Get the book and read it. The cartoons are... something entirely different, no judgement. edit apart from Se-Ma-For series but nobody knows it exists.
Eh, after reading that Wikipedia article, the books seem neat and all for kids, but I think I've simply aged out of the sorts of stories you can find there, sadly. Thanks for the recommendation, though!
That's a pretty funny semaphore pun too, lol.
Read it. I grew up on the Moomins (my parents were Finnish) and I still reread the Moomin books. They're for all ages. That's their beauty.
I would put Jansson on the same level as, for example, Le Guin and Tolkien; authors who wrote books for both adults and children, with no difference in quality when writing for each audience. Sure, I wish I read A Wizard of Earthsea as a kid, but even as an adult I found a lot to appreciate because Le Guin was such a phenomenal author. There's no reason to rob yourself of great fiction just because you aren't the target audience.
For sure, but me not being the target audience is very, very likely to result in me not considering it to be great fiction going by the descriptions of these books I read on wikipedia, and luckily, I'm not stuck with an empty to-be-read queue at the moment. Thanks for the advice though, maybe I'll give them a shot someday.
Okay, then read just this story, The fillyjonk who believed in disasters, and if you still believe you're not the target audience, you might be right.
I'll admit, watching the neurotic weasel-creature flub the shit out of a social interaction and then learn to let go as all her stuff flies off in a hurricane was more entertaining than I expected. I suspect that if I had read this as a kid, it would've been the sort of thing I'd remember forever, as I also used to be a similar sort of over-thinker. I'm largely over that stage of my life now, though, so I think I'll keep my earlier assessment. Sincerely, thanks for the attempt anyway!
You might actually be the target audience, if we're talking about the later books
I don't think saying they're for both kids and adults is really accurate. They start as kids books, but get more introspective and philosophical which each volume, to the point that I wouldn't recommend the last books to kids
I remember reading a comic version of one of the stories from 'Tales from Moominvalley' as a kid and just not understanding it. But when I read the book a few years ago as an adult I really liked it
I don't think reading plot summaries on Wikipedia really conveys the tone of the books
I'm not sure how I feel about the realisation that I've been reading a webcomic for over 15 years... More like 18 years. Gods I'm old.
"I guess that's okay."
"It's all I wanted."
This hits hard. Some of us got choked up in the early days of the saga and fiercely hoping for positive outcomes. Then a few years later made our own 'Fuck Cancer' bumper stickers in solidarity.
Some of us were in a different lane.
This gives me hope, though, and it's nice to smile about something so deeply intertwined in life. Congrats to all who've had a better go of it, and hugs to though who haven't.
Fuck cancer. Seriously.
I went through treatment for Hodgkin's the same time, and I remember those early comics being especially meaningful. I'm so glad she's doing well too.
I will always love this one in particular:
https://xkcd.com/836/
I've got about 8 years post treatment under my belt. Happy for the Munroe's
Holy sh*t, XKCD. I'm in the office and I wasn't ready 😭😭😭
I'm lucky that I'm working from home today.
Goodness, that was an emotional one, wasn't it?
It's amazing how easily humans can empathize with one another. Here we have a story, told through some stick figure drawings and a handful of sentences. It's a story barely told, about two people we've never met, whose existence is to us purely abstract and theoretical. And yet, when we reach the end of the comic, we feel a kinship with these people. Our heart goes out to them, across the physical and social distance between us, as if they were our dearest friends.
It's a wonderful attribute of man, this boundless empathy.
Has it really been 15 years?
Dammit Randall, I’m so happy for you. And Mrs Monroe.
What a wonderful way to end a dreary Monday
I almost broke down crying when I saw this one. And then I saw the alt text, and I did.
Getting old sucks, except when you consider the alternative. A triple bypass helped to teach me that lesson.
That's beautiful, and i'm not talking about Aurora Borealis.
Aaand I'm sobbing. I'm so happy for them oh my god.
I've been reading this script for over 15 years, and this by far and hands down my new favorite.
Not enough Likes or Up Votes in the world.
This is good news to get on my birthday
Well, if that didn't trigger a catch in my throat. All I can think of is this: https://xkcd.com/150/
It's my turn to take care of you, and I'm gonna do it right!
I like your user tag! Is there a relevant xkcd for it?
Yes!
It's the alt-text from www.xkcd.com/1000
It speaks volumes to me, as the one I just posted.
Also, there's ALWAYS a relevant XKCD
Haha! Thanks for sharing!
I will go hug my wife.
Currently dealing with cancer, non terminal thankfully, only 6 months of treatment and generally an easy one, done in a month and a half. My GF has been by my side (though long distance). Getting to see the northern lights has been such a dream of ours as well, and the last few slides got me all emotional.
My pillow is very wet.
Damn, has it really been 15 years? I remember the cancer announcement, took me a moment to realise it was real and not just a fictional comic story.
Really pleased for them both. Though looking back at the last 15 years, somehow it seems sad that they didn't have kids. Can you imagine how awesome having Randall as your dad would have been?
This is a nice comic. I recently browsed some Penny Arcade strips and got a real wave of nostalgia for what my life was like 20+ years ago when the site was one of my weekly visits. XKCD is the only one I still see occasionally because of this sub.
You can get a feed reader (like this one) and subscribe to xkcd, it'll show new comics as soon as they appear on the site.
brb crying
The title text made me cry
❤️
So happy 🥲
This is so beautiful. This made me cry in a breakfast buffet at some random hotel we are staying. Pretty similar story, so I can relate to it more than I wish I could.
Well I'm a fucking wreck, thanks Randall.
Unexpected tears this morning reading, of all things, xkcd. And praying for many annual tears of joy to come!
We all like the xkcds that make us laugh, but we love the ones that make us cry
the title text 🥹🥹🥹🥹
This was a good one.
Im so happy, i only caught up to 10 years, it's been 5 years from then.
Congratulations to both of em.
🥲
Oh my goodness... 🩷
The last row almost made me tear up, that's so beautiful
Right in the feels. Also yes, I feel old - thank you recontextualizing it.
I am crying my eyes out, how about you?
No. Fuck you Randall. I was not ready for another one of these. Warn a guy next time. Aaaaaaaaaa.
The alt text really got me
How beautiful!
Who's cutting onions?
This comic is so heartwarming, no lame connoisseur joke for the first time in 12 years.
Congrats to you and yours Randall.
🥹
<3 <3 <3
No I'm not crying you're crying!
🥺
Beautiful
The new antibody treatments are amazing. I hope one day we can look at cancer as a solved problem.
I'm crying so hard rn, damn Randall, I love you both. Thanks for so many years.
I saw the faded out panels and thought uh-oh
Just wow man.
This might be the most wholesome xkcd by far
I lost my father this May to lung cancer. He knew, 30 years ago, stopped smoking, cold turkey. Met his third wife, learned how to Irish dance, and ran marathons. Top in his age category.
He was 88 when he passed, and I think his life was not cut short, but lived to the fullest despite what he was up against.
I wish that there's another 15 year comic after this one. And 15 after that. And 15 more after that. And so on.
Does he know how happy we are for them? I hope he reads these.
teared up a little lol
Cried at the alt text.
Bruce Cockburn: Gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight.