Guess what? I have a date for my surgery—April 7! It’s a little more in the future than we’d originally envisioned, by about a month. Which gives me some time to do what I do best… over-think it! Part of the reason for the delayed date is that is that we needed to find an … Read more
I consider endoscopic interventions like ESD and EFTR before agreeing to colon cancer surgery.
Most people have heard of the BRCA genetic mutations that predisposes its owners to breast and ovarian cancers, especially after Angelina Jolie disclosed she carried the gene in 2013. Fewer people are familiar with Lynch Syndrome, which causes a predisposition to a number of cancers — primarily in the abdominal region — and is comprised … Read more
Things to be grateful for this (and every!) year: For the warm snoring bodies of the people we love next to us in the bed. For daily walks past people’s yards landscaped with strange desert flowers. For breathing clean air. For rainy days and cars that run. For creative impulses, and the time and ability … Read more
Sometimes I get really disheartened because I have to do so much side-hustling while the “real job” of being a writer — the job that I’m am trained at, good at and want to do — feels like a shell game. I keep doing the work, but the target is always moving and it never seems to … Read more
“When you have your health, you have everything. When you do not have your health, nothing else matters at all.” (Augusten Burroughs, writer) I don’t believe this entirely (in particular, you have to wonder if the writer had children), but I certainly understand the sentiment. The first time I had cancer, there were so many … Read more
Would you rather be famous / remembered / rich / accomplished / loved / fill-in-the-blank-with a dream — and die young? Or struggle in obscurity / not accomplish said dream and live longer? Would you rather feel healthy for a shorter period of time, or feel sickly but live longer? “Would you rather” games are … Read more
This article, about how “cancer survivor” came into popularity, is my first attempt at posting something on Medium. The Semantics Of Survivor Update: I got a note from Medium saying I had been “curated,” which is apparently a good thing, and would be promoted in the “Health” section. Woot!
We are into March — hard to believe the year has gone so fast. It’s strange days many ways. For reference in the future — there is a virus, CoVID 19 (Coronavirus) that is going around, and is starting to make people fearful of a pandemic. Paul and I flew to California for our spring … Read more
January 15, 2019 (This is a post I started months ago and found in my drafts folder.) I have a friend — an acquaintance who is the spouse of a friend — who has a particularly virulent form of cancer. Last night he wrote on Facebook about the impossibility, in his current situation, of planning for … Read more