Category: Cancer

The Cancer Diaries, Part 18

Cancer / Daily life / Personal ReminiscencesOne Comment

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Radiation treatment, 2nd session Same process as the first one, albeit a little shorter time to get ready since I already knew what was expected of me, and what items to disrobe. No hiccups or delays. I lie down, get positioned by the therapists, then the bed moves back towards the machinery (the linear accelerator, or LINAC). Like some hulking scifi machinery, the arms swivel, the X-ray panels extend, and they slowly rotate over my abdomen. their work done, these panels retract and the radiation machinery is positioned. It, too, rotates around me. And then it’s done, and the bed ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 17

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Well, it has begun. Today I drove to RVH for my first radiation treatment session, the third stage of my treatment. One hundred forty-one days since my prostate surgery, and roughly 290 since I was first advised of my dangerously elevated PSA level. This is the first of approximately seven weeks of sessions, one every weekday. I have to admit I was somewhat anxious about it when I left home. Going through something for the first time can do that, and, of course, having cancer is already enough to make someone anxious. I had been told by hospital staff that ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 16

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Yesterday, I went for my second bone density scan — aka bone densitometry or dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry — the one that had been planned, but scheduled then delayed twice previously. My first bone scan, like my first CT scan, was done in June, before my surgery. This one was ordered by the oncologist prior to my radiation treatment. Bone density scans are used for many types of diagnoses, including measuring bone loss and osteoporosis, but also to detect the spread of cancer cells. My previous scan showed the cancer had not spread into my bones (a tremendous relief). I hope ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 15

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“… my only object was that all the world should enjoy itself and live in peace and quiet, without quarrels or troubles; but my good intentions were unavailing to save me from going where I never expect to come back from, with this weight of years upon me and a urinary ailment that never gives me a moment’s ease…” Miguel de Cervantes: Don Quixote of La Mancha, chap. 22 I was listening to an audiobook of Don Quixote while driving to the hospital recently, and heard that bit. It just seemed appropriate. And a bit funny. Last week I got ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 14

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More back and forth to RVH, this time for another CT scan today. I arrived early, as usual, and then spent most of my time there waiting and reading. Not as long as I’ve had to wait in the past, but still a lot longer than the process itself. Like I always tell people: bring a book. Or books. You remember me writing last post about a mixed-up bone density scan I was supposed to have last Wednesday? Well, by Monday morning, I hadn’t been informed of any re-scheduling, so when I registered at the imaging department for my CT ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 13

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It’s been an emotional, roller-coaster week for me (if you’ll pardon the cliché…). Back and forth to Barrie for consultations, scans, and tests, more blood work, phone consultations with doctors and hospital social services staff, schedules set, schedules changed, confusion over medication, appointments upset. All in all a rather trying time. Prior to my next stage of treatment — radiation — the oncologist told me I needed another blood test (for PSA levels: even without a prostate the cancer cells produce the prostate serum, remaining an indicator of their activity), as well as another bone density scan and CT scan. ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 12

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Well, that was easy. Relatively, so. Last Monday I got to remove my catheter all by myself. Not the sort of thing one looks forward to — doing the removing, that is — but I was looking forward to having it gone and able to go back to some normality in my daily life. While I have grown somewhat adept at wearing, caring for, and changing the urine bag, it certainly isn’t something one wants over a long time. Actually, it was quite easy and painless; afterward, I felt a bit chagrined over the anxiety I had felt prior to ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 11

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Anaesthetic must be one of the most remarkable inventions of the 20th century. While various forms of anaesthesia have been used since the ancient Egyptians (with varying degrees of effectiveness), it really wasn’t perfected  until the last century. It’s difficult to imagine the horrors of surgery before it became commonly used and as effective as it is today. Here I was, lying on a table in the operating room, Thursday morning, being covered with a warm blanket by one nurse, while another nurse held a mask over my face to breathe from, and a third prepared to administer my anesthetic ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 10

Cancer / Daily life / Family history / Health & Medicine / Musings / Personal Reminiscences3 Comments

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My father died of esophageal cancer several years ago. It was a horrible, lingering death, and I watched him shrivel and die, in constant pain towards the end. On one of my last visits to his bedside, he asked me whether I thought it was better to die with the full knowledge of what was happening to you, or to be unaware. It was a startling, unexpected question. My father and I had had few, if any, philosophical discussions in our lives together. Without giving it a lot of thought, I replied, “With knowledge.” I probably thought he was talking ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 9

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Well, I suppose it’s a good news/bad news story for this post, although I dearly wish it was better. Would that I could have put it all behind me, finished my recovery, and moved on. Not to be: I receive comfort like cold porridge (to quote from The Tempest). Still, I came away from my consultation with at least some sense of relief: after all, it might have been much worse. The anxiety of waiting for the results was far more stressful than actually hearing them. My recent PSA blood test showed a greatly-reduced number (less than 1, which is ……… click below for more ↓

The Cancer Diaries, Part 7

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I don’t want readers to think I’m being narcissistic in writing these posts about my cancer or how it has affected me. Sure, I can be accused of being all sorts of things for writing my other posts, and a narcissist is the least of them. I’m sharing these because I felt — I hoped —others might benefit from my experiences: men and their partners. I think partners (be they men or women) should be as fully informed and engaged about what happens and what to expect as the patient. I found a lot of medical and pseudo-medical (read: quack) ……… click below for more ↓

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