I was in the mood to write a blog post but couldn’t settle on a topic. Then I started scrolling through Facebook - not usually a good idea – and ran into the following post: “didn’t survive from cancer to die from stress”. Truer words have never been spoken! But, alas, the stress I incur …
Here we go.
I finished my lung, throat, and whole brain radiation (WBR) treatments about a month ago. By now, I expected to be writing a blog post demystifying WBR, but – suffice it to say – nothing about my experience has been ‘normal’, and I don’t want to unjustly dissuade anyone from undergoing this treatment, when needed. …
Medical Bills and Healthcare, Oh Yeah
Four years ago, I came face-to-face with a pressing issue in American politics and society: the cost of health care. Since then I have pondered and discussed the issue countless times, but I have been reticent about posting on such a political issue. Frankly, that time is over, and it shouldn’t ‘political’ to discuss whether …
Life Update
Last week happened; I’m finally admitting it to the world. I completed five days of radiation to two spots on my left lung. Just one day later, I returned to the hospital for scans, and unfortunately, the news was not good. Probably the worst news of my four-year long journey with Stage IV cancer. During …
Lazy Daze
This year has been a miracle. Since switching back to my old friend, Crizotinib, I have been feeling much like my old self. I practice yoga most days, sleep well, don’t require anxiety meds, and mostly importantly, my lungs are working. It’s such a blessing to have working lungs. I’m able to go up and …
Shedding 2018
This won’t come as a surprise to most of you, but 2018 was my most challenging year on planet Earth. I’ve decided to briefly recap everything that happened last year so that I can finally (hopefully) set it aside and move on to writing more frequently about my experiences as a cancer patient, including the …
Learning and the Passage of Time
On January 12th, I submitted my final assessment for grad school. Four-hundred-and-sixty-eight days following my first footsteps into the Poli Sci department at UCL. I will never forget that day. The loaded book bag that I could barely stand to carry because my breathing was labored. The eerie sense that I would never know my …
