It's now been three weeks since my surgery and I am finally getting down to writing my first post.
First, I'd like to thank Nancy, Sean, and JoAnne for all their help. I couldn't have made it without y'all.
Adjusting to the drastic change in my plumbing has been quite difficult. Trust me, human technology is no substitute for the human body, as "designed" by millions of years of natural selection. The notion that this is how my body is going to work for the rest of my life is taking some getting used to.
So far, my last year of cancer treatment has resulted in a distinct decline in my quality of life in return for a purely theoretical extension in my life expectancy. I guess I won't know for some time how the calculus comes out in the end, but, right now, it's not at all clear that the cost/benefit ratio is less than 1.
Showing posts with label kidney cancer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidney cancer. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
A slight change in direction
It's been almost a year since my last post on this blog and I am sure that no one is still checking to see if anything new has been posted. So, I've decided to revive it for a new and different purpose. Maybe someone will find it and read it, but mostly I'm just writing for myself. If you do happen to come across it feel free to comment.
Last September (2010), I was diagnosed with a urothelial tumor in my left kidney. I had my kidney removed and hoped that the surgery would cure the problem. Within a few weeks I was up and about--about 30 pounds lighter and with a big scar on my belly--but otherwise no worse for wear. However, recently I discovered that the cancer has now manifested itself as multiple tumors in my bladder. Obviously, this new development ups the ante considerably.
Next week I'm off for a consult at the GenitoUrinary department at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the same hospital where my late wife, Helen, was treated for breast cancer for almost seven years, a place that, I fervently hoped, I would never see the inside of again. Having confronted death by cancer in people I loved on several occasions, I have developed some pretty definite notions as to how one ought to deal with the challenge of this life-threatening disease. We'll see if I'm up to it now that it's my turn.
My plan is to post ongoing reports on my journey through life as a cancer patient--a journey I've observed from close quarters but never before from the inside. I hope this will be helpful for me, and, if anyone ever reads this, for my readers.
Last September (2010), I was diagnosed with a urothelial tumor in my left kidney. I had my kidney removed and hoped that the surgery would cure the problem. Within a few weeks I was up and about--about 30 pounds lighter and with a big scar on my belly--but otherwise no worse for wear. However, recently I discovered that the cancer has now manifested itself as multiple tumors in my bladder. Obviously, this new development ups the ante considerably.
Next week I'm off for a consult at the GenitoUrinary department at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the same hospital where my late wife, Helen, was treated for breast cancer for almost seven years, a place that, I fervently hoped, I would never see the inside of again. Having confronted death by cancer in people I loved on several occasions, I have developed some pretty definite notions as to how one ought to deal with the challenge of this life-threatening disease. We'll see if I'm up to it now that it's my turn.
My plan is to post ongoing reports on my journey through life as a cancer patient--a journey I've observed from close quarters but never before from the inside. I hope this will be helpful for me, and, if anyone ever reads this, for my readers.
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