Chronicles of a
Cancer Patient

Ok, I know this flies by harmless self-absorbtion and lands squarely in exhibitionism, but come on! You know you wanted to see it.

This is a photo from the PET scan I took. That black thing is not my heart, that black thing is the problem.

UPDATE: See also, PET Scan Before and After Photos

The echocardiogram results are in, and they say my heart is healthy.

It seems that there were some problems with my heart at first, but they seem to have been due to the placement of the tumor, and not problems with the heart itself. Now that Tito seems to have shrunk considerably, I no longer have those problems.

So, actually, that sounds like two good things to me – my heart is healthy and normal, and the tumor has shrunk.

Tito was the big black thing on left that’s not there anymore on the right. Good riddance you worthless freeloader.

Calling it a port flush makes it sound like some kind of cheap bathroom humor.

But that’s what they call it. I went into the Cancer Center on Monday and had my port “flushed.” To do so, they “access” my port (shove a needle in it), and “irrigate” it (push through some liquid that tastes like chemo).

I’m not 5 days away from the port flushing. Food tastes different today. It tastes like it did during chemo. I can’t explain it.

I saw Shirley at the Center. She’s dying. Faster now. She said her tumors are growing again. I didn’t react to it much then, but it makes me want to cry now. What a horrible, stupid thing this cancer is, that it attacks anybody it wants. Shirley’s husband was there this time. He seems like a nice guy. I can’t help but feel bad for him. And her.