Interrelativity

Category: Cancer Counterinsurgency

  • Too Blessed to be Stressed

    On the way to the hospital this afternoon, I passed a church whose marquis broadcast the message "Too blessed to be stressed".  While I can’t say I wasn’t feeling stressed when I read this message, I was feeling very blessed, and I took a mini stress vacation as I continued the drive, pondering the wisdom…

  • Taking Advantage of Some Hospitality

    Amy started running a fever this afternoon, and it was close enough to the end of regular office hours that we went to the emergency room to have her examined.  Her fever reached a level of 103.5 (F) before it started coming down (Tylenol to the rescue).  A blood test revealed that she was suffering…

  • The Darkest Hour

    There are a set of songs that always provoke a visceral reaction in me, with symptoms including tingling, goosebumps, teary eyes and, on some occasions, even sobs.  One such song is Long Time Gone, by Crosby, Stills and Nash, which I just played, and which had the intended cathartic effect. Amy has been in more…

  • Major Combat Operations have Ended … Not (Week 5 update)

    Last week, I thought — and wrote — that Amy would be done with chemotherapy and radiotherapy yesterday (Friday).  I was half right, in that the chemotherapy is over; however, her radiation oncologist wants her to undergo three more radiation sessions — with a narrower field — to help ensure that the anal cancer is…

  • Reinforcements Arrive before the Final Battle (Week 4 update)

    It occurs to me that we’re actually at the end of week 5 since the start of Amy’s cancer treatment, but given that she had a week-and-a-day hiatus from radiotherapy, this can still be considered the end of week 4 based on the number of treatments (20) … and that way the headers on my…

  • The Battle is Rejoined (Week 3 update)

    After an 8-day radiotherapy cease-fire, Amy’s platelet (PLT) and white blood cell (WBC) counts increased above the threshold required for the resumption of daily radiation treatments this past Tuesday, so she has completed another [nearly full] week of treatment … and we are hopeful that she can continue on with the remaining two weeks of…

  • A Radiotherapy Cease Fire

    The week in Amy’s cancer counterinsurgency started out "normally" (in sharp contrast to events unfolding in the southeast US in the wake of Hurricane Katrina), with Amy heading in for her daily dose of radiotherapy on Monday.  On Tuesday, however, her complete blood count (CBC) test revealed a platelet (PLT) count of 39 (thousand per…

  • Cancer Counterinsurgency Update

    Thanks to all who have expressed their concern and support as Amy progresses through her cancer treatment.  For the benefit of those who are interested in following her progress, but who may be, er, somewhat less interested in other topics I post about, I decided to add a new category: Cancer Counterinsurgency (and added a…

  • Anal Cancer: A Real Pain in the Butt

    I decided to use a subtitle with a bit of humor, as laughter will be increasingly important over the next few months. On May 18, Amy had surgery to repair a rectocele, which also involved draining a fistula.  A routine biopsy revealed an unexpected and unwelcome result: carcinoma in situ, or "non-invasive" anal cancer.  We…