Category Archives: Indignities of the human body

Jamais reposé

Posted on January 20, 2013 by

This clinical trial, while I think it’s doing wonders for my cancer, leaves me feeling tired, like the kind of tired when you have to get up earlier than usual to attend a conference for work or something and it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinical trials, Indignities of the human body, psychosocial oncology, Second recurrence | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Day three

Posted on January 12, 2013 by

It’s day three of the ganitumab and MEK 162 trial. Ganitumab is an insulin-like growth factor receptor inhibitor and the MEK 162 blocks a pathway where I have mutations, and that’s about all I can say about that. So far, … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinical trials, Indignities of the human body | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Tapering

Posted on October 17, 2012 by

I’m in the midst of tapering off the dilaudid I’ve been on for over three weeks now and it is uncomfortable. Or today has been, when I stepped down again. I’m just drinking lots of water and trying to ride … Continue reading →

Posted in Indignities of the human body, Narratives, this is me, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Precocious

Posted on September 28, 2012 by

I ended up in the ER last night with a 39 degree fever. I felt as miserable as I ever have; my throat felt like it was pierced with daggers, my head felt like it’d been bludgeoned, I was chilled … Continue reading →

Posted in chemo days, Clinical trials, Indignities of the human body | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Learning curve

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

I don’t know the total number of months that I spent in treatment in my life, but one would think it was enough that I would know what warrants a call to the nurse and what can wait until the … Continue reading →

Posted in Clinical trials, Indignities of the human body | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Up and down

Posted on June 29, 2012 by

I had chemo number three this week. It was much easier than the second (which was absolutely brutal) and I suspect that’s due to the nurse doing a slow titration, starting with a low concentration of the chemotherapy agent and … Continue reading →

Posted in chemo days, Indignities of the human body, Second recurrence | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

The ethics of sparing feelings

Posted on June 18, 2012 by

Has Chuck Klosterman ever met a sick person? His answer to a woman’s question — Should I wait until my sick boyfriend gets better before I break up with him? — was so completely off the mark it made me … Continue reading →

Posted in Indignities of the human body, Narratives | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The first cut is not always the deepest but sometimes it is the one that refuses to heal

Posted on May 26, 2012 by

I have a small cut on my toe. It became infected. Welcome to the nadir of my immune system for chemo cycle one. What did you cut it on, my doctor asked. I don’t know, I answered. You must know. … Continue reading →

Posted in chemo days, Indignities of the human body, Second recurrence | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Long weekend

Posted on May 20, 2012 by

I’ve been wandering around (or lying down, or sitting down, or leaning against a wall) wondering why I feel this malaise that I don’t remember from the start of chemo last year. I’m noticing the movement of my body feels … Continue reading →

Posted in chemo days, Indignities of the human body, Second recurrence, this is me | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The third first impression

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

Greetings from the bathroom floor. It seems this third cycle of chemo is presenting itself with that most stereotypical of side effect — nausea. I’ve just been hanging out here, dry-heaving for the last 45 minutes. Thought I’d dodged it. … Continue reading →

Posted in chemo days, Indignities of the human body, psychosocial oncology, Second recurrence | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments