My Battle with Merkel Cell Cancer

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On the plus side, my mental status is stable, I do not have significant hoarseness, and I
have not suffered from the debilitating fatigue that other radiation oncology patients
complain of. I plan to work this afternoon, and Wednesday afternoon, but not on
Thursday, the day on which I have to take the written test to renew my California drivers
license. I think I should not have trouble passing the test. My bridge game still has not
deteriorated. Playing with a different partner as my usual partner is in the hospital with
respiratory failure, we still manage to take first place in a 12 table game, where there was
an overall winner. I have to take this opportunity to wish Bert Rettner a speedy recovery.
He is not only my bridge partner, but a very good friend. Unfortunately, although he is a
physician, he has been unable to kick the cigarette habit, and as a result, he now suffers
from severe emphysema and bronchiectasis. Last night, in the middle of the night, I was
awoken by a strange noise. It turned out that our pool sweep had become detached from
the hose, and water was spraying all over the place. I had to go out in the middle of the
night to turn off the pool pump and filter. After that, I had great difficulty in sleeping. When
I finally fell asleep, I had a dream that I was using ultrasound to look for recurrent
malignancy in my neck. I took the opportunity to put the ultrasound transducer on my
abdomen and found a huge mass in my liver. I hope this is not predictive of the future.
Tomorrow, I begin the first of five electron beam treatments. I anticipate that this will not
have very much affect on any of my symptoms with the exception of skin symptoms,
which should get significantly worse. I am hoping that other symptoms will begin to
improve over the next few weeks. In spite of my nightmare last night, I remain very
optimistic about my outcome.
Posted by docshu at 11:12AM (-07:00)
My Battle with Merkel Cell Cancer