My Battle with Merkel Cell Cancer

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have that many good years left, But I plan to live them to the fullest.
Posted by docshu at 11:42AM (-08:00)
From the Sapphire Princess
Friday, January 14, 2011
This post was written on the last day of our 10 day cruise to Mexico. We have had a
wonderful time. We’re going to do this again hopefully. Just before we left for this cruise,
we learned that we will receive a cash refund from the insurance for the cruise that we
had to cancel. This cruise has been a great distraction. Most of the time, I have been able
to put my condition on the back burner and not think about it. We met some very nice
people who were sitting at our table and introduced us to a new card game which they
call “nines”. It is different from the game of nines that we used to play. We have been
playing this game with two decks of cards and six players. Judy and I have also played
several sessions of bridge. In one session, we managed a 78% game, which, perhaps,
speaks more to the quality of the opposition than to the quality of our game. There is food
everywhere, but I have found that most of the time I have not had very much of an
appetite. I am attributing this to the continued dryness in my mouth and the continued
loss of much of my sense of taste, although I am able to taste foods to some extent.
When I begin eating, the food taste pretty good, but it seems like my taste buds get tired,
and the food loses its taste. The moment of truth will come at the end of this month. I’ll
have another blood test for circulating Merkel cells. If the cell count stays the same or
goes to zero, I will have follow-up imaging at the end of March. If the cell count goes up, I
will have follow-up imaging at the beginning of February. I was thinking yesterday about a
very ironic event which happened not too long ago. Right after the passage of the health
care legislation, I was trying to get a sandwich for lunch at the local subway shop, and I
was accosted by a roving reporter for a local television station. They were trying to gather
comments about the new tax on tanning booths. They asked my opinion and I said that
they should raise the tax to help pay for healthcare for the people who ended up getting
cancer from the tanning booths. The segment was aired on local television. The ironic
thing is that it was not long after that that I was diagnosed with a form of skin cancer that
is associated with sun and radiation exposure. This has been a very great escape from
the world. Next week, it’s back to reality, with two doctors appointments, one dentist
appointment, and one appointment with an attorney to complete the details of our wills
and medical directives. I also plan to work 3 half days. I also plan to play bridge two
afternoons next week. It will be busy.
Posted by David Shuster at 12:57PM (-08:00)
Is This What it is Like to be on Death Row?
Friday, January 28, 2011
One of my colleagues working at Kaiser Permanente visited with me yesterday. I
described to her and the feeling that in a way, my situation is similar to that of somebody
on death row. Merkel cell cancer is the executioner. Dr Nghiem is my defense attorney.
He is appealing my sentence to higher courts. Every time we have an interaction, he
gives me hope that in some way, some judge will find merit in my appeal and commute
the sentence. The only difference is that a death row inmate is given a definite time for
his execution, and an attempt is made to avoid all discomfort as the sentence is carried
My Battle with Merkel Cell Cancer