When I posted on Tuesday I did not think it was a good news / bad news situation, but here we are. Yesterday the MRI results came back and there is cancer in my brain. The nodules are small, so I am not in any immediate danger. And as far as I know, I am …
Author Archives: Jonathan Sterne
17 Dec 2024 Cancer Crawl: Exhale slowly
Tl;dr we got some good news, and we are waiting for a little more. This morning we awoke before dawn to get to the Mass General for an 8:30 appointment–first bloods, then nurse practitioner, then oncologist. (There’s probably a whole post in how I am now very slow in the morning compared to my former …
Cancer Crawl 16 December: Yesterday did not go as planned; extended technique
Yesterday kind of went to shit. I had two cyclical vomiting episodes. I’m still not an expert in how to handle these but I tried two different strategies. The evening one, of hitting with Ativan and Zofran more or less right away, seems to slow it down pretty quickly. I then followed up with a …
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Cancer Crawl 14 December 2024: 1.6 litres; protein and cheese news; the wait
Thursday was the big medical day this week. I had an MRI of my brain at Mass Eye and Ear, and then went over to Mass General to have my right lung drained. The MRI was uneventful but I always forget how incredibly LOUD the MRI machine is when I stick my head in it. …
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Cancer Crawl 7 December 2024: (not really) Final Boss; rock star says ‘kittens’
The last level of the video game looks like this: I confess that laundry has been the toughest challenge on my independence goals list. Everything else got figured out pretty fast. As this image shows, the laundry in my rental is crammed in a corner of the bathroom, between two doors, making it even tighter. …
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Cancer Crawl 3 Dec 2024: a museum visit; don’t do anything rash
Wow. Almost a week went by. There is lots to report in no particular order. We traveled to a friend’s house for friendsgiving, which was lovely, and I was introduced to the joys of cat bingo. And friends from Montreal came through on Sunday, which was also nice. We had social plans Saturday but they …
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Cancer Crawl 28 Nov 2024: On Gratitude
Although there is a lot to complain about in the New York Times lately <cough>US political coverage</cough>, they have been absolutely killing it in the cancer op-eds department. Monday had a fantastic piece about a dying daughter facing her mortality that is also a great critique of the culture of the US medical system. I …