A little more about high grade metastatic thyroid cancer of the lungs with a BRAF-600 mutation. Morphologically, it looks totally different under a microscope than papillary thyroid cancer. However, the oncologist I spoke with this morning describes every cancer as having an “engine.” If the engine runs on the same principles, then the targeted therapy …
Category Archives: Cancer
Cancer Crawl 25 Oct 2024
A Provisional Diagnosis A lot sure changes in a couple days. We saw my local oncologist today and I now have a provisional diagnosis and a treatment plan: high grade metastatic thyroid cancer of the lungs with a BRAF-600 mutation. It is technically not anaplastic thyroid cancer but that may be a diagnostic distinction without …
Cancer Crawl 22 Oct 2024
First of all, I voted. I am in the cancer ward and I voted. Americans: you now have no excuse. Second, I’m thumb typing this entry. Wish me luck. Third, thanks for all your kind messages. I cannot keep up with all of them or give a customized account of my condition to everyone, so …
Definitely Cancer Crawl: 19 October 2024
I’m writing to you from the cancer ward at Mass General Brigham Hospital, where my local oncologist works. I’m currently on an intense Dilaudid and Ativan hangover so this won’t be the usual thoughtful post. However, I can tell you that today is the first day I have felt better than the previous day for …
Cancer+ Crawl 12 October 2024
My news and the absurdity of modern industrial medicine. Or, how I got diagnosed with pneumonia for the third time in less than a month. This is a long one. I realize that being a cancer patient is a weirdly privileged position. Of course, fuck cancer, but the infrastructure and level of care is a …
Maybe cancer crawl: update Oct 5
So the most important news is that Carrie is here. I wake up several times a night to cough up phlegm in a fairly horrific sounding fashion. It was nice to feel a warm hand on my back as I was trying to hork (<–technical term) something up. And of course the apartment is lit …
Update and a Brief Detour into Existentialism
You know how people sometimes post really personal stuff on social media and then say “I might delete this later?” Yeah, this is one of those posts. The update: I am surviving ok at home. I’m in some kind of steady state where I am not in immediate danger, but I also hate this. My …
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