ONE CANCER STORY
My cancer story begins in California where I had been living for a year and a half. As a contractor on assignment, I had not established roots there nor did I have a real “support system”. It seemed that out of nowhere I became sick. I had trouble eating and was very weak. In the second week of illness, an ultrasound showed some kind of tumor. Blood tests revealed an extremely low and dangerous red blood count. No wonder I had no energy and had trouble walking up a flight of stairs.
Three days later in the middle of July 2000, I was on a plane to Des Moines, Iowa. Why Iowa? Why the Hawkeye state? The biggest reason was family support. Knowing I might face a tough situation, I needed that support and it has, indeed been critical in my journey, especially early on. A second reason was I confident that I would get good care here in Iowa City. And I have. That is not to say, I would not have received good care in California, but there I would have been starting in a huge system as an outsider. Although I had not lived in Iowa for many years, I did not feel as if I would be an outsider here and importantly my family lives in Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa and its highly regarded medical school. The associated hospital (UIHC) is comprehensive and I sort of assumed I would end up there. Like many large organizations, the UIHC’s bureaucracy can be frustrating and impersonal, but you take the good with the bad. The hospital staff’s knowledge base and skills are a huge plus, but you must guard against being just a number. And you need to be involved in your treatment decisions and not be a passive about them. And sometimes, you simply need to stick up for yourself and advocate for what you believe is best for your long term health.
I am writing this blog / story to offer some thoughts to cancer patients - about oncology and my mostly good experiences with my medical team, about fighting for survivorship and most important, things that may help those with cancer. If any of this is helpful, I am glad. If you have ideas or suggestions, please share them in comments.
I want to thank Maggie S, graduate student at the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop, for her writing help. The Writer’s Workshop has a “Patient Voice Project” featuring 1:1 mentoring with graduate students and I was lucky to be part of this program. Thank you, Maggie.
This blog is organized into sections as follows:
1)The Start of Treatment
Diagnosis, a good Surgeon and an unfortunate mismatch with my first Oncologist.
2)Oncology – “the Art and Science”
3)Oncology - “Thinking outside the Box”
4)Cancer Fighting and Attitudes
5)Cancer and CAM(Complimentary Alternative Medicine)
6)You and Your Medical Team
7)Cancer and Faith
8)Other Cancer Fighters and “Fighting Like Hell”
9)The Road Ahead
My cancer story begins in California where I had been living for a year and a half. As a contractor on assignment, I had not established roots there nor did I have a real “support system”. It seemed that out of nowhere I became sick. I had trouble eating and was very weak. In the second week of illness, an ultrasound showed some kind of tumor. Blood tests revealed an extremely low and dangerous red blood count. No wonder I had no energy and had trouble walking up a flight of stairs.
Three days later in the middle of July 2000, I was on a plane to Des Moines, Iowa. Why Iowa? Why the Hawkeye state? The biggest reason was family support. Knowing I might face a tough situation, I needed that support and it has, indeed been critical in my journey, especially early on. A second reason was I confident that I would get good care here in Iowa City. And I have. That is not to say, I would not have received good care in California, but there I would have been starting in a huge system as an outsider. Although I had not lived in Iowa for many years, I did not feel as if I would be an outsider here and importantly my family lives in Iowa City, the home of the University of Iowa and its highly regarded medical school. The associated hospital (UIHC) is comprehensive and I sort of assumed I would end up there. Like many large organizations, the UIHC’s bureaucracy can be frustrating and impersonal, but you take the good with the bad. The hospital staff’s knowledge base and skills are a huge plus, but you must guard against being just a number. And you need to be involved in your treatment decisions and not be a passive about them. And sometimes, you simply need to stick up for yourself and advocate for what you believe is best for your long term health.
I am writing this blog / story to offer some thoughts to cancer patients - about oncology and my mostly good experiences with my medical team, about fighting for survivorship and most important, things that may help those with cancer. If any of this is helpful, I am glad. If you have ideas or suggestions, please share them in comments.
I want to thank Maggie S, graduate student at the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop, for her writing help. The Writer’s Workshop has a “Patient Voice Project” featuring 1:1 mentoring with graduate students and I was lucky to be part of this program. Thank you, Maggie.
This blog is organized into sections as follows:
1)The Start of Treatment
Diagnosis, a good Surgeon and an unfortunate mismatch with my first Oncologist.
2)Oncology – “the Art and Science”
3)Oncology - “Thinking outside the Box”
4)Cancer Fighting and Attitudes
5)Cancer and CAM(Complimentary Alternative Medicine)
6)You and Your Medical Team
7)Cancer and Faith
8)Other Cancer Fighters and “Fighting Like Hell”
9)The Road Ahead
posted by Jerry A. at 11:47 AM
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