Radiation treatment, 2nd session Same process as the first one, albeit a little shorter time to get ready since I already knew what was expected of me, and what items to disrobe. No hiccups or delays. I lie down, get positioned by the therapists, then the bed moves back towards
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Scripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 17
Well, it has begun. Today I drove to RVH for my first radiation treatment session, the third stage of my treatment. One hundred forty-one days since my prostate surgery, and roughly 290 since I was first advised of my dangerously elevated PSA level. This is the first of approximately seven
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Yesterday, I went for my second bone density scan — aka bone densitometry or dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry — the one that had been planned, but scheduled then delayed twice previously. My first bone scan, like my first CT scan, was done in June, before my surgery. This one was ordered
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 15
“… my only object was that all the world should enjoy itself and live in peace and quiet, without quarrels or troubles; but my good intentions were unavailing to save me from going where I never expect to come back from, with this weight of years upon me and a
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More back and forth to RVH, this time for another CT scan today. I arrived early, as usual, and then spent most of my time there waiting and reading. Not as long as I’ve had to wait in the past, but still a lot longer than the process itself. Like
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It’s been an emotional, roller-coaster week for me (if you’ll pardon the cliché…). Back and forth to Barrie for consultations, scans, and tests, more blood work, phone consultations with doctors and hospital social services staff, schedules set, schedules changed, confusion over medication, appointments upset. All in all a rather trying
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Well, that was easy. Relatively, so. Last Monday I got to remove my catheter all by myself. Not the sort of thing one looks forward to — doing the removing, that is — but I was looking forward to having it gone and able to go back to some normality
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Anaesthetic must be one of the most remarkable inventions of the 20th century. While various forms of anaesthesia have been used since the ancient Egyptians (with varying degrees of effectiveness), it really wasn’t perfected until the last century. It’s difficult to imagine the horrors of surgery before it became commonly
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My father died of esophageal cancer several years ago. It was a horrible, lingering death, and I watched him shrivel and die, in constant pain towards the end. On one of my last visits to his bedside, he asked me whether I thought it was better to die with the
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Well, I suppose it’s a good news/bad news story for this post, although I dearly wish it was better. Would that I could have put it all behind me, finished my recovery, and moved on. Not to be: I receive comfort like cold porridge (to quote from The Tempest). Still,
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Diseases desperate grown By desperate appliance are relieved, Or not at all. Shakespeare: Hamlet, Act 4 Sc. 3 Those Kegel exercises sure work. I had my doubts at first, but I stand as living proof they are effective. My pelvic muscles could probably lift a car — well, whenever the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Covid Update
Lockdown Turns Out To WORSEN Public Health Outcomes, Causing Deaths From Cancer & Other Diseases To Rise Dramatically Collateral damage matters This is important to understand: deaths from cancer, heart disease, suicide, addiction, poverty and malnutition are all skyrocketing, as a result of the *political decision* by elites to
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Cancer, Keto & Health – Key Facts
Two of many illusions cut through here, in this documentary series, The Answer To Cancer (linked below): 1. Genes cause cancer and other disease. Wrong. That is old science, now disproven by epigenetics. What you eat, do, and think, affects gene expression. That means that in terms of the great
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 6
I’m sitting here, on my back deck, in the late Friday afternoon, beside Susan, trying to take stock of my life over a glass of wine, and read a bit while the light’s still good. I’m 30 days past my surgery and recovering reasonably well, but still three weeks away
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Answer To Cancer – Important Video
Extremely important – and FREE VIEWING this afternoon. (Wed, Aug. 5, 2020) Video will be taken offline at 9pm ET, when Episode Two goes live. Episode One is two hours, eight minutes; plus there is a one hour additional video. So start watching before 6pm! The first episode starts with
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, part 5
The resilience of the human body is truly amazing. Here I am, three weeks after major surgery, and much of my daily life is back to normal. I can drive, walk the dog, unpack the dishwasher, cook meals, pour the wine, feed the cats, walk upright… a far cry from
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A home is not a sterile environment. Not mine, anyway. With two cats, a dog, numerous houseplants, rooms full of books, and my sometimes lackadaisical attitude toward cleaning, our home will never be sterile. Not to mention the microbiome we all carry around with us: 100 trillion microbes live on
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The operating room was cold. Not merely cool: winter cold. In my thin hospital gown, I felt the chill and shivered a bit. The nurse told me it’s kept cold to help discourage bacteria from thriving. I wanted to ask her about this, to chat about bacteria and their lives.
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries, Part 2
There was an episode in the original Star Trek series called The Deadly Years in which Captain Kirk and some of his companions aged rapidly. At one point, the ship’s computer pegs Kirk’s age at between 60 and 72: he stumbles around clumsily, bent, shuffling, is forgetful, has anger issues
Continue readingScripturient: The Cancer Diaries Part 1
I should have started this a while ago. Perhaps when I received the first news something as wrong. But it took a while to really sink in. And then it was upon me. Although this is personal, I wanted to share it, in the hope others might find it useful.
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