[Hopespringpcsg] FW: [PPML] Am I Weird?

[Glen Tolhurst]

Hi all:
See below for sequence of comments from a US PCa blog. 
Read from bottom (#1 comment) to  top ( #4 comment)to follow the thread. 
The #1 comment is from someone whose doctor "wrote him off".
Enlightening.

Take care,
Glen


 #4 "When to going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson

#3   'Don't let the bastards grind you down'? Or in Latin 'nil carborundum illegitimi'. It was the motto of General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell in WW II*


> 
>
#2 > When I read your description of how you've been managing to let down 
> your much-respected oncologist, not to mention the grim reaper, I was 
> somehow reminded of this clip from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" < 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBxMPqxJGqI>.
>
> My Rx: avoid all buckets (and carts), and write us in the morning--any 
> morning you like.
>
>
>
>
# 1  Here's the full text of a blog post I wrote (not yet posted) for the 
>> Tech Curmudgeon blog:
>>
>> As a victim of advanced prostate cancer, I see a *lot* of doctors. 
>> For about a year and a quarter, my care was overseen by a very highly 
>> regarded oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Late in 
>> 2017, however, she apparently concluded that there was little or 
>> nothing more they could do for me. She said I could expect to live 
>> another three months or less ... six if I was lucky ... and she 
>> recommended I sign up for hospice care.
>>
>> Now I'm sure hospice is extremely beneficial and comforting to many, 
>> many terminally ill patients and their loved ones. However, the 
>> concept of hospice is that you are in the final stages of illness, 
>> and essentially give up on the idea of treatment. From that point, 
>> you can expect interventions only to relieve pain and discomfort.
>>
>> There is *no way* I was ready for that!
>>
>> I'm still quite independent. I shower and dress myself, get my own 
>> food when necessary, and maintain a limited but fulfilling lifestyle. 
>> I go for walks. I host friends and family (though my wife is stuck 
>> with most of the work.) Writing for this blog actually gives me a 
>> sense of purpose. And then, of course, there's the all important 
>> watching of TV. Somehow, I can not see myself just sitting at home 
>> waiting for the grim reaper (especially not if he or she comes during 
>> "Jeopardy.")
>>
>> But this seems to be what most oncologists expect.
>>
>> Most of the doctors I've spoken with since seem to regard the "3 to 6 
>> months" as a prescription rather than a prognosis. ("Kick two buckets 
>> and don't call us in the morning.")
>>
>> It's a mystery to them why I would waste their time and resources 
>> (drugs, blood for transfusions, etc.) when I'm clearly just biding my 
>> time. Several doctors have told me how much respect they have for my 
>> Dana-Farber oncologist, implying that I'm somehow defying her 
>> expertise by trying to live like ... well, like a living person.
>>
>> Fortunately, over the course of a few doctor's appointments and 
>> hospital stays, I have encountered a very few doctors who /get it./ 
>> These select few seem to understand that, despite my bleak prognosis, 
>> I'm trying to conduct my life like a life ... to pursue any avenue 
>> that might delay the cancer's progression, and to stay as comfortable 
>> and even energetic as possible while doing it. These are the doctors 
>> I want on my team.
>>
>>