Tag Archives: adenocarcinoma

The Chemo Diaries Round Six: Cycles End, Cycles Begin

March 23, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, communication, Education, Fear, Health, Positivity, Reason, Science, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Going into the final round of what I term Phase One of my treatment, I am reflecting a bit on two coincidences that have given me plenty to ruminate on. One of these is the fact that of one of my high school friends who I have not seen in far too many years informed me recently that her spouse is also going through chemotherapy and, interestingly, was just about a week ahead of me in the treatment schedule. The other coincidence of merit this week is that my neighbor will be starting her own chemo treatments at the same time I go in to complete my initial run of this badass toxic cocktail before moving toward a kinder and gentler maintenance schedule.

Neither of these coincidentally timed treatments are for the same cancer, which would have been too weird for believability anyway, and we probably won’t share identical side effects across the board or react too similarly to the drugs, but there is still a commonality of experience that cannot be denied. My friend from high school is one of those rare and thoughtful people who is cursed with the right balance of kindness and patience to really place herself in the center of care giving. It feels weird saying this, but I would not wish that upon anyone, as great a gift as it is. This goes back to my issue with patient guilt, perhaps; I feel lacking when I cannot help those suffering worse than me or I feel guilty about not suffering as much as them, and this extrapolates to me not wanting others to suffer as a result of my condition or being forced to take care of me. Continue reading The Chemo Diaries Round Six: Cycles End, Cycles Begin →

Cancer Statistics Show Hope, But Statistics Are Still Bad For You

March 16, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Education, Health, misinformation, Reason, Science, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

So… the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have now begun releasing survival rate statistics for patients with invasive cancer. And it appears to be pretty good news, especially for prostate, breast and colorectal cancer patients. Across the board, however, patient longevity has been on the rise and the one thing that the statistics do make clear is that what they term “survival rates” are increasing.

I am not a fan of “survival” as a description of continuing to live while dealing with cancer. Along with statistics in general, this sort of terminology paints a narrow and misleading picture Continue reading Cancer Statistics Show Hope, But Statistics Are Still Bad For You →

Alternative and Complementary Cancer Treatments: Good, Bad and Ugly

March 15, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, journalism, misinformation, Reason, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

An article by Victoria Stern, MA published on the Medscape website in September, 2014 details information on many complementary and alternative cancer treatments. Because not all my readers are likely to have subscriptions to Medscape, and because the article is rather long, I am going to summarize a lot of it here. The comments and opinions below are my own unless cited, and I am not a doctor; the information on studies and data comes primarily from the Medscape article and it, along with Medscape in general, is worth reading if you sign up.

The takeaway on complementary vs alternative treatments remains consistent with what I would refer to as, Continue reading Alternative and Complementary Cancer Treatments: Good, Bad and Ugly →

The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Egg Counting

March 7, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Health, positive approach, Positivity, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

It’s that old adage of counting them before they are hatched. That’s probably what I should have been considering yesterday, one might suggest, because I did go out running around as though everything were back to normal. Not entirely, of course, but enough; so today, which is the fifth day of my fifth round, I woke extra wiped out. Although to say that I “woke” that way is being kind of generous. Really, I simply had not slept. Continue reading The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Egg Counting →

The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Hiccups in the System

March 4, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Health, positive approach, Positivity, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Side Effects and Annoyances

It only took about fifteen minutes for the hiccups to begin. By the time I sat in the car and turned on the ignition, I could feel them coming on. But the good news was they only lasted a few minutes and by the time I had pulled out of the parking structure after my infusion, they were all but gone. Hiccups are an odd addition to my routine over the past month or so, and they really came on strong the week after Round Four, though I had all but forgotten about them since. After returning from the infusion this time, they only popped up a few times, as though to remind me that I shouldn’t be complacent about the effects of the chemotherapy, even though I generally feel just fine on infusion days. Continue reading The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Hiccups in the System →

The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Infusion Day

March 3, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reasonadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, misinformation, Science, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Okay, coming in for round five of six may not be quite as sexy as spending time with Seven of Nine, but it isn’t without its perks today. For one, check out today’s accommodations! I may have to squeeze in a nap, just to take advantage.

Plus, apparently I have managed to gain ten pounds over the past month or so, perplexing the medical staff who are now curious about my diet and exercise… Let’s just say, it hasn’t been my exercise, and maybe that is part of it. Continue reading The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Infusion Day →

Survival Rate Statistics and What They Don’t Tell You

February 24, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reasonadenocarcinoma, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, misinformation, positive approach, Positivity, Reason, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

The other day I was having a discussion and it came to light that statistics had been bandied about quite early in my post-diagnostic journey. Now, I’m no stranger to statistics, but odds are that, whether you realize it or not, most of you are. That is not to say you have never heard any quoted or identified yourselves among some figure cited here or there… The truth is, one way or another, we are all statistics. And that means, well, virtually nothing. Moreover, even if one out of ten of us understands that even if the median reader gave up two sentences ago and clicked off this page, some readers will actually read most or maybe even all of what I am typing up here, this understanding is still only a basic understanding of a type of statistical qualifier and hardly bridges the gap between acquaintance and friend.

Which is all just a very wordy way of saying that statistics should only be read when one is prepared to interpret them, and while interpreting them it is important to remember that they often cannot highlight a “truth” without refined analysis. Such is the case with the statistical survival rates of adenocarcinoma, my particular flavor of cancer.

By the time I had received my diagnosis, Continue reading Survival Rate Statistics and What They Don’t Tell You →

February 2015 Video Update

February 19, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Health, positive approach, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Here is a quick video I threw together this morning so that you can see my general physical appearance after passing the halfway mark on my current treatment schedule. No, my beard was already that gray… However, I’ll admit, my face does look a little “fuller” than it did this time last year. This isn’t a beauty contest, Folks!

Maximizing Your Cancer Benefits

February 16, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, positive approach, Positivity, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

While it may seem oxymoronic to use the term “benefits” in conjunction with a cancer diagnosis, the fact is that there are going to be some options that open to the cancer patient and ways to take advantage of them which might not be immediately obvious. And the best way to maximize these benefits, of course, begins with an early diagnosis. Just like everything cancer related, the earlier the diagnosis the better, though no matter how late the diagnosis comes it will always be better than an even later one.

Because cancers tend to move at varied rates, it is important to know whether a cancer is of the slow and steady variety or if it particularly aggressive. The options available for an aggressive cancer are naturally slimmer, largely because that cancer needs to be attacked right away. But this can, in its own way, be liberating. When our set of choices is reduced to the bare minimum, it frees us up to focus on other things. There is somehow, amazingly, less to worry about. I do A or B, it works or it doesn’t. There is no waiting or wasting time, just getting into action and rolling with it.

And focusing, then, on what really matters. Continue reading Maximizing Your Cancer Benefits →

Just Because It Works In a Dish Does Not Mean It Is A Cure

February 11, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reasonadenocarcinoma, Cancer, Reason, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

In cancer research, there are a multitude of reasons why a compound may look promising for use in a cancer drug. Passionate and caring people put countless hours into looking for new ways to disrupt the biological processes of cancer cells that won’t harm healthy cell development. Theory after theory must be tested and then move from paper arguments into the laboratory. The first step in the lab will be along the lines of testing a culture of human cancer cells in a little petri dish under a microscope. Then, if that step is successful, growing tumors on mice to see if those can also be effectively killed off while leaving the mice unharmed. And yet, for still another multitude of reasons, successfully killing cancer in a dish or on mice does not mean that substance is an effective cure for human cancer.

Here is a brief explanation of why. Continue reading Just Because It Works In a Dish Does Not Mean It Is A Cure →

Just Bad for You

Saving you from yourself