My Liver Cancer Blog
my first blog, a way for me to process my experience of being diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma
about
I am a professor at a Canadian university. I’m married, have close relationships with my family, love my 2 dogs, love travel, and enjoy hiking (but day hikes only – not really into the hut-to-hut thing). I really hope I can get through this and do some major hikes again in the future. Thank god I also love reading novels (literary prize winners, but also espionage, detective, and sometimes Sci-fi). And thank god I live in an era of excellent tv. And thank god I love writing. There are many things I can still do that I love, even having cancer and being more home-bound than I would like to be.
If you’re new, I recommend starting with How I Found Out.
recent posts
Category: Uncategorized
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A week or so later I met with the surgical oncologist, Dr. C. My husband was away at a conference in Amsterdam, and I had told him not to cancel his travel plans because at the time he left we didn’t know if it was just a hemangioma or something more serious. I initially thought…
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Today I sent my mom this photo. She texted back,”How can you still look so beautiful and so happy during a chemo visit?” “Antidepressants,” I thought, (but did not text).
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At least a few times a week — sometimes when I wake up, sometimes in the middle of a TV show, sometimes washing dishes — I’ll find myself inhabited by utter disbelief. This is not my real life. Where did my real life go? The cancer is becoming more real to me, but it’s still…
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When my doctor called I immediately knew it was something serious. If it hadn’t been, she would have just sent a message through the clinic’s portal. She told me yes, I had inflammation of my gallbladder, which might resolve itself, but the gallbladder might need to be removed. And they had found a large growth…
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When I finally saw my own doctor, she agreed with my diagnosis of gastritis, sent me for more bloodwork, and also ordered an ultrasound because she was worried there might be some gallbladder involvement. Thank god she did. I was very tired and almost fell asleep during the abdominal ultrasound. The technician was sweet and…
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I started having symptoms of gastritis after I returned from Baku, Azerbaijan. I was belching all the time, had a lot of bloating and distension, was experiencing “early satiety” (feeling full after not eating that much), but also feeling a gnawing pain in my stomach if I waited too long to eat. I was really…
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The other night my father had a dream. He dreamed that he was me, and that he was sick, and I was well. That was all there was to the dream. He had taken on the burden of my cancer, and I was free of it. The dream is like my dad – quiet, no…
My Liver Cancer Blog 