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Wednesday, February 1, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Bep‘two-weekspready’
Cancerpandpme:pThepreality
By Jim Williams
Correspondent
After the shock and sad-
ness of getting another can-
cer diagnosis, comes the
fun part. Once the biopsy is
back, it’s time to get staged
and have the oncologists
come up with your treatment
plan.
The treatment plan for my
type of cancer is considered
the “gold standard.” Twenty-
eight days of radiation, with
one week of chemotherapy
at the first week, and another
week on the final full week
of radiation.
When they decide upon
your treatment, they go over
some of the issues you may
deal with. Fatigue, sickness,
hair loss, bone brittleness,
and a host of others. What
they fail to tell you is the
amount of pain you will be
dealing with, the extent of
the fatigue, and considering
they are ‘nuking’ your lower
pelvis, what other issues may
come up.
The reality was, that my
bladder decided to be hyper-
active and I had to “go” vir-
tually every 45 minutes for
several weeks. This included
the nights, which of course
made it difficult to sleep.
That calmed down after a
while and my function is
pretty much back to normal.
The reality now is, that
having your anus radiated
causes all sorts of problems.
In my case, I had been radi-
ated down there about 19
years ago. A much lighter
dose of radiation than I
received this time, but
enough cumulatively, that
my function there leaves a
lot to be desired. When my
large colon was removed 14
years ago, the surgeon said
that it was the goal to get me
down to 10-12 bowel move-
ments a day! Whoa!
Somehow I managed, and
my body adapted and that
became more like 6-7 times
a day. I was still able to have
a fairly normal life. I could
ride my bike 5-6 hours at a
time. There was some prepa-
ration involved in making
that happen, and there was
the occasional hike that left
me taking care of business in
the woods without anything
to cleanup but a pair of socks
(not recommended) or pine
needles, ouch! But all in all,
things were good.
Things are not so good
now. I’m over and above
the 10-12 times a day the
doctors first thought years
ago. I can’t seem to empty
completely. Because of the
radiation and reduced blood
flow, things just don’t quite
work like they’re supposed
to. I’m in a lot of pain due
to frequency and a lack of,
uh, flexibility in the area. It
hurts to go. I can’t hardly
walk as I also have urgency
issues. Even if I’ve just
gone, there is a feeling that
there’s always more, and
sometimes there is. Between
the pain, urgency and fre-
quency, I’m able to work, as
long as I’m close to a bath-
room. Venturing far from
home to go to a movie, or
dinner though, is out of the
question.
I’ve found a message
board for anal cancer sur-
vivors and apparently I am
not alone with this reality.
It is quite common, and for
some it has gotten better; for
others, it is now something
they have to live with every
day. I can say that mine has
improved somewhat in the
12 weeks since my treat-
ment, and I’m hoping of
course that I continue to
improve so I can have some
semblance of a normal life.
I am not alone in this.
People with other cancers
deal with their own reality.
I know of an 80-year-old
gentleman who was cured of
Stage 4 throat cancer, which
is awesome and amazing.
The problem is, his epiglot-
tis (the flap that keeps food
from going into your lungs)
is fried. After a couple of
trips to the hospital from
choking and acquiring pneu-
monia, he has been given
a feeding tube. Some real-
ity. Cured, but can probably
never eat again.
Many others thrive after
treatment, even with this
new reality. I hope, after it’s
been determined that my
treatments have worked and
the cancer is gone, that I am
one of those. At the moment,
I am not. There’s a lot more
I could write, but I have to
“go,” right now.
It occurred 317 years ago
and while there’s no way to
know when the next Cascadia
Subduction Zone earthquake
might hit, it’s a good idea to
be prepared.
Many people in the
Pacific Northwest have
been aware of the Cascadia
Subduction Zone, but a New
Yorker article by Kathryn
Schulz in July 2015 drew
national attention to the 600-
mile fault that runs from
northern California to British
Columbia, about 70-100
miles off the Pacific coast
shoreline. The last Cascadia
quake occurred in this fault
on January 26, 1700, with
an estimated 9.0 magnitude.
Currently, scientists predict
that there is about a 40 per-
cent chance that a megath-
rust earthquake of 9.0+ mag-
nitude in this fault zone will
occur in the next 50 years.
Schulz’s article, and sur-
rounding media attention
about Cascadia, generated
awareness and created some
fear. But Althea Rizzo, geo-
logic hazards program coor-
dinator for Oregon’s Office
of Emergency Management,
says that fear is often based
on the unknown. Knowing
what to do, and how to be
prepared for a large-scale
earthquake, or any disas-
ter, can help to mitigate
fear and empower people
to take action. That action,
says Rizzo, includes putting
together a plan and emer-
gency kits to be 2 Weeks
Ready.
And preparation for “the
Big One” leaves you in good
shape to weather other emer-
gencies — such as those
created by severe weather.
Power outages during
extreme cold, being snowed
in at your home — if you’re
prepared these things can be
handled with relative ease
and comfort, and peace of
mind.
According to Rizzo, peo-
ple are more prepared than
they think.
“You probably already
have many of the things
you need, such as flash-
lights and leather gloves,”
says Rizzo. “Pick up a cou-
ple items every payday and
check out garage sales and
thrift stores for tools and
gear. Look in the garage,
closets and junk drawer for
items before adding to your
shopping list. Being pre-
pared to be self-sufficient for
two weeks is an achievable
goal. You can get there over
time.”
(See related story on
page 11 for ideas on how to
prepare.)
Oregon Office of
Emergency Management has
many tools and resources to
be prepared for a Cascadia
quake and other disasters.
Check out their new website
at www.oregon.gov/OEM.
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