Well it had been on my to-do list to start “blogging” again, and unfortunately events have forced my hand. I wanted to start an easy way for people to keep up with my progress on cancer treatment, the hardest thing is notifying everyone and making sure everyone is aware (so if this is the first you’re hearing about it, don’t worry it’s new news and sorry it’s hard to remember who I’ve told!).
Also I realized your writing is one of the few things you can leave behind (so i may also post stuff in my backlog of topics to write on…). The last time I had cancer I kept it pretty private but this time I see nothing but upside from sharing - but please still reach out to me directly for social interaction, I’d love to chat!
Wait, what’s going on?
Doctors have found a recurrence of my cancer (I had prostate cancer in 2020) and it’s quite serious. There is a large tumor where my prostate used to be, and it appears to have spread to my bones, liver, lungs, lymph nodes and potentially brain (PET scans are unreliable with brain, so I have an MRI to follow up on this Oct-30). Now if I just read that paragraph I’d say “holy shit that guy is about to die”. But… I feel fine? I have almost no symptoms except some mild bone pain (I had even gotten a chest x-ray over the summer thinking I broke a rib - it said I was fine). At the point I’m writing this we don’t really know what’s next - the cancer I had in my prostate was so rare my doctor called it “theoretical” - there’s only been <100 cases of it worldwide ever. And that type of cancer spreading is also extremely rare! Gemini and I have calculated it to be roughly 1 in 80,000,000,000 that I’m in this situation - so maybe I should have been playing more Powerball…
Next steps, I’m getting a bunch more testing - MRI for brain and pelvis, biopsy for cells from liver etc… so the course of treatment can be determined. The bad news is if its my previous cancer and not a new second type of cancer there will be mostly guesswork (try chemo and see if it works, etc…), but the good news is cancer therapy has come a long way in recent years and people with this diagnosis can now survive many years. I take inspiration from folks like Lance Armstrong who had metastatic cancer with 90s technology and are still around 30 years later.
What’s Next?
I’ll be documenting where I am with my journey here, but one thing I’ve resolved myself on is I will not go down without a fight. I’m angry the system didn’t do a better job following up with me. I’m angry I didn’t eat healthier in the intervening years, and I’m angry that this type of thing can happen in general. After many days of crying (and I probably hadn’t cried in 5 years before that…) I’ve found my anxiety goes away when I take the fighter mentality. Even though it’s cliched, it really does work for me - cancer is an invasion and it must be fought off. I have literal scars from the first round and sure I’ll have even more this time.
I’m doing literally everything I possibly can to extend my life - not for me, I personally feel I’ve seen the world, have two amazing kids, a wonderful wife, a beautiful home, have accomplished everything I wanted, left it a better place through volunteering, mentoring and have no regrets. My family is reasonably set from my years working in tech, having life insurance and selling businesses.
But I want my kids to have more time with me, and so immediately I…
Changed my diet - I don’t think I ate especially bad, but the Anti-Cancer research shows inflammatory foods are pro cancer (sugar, alcohol, white bread, corn fed red meat etc…), and I believe this based on the way a PET scan works - it’s looking for high consuming cells of sugar! So fuck those cancer cells, they are not getting more.
I will take any and all blessings and prayers. I’ve been asked “is it ok if we pray for you?” YEAH MAN RAIN IT DOWN. If your religion says standing on my head ten minutes a day cures cancer, I’m giving it a try. Meditation? Sure i’ll give it a try.
Perhaps the age of AI is perfect timing for this challenge. I’m hoping to get clinical trials from the top cancer hospitals and hope for a hail mary that the new abilities of AI will let these doctors find connections and solutions that may not have been possible in the past.
I’m realistic, but also having a winning attitude about this - studies show cancer feeds on negativity and cortisol of stress. I’ve had my tears, and I’ll have more, but the way I look at it today is it’s a blessing I have this time to be aware of the preciousness of life. Some dads get hit my a truck and never get a chance to say goodbye. I have the time to ensure everything is set up well, write letters for my kids, and savor every moment. So now the fight begins.
Gosh Phil, I never expected an email like this from you. You’ll not only get my prayers every night but something a bit more tangible. Dr William Makis appears to be helping thousands of people from all around the world defeat cancer using Ivermectin and Fenbendazole accompanied with the chemo. I literally get at least one email every day from him showing a success story. Also, the book and website ‘Chris Beat Cancer’ has had incredible success. I’m sure there are many others but these two stand out to me as having ongoing success with people for as long as I’ve followed them which is from 2020 and before. Not as long as I’ve followed you though! Remember, cancer is a symptom not a sentence. I’ll send the Makis details by return email to you. God Bless and sending healing vibes your way.