Bob W is my
oldest friend from childhood. I have
known him since I was five years old. He
was recently diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma.
He has had two tumors surgically removed and will have one more removed
in two weeks. After that, he will do 60
weeks of chemotherapy in a double-blind study between a high-tech cancer drug
and interferon. (Technically, interferon
is not chemo since it is a cytokine or naturally occurring part of the body's
immune system.)
Yesterday,
he had a 21 cm tumor removed from the back of his abdomen. I visited him at the UWMC today. He was alert and in good spirits. There was a rollaway bed in the room for his wife
Loni to stay overnight with Bob.
Having been to the UWMC for therapy well over 100 times since I was paralyzed 31 years ago, I was able to
confidently assure Bob that he was getting the some of the best medical care available
in the world. The UWMC has historically
been the recipient of more government funding than any other public hospital in
the US. Seattle has excellent cancer
care resources such as the Seattle Cancer
Care Alliance (SCCA) and Fred Hutchinson.
My two big tips for Bob were to be mindful of staying in the moment so as to not let fear cause stress and to write a gratitude list to help focus on the positive things in his life. It was good to be there for my friend. He was there for me 31 years ago and many times since then.
I am grateful for the high quality of medical care in our community and for the excellent medical care that my friend Bob is getting via the SCCA.
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