Six years ago I dealt successfully with prostate cancer. Five months ago I discovered I had a more serious fight on my hands, that of thymic carcinoma.
When I shared that news with my readers I received a tremendous response of support, concern and prayers. This has been much
appreciated.
I also received tremendous support from friends, colleagues and church members in the Prince
Albert area, both in driving me to Saskatoon where the majority of my treatments take place and in doing many things around the house that I could no longer handle on my own.
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As my partner, Ruth, worded it recently, thymic carcinoma may be a nasty disease, but the response of love, concern and caring we have received from so many people has been absolutely wonderful.
I want to bring readers up-to-date on the treatments I have received and the prognosis for the future.
The tumour is in a location where it cannot be removed by surgery so it must be tackled by chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Because of my body’s drastic reduction of white blood cells during chemotherapy, this approach had to be abandoned, at least temporarily. I did, however, have three cycles of chemotherapy last fall, but I later spent five days in hospital in isolation to protect my weakened immune system from what could have become fatal infections. I was re-evaluated in December and am on a six week radiation treatment regimen that will end in mid-February. My health and further treatment options will then be evaluated.
Cancer can be a frustrating disease because there is still a lot we don’t know about it, and it can be of many types and levels of aggression. Change is slow and not seen as clearly as it is in other illnesses, where moderation of body temperatures, various blood tests and reduction in swelling give some reassurance.
The most frustrating symptoms are a lack of energy and chronic tiredness. Thankfully, I have discovered some of these symptoms can be eased with oxygen therapy.
But tiredness may be something I have to learn to live with over time. Because of this, I am not doing active face-to-face counselling or running group programs such as the anger education program that I developed recently.
However, I am still writing two newspaper columns a week, dealing with some limited phone counselling and replying to e-mail inquiries from readers.
The future is always unknown, but my hope is that I can continue to communicate with people and share my knowledge acquired over my 41 year career as a counselor.
Peter Griffiths is a mental health counsellor based in Prince Albert, Sask. His columns are intended as general advice only. His website is www.sasktelwebsite.net/petecope.
