2008

More Speechifying, Courtesy of Harvard...

My debate alumni e-mail list was recently treated to one of the speeches given at this year’s...

Shameless self-promotion: my first cameo (on...

Update: Medical News, Pictures, Next...

Sorry for taking so long to post another update. As my energy level has been declining, I have...

2008 University of California, Berkeley...

This month I was invited to give the keynote at the first-ever Cal-Berkeley Debate Reunion. This is...

Cat + Microwave = Cockroach

Just when you thought it was safe to walk around...

This is one of my mom’s favorite DC landmarks (another...

This is the entryway of the hospital where my brother and I...

This is the American branch of my family - our first holiday...

When Thumbs Up Is No Comfort

Happy Mother's Day

In my cancer-related correspondence, my mother comes up quite often. Usually people convey regards...

Got an hour-plus? Ready to laugh and (maybe)...

Treatment 10 5/3/08

This is my first designed-for-blog post, and will be brief. I was treated on Wednesday and I have...

Here he is.

And the brown lady… but they’re never around at the same...

Nightmare

I recently had a nightmare come true. I have discovered that being confronted with the reality of a...

It’s not as bad as it looks, and it didn’t hurt....

Passover Update 4/19/08

All – [Advance warning: I wrote this thinking that some images might help convey the experience...

This picture shows my medicine basket (which includes other...

Allopurinol is a medicine that prevents Tumor Lysis Syndrome. As chemotherapy kills cells (hopefully...

Even before I take my clothes off, my cancer is externally...

When I was first hospitalized, they did not know what the...

The location of the tumor created a problem: there was no way to get access to the tumor for a...

Here you can see my upper chest and shoulder. You should be...

In other news, I have had no serious problems with the catheter that in my arm, called a PICC line....

The Times excerpt is also dead-on in its description of the...

Now, you might be wondering what that brown-colored thing on my arm is. It is a single leg length of...

Although it doesn’t look too pleasant, this thing doesn’t hurt that much. From time to time, when my...

Step 1: Sanitize hands (white bottle of foamy stuff)Step 2:...

Some of you may know that I recently flew to southern California to attend the National Debate...

 I also did not realize that I had put the syringes in a bag...

It turns out that saying “I know you hear this all the time, but I swear to God, I know what this...

When I was in the hospital I had a PET scan. It required...

(Incidentally, and entirely unintentionally, this picture is proof that I am reading the smart...

When I am recovering from chemo, I am not supposed to cut my nails. Here is a picture of my hand –...

The Prohibition on Things that Cause Cuts, However Tiny also extends to shaving. I cannot use a...

The lines are towards the very tips of my fingers (they look...

 It’s the top-of-the-line Panasonic – you can find it on...

Some of you have asked how things are going with my mom. The...

Despite the cramped conditions, I think we have only had about half a dozen serious arguments, none...

In order to make the picture comprehensible, I had to shoot...

Repeated a sufficient number of times, daily hair loss like...

To avoid constant embarrassment and scalp-sunburn, I have to...

However, the kufi is not a Muslim garment. Many devout Muslims do cover their heads, and many of...

White PeopleAbout 85% of white people who react: stares, double-takes14% of white people who react...

East AsiansSo far only one East Asian person has reacted to the hat. She is the Korean woman who...

Brown and Black PeopleEvery person of color that has been in relatively close personal contact with...

Bottom Line on “Muslim Hat” If you have never lived in a place where you are treated as a...

LITTLE THINGS 4/19/08 (2)

This update’s “Cancer Lessons Learned” section deals with Little Things. As you can tell, my daily...

These are the famous Washington DC cherry blossoms. The...

I also enjoy the entertaining remnants of the Cold War. For...

My building has a courtyard with manicured trees and grass, and a small pond with a fountain....

He thought it might just be a fling, but one day, as they...

A few weeks later, they were living in sin in the Kew Gardens pond. Their respective flocks did not...

Eventually Drake too abandoned Kew Gardens to wander the Earth, numb with loss.  Epilogue: my...

When we turn the lights on, it’s too bright for her eyes....

Failure to adjust the lighting results in the loss of the...

And just in case you thought you could read it online…

During breakfast and lunch, comprehensive aerial...

After we leave the house, she takes up her position on the...

Of course, no day would be complete without a little...

Finally, the humans go to sleep. If she makes it to the bed...

Counting my Blessings 2/24/08

All -It seems like I always want to write after getting a treatment/speaking to my oncologist, which...

Berkeley Breathed cartoon (larger image)

From Berkeley Breathed’s Outland

Doses 3 and 4, re-staging 2/11/08

All - This week I had my fourth treatment. That means I am one-third of the way done with my...

Chemotherapy Dose 2 1/14/08

All - I apologize for taking so long to send out another update. A number of people have sent...

Back from the Hospital - 12/21/07

All -I hope this will be the last update e-mail I send in lieu of specific replies to specific...

My First Cancer Letter: "Some Bad...

All - You may recall that I typically get sick at least once a winter - so this month, when I got...