Many days, often many weeks, go by and no one touches me. Not a handshake. Not a friendly pat on the arm, not a hug nor a kiss. Alone. Yesterday, Dr. Siddiqui asked for a second time, “You live alone?” surprised as I get off the table on which he removed the tumor and onto my […]
cancer
Fear
It is 2:33 in the morning. I have an appointment today to see a surgeon to decide whether to operate—specifically to perform a minor procedure; namely, remove a small tumor from my belly. As with the three biopsies I have had in the past, consulting a surgeon on whether to operate is a formality. Dr. […]
My personal experience with cancer—Cancer III, II, I
New York, New York, Saturday, April 13, 2013: My third cancer is new. It did not present itself as a suspicious sign the way the lump (tumor) did under my right arm leading to a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s disease followed by major surgery and two rounds of radiation treatment when I was 28 years old. […]
Who I used to be
The provinces of his body revolted,/ The squares of his mind were empty, / Silence invaded the suburbs, / The current of his feeling failed: he became his admirers. -W.H. Auden April, 2013 “Who did you used to be?” a technician asked me while drawing my blood at the Mount Nittany Medical Center, State College, PA. […]
Learning to Live Again, My Triumph Over Cancer
Library Journal review Solkoff, Joel. Learning To Live Again: My Triumph over Cancer. Holt. Jun. 1983. c.220p. LC 82-18743. ISBN 0- 03-057647-4. SI6.95. MED/PER NAR Solkoff is diagnosed as having Hodgkin’s disease, a type of cancer. He fears the disease and the possibility of death. He undergoes radiation treatment to eradicate the cancer, “Radiation treatment […]
Kvetzing in Centre County, December 2009 Version
Preparing for the next column–a columnist kvetches 1.Submitted by jsolkoff on Sat, 2009-12-26 Dear Reader I write a column for Voices which appears in the Community and Lifestyles section. The column “From Where I Sit” is about the disabled and elderly. [Please note that according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (frequently […]
Interview with The Duke Taught Me a Lesson from Voices of Central Pennsylvania, December 2009-January 2010
From Where I Sit John Wayne once granted me a telephoneinterview on his experiences with cancer.For those readers too young to remember [aconcept that defies imagination], JohnWayne (nicknamed The Duke) was anAcademy-Award winning actor whoappeared in 142 movies. His cowboy andother macho roles served as an icon for mygeneration on how a real man is […]