One day I was fine. The next day I was not. I had your melanoma kin removed from my chest in 2015. I was told that it was completely removed and nothing to worry about. A year later I was told that another melanoma family member on my outer right ear. To remove this melanoma a surgeon had to dig deeper to remove the culprit and reconstruct the ear and check the nearest lymph nodes. The doctors thought that they had put an end to it, but eight years later the cancer metastasized; which means it spread from where it started to a distant part of the body. For me it was in close proximity to the liver but not connected to it. I was told by the oncologist that there was immunotherapy that could kill the cancer to which I promptly agreed to pursue; but in my case, I could not handle the drugs they were using and my liver was adversely affected. As a result, the treatment alone landed me in the ICU on two different occasions; and while the cancer was reduced in size, it was not eliminated.
So, I am determined to kill off the cancer by staying on a whole food, plant based diet and practicing Zen Buddhism to keep myself positive. It has been working for me. I have not felt your presence in quite some time now. However, I have suffered from medications that were reduced as a result of the immunotherapy; which has had adverse affects. While my body has struggled in turn, my mind has landed someplace else all together.
Let me explain why you are a karmic revelation. By definition you are characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. Go up one level to species and consider each human being a cell. There is no argument that we as humans are characterized by uncontrolled growth and that we destroy the habitats of other species leading many to extinction. We are plagued by cancer because we are cancer. So you won’t hear me say WHY ME? I say, Why not me? Did the plants and animals that had their forest destroyed, so that a developer could build a shopping mall; deserve that to happen to them??
So, Cancer, you have been a teacher for me. I may pass sooner than later as a result of our meet-up, but you can count on me to put my energies towards changing human behavior and making the world a better place to be in; while I’m still embodied. May we learn from our mistakes and do no harm.
Sincerely,
A Contrarian
Male, 73 y/o
Metastatic Melanoma, Congenital Hypothyroidism, Atrial Fibrillation, AD/HD
