i've got cancer

hi everyone

(scroll to bottom for ten second version)

as some of you might have heard, i've got cancer. wait, if you hadn't heard yet don't freak out and start crying, its called hodgkins lymphoma and it is very treatable and very non threatening. its one of the cancers they actually refer to as "the good cancer" because it responds so well to treatment (over 90% cure rate).  i am fine with all this, kindof treating it like the car needs to get fixed, but UNLIKE the madagascar truck i'm gonna do it right this time (chemo starts tuesday!).

the long story alot of you have heard, it basically starts back around thanksgiving when i was feeling the general holiday malaise and tiredness. this progressed to loss of appetite, night sweats and fevers. when one day i came to work and realized that i could not stand the thought or taste of chinese food i knew something was wrong - so i went to the doctor. they took some blood, and some scans, and saw a mass in my center top chest. i next went for a cat scan, at which they thought something might be serious. during this the holiday came and went, and i went for something called a PET scan which is like a super radioactive scan. this showed a fluid buildup in my heart and lungs (due to my lymph nodes inactivity due to cancer) which meant i had to go to the hospital right away. i went in on thursday the 3rd, they drained my heart sac with a big needle on friday the 4th (took out over a liter, boy did i feel better), i watched many a western and american gladiators on the 5-6th, got a biopsy done on the lmyph nodes on the 7th, got bone marrow taken out for testing on the 8th, recovered and went home the 9th. the tests all came back as the doctors had hoped (there are far worse fates for cancers, diseases, etc than this one) and i was diagnosed on the 9th of jan. 

then i got out and went to work for a little, went home and slept, then came back today (10th) and worked all day. "but jason, you've got cancer, you should be feeling sorrow and pain and darkness and trying to get out of working" aha, but i did that before, with the knee, and this time i can walk and i don't feel that bad and the drugs they give you for all this have much improved to the point where you just go do the treatment and life goes on.

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commonly asked questions-

how did you get this disease?

it is genetic but before chemo came around they couldn't cure it. some engdahl back in the day probably dropped from it and they just wrote it off to the plague or something. consumption?

how long is the treatment?

6 months

will you be really weak and need to be waited on hand and foot during chemo?

i don't think so, all the doctors said the anti-nausea meds they have now are quite good and you can pretty much go back to work same day. my greatest wish is to continue life as close to normal as possible tho so i assume it will be biz as usual. i assure you if i need any help i will reach out to you, my friends and family.

but i really want to do something for you because i do things for people etc...

the best thing you can do is give blood or platelets. as hackett noted "it makes you feel light headed and giddy, just like all the medievel bloodletters claimed!" thats true, but it also helps all types of people like me who randomly end up in the hospital or with cancer. a lot of chemo patients need platelets for their work coz it messes them up so much. when i was giving blood i gave at NY blood center

http://www.nybloodcenter.org/index.jsp

they will give you cookies and juice and let you watch tv shows like "dogs with jobs"

aren't you worried/scared/freaking out/breaking stuff/blaming someone?

nope. something things happen and you just have to take care of it. it could be much worse. i appreciate all the thoughts and wishes people have sent my way and will definitely tell you if i need errands/cleaning/alternative medicines/food

will you lose you hair?

only the stuff that grows fast, and that might grow back really thick. so maybe i won't be so "thinning" anymore! shane has offered to ritually shore my locks so i will let you know when that happens

are you going to get a nice new set of hats or just some really cheap wigs?

probably a few of both

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so that's the long and short of it, feel free to email me with any questions, i just wanted to let everyone know because you can imagine telling the story over the phone gets you only the ten second version (see below). feel free to pass this info on to anyone i forgot, no secrets here. 

and remember it's all gonna be ok.

hugs for ever

jason

TEN SECOND VERSION

I HAVE SOMETHING CALLED HODGKINS LYMPHOMA IT IS A VERY COMMON CURABLE FORM OF CANCER WHICH REPONDS WELL TO CHEMO WHICH I START ON TUESDAY. THE CURE RATE IS OVER 90% AND I AM GOING TO BE FINE THO I WILL LOSE MY FINE FLOWING LOCKS.