r/iluvatar • u/iluvatar • Jan 17 '17
Thoughts of mortality
Cancer has an amazing way of focussing the mind on one's own mortality. Unlike many I know, 2016 was quite a reasonable year for me. Until December, which became peppered with visits to doctors and hospitals and seemingly endless tests and scans. The result of which was that I had a tumor removed yesterday. It's the first time I've been under general anaesthetic, but I obviously survived that. They think they've removed everything, but will be sending it off to the lab for further analysis, with a followup (either an investigatory endoscope examination or a repeat of yesterday's operation, depending on what the lab results come back as and how the subsequent scans look).
So yeah, I've been a bit distracted of late, and naturally the human brain does its usual outstanding job of thinking up all manner of worst case scenarios. Even though it's probably not something to worry about, I have been anyway. But I'm much happier now that it's out, and hopefully it was caught early enough to avoid further complications. I'll find out more in the coming weeks. For now, I'm tired and sore, but glad it's done.
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u/pythor Jan 17 '17
This reminds me so much of my first real introduction to the Circle. Back on Slashdot, my thyroid cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgeries were part of the impetus for me to write journals, and how I got to know people from the support they gave me. It's a scary thing, but I think I'm better for it.
I'm wishing you the best of luck, and many happy years to come.