Chapter 1 | Part 1: A Doctor Surrounded by Doctors Yet Still Undiagnosed
I remember the exact moment when, I believe, my cancer first heralded itself – the time I barfed during my call shift. It was the
Chapter 1 | Part 2: From Mardi Gras to the Emergency Room, Unrelated
by Christopher Graham My now-wife and I went home to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in the spring of 2016, right at the beginning of
Chapter 1 | Part 3: Well, it’s not Crohn’s Disease
by Christopher Graham So I went to the ER, and everyone agreed I needed a CT scan. Despite having read thousands of them in my
Chapter 1 | Part 4: Florid Mesothelial Hyperplasia Vs. Peritoneal Mesothelioma
by Christopher Graham Well, a couple days later the biopsy results finally came back. The differential diagnosis for the way the stuff looked under the
Chapter 1 | Part 5: Something You May Not Know About Peritoneal Mesothelioma
by Christopher Graham They have a system to estimate the extent of disease, called the peritoneal carcinomatosis index (PCI). It’s a scale that goes from
Chapter 2 | Part 1: A Regrettable Last Meal the Night Before Major Surgery
by Christopher Graham My parents, sister, and my nephew came up a few days before the surgery. We had, essentially, a long weekend to visit
Chapter 2 | Part 2: Assuming the Role of Surgical Patient as a Doctor
by Christopher Graham Your day gets going pretty early when you’re the first case on the schedule. Surgery usually tries to start their first case
Chapter 2 | Part 3: Who are all of these People in the Operating Room?
by Christopher Graham Eventually, my surgeon came in the room. It was actually the first time I’d seen him wearing scrubs. In clinic, he’s quite
Chapter 2 | Part 4: So What Happened During My 12 Hour Surgery?
by Christopher Graham The operation itself lasted about 12 hours. They were expecting it to take more like 8 hours, but apparently there was a
Chapter 2 | Part 5: HIPEC and Dealing with Tubes Everywhere
by Christopher Graham The other big part of the treatment for peritoneal mesothelioma, in addition to trying to remove all of the big, bulky disease
Chapter 3 | Part 1: Waking Up in the ICU
by Christopher Graham One of the places on earth where you least want to find yourself, is in the surgical intensive care unit of a
Chapter 3 | Part 2: Admitting You Need Help
by Christopher Graham Your perception of time changes greatly in the ICU. It’s very, very easy to get disoriented. You’ve just been through one of
Chapter 3 | Part 3: The Single Worst Physical Experience
by Christopher Graham My urine output for the first day or two was actually quite excellent. So good, in fact, that they removed the Foley
Chapter 3 | Part 4: From Physician to Patient in the Same Procedure Room
by Christopher Graham One thing I didn’t realize about the hospital was that you’d get a different nurse most nights. It seems obvious in retrospect
Chapter 3 | Part 5: The Dangerous Reality of Opiate Medications
by Christopher Graham I vaguely remember waking up from the IR case. I don’t know if I went straight to dialysis or if I was
Chapter 3 | Part 6: Leaving the ICU with a Plan for the Future
by Christopher Graham That sense of not being able to tell reality from imagination lasted a couple days. During the days it was okay, but
Chapter 4 | Part 1: The White Coats
Getting stepped down to the floor was a very nice change from the ICU. For one thing, I was feeling better. That was the whole
Chapter 4 | Part 2: From “Doctor” to “Mister,” From Person to Patient
In complete contradistinction to the ambiguity of the long white coat, you, dear patient, are wearing something that tells the entire world precisely who you
Chapter 4 | Part 3: The Unexpected Visitor
A few days passed in the hospital. Some of my friends came to visit. The mix of people who came to visit was interesting, too.
Chapter 5 | Part 1: The Nature of Patienthood
by Christopher Graham Nicole came to visit every day, and her parents were there nearly every day too. One of the best things about meeting
Chapter 5 | Part 2: An Existential Journey
by Christopher Graham The single worst thing about being a patient, the part that sucks more than anything else, is that you can never get
Chapter 5 | Part 3: Knowing When to be Your Own Advocate
by Christopher Graham Getting back to the nature of the patient experience in this reality, I must say I’m slightly mystified as to how people
Chapter 5 | Part 4: A Few Short Days of Freedom
by Christopher Graham My dad was able to come back up to help out following my discharge. I was finally set free on post-op day
Chapter 6 | Part 1: Boy Meets Girl
After the debacle with the ports, I had an appointment with medical oncology. I talked to them, and together we decided to hold off on
Chapter 6 | Part 2: And the Rest was History
After breaking up with my prior girlfriend, I tried to meet people. I tried real life, I tried the internet. I was even so desperate
Chapter 6 | Part 3: Love, Cancer, and Marriage
I had thought about marrying Nicole for a long time, actually. I need to start listening to that little voice in the back of my
Chapter 6 | Part 4: A Trip to Paradise and a Return to Treatment
We went scuba diving in Cozumel for our honeymoon. We even sprung for first class tickets, and it was really nice – I don’t know
Chapter 7 | Part 1: Back to Reality and Chemo
If you missed previous installments of Christopher Graham’s story, read them now: chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6 by Christopher Graham
Chapter 7 | Part 2: The Doctor’s Office Waiting Game
by Christopher Graham People sometimes think it’s because the doctor doesn’t respect your time. Or that, they decided to come into the office late that
Chapter 7 | Part 3: Struggling with Chemotherapy and a No-Win Scenario
by Christopher Graham I didn’t fully appreciate the impact of the chemotherapy until I came back from my treatment break. I knew the belly pain
