An unexpected Journey

At The age of fifty five, I was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer. The location of the tumor made it inoperable so my medical team along with my family physician recommended an aggressive approach to give me the best chance of survival. I was administered thirty five rounds of radiation with three rounds of cisplatin chemotherapy. My oncologist also signed me up for a new drug trial. The drug is called Pembrolizumab and it was a blind study so that not even my oncologist would know if I was receiving the actual drug or a placebo. 

Shortly after my first treatment I was showing possible side affects that were associated with the pembro and it was determined very quickly that I was in fact not receiving the placebo. I continued on the trial in concert with my chemo and radiation with very positive results. Along with my Oncologist, I had an impressive team of specialists working with me, including my Radiologist, Surgeon, Palliative care ( who passed suddenly, shortly after the completion of my radiology), Speech Pathologist, Physio Therapist and a Psychologist who helped me try to navigate my new reality.

I was making a great recovery and although I was told that they would not be able to say that I was in remission, all of my scans were showing everything was stable with no signs that the disease had spread any further. I had also regained a great deal of my speech and swallow studies had shown a marked improvement. I was aware that I may never be able to eat solid food orally again but I found comfort in my ability to swallow. I was able to enjoy smoothies, juices, teas and the occasional coffee and even go out for a date night with my wife and enjoy a cocktail.

Physically I was also on the mend. The cancer had taken my stocky two hundred and thirty five pound frame and reduced it by more than one hundred pounds essentially cutting my body weight by half but I was now managing to put some of that weight back on and keep it . I had also returned to attending our son’s football events and starting taking on home maintenance and renovation projects again. I even had managed to get back into golfing eighteen holes which was one of my favourite past times.

One positive that came from the disease was that I used a great deal of my down time reading. I had enjoyed reading as a young man but somehow had forgotten that but was now reading up to six hours a day having rediscovered my love of a good book. I had also managed, between my new activities, to journal everyday. I found this exercise to be cathartic as I reviewed the events of the day and on more than a few occasions, used my journal to vent my frustrations. 

All of my physical and mental progress was completely wiped out just months from my last treatment. While sitting at a red light with my eldest son in the car, we were rear ended with enough force to cause just under fifteen thousand dollars damage to our SUV and disable their SUV. Although I told the paramedics that with the exception of some back pain I thought I would decline a ride to the hospital, within forty eight hours after the MVA, I was completely immobile. My back had completely seized and my already weakened neck had lost all range of motion. The scariest revelation was the complete loss of any ability to swallow anything at all. The cherry on top is that I had also lost most of my oratory abilities.

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