Thoughts on My Second Anniversary Since Cancer Surgery

August 8 is the second anniversary of my radical laryngectomy surgery for throat cancer. I spent 23 hours in surgery and three days in intensive care follow by 6 weeks in the hospital recovering. There were many more weeks in recovery at home, but I endured and survived. Now I am thriving.

I kept a personal journal from the day I suspected something was wrong and got serious about memorializing my journey when I was sent for a biopsy for a pain on the back of my tongue that refused to go away.

That daily diarization was the basis of my cancer journey memoir Drawn Onward, a cancer story of enduring, surviving and reviving. It will soon be published and available on Amazon and other platforms. I will let you know when it is available (such a shameless plug!)

THESE ARE GOOD TIMES

I am feeling very well now and grateful for the opportunity to learn so much more about myself, thanks to cancer. I have pivoted to writing from my former role as a speaker. I had to shift because throat cancer surgery forced me to forfeit my larynx. The memoir is my first published writing project. I hope it will help others who have been stricken by the disease or are living with it as a family, a friend or a caregiver.

This essay is kind of an epilogue to the book. I am getting stronger every day, and my spirits are high. I had a small tumour recurrence on my right lung that was easily removed and only three days for hospital recovery. For about three years, I have had high PSA levels indicating prostate cancer. I don’t have any symptoms or pain, so we are just monitoring the condition. I am 80 years old, so if it is cancer, I expect to die with it, not likely from it.

CANCER BECAME A TEACHER

I have learned a lot about myself because of cancer. I learned how to meditate, and I recommend it, even if there is no trauma in your life. I learned how to endure through courage and temperance by applying those Stoic virtues on a day-to-day basis.

I learned to appreciate not dwelling on nor wasting time and energy on those aspects of life that were beyond my control. Just accept them, adapt, mitigate and keep moving forward. I also learned that the things that are within my control take time and talent to overcome the obstacles and see the opportunity in them. I learned that taking responsibility to strive to survive is mostly a personal responsibility in the recovery phase of my cancer, or any other journey in my life.

I learned that healthcare people are very special human beings. I learned that the love of family and friends is the secret sauce of surviving and striving. I learned that gratitude is the antidote to despair. Now I am thriving with a life of purpose and meaning, even though I am forever altered.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR ME

Now I am writing some nostalgic short stories of funny, poignant, romantic and creative times in my personal and professional life before cancer. I wrote my cancer memoir as an aid for others. I am writing these short stories as pure entertainment.

I have also started the research for a series of easy-to-read how-to chapbooks of about 50 pages each. They will be on how to be an effective citizen by using personal agency to impact the changes you want through political engagement, not partisanship.

POLITICS IS IN MY BLOOD

And, of course, I am back to writing about the Albert political culture on this Citizenship Matters Substack platform. I also want to affect political change in public policy, government programs, electoral reform process with a radically moderate mindset.

That sounds like an oxymoron, I know. But I approach radicalism based on its original Latin radicalis, meaning about a root. I want to get at the core and fundamental basis of problems and look for more pragmatic, deployable, evidence-based solutions. There is nothing extreme in my radically moderate approach to change—just a renewed sense of importance and urgency to take on challenges and create pro-social change.

GRATITUDE AND GRACE

I want to thank all my Substack subscribers for your attention, feedback and support. I am humbled by the feedback, sharing and restacking of my work by so many of you. I am grateful to all my subscribers and especially those who can and do pay for a subscription. It all helps me to improve my capacity, do more research and contribute more to the common cause of designing and defining the next Alberta.

Thanks for indulging me in this personal post about this milestone in my ongoing struggle caused by cancer. I will now return to my usual acerbic political commentary.