Stayin’ Alive
(Dancing Day to Day with the Big C)

Well, it’s been a year now since the Calamitous Colonoscopy of Destiny, which occurred on Easter Sunday, of all days, in 2024. (When the hospital called to confirm the appointment, I was like, are you sure that’s right?) It was on this usually joyous spring holiday that the doctor and his team found a plus-size tumour near the junction of my large and small intestines. A biopsy and follow-up CT scan showed that it was advanced colon cancer. It had spread to the peritoneum, or the lining of the abdomen, and was deemed inoperable, which limited the options for treatment. I was scheduled for chemotherapy, but was told it could only slow the cancer for as long as possible, not cure me. (Although I still hold out a flicker of hope for one of those miracles I’ve heard about. Come on, all you deities, get cracking on that, stat!)