So hey, Twitter, let's have a little chat about cancer, and about life, and death. (Thread) (1)

The first thing you have to remember is that everyone dies. Might be tomorrow, might be next week, next month, next year, or 50 years from now. But sooner or later, everyone dies. (2)

The automatic assumption, by doctors and lay people alike, is that everyone wants to live as long as possible. There's a lot to be said for that assumption. But it is not always true, and it is not always best.
(3)

Cancer treatments are pretty devastating to the body. They kill the cancer, sometimes, but they also kill healthy tissue. Radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, none is a perfect answer or cure for cancer. And each one of these things has a price, not just in dollars but in pain. (4)

I have cancer of the esophagus, of the stomach, and of the liver. While the doctors are still testing things and assessing the extent of the cancer, the liver cancer at least is stage 4.

There are, in fact, people who recover from stage four cancer. But at what cost? (5)

Radiation can scar the esophagus and stomach enough to make eating painful or impossible. I had a friend whose mother went through that. At the end of her life, she was receiving nutrition via a port to her stomach.

Come on, you know me. I am so all about the food. (6)

And I am 54 years old, and I am already disabled, and I have lived a life that has been both terrible and marvelous. I have done the things I was put here to do, or else failed at them so thoroughly that there are no second chances available. I have lived my life.

(7)

And so, I have made the decision to prioritize quality of life, rather than gamble it away on the possibility of gaining quantity of life. I want to enjoy whatever time I have left as best I can, and get my affairs in order for those who I will leave behind. (8)

There are still tests to be done that will help determine the time frame that we are looking at, but my doctor's current best estimate is " months ". And so, in those months, I want to enjoy the company of friends, the taste of good food, the spectacle of rocket launches, etc (9)

Because of the GoFundMe that Julia bergeron started on my behalf, I will be better able to make sure that Lupi is in a good place when I move on. I will be able to enjoy these final months as much as possible. And I am so thankful. (10)

So, I have made my decisions and I have made my peace with them. I hope that you all can do the same, and maybe we'll even manage a gathering before I go.

I'd rather celebrate my life while I'm still alive, then leave y'all to do it when I'm gone.

(11)

I'll still be around for some time, narrating the changes in my world and letting y'all know what's going on. But for now I just want to say:

Thank you all, for your companionship, and your friendship. It has been my great pleasure to be your Wayward Plane.

(12/end)

The fundraiser, btw, is here. https://gofund.me/dbbeed5b