“An illness in stages, a very long flight of steps that led assuredly to death, but whose every step represented a unique apprenticeship. It was a disease that gave death time to live and its victims time to die, time to discover time, and in the end to discover life.”
-- Herve Guibert 1955-91: “To the Friend who did not Save my Life” (1991)
DAY 1
HEPATITIS C
“Current treatment is a combination of pegylated interferon-alpha-2a or pegylated interferon-alpha-2b (brand names Pegasys or PEG-Intron) and the antiviral drug ribavirin for a period of 24 or 48 weeks, depending on the hepatitis C virus genotype.”
Journey or adventure? We shall see. Tonight I begin the treatment for the Hep C I’ve carried since the 70s. 
I started this blog in 2007 when I was diagnosed with non-hodgkins lymphoma. Then, as now, I had no idea what to expect. Rather than certainty -- a persistent myth of being we are both hard-wired and culturally trained to buy into -- there were only questions. What would the chemo be like? Would it work? Was I going to die?
Realistically speaking, I suppose one’s fate is less a journey or adventure than simply what is. But we live rather than simply exist via narratives: the stories we tell ourselves and others that make life make sense. Then, as now, I can only adopt that cavalier attitude wh
ich belies the fear and insecurity at the heart of our mortality.
“The treatment may be physically demanding, particularly for those with a prior history of drug or alcohol abuse. It can qualify for temporary disability in some cases. A substantial proportion of patients will experience a panoply of side effects ranging from a 'flu-like' syndrome (the most common, experienced for a few days after the weekly injection of interferon) to severe adverse events including anemia, cardiovascular events and psychiatric problems such as suicide or suicidal ideation. The latter are exacerbated by the general physiological stress experienced by the patient.”
Then, as now, I will keep you posted.
Love - Randy
IMAGES: Top painting: Dana Schutz "Death Comes To All"; Lower right, Wangechi Mutu
2 comments:
I applaud your decision to begin your treatment. Since you have already been through the rigors of chemo therapy with your lymphoma, you will experience similar physical effects and you MAY experience some unpleasant psychological effects as will. As a former interferon junkie, I can say that after you complete your therapy schedule, your relief of being rid of the 'C' will put a certain giddy-up in your step and an up-tempo in your demeanor. In the mean time if you hit any rough patches in your road to the cure, you have my cell. Love, Bill.
Journey or not, life is as is as you've wisely written. Treating the malaises of interferon side effects with benadryl and acetaminophen seems cruelly tame but you will weather these blues in your inimitable way. As for -isms, is scienc-ism a viable belief system?
Jul
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