Here Be Dragons

If you want to see the world as it really is, get an introduction to critical thinking from Brian Dunning at www.herebedragonsmovie.com. This is a 40 minute video that I highly recommend.

For the lazy among us, I've embedded it below. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

JREF DVD library on YouTube

The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) now has an official YouTube channel, which you can visit here. My favorite video by far is "The Power of Belief" with John Stossel and James Randi. Watch this and join the skeptics of the world:

The decision

I finally decided to go through with the fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy. When the machine finally made it to St. Peter's, it appeared that I was going to be one of the first (if not the first) patient to use it. The first few visits were interesting -- the people from Novalis were there, looking over the shoulder of St. Peter's staff. I went for a mask fitting, which consisted of having strips of hot plastic applied to my face until it cooled. I had a trial run of the daily procedure:

• Have mask lowered onto my face --which was very similar to Darth Vader in Episode III.
• Have the mask clamped down on all sides -- for the machine to work properly, I must be in exactly the same position for each treatment.
• Finally, lay there while the machine repositions itself for each "dose". Picture the machine that Dr. David Banner used in the Hulk TV show, and you'll know what I mean.

And so it began. Everyday at around 10:30am, I would leave my office and take the 15 minute ride over to St. Peter's. My appointments were at 11:00am, and I would go through the procedure, and be done by around 11:30. I would meet with Dr. Savage each Monday, and he would ask how I was doing, and check for side effects. Basically, the only one I noticed was that I felt tired -- not immediately after the procedure, but around 6pm that night. In most cases it was more of a feeling like I had that night's sleep interrupted, which made me feel tired with a slight headache. I was *warned* by my friends that I would need to take some time off, especially after several weeks of treatment -- and I never needed to.

The treatments were made enjoyable (if that word can be used here) by two of the staff at St. Peter's. Lisa and Brenda spent the most amount of time with me and they were always upbeat and cheerful. We learned a lot of the procedure together, and I have the greatest respect for the time and effort that must have gone into learning this new procedure. For most of the treatment, I was basically sitting in the dark with the mask on, which is so tight-fitting that you must close your eyes while wearing it. Lisa and Brenda usually had a cd playing, and having music in the background helped a great deal. Since the majority of the treatments were going to take place over the Christmas season, I decided to make them a Christmas cd, which they greatly appreciated, and we listened to it from then on. I can't imagine what it would have been like to go through this procedure without their support and friendship. To Lisa and Brenda, thank you. I am forever in your debt.

That was basically it. From November 18th to January 2nd, that was my day, every weekday. Except for the holidays, I was there. No matter what the weather, I was there. Finally, on the day of my last treatment, I was "awarded" a Certificate of Completion that was signed by all the staff of St. Peter's Cancer Care Center. After a hug from Lisa and Brenda, we said goodbye. It was time to get back to my life.

So, what's been the result of 30 radiation treatments? Well, not much. I haven't noticed an improvement in my hearing, and I have had several small dizzy spells -- nothing major, just a short moment of "unfocusedness" -- which I did mention to Dr. Savage. I'm not surprised that the results are so minimal, and this is the important part that most of my friends and relatives seem to forget. For this treatment, success was defined as "no further growth". I didn't expect my hearing to suddenly improve when it was over, and I'm not going to second-guess my decision. I'm scheduled for a MRI in six months, and we'll compare the size of the tumor to the original MRI I had last year.

The final chapter of this story is a phone call I received from St. Peter's yesterday. They want to know if I want to be the "poster boy" for some St. Peter's/Novalis advertising. Perhaps I should wait for the MRI results first...

But let's be real. I can't even compare what I went through to someone going through real cancer treatments -- like my nephew Dave. He's been undergoing treatments for osteogenic sarcoma for several years, which has led to amputation of his right hand and the lower part of his arm. Through all the disruption of their lives, Dave and his wife Leilani have remained cheerful and full of hope for the future. My best wishes to both of them.