This is the 2nd part of my interview of Linnea Olson to talk about her experience with clinical trials, building relationships, and intimacy after lung cancer. https://lungcancer.net/living/linnea-olson-dating/
Linnea is a lung cancer survivor, advocate, artist, and writer. I am very impressed by Linnea’s experience after 15 years of lung cancer survivorship. I’m so fortunate to be able to invite Linnea for a Zoom meeting to talk about clinical trials, dating, sex, triage, and being a writer. Below Linnea summarized the questions I’ve asked during the Zoom meeting. https://lungcancer.net/living/linnea-olson-clinical-trials/
My 5th cancerversary was June 21 meaning I was diagnosed with lung cancer five years ago. Christine reviews how different her husband, children and parents reacted to her cancerversary from her, and she believed that since we have to live with cancer, we either die with misery or live with our head high. Please see the details in https://lungcancer.net/living/fifth-cancerversary/
Do you have experience when you said “I’m fine” to your non-cancer friends’ greeting, your friends startled? The following article is my observations and my argument. https://lungcancer.net/living/i-am-fine/
“I will not let stuttering, losing the proper words and my compromised memory define me, just like how lung cancer does not define me either.” Christine talked about her coping with brain tumour caused by lung cancer. See detailed in https://lungcancer.net/living/cognitive-impairment/
“When it comes to the war to conquer cancer, we need both men and women working together equally.” Christine talks about how women have influenced lung cancer advocacy: https://lungcancer.net/?p=11404
Wuhan (China) has gone through COVID-19 pandemic. People from Wuhan accumulated a lot of experience and made some mistakes. We should learn from their experience and put aside the difference.
Wearing the masks
Finally, the Canadian government changed its attitude, saying wearing masks (not N95 masks) are good for people to prevent the COBID-19 spread. It was happened 2nd day of the USA encouraged people to use masks. I have observed that since the end of January, people mainly from Chinese, South Korean, Japanese and Singapore, have used masks. It has been proven that masks can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19, even if they cannot protect us 100%.
Many Chinese from mainland China in the USA and Canada knew the COVID-19 since it was broken out. So some of them wear masks at the time, even N95 masks. I’ve heard some of Chinese in the USA had difficult experiences because of the masks. I overheard that one Chinese student was pushed down on the subways and was killed because he wore a mask. Americans could tolerate freedom of speech, but couldn’t tolerate some people wearing masks. Although I had posted the article about wearing masks before the USA and Canadian governments encouraged to do so, I had to wait for a while because I didn’t want to be the first several people to promote wearing masks.
It’s not easy to stand alone on what you believe in something right. I was promoting to wear masks at the very beginning when pandemic came to Canada through FB, but it was against what the government said.
Disinfecting the surface of goods
Now, there is another issue I have to talk, that is people use 70% alcohol to clean the packages of food and parcels. 70% of alcohol has a Flash Point of 25 °C. It extremely dangerous, but I haven’t heard any precaution mentioned.
It’s widespread people in China to use the 60% alcohol to clean the packages for food and daily necessities. It has been the fire in the residential area (see video below). Now in one of the talks given to lung cancer doctors, I heard that some lung cancer patients took the 70% alcohol to clean the MRI or CT equipment before their testing. It is like these cancer patients are taking a burning bomb everywhere with them. I brought up the problem in the talk with lung cancer patients, but it didn’t get the attention. I strongly suggested not to use 70% alcohol, rather than to use Lysol or mixtures of bleach and water.
One picture is equal to 1000 words. Please see below.
The Chinese words are: The lower floor residents were cleaning using 60% of alcohol and got a fire because somebody upstairs threw a cigarette bud. (I couldn’t upload the video, thus a picture instead.)
I wrote this article several months ago, but it’s always in my mind: how to get friends, especially non-cancer friends, since your lung cancer diagnosis? Do you care to share your opinion or experience? https://lungcancer.net/living/finding-new-friends/
My friend HaoPei (斐皓) is a Stage 4 lung cancer patient, 38 years old. He passed away in early February 2020. These pictures were taken by him when he travelled in rural China after his diagnosis. 斐皓, 一路走好。
I have a friend who is from Wuhan, China. I interviewed her about her life in Wuhan before and during the epidemic, especially as a lung cancer caregiver. My friend was such a strong lady.
1). Can you first introduce your family?
At the age of 42, my husband has diagnosed with Stage 3B lung cancer in the summer of 2018. He had surgery, chemotherapy and later radiotherapy. We have two young children. I have to give up my career to look after my husband and raise two kids.
In November 2019, my husband’s lung cancer was metastatic to thoracic-vertebral, which further caused compressive fracture on his spine. He had to surgically remove the thoracic vertebral body and fix it with internal titanium alloy. My husband had a painful recovery, and it took more than two months. Within those two months, he couldn’t move not mentioning he couldn’t walk, eat and dress. Two months later, he gradually recovered, and now he walked on the treadmill 5 to 8 km every day. My husband did biomarker testing after the surgery and found ROS1+ lung cancer. He was on Crizontinib till now.
After several months of recovery of the surgery, my husband suffered not only physically but also mentally. He couldn’t continue to work. So we have to sell the house to pay for the treatment.
2) Can you talk about what happened in Wuhan at the beginning of COVID-19? Have you noticed anything different?
From mid of November to December 27, 2019, my husband stayed in Wuhan Xiehe Hospital (Author: one of the best hospitals in Wuhan). We had not heard or seen anything related to coronavirus. We did not notice anything abnormal.
On December 27, my children’s school had flu spread, and the classes were cancelled. Every winter, we always had flu, so it did not get our attention. And soon, the school restarted. At January, more and more people had a fever and had to visit doctors.
Until mid of January 2020, although there was no official notification, there were a lot of rumours that epidemic occurred at Wuhan. On January 18, the officials from the central government visited hospitals in Wuhan. On January 20, it was announced that the virus passed from human to human. Wuhan city was totally in panic and chaos. Everybody wore masks and stayed home. January 23, Wuhan city announced to shut down.
3) After COVID-19 epidemic broke out, how did you manage and how was Wuhan?
At the beginning of COVID-19, the hospitals were chaotic. There were not enough staffs, beds and equipment. The patients couldn’t enter the hospitals when needed. Both the health care workers and patients were under extremely high stress.
The Wuhan government adopted all kind of measures to ease the pressure on doctors and nurses and to keep the operation of the hospitals. For example, the hospitals accepted COVID-19 patients as much as the possible and reduced source of infection. Meanwhile, the residential areas were totally blocked. The residents could not go outside. Several people from each neighbourhood were selected to take the responsibility to purchase daily food and goods for the residents. Many people volunteered to help others.
At this time, a lot of doctors saw their patients used the internet. If the patients needed to go to hospitals, the ambulances would take the patients. Once the patients got to the hospitals, they would check with coronavirus first.
4）How did COVID-19 effect lung cancer patients?
For long-term patients like us who need the medication, the government rule was that the specified community volunteers would go to drug stores to fill up the prescriptions on behalf of the patients and caregivers. Then they would deliver the medications to the patients.
Meanwhile, the doctors saw lung cancer patients through the internet. The patients showed the previous medical documents and consulted with the doctors. The doctors faxed the prescriptions to the patients if needed, and volunteers could purchase the drugs for the patients, or the medication could be delivered to the patients by the drug stores.
Because the hospitals were used for COVID-19 patients and the entire community was blocked, my husband’s doctor suggested to postpone the appointments. My husband felt ok physically and considering the benefit and harm, so his doctor postponed his future checkup. For oral medication like my husband on targeted therapy, we didn’t have any delays, and we could have two prescriptions of Crizontanib filled at once.
5) Some protection methods used.
There are several protective measures we used during a pandemic.
6) Last words
Take COVID-19 epidemic seriously, but don’t be panic. Take good care of yourselves, exercising and eating good food. Stay home, don’t go outside unless it’s necessary. Keep good personal hygiene. Always wear masks. COVID-19 attacks the lung, and as lung cancer patients, our lung function has already been compromised.
Life is not easy, but we still have to move on. Take good care of yourselves!
My friend HaoPei (斐皓) is a Stage 4 lung cancer patient, 38 years old. He passed away in early February 2020. These pictures were taken by him when he travelled in rural China after his diagnosis. 斐皓, 一路走好。
“Life after cancer is an art: the art of living well.” Christine talks about her life after lung cancer. https://lungcancer.net/living/life-after-cancer/
My friend HaoPei (斐皓) is a Stage 4 lung cancer patient, 38 years old. He passed away in early February 2020. These pictures were taken by him when he travelled in rural China after his diagnosis. 斐皓, 一路走好。
