Tales from the Lung Void

A rare occurrence at Vancouver Aquarium today: the sloth moved. About a month ago, I bought a yearly membership because I find the environment relaxing, but on every visit the two sloths have been asleep. Over the past six months I’ve learned an entire catalog of therapies—transcendental meditation, mindfulness meditation, meaning-centered psychotherapy, CBT, and DBT. If I could just embody the calm, unbothered spirit of the sloth, I’d be perfectly content.

Each time I check in at BC Cancer Vancouver, they tell me to follow the blue line. I’ve always assumed that one day they’ll tell me to follow the orange one, and that this will be how I know something has gone wrong. Today, after receiving my daily radiation dose, I followed the orange line. It appears to lead to the great outdoors, but instead, it ends at an elevator to Floor 0. "Zero" sounds ominous—like Platform 9¾, but without the magic. I boarded it. It creaked its way down to a floor that looked exactly like the one I’d just left: same waiting room, washrooms, changing stalls, and the same unremarkable doors labeled Unit A, B, C, and D. The presence of various doors with the sign “Staff Only” didn’t escape me. It’s the way the radiation therapist can greet me in the waiting area, and then miraculously appear in the treatment room. A nurse asked if I was looking for something. She assured me the machines down here are "exactly the same" as the ones upstairs. I...

✅ Dec 16, '25: Radiotherapy #1. Just finished my first radiotherapy session at BC Cancer. It was a surprisingly relaxing five minutes, lying on my back under a warm blanket. I’m scheduled for 15 daily sessions, ending around January 8. If all goes to plan, I’ll be glowing like a Christmas tree, or a menorah, just in time for the holidays. ✅ Dec 17, '25:  Radiotherapy #2. This morning, in a Zoom meeting, I learned that some patients are treated with  “Gamma Knife”  or  “CyberKnife.”  They’re so precise that the “knife” procedure is called radiation surgery. I’m jealous of the branding—mine is old-school  VMAT . ✅ Dec 18, '25:  Radiotherapy #3. Today I learned the names of the radiation therapists I see every day. The procedure was quick - sadly, the machines run continuously, more like an industrial production line, to accommodate demand. The next patient was a kid, and they asked him if he had a preference for the music. I’ve never been offered that o...

Yesterday was a sad morning: my sister’s week-long visit wrapped up at 4 AM when she caught her flight back. To brighten things up, I asked the AI (Grok) to animate a photo of me, Sheryl, and her with some puppies.