Patient F

Patient F. Patient F’s life before his diagnosis consisted of bike riding, swimming, and scuba diving. He would venture to the outdoors, allowing his feet to take him three miles each day, then gathering his body atop a bike and wandering an extra thirty miles as long as rain didn’t hinder him. He was extremely active, letting nature and exercise enrich his body, however it took about three to four years after his diagnosis to even be able to walk right again. He found himself utilizing a stick or simply holding himself up with a rail throughout these tumultuous years. His work entailed fixing everything that could possibly be broken in a mill, given the title “Machine Operator A”. He spent his days driving heavy equipment, working in control rooms, doing everything possible to analyze and eradicate problems within the will. He never worked a single job within a day; he’d simply go in to see what was wrong and fix it.

 It was during his time at this job that he encountered his diagnosis. He didn’t have any prior symptoms that made him believe that he was ill. Simply one day at work, the company offered free prostate exams, and he figured at the age of 49, it was about time that he had his first one. It was there at work that they found a lump. They took a biopsy and wanted to wait because it wasn’t yet cancer. When all of a sudden, it blew up, bursting out parts of his prostate and spreading around his heart, spine and back. 

His doctors did not suggest any treatments, because his cancer was so far advanced that he seemed to have an expiration date tagged onto him. He had an operation to take the tumor out, and throughout the entire procedure he was not scared. He simply stated, “get it out of me”. And then the cancer came back. They decided that he was terminal and gave him 5 months to live.

One evening however, nurses visited his room and recommended that he try out an experimental medicine. He adamantly refused, noting that he did not want to exist as simply a lab rat. One of his friends came to his bedside to visit and said, “Look, I know that you don’t want to feel like you’re a part of an experiment, but you know that you’re terminal. You should try this drug and maybe it will help somebody else.” After thinking it over, he at last decided to take his friend’s advice, knowing that though he may not be able to help himself, there was still hope for others just like him existing within the world. 

It was at this time that his previous doctor left him from his treatment, and Dr. Islam stepped in. At first, he and Dr. Islam did not get along very well. However with time, he considered Dr. Islam a friend and not simply a doctor. Anytime that he has a headache or simple cough, he would call Dr. Islam and he would recocmend that he come in to be checked out immediately. One Christmas eve appointment, Patient F dressed up in a Santa Claus suit during his visit to the hospital and distributing candy canes to his nurses, doctors and fellow patients, laughing along with Dr. Islam despite their differences in religion. 

Throughout Patient F’s entire experience, his mentality on life and survival remained on an uphill trend. Though his son and daughter were understandably extremely frightened about his situation, he never really discussed it with him because he had learned to accept his fate. He would arise in the morning, sunlight beating down golden onto his skin and thinking, “So far so good. I’m still here.” He had been a traveler throughout his life, venturing to over 44 different countries, hundreds of islands and traveling throughout the globe. He could not complain, he was more than ready to accept that if he were to pass, his life had been a fulfilled one. 

Although he is not what he used to be in terms of physical shape, getting tired very rapidly and agitated by the lack of tenacity in his bones, he has accepted this aspect of life. He used to take part in Tai Kwan Do, teaching numerous classes and going to the gym on a regular basis. Nowadays he still works out, but he cannot fight with the same stamina as in his youth. 

During his fourth year into his cancer experience, he met a woman and ended up getting married. She ran a mission’s agency, a pious Christian who spoke four languages and worked as an English teacher in China for four years beginning in 1981. Patient F got baptized at the side of his wife, and began bicycling again and even arranging to scuba dive once again. For the next five years, they journeyed as a couple twice a year to China so that his wife could complete contracts for American English teachers to commence teaching at large Chinese academies. In this way, he was able to pursue his jubilation for travel once again. They stopped by Thailand and visited his son in Japan along the way, who was teaching English at a school there. He maintained an optimistic attitude throughout his entire journey through prostate cancer, never doubting that there was a plan for him. Although his physical life is nowhere near what he was used to, he believes that his emotional life, throughout his endurance with cancer, has been better than ever.