Test

What if the cure has been around for decades, but that no one (or very few people) knew about it, and for some reason they aren't talking? What if the suffering and deaths of millions of people could have been avoided if people were allowed to distribute this cure? What if you could prove that the cure was hidden away for the most selfish of reasons: personal profit? Would you vote for a party that would prohibit use of this cure, or even research on it?

Let's say that the government and Big Pharma were in cahoots, and that the government was in favour of suppressing this cure because Big Pharma could make lots of cash inventing "treatments" that the government could tax and get its hands on. And let's say that the money spent by the government on "treatment" of cancer was less than what they make from Big Pharma. And let's also assume that the average Canadian benefits from this money through various social programs unrelated to cancer. Would that be acceptable to you? People like to say that they want their government to do the ethical thing, but if it means cutting funding to things that they like or taxing their industry more, then it's a whole different story. Look at all the people working at polluting companies that voted against the Liberals as an example. There were hundreds of thousands of them, I'm sure.

I don't really feel like it yet. It'll probably happen a bit later if I feel like it again. I'll just give a cancer update here. The bad news is that I will be able to attend a New Year's party tonight. You'll see why it's bad news.

I started the new chemo on October 22. It was...all right. This time around it was only marginally better than typical. The big difference with this protocol is that it also gives you a weird sensitivity to cold. You don't necessarily feel colder, but being outside in less than 20-degree weather makes the insides of your nostrils, face and under the fingernails hurt. For five days I couldn't even go into the fridge without special gloves let alone go outside. Of course, I wouldn't necessarily want to go outside anyway since I felt like shit anyway.

In addition to the liquid chemotherapy infusion, I took some disgusting pills every day. They tasted like shit, and made any liquid I took them with taste just as bad. It was a struggle to swallow eight of them a day, especially during the first five days when my senses of taste, smell and nausea were elevated. At least the place wasn't the vomitorium it usually is. Just a little less than normal.

I was to have another treatment on November 12, but as usual, I was neutropenic. I didn't have to wait a whole week. I had to wait TWO whole weeks. Two weeks. And it all started again on November 26th. I have been working with a pivot nurse that has really been able to help me out in terms of symptoms.She determined that I had "anticipatory nausea", which basically means that part of the nausea that I have was all in my head. I would dread it beforehand and cause it to happen. For example, one of the anti-puke pills they give you is called Zofran. When I am on treatment, I can't even say that name without gagging. To combat this, I was given Ativan. (Many of you know seem to know what this is. I am curious as to why.) It seemed to help, as this treatment was the "best poison session I've had" since the surgery. I only launched about 7-8 times, although the cold sensitivity seemed to linger.

• Pity them. They are so unfortunate. Every one of them. They live in the 13th century (by our reckoning, who knows if they even tell time other than by saying that it's the "rainy season" or something like that).
  
• Remember: Africans are as monolithic an entity as North American black people are. Once you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal.
• Nothing good ever happens there. Nothing. Ever. Unless, of course, a white person helps them. Actually, that's pretty much what happens in North America, too, if you judge black people by most of the film industry through the 1990s and even beyond.

For more details, please read this great article. Here's a taste:

Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat; monkey-brain is an African's cuisine of choice, along with goat, snake, worms and grubs and all manner of game meat. Make sure you show that you are able to eat such food without flinching, and describe how you learn to enjoy it -- because you care.

Fucking liberals. Shit, did I really just say that??

-This is real shit.
-This is good shit right?
-I mean bad shit.
-Bad shit, like the shit is bad?
-This is shit shit! The shit isn't worth shit! Anyone get caught on the street with this would get killed! This is real shit.