{"id":2972,"date":"2023-11-02T04:17:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T04:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/anal-cancer-patient-drove-an-hour-each-way-and-spent-2200-to-receive-treatment\/"},"modified":"2023-11-02T04:17:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T04:17:28","slug":"anal-cancer-patient-drove-an-hour-each-way-and-spent-2200-to-receive-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/anal-cancer-patient-drove-an-hour-each-way-and-spent-2200-to-receive-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"Anal cancer patient drove an hour each way and spent $2,200 to receive treatment."},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<ul class=\"summary-list\">\n<li>Terry Kelly was 62 years old when he was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2019.<\/li>\n<li>She had to travel an hour for treatment.<\/li>\n<li>After radiation began, Kelly spent more than $2,000 on hotels because she could no longer bear to drive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"inline-newsletter-signup&#10;                          headline-regular loading&#10;                          insider-today\" id=\"formContainer\" data-component-type=\"inline-newsletter-module\" data-event-label=\"insider_today\" data-newsletter-id=\"1\" data-list=\"Insider Today\" data-acq-source=\"healthinlinesignup\">\n<section class=\"inline-newsletter-content\">\n<div class=\"js-loader hidden\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"svg-icon \" version=\"1.1\" role=\"img\" width=\"50\" height=\"50\" viewbox=\"0 0 50 50\" style=\"enable-background:new 0 0 50 50;\" xml:space=\"preserve\">\n                          <title>Loading<\/title>\n                          <desc>Something is loading.<\/desc>\n                          <path fill=\"#111\" d=\"M43.935,25.145c0-10.318-8.364-18.683-18.683-18.683c-10.318,0-18.683,8.365-18.683,18.683h4.068c0-8.071,6.543-14.615,14.615-14.615c8.072,0,14.615,6.543,14.615,14.615H43.935z\">\n                            <animatetransform attributetype=\"xml\" attributename=\"transform\" type=\"rotate\" from=\"0 25 25\" to=\"360 25 25\" dur=\"0.6s\" repeatcount=\"indefinite\"\/>\n                          <\/path>\n                        <\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"success-container__mobile d-none\">\n<p>Thank you for registering!<\/p>\n<p>                              Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed on the go.<br \/>\n                              <button class=\"rounded-button headline-bold white-button download\" type=\"white\"><br \/>\n                                Download the app<br \/>\n                              <\/button>      <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"inline-newsletter-img-wrapper-desktop\">\n<div class=\"lazy-holder lazy-holder  has-transparency\" style=\"padding-top: calc(100% * 124 \/ 111)\">\n<p>                              <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy-image has-transparency\" viewbox=\"0 0 1 1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insider.com\/public\/assets\/rebrand\/newsletter-bull.png\" alt=\"bull\" itemprop=\"contentUrl\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                              <noscript><br \/>\n                                  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.insider.com\/public\/assets\/rebrand\/newsletter-bull.png\"\/><br \/>\n                              <\/noscript><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>This told essay is based on a conversation with Terry Kelly. Edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>At the beginning of 2019, I felt an unpleasant throbbing sensation near my butt. I had suffered from hemorrhoids and anal fissures in the past, and I thought I was facing them again. I went to see a doctor and she discovered something more serious. It turned out that I had a cancerous tumor in my anus.<\/p>\n<p>Hearing the word cancer is scary. You would never think it would happen to you. But there was good news.<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cancer.org\/cancer\/types\/anal-cancer\/detection-diagnosis-staging\/survival-rates.html\" data-analytics-product-module=\"body_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>    83% of people<\/u><\/a>    People with localized anal cancer are still alive five years after diagnosis. Effective treatment protocols exist, but they are very intensive.  6 weeks of anal radiation and additional chemotherapy for her first week and her fifth week.<\/p>\n<p>I contacted<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/\" data-analytics-product-module=\"body_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>    Cancer Hope Network<\/u><\/a>    Then I found a mentor who battled anal cancer 14 years ago. She said to me, \u201cThis is terrible, but it\u2019s doable.\u201d She wasn&#8217;t kidding.<\/p>\n<h2>The hour-long drive to treatment was excruciating.<\/h2>\n<p>I live in a really beautiful part of Washington state and my boat is docked in a part of Puget Sound right behind my house. One of the downsides to living here is that it&#8217;s rural. We have to drive 10 miles just to go to the grocery store.  There is a small clinic about 15 minutes away, but it is not equipped to treat cancer at all, so I had to drive to a town an hour away for treatment.<\/p>\n<p>An hour may not seem like a lot, but the entire journey was a really grueling journey. Imagine the worst hangover of your life times 20. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments made me feel that way. I retreated into myself the entire ride, just trying to get through it. But I knew I would have to drive home after the treatment and do it all again the next day and the following week.<\/p>\n<p>Three weeks into treatment, my husband realized how much driving was taking a toll on me. He contacted the hotel directly across from the radiology clinic and gave us a huge discount. Still, he spent about $2,200 on rentals for his last three weeks of treatment.<\/p>\n<h2>I named the radiation machine to help me cope mentally.<\/h2>\n<p>During the radiation treatment, I had to pull down my pants and expose my buttocks. There was a huge machine behind me and I didn&#8217;t want to think about what it was doing to me.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, I decided to befriend it. I named this machine Eddie the Eradicator. Every day I carried trinkets such as photos of loved ones and meaningful jewelry in my pockets.  I might even be able to tell the machine what I had by saying, &#8220;Hey, Eddie, be nice.&#8221; It has allowed my mind to focus on the good things in life.<\/p>\n<p>The end of treatment is a time for celebration, but the three weeks after radiation were the hardest. My entire groin and buttocks were rough and blistered. I had to lie in a recliner with my legs spread apart. I couldn&#8217;t wear underwear and it was painful to go to the bathroom.<\/p>\n<h2>I am now cancer free and helping others<\/h2>\n<p>A month after treatment ended, I was finally able to walk again and go out on my boat.  Two months later, her husband and I took her on a short three-day road trip.  A year later, doctors declared me cancer-free. It was music to my ears.<\/p>\n<p>In the four years since then, I have become dedicated to sharing my story.like<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mskcc.org\/cancer-care\/types\/anal\/anal-cancer-causes-risk-factors\" data-analytics-product-module=\"body_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>    90% of anal cancers<\/u><\/a>mine was tied to<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/std\/hpv\/stdfact-hpv.htm#:~:text=Human%20papillomavirus%20(HPV)%20is%20the,answers%20basic%20questions%20about%20HPV.\" data-analytics-product-module=\"body_link\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>    Human papillomavirus (HPV)<\/u><\/a>, is the most common sexually transmitted disease in America. I might be a representative for the HPV vaccine. I&#8217;ve done some advocacy work.<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hpvca.org\/\" data-analytics-product-module=\"body_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>    HPV Cancer Alliance<\/u><\/a>    To help people understand why vaccines are important.<\/p>\n<p>I try to talk to my patients as well. Advice from people with experience in treatment was very helpful. Check-ins from friends and family were similar. Cancer is a very big disease, but small acts of kindness can help you overcome cancer every day.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Terry Kelly was 62 years old when he was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2019. She had to travel an hour for treatment. After radiation began, Kelly spent more than $2,000 on hotels because she could no longer bear to drive. Loading Something is loading. Thank you for registering! Access your favorite topics in a &#8230; <a title=\"Anal cancer patient drove an hour each way and spent $2,200 to receive treatment.\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/anal-cancer-patient-drove-an-hour-each-way-and-spent-2200-to-receive-treatment\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Anal cancer patient drove an hour each way and spent $2,200 to receive treatment.\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175],"tags":[174,3,1976,1183,87,647,1977,15],"class_list":["post-2972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anal-cancer","tag-anal","tag-cancer","tag-drove","tag-hour","tag-patient","tag-receive","tag-spent","tag-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2972\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drhimanshuyadav.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}