I didn’t realize I was going to end up in the hospital most of the day getting infusions and didn’t get any work done.

Came home and found someone broke into my car and trashed it. The battery was stone cold dead, had to get another one.

Anyway, I had a severe case of diverticulitis, which means chemo is postponed until I’m better. Who knows how long that is? But my potassium and magnesium levels were so low, they did three days of infusions to get me close to normal.

A lot of the worst symptoms I attributed to cancer were from that. But now I’m on antibiotics, which I hate. Oh well!

One of the things about chemo is that, in addition to fatigue, you experience weakness. But some people insist on explaining to me that they’re the same thing, and IF ONLY I would do X, Y, or Z, I’d feel better. (Like I’m just not trying hard enough to feel better!)

I’m doing the best I can. I assure you, I am not clinging to the nausea and diarrhea because I like it. Honest.

But pancreatic cancer is a disease of your digestive system, and it ain’t easy. No way, no how.

Plus, my ADD executive function is a mess. The other day, I held onto a TV dinner with my right hand and put my cell phone in the microwave with my left AND TURNED IT ON. Bye bye, newly refurbished cell! I retrieved the sim card, which was only a little scorched, and put it in the old phone (which drops signals all the time).

My point being is, this shit ain’t easy. Send me jokes!

On Saturday morning, a friendly volunteer from a local cancer support foundation showed up at my front door with a backpack full of snacks for chemo, an Uber gift card, and a warm blanket to accompany me to the hospital. I can’t tell you how touched I was. The volunteer told me he’d been doing this for 25 years.

You meet a lot of nice people in Cancer World. So many of them are people touched by cancer who are looking to give whatever support they can. Cancer is a very isolating experience, it helps.

And then, on Saturday afternoon, an old friend showed up to take me to lunch. We sat outside under an umbrella and talked politics and books. (Like me, he reads a lot.)

I thanked him. Being outside helped me feel human again, not just a sick person.

— Foxes In Love (@foxes-in-love.bsky.social) 2026-06-08T13:38:15.461Z

Here it is.

This is from my friend, Mary Beth Williams, because frankly, I’m a little embarrassed to be doing this :

“Two months ago, Susie Madrak, my dear friend of over 20 years, called me with news you never want to hear: “I have pancreatic cancer.” A scary thing, especially since her father died of the same horrible disease.

“During the testing process, she also learned that the unrelenting back pain that confined her to her chair after she fell down concrete steps in November was an exploded vertebra, missed by the ER x-ray taken at the time.

“Her medical team pushed for an immediate Whipple, but she insisted that the chronic pain left her in poor shape for such major surgery.

“Two weeks ago, she finally had spinal surgery, and will now begin chemo, radiation, and eventually the Whipple surgery. It will be a long, rough long road to recovery.

“Although there are some new treatments for this, there is no cure.

“One of the original progressive bloggers, she’s been blogging for the past 20 years, and that means no paid sick leave, no retirement plan — and no savings. (She’s also had Long Covid since 2021, with chronic fatigue that limits her to a few functional hours a day.)

“Her family members all live at least an hour away. They do as much as they can, but she will still need in-home help, only some of it covered by Medicare.

“My goal is to raise enough for Susie to survive the next year without worrying too much about money. She has championed the helpless for years, and I hope we can do the same for her while goes through this fight.”

I would love to have your help, but I also know how many people are hurting this year. And because I’m a blogger, I know why. But if you can spare a few bucks to help me through this all-too-common American nightmare, I’d really appreciate it.

Susie

P.S. I gotta tell you, this is really uncomfortable for me. I don’t mind asking for help with my car, but health care is a bottomless pit.

Yesterday the anesthesia hadn’t worn off yet. (Oops.) But later today, they’re going to let me take Aleve again (don’t get me started on the non-benefits of Tylenol for pain) and that should help a lot.

I’m gonna take off the rest of the day and catch up on the sleep I haven’t been getting. Thanks for all the good wishes, etc. Pope Frank did his job!