Cancer Journey of a Secular Buddhist

 I'm back in the hospital again (for the 7th time). I've had 12 weeks of immunotherapy (Pembrolizumab) and it looks like I'm having a serious adverse effect, where my immune system is so revved up that it is not only attacking the cancer, but in my case, also attacking my liver and you really need your liver! My liver enzymes (ALT/SGPT) are 10 times the normal level and so the main goal for now is to protect the liver and lower those numbers.  They have me on IV steroids (Methyl-prednisone) which has stopped the increase in the numbers but hasn't lowered them.  They may give me a stronger drug (CellCept) and/or do a liver biopsy (with a long needle). The numbers are high but not alarming, still we want to deal with it before it gets out of control. They don't allow cannabis gummies in the hospital and it seems that they may harm the liver if not dosed properly, so no THC or CBG for me, but the steroids help with appetite! Since this is probably a reaction to the inf...

 I was discharged from the hospital on New Year's Day 2026 as my fevering seemed to be under control and my blood tests showed some improvement on my kidney and liver enzymes. The main challenge for me now is the lack of appetite (and a seemingly smaller stomach), also my digestive system was not regular which also impacted appetite. I also have lost a lot of leg strength, probably due to spending two non-consecutive weeks in the hospital. I still feel cold (even when Yas feels warm or even hot), but I haven't had rigors (violent chills) and I've only had a few fevers (which Tylenol cures). Last week (1/8) I went to bed early (9pm), but forgot to bring my phone with me. I sat up to use a urinal but my feet started slipping. The bed is about 3 feet above the floor and due to my weakness I wasn't able to stop this slow motion fall and ended up sitting on the floor with the bed a seemingly impossible distance away. For the next half hour I tried to get back up on the bed....

After my previous hospital stay, I was discharged on 12/23/25 because I was no longer fevering or having chills, but on 12/27 I had a high fever (103.9 F) and we called 911 and took an ambulance back to Beth Israel Emergency Department I started having rigors (violent shaking chills) for about an hour while feeling very cold. It was pretty scary as my body was shaking uncontrollably.  Then, it broke and I felt very hot. They gave me tylenol which lowered my temperature. My doctors were concerned that I might have an infection (viral, bacterial, or fungal) causing these fevers so I went through a battery of blood tests, which didn't find any evidence of infection. I still had the full body rash with peeling skin. The Dermatology team wanted to treat it with steroids, but that would stop my immunotherapy effectiveness. In the end, they decided the fever, rigors, and rash were an adverse effect of the Pembrolizumab infusions. My oncologist told me that people for whom Pembrolizumab/Ke...