I have discovered a new and undocumented side effect of chemotherapy. It is called the 'stealth headache'. It is characterized by a subtle feeling of angst with a general sense of not liking anything or anyone without being able to narrow it down to one twit or another. That lack of focus leaves the victim sort of pissed off at anyone they encounter, with no real chance of attaining the satisfaction of settling what is annoying them with or about that person or any other offender in the general vicinity. Instead, after every interaction with human or machine the feeling of peace and quiet is noticeably diminished with no particular issue identified as the culprit.

The sense of general disapproval of the world detected only in slight bits and pieces with each encounter is made all the worse by reading the media. What used to be a surge of disapproval with the news will be more of a sense of ill defined disgust with the entire media and all participants in it, the telling feature is that you actually wish some deranged fool would deal with the media harshly on your mental orders. Since this is an unreasonable expectation it should be taken as an indication that you are out of sorts in the way herein described.

Once the stealth headache is suspected, I recommend a good long nap surrounded by any and/or all small animals of your household. The ceremony should be held quietly in a darkened comfy bedroom. A few hours should be dedicated to this ceremony. I prefer to follow it up with a heavy dose of pain relievers that are generally prescription strength. Being a cancer patient I have those easily available. (Being on chemo this week six shots of Wild Turkey is not an option.) I have followed this procedure carefully and I am feeling better by the second. I am achieving mental clarity as I type this.

I include this in my blog about cancer because I recognize that these days the possibility of the general public having this syndrome is quite high. The proposed remedy is useful in most cases, and should be followed even if there is a reasonable suspicion that the condition might not be a stealth headache. It is always a good idea to bond by napping and snuggling with your pets. A clear case of win/win for everybody.

Other than that I am in a sort of procedural flatland where I go through one infusion treatment after another and plod on to the magic day when they will test me again for the presence of an alien growth. No news, just plain old same old, day in and day out. Sort of the medical equivalent of being on Highway 50 through Nevada with nothing but the scenery to entertain you. I am tired of being tired but glad to be alive, living severely below optimum performance but thankfully above the minimum performance levels for existence.

The road goes on forever and the chemo never ends. (My apologies to Robert Earle Keene)