MEMBERTO MEMBER
I
had just heard the words, “You have cancer.” It kind
of makes you stand up and take notice. I didn’t get all
religious or anything, but I suddenly found myself looking
at everything through an entirely new lens, so to speak.
You can’t help but do some serious introspection after hearing
something like that. My look back was positive: few regrets,
fantastic family and friends and opportunities galore. Not far
down my list of concerns was, “Oh crap, what about diving?”
There was little the doctors could tell me except to wait and see.
Over the course of several weeks the side effects of my
treatment intensified, just as the docs had explained. Pain was
ever present. I was unable to talk, eat or even drink water —
the ultimate dry dock. On the worst post-treatment days I
sat completely still with my eyes closed, replaying my favorite
dives and willing myself to heal. Once the various treatments
were over, each day was about recovering from the ravages of
chemo, radiation and drug withdrawal. Still, the response to
my inquiries about diving was always “let’s give it some time.”
There are many forms of cancer, and every case is unique.
My friend Lou Ciarimboli was diagnosed with stage IV
prostate cancer in late 2009. His aggressive chemo, radiation
and surgery continued until late June 2010. Less than six weeks
later, he made his first dive. In retrospect, he admits it may
have been too soon; the experience made it clear to him that
the ravages of treatment were not going away easily.
Fatigue and generalized weakness are expected, of course,
but problems can crop up based on your own particular
experiences. In Lou’s case the prostate was involved, so he
had to find a way to deal with incontinence and severe back
pain. I, on the other hand, had to contend with the sensation
of being strangled by my drysuit’s neck seal since my throat
was the focus of my treatment. Add to these complications a
litany of follow-up drugs, and the questions about returning
to diving really begin to pile up.
And the answers are not always forthcoming. It was
frustrating to discover how much is not known, but I
eventually learned the principal issue is recovery. With a few
exceptions such as brain
and lung cancer, which
can involve significant
functional impairments,
the important issues are
strength and stamina.
Each person, along with
his or her doctor, has to
evaluate his own post-
treatment capabilities.
Regain your health
(
including mental health)
by giving yourself time
to heal. Exercise will help
you get back in shape,
and it is a great way to get an idea of your physical capacity.
Take advantage of your support network; when you go through
something like this you find out who your true friends are.
Normal is just out of reach, but both Lou’s and my prognoses
are very good. While I’ve scaled back on more remote and
strenuous dives, Lou is continuing with his closed-circuit
technical diving. We are both taking it slow, and we expect to
have long diving careers still ahead of us.
AD
You Have
Cancer
Dry-docked!
98
|
SUMMER 2011
106
|
FALL 201
Tips, advice and updates from your fellow divers
B y J o s e p h C . D o v a l a
Do you have tips, advice, travel strategies, dive techniques, lessons
learned or other words of wisdom to share with your fellow divers? Alert
Diver wants your story! Email it to
M2M@dan.org
, or mail it to “Member
to Member,” c/o Alert Diver, 6 W. Colony Place, Durham, NC 27705.
SHARE YOUR STORY
JOE TEZAK
JANINE M
c
MURDIE