This is the cruel irony of medicine: Sometimes the treatments you receive to get better make you worse in the long run, requiring further care, exposing you to yet more complications and side effects. It is a maddening cycle.
The uber radiation I received when first diagnosed killed the cancer in my right lung but also permanently deflated much of my lung making it difficult to breath and severely limiting my mobility. The miracle drugs I take now eliminated tumors, prevent growth of new ones, and have greatly extended the two year life expectancy I was once given. But the leave me tired and fatigued, limiting what I can accomplish in a day. It is all give and take. I can't complain about these side effects because the alternative is far worse and I'm grateful the medicines and technology exist to prolong my life.
