Russell Maroon Shoatz: Continued from May 3, 2015 – June 10, 2015

Free Russell Maroon Shoatz:

Chronology of Major Health Problems

(Continued from May 3, 2015)

Note: Good News! The radiation therapy that I have been receiving has been successful! So I will keep this short, just highlighting the main aspects of what has occurred so that we can turn our attention to some of the other problems that confront us.

43. From Mondays to Fridays, from May 4, 2015, until May 29, 2015, with the exception of Memorial Day, I received radiation therapy. It continued from June 1, 2015 until June 3, 2015.

44. Nothing out of the ordinary to report concerning the treatment by the guards that transported me to the cancer center: always three guards, supervised by a lieutenant, although usually different guards each trip; while normally two regular guards accompany other prisoners on these hospital trips, and on most days my party would see such occurring within the same hospital.

45. After completing my radiation treatment on June 3, 2015, my oncologist (“Dr. K”), had me seated in a separate “examination room” where, weekly, both he and his physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner (“C.”) would review with me the week’s treatments and my overall condition. He told me that my treatments were completed, asked about my overall feelings, and said something like “From my mouth to God’s ear” what we had accomplished “should do the trick”; which I took to mean rid my body of the cancer. Still I asked him, “Is there any cancer in my body?” And he said, “Any cancer cells in your body are dying,” and that the radiation would continue to attack any cancer cells, that I would begin to feel much better within six to eight weeks, and “get better and better.”

46. It’s well established that a cancer is a group of cells (usually coming from a single cell) that has uncontrolled growth. Thus his answer satisfied me; especially since he had told me during an earlier examination that I had to continue to drink a lot of water, since “the cancer is not going to evaporate into the sky,” but would be passed in my urine, something the “dying” cancer cells in my body will hopefully do.

47. Dr. K then had me sign discharge papers, and handed the guard typed instructions to deliver to the Graterford medical staff concerning my follow-up care, which Dr. K. told me would consist of periodic blood tests and prostate examinations that I have become very familiar with. And that I would remain on this regiment for the rest of my life, along with taking certain medications.

48. I thanked him, as well as “A.” and “B.,” the two radiation therapists who were busy monitoring another patient I caught a glimpse of on the desktop monitors as the guards were wheeling me away in a wheelchair, since I was always required to be moved around the hospital in that manner.

49. Since then I had a visit with one of my lawyers, who said he would move to acquire the balance of my medical records so that we could review what has been written since the last batch of medical records we obtained.

50. It’s been exactly one week since my last radiation therapy treatment, and up until two days ago, the fatigue from those treatments was almost overwhelming! That particular side effect accompanied most of over two months of treatments. Yesterday and today I have been feeling a little more energy, and Dr. K said that I must view the ending of the radiation treatments and my recovery in the same manner; meaning, one would not expect to immediately recover after undergoing surgery. Though psychologically I am less stressed, obviously…

Major Eye Problems

8. During the visit with my lawyer, mentioned above, he told me to submit a request to the Chief Health Care Administrator here concerning the cataract surgery on my right eye that the outside specialist recommended after examining my eye on May 1, 2015. And if there is an anymore undue delay, my lawyer will follow up with a notice to begin legal action towards getting that taken care of as well.

On behalf of my family and myself, I again want to extend my deepest thanks to everyone who has helped in any way. Cancer is simply an exceptionally trying condition to deal with, and when a political prisoner like myself suffers that condition, without strong support from the streets there are many elements within the criminal UNJUSTICE establishment who may very well take that opportunity to interfere with the medical professionals who are willing to help heal you. A tragic history that continues to unfold.

Straight Ahead!

Maroon