irismay mcginnis iris mcginnis

A reason that i have not been showing up is that I am dealing with an extreme form of intestinal cancer (adenocarcinoma of the appendix)

on the night of june 30th i had an appendix that ruptured from a gelatinous growth. i was in the hospital for 16 days. lost alot of cognitive ability due to anesthetic and have not been myself since then. The treatment of this cancer is brutal and has only been successful on a few younger/healthier people and does not make sense at all for a older women with multiple immune disorders and other health problems. at the time i was give 6-18 months to live. and by the sixth month i really felt fine and only recently have i felt discomfort and i have gotten an abdominal support band to hold the growth up which deals with the growing discomfort and i expect that to work well for some months. my 'oncologist' ( read chemo-therapist) has just washed his hands from me and passed me off to a surgeon because he thinks what will make me more comfortable than an abdominal support is a surgery that will remove the growth which will eventually just grow back even though at the time i am not feeling pain. i don't know if i will ever have the surgery and if i do it will be down the road.

The band is helpful for me especially when traveling with my mobility scooter and sitting at my computer.



though i do my best i can't be politically active and being politically active gives meaning to my life.

i have not realized how difficult it is being disabled in sonoma county is. and how unaware social movements here are for disabled people. and how helpful disability resources are limited.


soon i am going to start a fund to raise money for my burial