Chemotherapy and Weight Loss

In thirty-five days, I went from 194 pounds to 167 because of chemotherapy. Today, I ate an entire bag of Milano cookies and still lost one pound. I need to market chemo as a weight loss drug. I bet enough people would risk their health and put up with the side effects for a quick drop in weight.

The problem is that once you recover, you gain the weight back, no matter what the diet. In fact, it's frightening how quickly I shoot up in pounds in between treatment. My body is so much like an accordion that I have no sartorial concerns. I just wear sweatpants and loose clothing throughout the treatment.

One time I had an elderly person in Barnes and Noble comment on the fact that my pants were too loose. He said something about young people these days and the need to learn how to dress properly.
"Don't you think those pants are a little too big? What's this hip hop style? You all look ridiculous. Buy a book on how to dress."
"Yeah. I tell you what, if you take me shopping, I'll wear whatever you buy me. Unfortunately I have cancer and I lose weight rapidly. It's not worth buying new clothes when I might be fat or dead tomorrow. Good luck being a jackass to people with real problems. Maybe you should buy a book on compassion."

This is really how the conversation went, almost verbatim. He shut up and I walked somewhere else. Cancer has really made me more abrasive. If the leukemia doesn't get me, my mouth will. More on this later.