我碰巧有一种疾病，它让我慢了下来，但没有阻止我. At some point it could take my life. But today is not that day.
Ron Routhier“My prostate cancer had spread pretty significantly. I had lesions all over the place, 包括膀胱上的伤口，出血严重，需要输血. They were too numerous to count. It was a bad time.” This is how Ron Routhier begins his story. 他在波士顿一家医院住院两周，接受放射治疗，以缩小出血的肿瘤——这是许多问题中最紧迫的一个. The bleeding stopped, but the prognosis was not good. “我被建议进入临终关怀，只剩下三到六个月的生命. 我的医生觉得其他治疗方法不会成功，”他回忆道.
Routhier did go to hospice, but not as a patient. He wasn’t ready for that. “I wanted to think about what I should be doing, clear my head a little and find a quiet place to think. Boston is a really busy place, let me tell you. It’s pretty crazy, actually.” Back at home in the quiet White Mountains of Jackson, NH, Routhier联系了一位在十大网赌平台推荐-希区柯克医院从事姑息治疗工作的朋友，问她是否可以帮助他度过这个过程. Instead, 她强烈建议Routhier与十大网赌平台推荐-希区柯克的诺里斯棉花癌症中心(NCCC)联系，寻求第二意见. “她是众多照顾我的天使之一，”Routhier说.
在NCCC, Routhier与内科肿瘤学家Sergey Devitskiy(医学博士)有联系. “我当时的状况真的很糟糕，”Routhier回忆道. “我的肾脏里有管子，因为我的膀胱不起作用了, I had tumors all over the place, and even still, Dr. 德维茨基把我当作他的病人，似乎觉得我们还能做些什么.”
担心鲁塞尔的癌症可能有遗传问题, Devitskiy ran genetic testing on biopsied tumor tissue. 研究结果显示，Routhier的癌症在基因上发生了改变, 不再表现得像前列腺癌，因此需要区别对待吗. 德维茨基开出了常用于治疗卵巢癌的化疗处方, 他坦率地告诉鲁塞尔，这种方法成功的可能性很小. “但他给了我一丝希望，”Routhier说. 另一个选择是让Routhier尽可能舒适地接受姑息治疗. “He asked which direction I wanted to go, and at the time, 我病得很厉害，甚至怀疑自己是否能忍受化疗. But I decided to try. 尽管这只是一个小小的希望，但它仍然是一些希望，而这正是你有时所需要的.”
同一天，医生安排鲁塞尔开始接受化疗. 在每三周治疗一次的一个半月内，最大的肿瘤变小了. “It was pretty amazing,” says Routhier. “我的腋下和其他地方都长了肿瘤，但肿瘤的大小相对较小. I could actually feel them starting to shrink.”
在治疗周期间，Routhier确实感到不舒服，但在下一次治疗前的几周内，他恢复了健康.
尽管这只是一个很小的希望，但它仍然是一些，这就是你有时需要的.
“我对我在十大网赌平台推荐-希区柯克的护理和治疗非常满意，”Routhier说. “It’s every bit as good as anything you can get anywhere, 这是一家非常舒适的医院，开车也能让人平静下来.”
虽然平静下来，但从杰克逊到黎巴嫩的路仍然很长. 他的护理团队安排他在利特尔顿进行注射, NH, where Devitskiy sees patients once a week. “It was important to me to see him,” says Routhier. “He’s a good listener and really considers your input. 我喜欢参与我自己的医疗保健和决策过程，他真的听到了我说的话.”
For instance, after six months of treatment with good progress, Routhier询问是否可以将治疗改为每四周一次，以提供更多的“正常运行时间”.” “Dr. Devitskiy thought about it, 做了必要的研究并同意我们可以尝试一下改变时间表吗. 这个改变并没有影响我的结果，但每个周期让我感觉良好的时间多了一点.然后，Routhier问他是否可以减少化疗的剂量，这样他在治疗周就不会那么难受了. “Dr. Devitskiy again thought about it, checked my weight again, 研究方案做了计算确定我们可以减少20%的剂量. He was really careful, 并确保我们不会因为同意我的要求而影响我的进步.”
2020年3月的一次扫描显示，Routhier的身体没有任何病变. He and his care team agreed to stop chemotherapy treatments, first, because he was doing so well, and also, because COVID-19 had arrived, 将Routhier等免疫功能低下的患者置于高风险之中. “It was a good time to step away from treatment, let my body recover and strengthen my immune system again,” says Routhier, who has now been off of chemotherapy for over 16 months.
In the meantime, however, Routhier的大脑确实出现了病变，但在黎巴嫩通过放射治疗得到了控制. “I thought I was having migraine headaches,” he recalls. “Dr. Devitskiy recommended a brain scan that showed lesions. 他与神经肿瘤学家和放射肿瘤学家协调决定如何治疗他们. He’s got a good team.”
Routhier肋骨的其他病变随后在圣路易斯市NCCC North接受放射治疗. Johnsbury, VT, 这里离Routhier比黎巴嫩更近，也是devitsky办公时间的另一个地点. “这种疾病只是在我身体的小地方突然出现，”Routhier说. “We just watch it and deal with it when it happens. 最重要的是，在听说我只有三到六个月的生命后，我仍然在这里呆了三年.”
尽管定期的医学扫描现在是Routhier新常态的一部分, he finds comfort in being so closely watched. He is able to get back to skiing, yoga, walking and hiking, 骑着摩托车穿过美丽的怀特山脉. Two years ago, 他开始上吉他课，他一直想上，但一直没有时间, and he wants to start horseback riding. “We’re all living beings,” he says. “我碰巧有一种疾病，它让我慢了下来，但没有阻止我. At some point, it could take my life. But today is not that day. Today I feel good and am going to enjoy life and be happy.”