A medical journalist’s firsthand account of her battle with terminal cancer shows hope for a new era of “one-person” illnesses.

Terminal Cancer”…What if I am told I have a “life expectancy”?

What if I am told that I have a few days left to live? –Many people may not even be able to imagine what would happen to them. However, there is a book that describes in frank and unadulterated terms how he accepted the news, went about his normal life, worked, and prepared for his final days while undergoing medical treatment.

The book is titled “Terminal Cancer, ‘Ohitorisama’ Daremo Kanri” (It’s OK to Live Alone) by Shoji Osada, 59. This is a greatly added and re-edited version of “My Prostate Cancer Report,” which appeared in the Bungei Shunju electronic edition.

In fact, Mr. Nagata has been a writer friend of the author for 15 years, a senior medical journalist, a drinking buddy, and a friend who, while fighting the disease himself, saw the author fall down the stairs of Shinjuku 3-chome Station and worried that he would die before me.

During his battle with the disease, he and Mr. Nagata drank many drinks and ate parfaits together, and even now, when I meet him for this interview, he looks as healthy as ever, so the term “terminal cancer” does not ring a bell. That is why the title of the book is so shocking.

The title of the book was chosen by the editorial staff. Neither the medical profession nor we medical writers use the term “terminal cancer” as a general rule.

It would be very rude to use it to refer to ordinary cancer patients, but since I am talking about myself, I thought it would be okay.

However, although it says ‘I’m fine,’ the truth is that I’m not fine at all (laughs). I just look fine.

The term “terminal cancer” may bring to mind the image of a bedridden patient. However, Ms. Nagata is able to do all of her own housework, continues to work, and even enjoys traveling abroad.

The stage and progression of terminal cancer varies greatly depending on the type of cancer.

If the cancer progresses further, it will eventually cause pain, and then I will not be able to move. Right now, I have pain in my left shoulder and right jaw, and I am taking painkillers to make the pain go away.

The other symptoms are shortness of breath when I run a little, hair loss due to side effects of anticancer drugs, and osteoporosis due to side effects of the hormone therapy I am receiving to slow down the progression of cancer, so I am experiencing side effects from the injections to control them.

Putting off “tests” because of his busy schedule…

Mr. Nagata’s relationship with prostate cancer began in August 2004. It all started when he found bright red urine after returning home from his hobby of running under the blazing sun. She went to a local doctor’s office for a blood test and found that it was not hematuria but dehydration, but there was a worrisome finding in the blood test she took just to be sure.

The PSA, a tumor marker for prostate cancer, was 3.5, not quite 4.0, which is considered a high probability of prostate cancer, but extremely high within the normal range.

Everyone knows, even if they are not medical journalists, that “early detection and early treatment” are crucial for any disease. However, Mr. Nagata put off the examination because of his busy schedule. He was also reluctant to expose his genitalia in public.

Then, in January ’20, he really started to urinate blood this time, and in February he underwent a cystoscopy, followed by a biopsy to extract prostate tissue, and was found to have prostate cancer.