Andrew Youssef

Lindsey BestAndrew YoussefBy Andrew Youssef After going a few weeks without chemotherapy, I was mentally relieved to have started a new form of medication (called TAS-102) when I enrolled in a clinical drug trial. The difficult part now is waiting to see if the chemotherapy will work and how my......

Lindsey BestAndrew YoussefBy Andrew Youssef It is difficult to plan my life very far in advance. For example, I have the next nine days off of work but most of those will be absorbed between doctor's appointments, an MRI of my back and potentially three days of cyberknife radiation to......

Lindsey BestAndrew Youssef Based in Sweden, Meshuggah is an extreme metal band that features the growling vocals of Jens Kidman, earth-shaking bass of Dick Lovgren, the pulsating drums of Tomas Haake, my eight string guitar heroes Frederik Thordendal and Marten Hagstrom. Releasing albums approximately every three to four years, Meshuggah......

Lindsey Best It has been two years and three months since I was initially diagnosed. The shock of hearing my gastroenterologist telling me I had cancer crippled me as much as the disease itself. The doctor dropping the bomb on me with both of my parents in the room was......

Lindsey BestAndrew Youssef I am happy to report that I survived Coachella. It wasn't without some close calls and numerous trips to the bathroom. I'm still sore from walking around the polo grounds and have a few bumps and bruises to prove it. My feet also despised me for a......

Lindsey Best There are a handful of diagnostic techniques used to assess the current state of my cancer. My blood is frequently analyzed for tumor markers of CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) and CA 19-9 (cancer antigen 19-9), both of which roughly indicate how much cancer is roaming around inside my body......

Lindsey BestAndrew Youssef It was close to two years ago that I passed out at work. Fortunately, I work as a pharmacist in a hospital and was immediately rushed down to the emergency room. During the several months prior to this incident, I had lost about 20 pounds and started......