One thing I learned in the course of my chemotherapy was that psychological issues are as important as physiological issues. When I came home after my first four-week hospital stay, I had a little bit of trouble adjusting to life outside of the confined space of the hospital room, and just the idea of being in a crowd made me anxious. (During chemo a leukemia patient's immune system is destroyed, so we have to be very careful about avoiding infection. That means avoiding physical contact with people.) Three weeks into my second chemo, it was the reverse: I couldn't wait to get out of my room and the self-contained community that was our ward.

As much as I desperately want a bone marrow transplant, I'm terrified of the actual hospital stay. During chemo, at least I could have visitors (and I often did), so long as precautions were taken. But marrow transplants are much more dicey, and require four to six weeks of almost total isolation.

Irish artist Denis Roche has been studying the effect of art on leukemia patients in isolation as part of the Open Window project. The "window" referred to here is a large projection of patient-selected images from the outside world, accompanied by audio, which allows the patient to feel connected to the outside world. (You can read more about Open Window in this PDF.) It sounds like an interesting idea, but the study is expected to continue for a few more years. That won't help me, but I hope it benefits future transplant recipients.

[Thanks, Healthcare Fine Art.]