After consulting with the doctor, I decided to continue anticancer treatment for another year. The basis was that no decline in physical strength was visible. The fight continues. No — it probably always will.

At the same time, I want to remain particular about quality of life. I do not intend to waste time.

March 20, 2015 marked eighteen months after surgery, the halfway point of the second year. Each day I live with the possibility that my condition could suddenly change, and with the waves of chemotherapy side effects. Fortunately, apart from that, life is ordinary. Despite reduced immune function, I survived the cold winter without even catching a cold. In a sense, I am very healthy.

After Yellowknife, I traveled to Shosenkyo, Iya Valley, Yudanaka Onsen, Iwayu Onsen, Utsukushigahara, and Urabandai, trying to taste each journey with all five senses and cut out good moments in photographs. While submitting some of those photographs to photo sites, one was selected as National Geographic's Photo of the Day. It was a completely unexpected surprise, but it made me happy. That beginner's luck gave me motivation to photograph with more care, and perhaps a greed connected to living.

I am also participating more actively in the Space Elevator Association. It is an association centered on engineers and university researchers, but I hope to offer value from the perspective of business and organizational management. This activity connects to my childhood dream of entering the world of space and advanced technology.

Recently I have been listening to a lot of heavy metal. The other day, in a treatment-room bed at the hospital, a nurse came over and said, "Your music is leaking out. You are listening to something intense." Perhaps my hearing has worsened with age. I must be careful not to trouble others.

See you again.

Wikipedia begins bluntly by saying that pancreatic cancer is called "the king of cancers." Patients reading that are likely to recoil from it. Such documents should describe objective facts and leave subjective reputations to references. For patients and those around them, the mental battle carries great weight. I wonder whether someone in the medical field might correct it.

In October I attended a funeral. An employee of my company had died at the young age of forty from the same disease. His cancer had been found three months before mine. He had undergone surgery and treatment, but it recurred. I heard he had enjoyed family trips and lived as fully as he could. I want to honor that. It is deeply sad.

At another party, a man whose wife had also had pancreatic cancer surgery asked me what might happen. I told him about this blog and also said what several people had taught me: the only thing that absolutely happens to humans is death. Recognize that, and whether the time is long or short, spend it in the quality of life that feels right for that person. Illness varies, but I believe the state of mind has the greatest effect on daily life.

Several people asked how pancreatic cancer could be found early. I always say I am not a doctor, but if something feels wrong, one should not hesitate to see a doctor. In my case, unusual thirst, frequent urination, darker stool, weight loss, and uneasiness made me book the earliest medical checkup I could. As someone living with pancreatic cancer, I can only hope that, if someone develops it, it will be found early.