Kuala Lampur, Sept. 17 -- Something you need to let go of as a cancer patient, I've found, is the notion of dignity.

You will not have the energy to maintain decorum or be hung up on being "decent".

I keep my eyes closed during radiotherapy so I don't have to think about being topless during treatment, and being positioned like I'm a floppy marionette.

Whomp. Someone lifts my hips and shifts them to the right.

Whack. My arm slaps against the arm rest as it gets moved into whatever placement the staffer deems ideal.

Last week one of the radiotherapy staffers said my radiation site was cantik (nice-looking) and I was briefly confused.

What she meant was that the site of my treatment looked mostly fine; apparently other people often ha...