Ferd Eggan, a onetime Chicagoan who was very involved in the AIDS organization ACT UP, is battling cancer.
'I have some bad news: I have been diagnosed with liver cancer,' Eggan stated in an e-mail. 'It is apparently a large tumor, stage 3a ( stages go 1-2-3-4 ) , that is growing in and blocking the portal vein in the liver. ... Because it involves this important blood vessel, they say it is not amenable to surgery.'
He also said that physicians will try a procedure called an embolization, 'where they try to insert capsules of chemo through a catheter in the vein directly into the tumor.' However, according to Eggan, the procedure is only successful about 30 percent of the time.
The e-mail also took an emotionally personal turn. 'I can add that I actually am in good spirits and trying to cope as best I can,' Eggan said. 'I have no big regrets so far, except for the ways I may have hurt others. My politics have been pretty good and I at least had good intentions.'
Eggan has filled various roles throughout his life, including being the Los Angeles City AIDS Coordinator. He be reached at: 1659 Rodney Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027.