I received a text from another reporter offering an election-related tip if I could report on it.

He asked: “You still mess with kind of stuff?”

In the past, I would have welcomed such a tip because, having been vetted at least in part by another good reporter, it would be more reliable than most unsolicited tips that come my way.

But, at this point, I had to temper my response. Sadly, I sent this reply explaining, in somewhat vague terms, my situation, and why I’m not able to handle it at this time.

I do mess with these things from time to time, but circumstances are constraining me right now. I’ve just finished Round 1 of chemotherapy and immunotherapy for a cancer in my gut, Round 2 starts next week. It’s taxing my energy and attention, prompting me to put most worldly issues on the back burner for a while. So although I’m interested, I likely won’t be able to report on it right at this moment. I am sorry to be somewhat unavailable right now, but it is what it is.

I would like to be able to continue on as I would have BC (Before Cancer), but that’s not realistic.

It’s tough because things like this involve tinkering with psychological scaffolding that has been holding up my own self-image as well as my public persona, which have been taking a bit hit.

Reporting on a potential story like this is more involved, and is harder work, than blogging about my own private medical journey with an occasional appearance of other real world issues.

I’ve learned to be at least somewhat realistic about what I can do, and what I can’t. So a short “no thank you” seemed like the appropriate response in this case.