Skip to main content

More About My Cancer Treatment

How I look in the RapidArc machine.

I'm two weeks into my nine week treatment for prostate cancer. So far it has not been too bad. The process leading up to my treatment was worse than the actual treatment. The biopsy and having gold markers placed in my prostate were invasive to say the least. I guess if I am ever abducted by space aliens I can tell them "been there done that"!
Even though the actual treatment only takes about 4 minuets. If everything goes smoothly I am in and out of the office in about 10 minutes.  The preparation for the treatment takes quite a bit of time. I start the evening before with stopping drinking anything at about 7:30 PM. 
The next morning I get up early, for retirement, at about 6:00 AM to start my morning routine. I start that early because I need to have all liquids I drink to clear my system by 9:00 AM when I start my bladder filling. I started this adventure drinking the requested 32 oz. of water in 15 minuets. Try it, it is difficult. 
Now you would think that my teacher training of holding my bladder would be an advantage here. But that actually has worked against me. When I first started I was holding too much. To start the treatment I am first x-rayed to check the position of my insides. The Radiation Technologist came into the treatment room  and said my bladder was about twice the normal size and I would have to "remove" a little.  Starting and stopping is not one of my better talents. But I managed and they were able to precede with the treatment. If I was not able to "stop" I would then have to drink another 32 oz. of water and wait another hour and a half to try the treatment again.  
My treatment is at 10:45 Monday through Friday and if everything goes smoothly I am done before 11. Then I am free for the rest of the day till about 7:30 PM when I start the process all over again.  Well actually it starts at 7:00 PM every day with my special tea. It is an herbal tea recommended by my radiation oncologist. The tea is called "Smooth Move" and it is for exactly what you are thinking. 
Now for my Public Service Announcement or PSA about PSA and prostate cancer. Men get checked! Women tell your men to get checked! It is not the end of the world to get checked and according to my Doctors if caught relativity early is very treatable.
A lot of men will develop this cancer and age is one of the main factors. According to the CDC 13 out of every 100 men will develop prostate cancer. My doctor put it another way saying "if a guy lives long enough he will develop prostate cancer".  
That may be alarming but it shouldn't be.  Doctors have developed many different paths that patients can take in the treatment of this disease. It is very manageable and treatable.  The first step is talking to your Doctor. If you are over 50 or have a family history of prostate cancer ask for a PSA blood test. 
Knowledge is power and you can have power over this disease.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Radiation Therapy

Dr. Galloway and the gang over at West Florida Radiation Therapy have developed a very efficient process of treating their patients. I arrive about 5 minutes before my scheduled treatment time. The waiting room is often empty in spite of having plenty of chairs. I have my temperature taken and wash my hands. Then within a minute or two I will have my name called. As I'm going back to the treatment room there is usually another guy just coming out of that room.  When the technicians are ready they call me in and I climb onto the treatment table. After I'm on the table my feet and legs are aligned using a hard pillow that is molded to my legs and feet. Then the table is moved into position and the technicians adjust me using lasers and my aiming tattoos.  The techs then leave the room and the machines take over. First two arm move into position to x-ray me to determine the position of my prostate. The table will make slight adjustments itself to move me into the best position. A...
2 comments
Read more

Joy 3/09/22

Going out for lunch with friends and family. Something I have missed doing for the past several years. Now with the pandemic seemingly under control we all can start getting back to normal. Today we visited Hellas Greek restaurant and bakery. We started with Saganaki . I had one of my favorites, grilled octopus. For dessert it was chocolate covered baklava. Overall a great way to spend lunch.
Post a Comment
Read more

Finally Hot Springs Arkansas

 Day 6 , October 15, Hot Springs. Here we stayed at an AirBnB on Lake Hamilton. It was very nice but before we got to our new residence (If you are keeping track this is the 5th place we've stayed so far on this trip) we stopped by downtown Hot Springs for a tour.  We started at the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center. This is the park headquarters and has been beautifully restored. We were able to tour the bathhouse and see how it looked in its prime.  The sculpture of the Spanish Conquistador  and the Tiffany stained glass ceiling were in the men's tub and steam room. The ladies section was not quite as well appointed.  Here is the women's dressing room . While nice and functional it was not quite up to the standards of the men's room. Down the hall from this room was the third floor sun deck where the ladies could catch some sun without any prying eyes. I'm not sure how much sun they got because the outfits displayed there were long sleeved, ankle length dresses...
Post a Comment
Read more