My Journey with Prostate Cancer

This is on the way to my radiation treatment at the cancer center. It was a beautiful day to be out and about. This picture is taken at Mill Lake just a couple of blocks from the hospital.  Someone had spread seed for the ducks and geese so they were having a wonderful time getting easy food.  The scheduling at the cancer center was a bit of a gong show for me today. When I checked in about an hour before my appointed time they did not have me on the computer. My card that they gave me with my times said 12:48, but their computer said 4:12. The receptionist made me feel like it was my fault because I had not confirmed the time with her yesterday. She even used Whiteout on my card and changed it to the 4pm time so I did not even have proof of what the card had originally said! Later the technician wanted to see my card, but it had already been changed so I had no proof of what I said. I don't quite see that it was my fault because the receptionist filled out the card herself...

Me here in my treatment room with the life saving Varian Clinac 21EX Accelerator After seven treatments here I am.  Overall I am happy. My original nervousness is mostly gone and I feel a peace that I am in good Good hands.  Everyone at the Cancer Centre is very kind and helpful. 💚  Most days I ride my bike to the Cancer Centre between 7 and 9 kilometres depending on the route I take. The longer route has less hills and takes about the same amount of time.  I am figuring out just how much water to drink and when in order to be full at the right time. That is probably the most difficult thing here in the beginning. I think that I was not so nervousness but actually was real shivering from drinking all that cold water at once. I know I should drink warm water but I just can't stand it. 😅  The last couple of days they put a warm blanket on me during the treatment and that really did make me more comfortable with no shivering.  After three days of getting x r...

  It was with a certain about of nervousness that I have been anticipating this day.  Part of the requirements for doing this treatment is to have a full bladder. That made me very nervous because since my prostate surgery I don't have much capacity. So I dreaded the procedure. Once I was up and prepared I packed up about 3 liters (a little over 3 US quarts) of water. I needed to start drinking one hour in advance of my treatment and consume a minimum of 1.5 liters 45 minutes before.  I chose to ride my bike to the hospital because I need the exercise to counter the side effects of the drugs I am on. The exercise really helps my mood. If I don't exercise I get emotional and bad tempered.  The hospital is 7 kilometres from my home and goes up and down hills. It is not an easy ride. I took it slow because I did not want to get to hot and sweaty!  I arrived at the hospital about 45 minutes ahead of my appointment, and had already drunk 2 liters. Because of my nervo...

  The process began today with the CT scanner.                                                                This is a very simple process for the patient (me). With some very high tech equipment.  I started off several days ago preparing by eating extra high fiber to make sure my system was working smoothly. Also I had to drink a bit more than usual. For the treatment you must have full bladder and empty bowel. This is so the bladder and bowel are positioned as far as possible away from the area getting radiation.  After completing a questionnaire on a tablet which asked a lot of very personal questions about bowl, bladder and sexual function I was questioned by the radiation therapist. He also got very personal about the above items. This preparation is crucial to having successful treatments with minimal side e...