Hismones 03/14/25

Happy Friday!? This morning was treatment 17, so 27 to go and still headed toward April 22 as last treatment. It seems remarkably easy to underestimate the cumulative effects of radiation and hormone therapy. I take a pill daily and have about a 90-second treatment daily that leaves no visible physical evidence, at least not yet. The main issue is that life is different, with fatigue and intestinal distress being significantly restrictive. During the summer between high school graduation and starting college, I spent off-work time reading the four books of the Tolkien "Trilogy" (early "new math?") and learning to wiggle my ears, not an insignificant achievement when done well. The past few weeks I have been trying to learn a new skill, much less pleasant but no less challenging: defecating without urinating, in which I have been mostly but not entirely successful. Abdominal radiation tends to cause diarrhea, sometimes but not always controlled by OTC medications, and I find myself bathroom-bound at least three times between my rising at 5 A.M. (lights out at 10 P.M., awake at 4 A.M. but forcing myself to stay in bed another hour) and leaving at 7:40 A.M. for my 8:15 A.M. sessions. I have to arrive with a full bladder (moves bowel structures out of radiation harm's way) or risk not being treated. A friend is farther along in his treatment plan than I but is trying to work full-time while having severe intestinal issues. He missed a treatment earlier this week due to dehydration and was too ill this morning for treatment. He finds himself hospitalized this evening for fluid infusion and has been told his work schedule must change during treatment. Retirement for me is a huge blessing through this process, and I pray for his health daily. Downsides of increased bathroom time are increased use of tissue and water; one upside is that I'm completing Large-Print Bible Word Searches much faster, books given me almost a year ago during hip replacement convalescence. "Aging isn't for sissies." I do find that an attitude of gratitude and a smile go a long way to make every day more pleasant. Sometimes just asking a clerk or cashier or med tech...or doctor, "How are you today?" can make their day a little lighter and brighter. And I haven't run out of projects at home. I replaced a hose clamp on my wife's car, solving a slow coolant leak; pulled the spark plugs and valve cover off the Miata I've borrowed from my daughter for track time, finding the engine in excellent shape but ready for new plugs which now have been ordered; changed the oil in said car and had it checked/certified tech-ready for my first adventure at SCCA Track Night in Cresson next week; performed a Redneck repair on my own car, cleaning and repainting a bumper corner that had accidentally been scraped by a friend at our men's choir concert last week; and managed to break a windshield washer part on my car while trying to unclog the system. At least, parts are available and inexpensive. I suppose it's a combination of age and treatment: I feel ridiculously tired and sore most evenings and look forward to lying very still in bed, but amazingly most mornings, especially after exercise, I'm ready to go again. I'm curious how well treatment is working, whether my PSA has dropped precipitously as anticipated, but my doctors (urologist and oncologist) have ganged up on me. My next PSA check will be one month after radiation ends, or 5/22/25. My concern is that my cancer is acting normally, with both androgen deprivation and radiation eliminating it. A very small percentage (but not zero) of prostate cancers don't respond to "ADT" and require additional medication/treatment. I.hate.to.wait. It won't hurt to get more clarification at my weekly oncology appointment after treatment next Tuesday.