Only 11 More

I'm on the home stretch.  Only 11 more treatments  of proton radiation left (11, the number of World Series Championships won by my baseball team, the Cardinals)  until I can ring the bell.  When you undergo proton radiation after the last treatment you are able to come out to the lobby and ring the bell to signify that you are finished with all of your treatments.  I have seen several people ring that bell and I can tell you they must have some very long screws in the wall the way some people ring that bell.  Heck, they may have bolts in the concrete to keep that bell stable.  I plan on ringing that bell long and hard on my last day, August 19th.  Once this week is finished I'll only have 6 treatments left.  My doctor informed me that I could have two treatments the last day, one early in the morning and then one late in the afternoon.  Thank you.

Some of you may want to know that I'm having almost 'no' side affects from the treatments.  I may be a little tired but really I can tell you I'm feeling great.  How do we know if the treatments are working, well, 3 months after I'm finished my first PSA test will inform us of the results.  We are hoping for a drop.  All patients I have visited with tell me their PSA dropped so I'm going with the averages, 100% have a lower PSA.  Isn't it funny that for the last few years it has been stated that we are doing too many PSA tests.  And now, after treatments, the only test to monitor your cancer is the PSA.  Get your PSA tested today, do not wait, call for an appointment now.  (Men)

Patty and I usually are up early in the morning, have a light breakfast with coffee and then take off on a 3-4 mile walk which includes walking the mall that is right next door to the hotel.  It took us a few weeks to get our routine down but now if we are unable to get that walk in we don't quite feel right.

After the walk, usually I go for my treatment to ProCure.  This usually takes about an hour or longer depending upon how many people are at the Cancer Center, it always neat to meet new friends and patients at the center.  Most of the prostate stories are very similar.  The actual radiation from start to finish is only 70 seconds, I have counted it many times.  After treatment we have a quick lunch, I put in time checking in at work then we try to have something planned in the later part of the afternoon to finish off the day.

Thank goodness for the Olympics this week, there has been 'zero' on TV the last few weeks, and the Cardinals are losing so baseball isn't even fun to watch.  The next 14 days will tell if the Cardinals make the playoffs or not, oh yea, we have won the Central division the last 4 years.  Just saying.........................

I'd like to say thank you to everyone, family and friends for your thoughts and prayers.  They do make a difference.

Thank you, Protonmax.