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February 20th 2004......Just getting
ready for the drive to the hospital this morning when we had a telephone call from the Radiation department. The machine has
broken down and all appointments for today are cancelled.
Great, three from the end, just what I needed. I donīt know if
they will add one on next week or just forget that I havenīt had todayīs dose of radiation. I will be seeing the Radiotherapy
Specialist on Monday, so should find out then. It started raining today as well, first time in 2004, so I might have
known something was going to happen.
February 23rd 2004......Last interview
with the specialist during the course of the treatment today. He is well pleased with the way things have gone so far
but I am to continue with the pills and injections for the time being. We are on holiday in the UK for a couple of weeks in
April and then Switzerland for a week in May because the specialist has told me to get away for awhile and forget all about
doctors and cancer. I have to have a blood test when we come back and then see him with the results at the end of May.
Things
areīnt too bad at the moment, although I have almost lost control of my bowel movements during this last week and have to
wear pads now. This effect should wear off quite quickly once the radiation stops. The powders I take for the pain from urination
are quite effective and again this effect should start wearing off when the radiation stops. So, all in all I am still in
one piece and things look good.
February 25th 2004......Well folks,
itīs all over. Iīve had my last tryst with the dreaded machine. Thirty five sessions, with four blasts a session, one from
the top, one from below and one more from each side. Thats one hundred and forty blasts over eight weeks. Driven three
thousand kilometres for the pleasure and used umpteen gallons of fuel. Donīt you just love statistics?
I must say Iīm
not sorry to see the end of it as for eight weeks it has ruled my life, now we can think about getting back into a normal
routine. Sorry, I donīt want to write anymore at the moment, Iīve had it.
March 19th 2004......I didnīt
intend posting anything further until I had seen my Urologist but I feel that the after effects of the radiation, as they
affect me, need to be mentioned. I was warned about what I could expect, bowel and bladder problems, which continue to appear
but I am dealing with them OK, and tiredness. It is the tiredness which has taken me by surprise. The word just does not adequately
describe the total loss of energy that comes over me. The collywobbles just aint in it. When it occurs I lose interest in
everything and seem to withdraw into myself and sit for hours staring into space. Perhaps this is the bodyīs way of repairing
the damage and forcing me to rest. Whatever, I donīt like it. Hopefully this state of affairs is going to be short lived.
March 31st. 2004......Had a meeting
today with the urologist that started me off on all this treatment. He is well pleased with progress so far and particularly
so with the problems I have been having since the end of the radiation as he feels I have got off quite lightly compared to
some people. Anyway I am to continue with pills and injections and see him again on July 8th with blood test results in hand.
I wasnīt particularly bothered with what problems I have been having but I know my wife was mightily relieved to hear him
say it was all quite normal after such heavy radiation. Apparently the radiation has been quite aggresive as there is every
chance of stopping this thing in itīs tracks. So, all in all a good day, and Iīm also feeling in fine fettle too.
May 30th 2004......Saw my cancer specialist last week and apart from a last injection next week I have now been taken off all chemical
treatment. I now have to wait for 4 months to give the body time to readjust itself and for the affected organs to resume
their normal function. At the end of this time, September, there will be a final blood test, and then we will know if it has
all been worth while. I feel quite confident of the outcome myself and I'm really looking forward to a more or less normal
future.
July 8th 2004......I
am only recording this because it keeps the record straight. Saw the urologist this morning with the latest blood test results
and it was the same tale as last time. Inconclusive because not enough time has passed since ending the chemicals for us to
get a true picture of the success or failure of the treatment. All the side effects of the radiation have worn off but I have
been told that the HRT effects will take a couple of years or more to right themselves, assuming I don't have to go back on
the treatment of course.
Anyway, next bloodtest in early October and a final interview with the radiation man for the results
that count and then back to the urologist on the 2nd December for his final decision. The waiting game once more.
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