Let the Games Begin!

This morning I took the first step towards the radiation treatment which is currently scheduled to begin June 1st.  My dear friend and mentor Rudy drove me to the 10 am appointment.  I was given a Zanax to relax me, an intramuscular antibiotic injection (butt shot) and then stripped from the waist down.  I was positioned face up on a table and stirrups were retracted for me to put my feet in and I laid on my back for about 20 minutes as the drugs kicked in.  Now I know how my lady friends feel when they get to use stirrups!  Speaking of that, so far, almost 3 weeks after the Lupron injection that will cut my testosterone to zero for about 6 months, I still haven't experienced my first hot flash.  With any luck, I avoid that, there are enough other side effects down the road to worry about.

The procedure itself probably didn't last more than 5 minutes.  3 gold "seeds" about the size of a grain of rice were implanted in the prostate in strategic locations for precise targeting of the radiation that is to come.  A SpaceOAR gel injection was the final step.  It is placed between the prostate and the rectal area to protect it from radiation and some serious side effects that used to take place before this innovation.  During conversation with the surgical assistant, I learned that my surgeon's elderly father had prostate cancer years ago before these spacers were invented and he was deeply moved by the suffering that he had gone through from the side effects.  I love the fact that my surgeon had such a personal connection to making life better for others.

As I did during my recent hip replacement and the prostate biopsy that led me down this path, I made friends with the medical team and was telling them some of my favorite stories from Kenya missions and recent hospital stays and actually had them laughing a bit.  It really is better than just laying there getting worked on and worrying about each pinch, poke and flash of pain.  It was over before I new it.

I was pretty wobbly getting dressed, the surgical assistant helped steady me and tied my shoes for me to keep me from falling over.  They got me out to Rudy's car in a wheelchair and helped me get in.  What was funny about the Zanax was that I had slurred speech but my mind was pretty clear.  Rudy and I had a nice conversation on the way home and he helped me get into the house.  I was told to eat a big meal if I could, that it would shorten the recovery from the sedative.  I had some leftovers of grilled salmon and steamed vegetables and then sat down in my lazy boy for a half hour nap that turned into a solid 4 hours of great sleep.  Wow.  I hope I can sleep tonight.

The next step is this Friday when I get CT scans of my pelvic area and then an MRI sometime next week.  A 3-D computer model will be generated from these scans and fed into the computers that will control the delivery of the radiation treatments.  The spacer that was inserted today plus more accurate targeting that has only become possible recently means that I will be given about a third more radiation per dose and it will act directly on the cancer rather than burning surrounding flesh and organs.  I'm not sure yet, but I am expecting 9 weeks of 5 day a week treatments, with some side effects beginning to appear after about week 7.  Several months after treatment, all of these should subside.

That's about it for now. I am very thankful and humbled for the large number of my Facebook photography followers and real world friends that are praying and sending positive thoughts my way.  I really appreciate it and just want to remind everyone that my chief purpose for writing this journal is to encourage everybody, men and women alike, to be faithful about getting annual checkups and catching conditions while they are still very treatable.  Thank you Jesus for the opportunity to have a positive effect in this regard.  See ya next time!