Tuesday and things are winding down a day at a time...

I was out at dawn at Hornsby Bend, a waste treatment plant on the other side of Austin from me.  With the lighter than usual traffic ever since the virus hit, I got there in a little under half an hour.  I was just scouting out how it is for future reference.  The smell wasn't too bad, but I just cruised the gravel roads between the treatment ponds and got out occasionally to listen and look for birds.  Shore birds were pretty absent, I saw some Barn Swallows and heard a fair number of Painted Buntings in the trees along the shorelines, but never did see one.  This area was closed to the public until June 15th and I know there were a number of species of shore birds reported at that time.  I guess I'll be waiting until the fall migration and watching my area birding sites for when the action picks up again.

After spending about an hour there, I drove up to my old neighborhood and checked out the butterfly garden at the South Mueller Greenway.  My goal was a few Hummingbird shots and I was rewarded with several good ones.  It's been an overcast morning, not good for hyper-sonic speed subjects, but the sun poked through a few times.  After half an hour, I packed up and headed home to get some work done before getting ready for my daily radiation.

My appointment went well and was pretty close to my scheduled time, as I thought it would be with the new gentleman now in front of me with some unique needs being wheeled in for treatment as I arrived.  I did learn something from one of the therapists.  While it is true that the prostate is in a different position each day, requiring precise aiming of the equipment, it really doesn't move around much on its own.  It is more of a function of how full or empty the rectum and bladder are on a given day.  A very full bladder might push the prostate in one direction where an emptier one might allow movement in another one.  This is the reason patients are instructed to empty their rectum one hour before each session and to begin loading up on water.  It protects the surrounding tissue and holds the prostate in the best position for the radiation.

The picture for the day is of an immature Summer Tanager.  When this guy grows up, he will be a bright shade of red that puts even male Cardinals to shame!

Week 9 - My last full week of treatments begins!

Hard to believe I've gotten to this point so quickly.  At least it seems that way now.  Just doing what needs to be done day by day adds up, a good lesson for life in general.  It was good to have the weekend off to let my body recuperate a bit.  So far, I am not taking a lot of meds for side effects.  Just Flomax twice a day, Calcium and Vitamin D supplements and most nights I am taking some Melatonin and Tylenol to make sure I sleep well.  Ever since I entered the second phase of the radiation, they have been avoiding my "plumbing" and are aiming at different areas of the prostate, so the most uncomfortable side effects should remain about the same until I am finished, then they should subside quite a bit after another 2 weeks and I should find out what the "new normal" is like in about 2 months, about the end of September.

I got to my appointment a little early as usual and a new patient on his first day was ahead of me.  He was in a wheelchair, wasn't very communicative and couldn't stand up on his own, so the therapists got their exercise dealing with getting him hoisted onto the radiation table and accustomed to what each treatment would be like.  They handled it with good cheer, the staff is truly among the best I have ever seen in any medical practice and I am thankful that they take great care of me.  I was in and out fairly quickly and was able to go get some pictures of Hummingbirds at a nearby butterfly garden, get my second haircut since the COVID hit and then treated myself to a burger.  A good day was made complete by a 20 minute nap in my Lazy Boy when I got home.  Thank you, Jesus!

The picture for the day is of a Great Egret in flight over Taylor, TX.  They look so graceful once they are airborne, but they also look very clumsy, an eggbeater comes to mind, as they attempt to lift off from a tree or the shoreline, at least for the first 2 flaps of the wings or so.

Week 8 draws to a close

I now get the weekend for my body to recover some.  While I don't feel anything at all during each treatment, I am well aware that there is damage being done by the radiation, even though it is precisely targeted and the goal is to blast the cancer out of existence.  The combination of the hormone therapy and the radiation is nothing short of amazing.  My understanding is that this type of cancer feeds on testosterone, so by lowering the testosterone to essentially zero for 6 months via a Lupron injection deprives the cancer of the nourishment it needs to live and multiply.  The radiation has the effect on the cancer cells of making them lose the ability to reproduce, while sparing the healthy cells from this fate.  This one-two punch is much more effective than either strategy alone and statistically is very close in end results compared with surgery to remove the prostate altogether.  

I now have only 8 treatments to go, so I am truly in the home stretch now and my minor side effects have not gotten any worse after the 6th week, which is what the radiation oncologist told me to expect.  Thank you, Jesus!

Today's picture is of our cute triplet of Screech Owlets from earlier this spring when they were not very old at all.

Doctor Day! Should be my next to last regular one of these...

If it's Thursday, it must be Doctor Day, when I check in weekly with any of my questions or concerns and when the Doctor assesses my progress and imparts any information I may need to know at each stage of the game.  I was pleased to hear that my level of side effects is right where it should be at this stage.  This includes fatigue from the hormone therapy and changes in bathroom habits which should subside quite a bit 2 weeks after radiation ends and should be completely gone about 2 months after the end of treatment.  I was given a brochure titled "Follow Up After Radiation" which discusses what I can expect in terms of blood tests and frequency of doctor's visits for the next 2 years or so.  Basically, my PSA will be checked several times during the first year or so to establish a new baseline and to look for any spikes that may need to be addressed.  This brochure also addresses the lessening of side effects over time and healthy diet and exercise ideas.  As far as diet goes, it's just the standard heart healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meat, fish, etc.  Also, antioxidant supplements like a daily multivitamin are recommended although these have been stopped during the treatment to make it more effective.  I will also need to keep my Calcium and Vitamin D levels up to promote bone health and recovery from the radiation.   More to follow as my treatment winds down.

Today's picture is one that I entitled "Great yoga pose bro!"  It is a Cattle Egret commenting on the position that this Great Egret in its mating plumage managed to find itself in at Murphy Park in Taylor, TX earlier this spring.  Note the beautiful green around the eyes that the Great Egrets have during their mating season.

35 down, 10 to go!

Just like yesterday, the clinic was running a little ahead of schedule.  I got back to the waiting area at 11:15, 15 minutes ahead of my treatment as is requested and I waited for less than 5 minutes.  I was walking out at 11:29, one minute before my appointment.  Cool!  Everything is still going according to plan and I'm still doing well.

I was able to get out to Taylor, TX this morning to do some bird photography at the rookery in Murphy Park.  Here's is a cell phone of the way it looked shortly after dawn.

There were a few less birds than in previous weeks, perhaps many of the adults were already out gathering food for their young.  I drove back to Austin and got to see my Pastor, who was doing a drive-thru meet and greet for the congregation from 8 to 4:30.  He had a fan blowing on him in his lawn chair when I pulled up.  We talked for a while about everyday life and church business and he was ready to say a prayer over me when a delivery guy showed up with Tiff's Treats.  He had a box of freshly baked cookies, so I got a chocolate chip cookie along with my prayer.  It's been a good day!

Here is the picture for the day, a Painted Bunting from a couple of weeks ago.  They will be here for another 2 or 3 weeks, so I'm looking for them every day.  You can never have enough of these little guys!

Tuesday and starting to tackle my last dozen sessions

Duty called this morning and I had to get out for an early morning computer repair.  No bird photography for me.  The new appointment time of 11:30 makes it hard to do anything very ambitious in the mornings right now.  Yesterday hit 108 degrees in some parts of town (real temperature!).  In nearby Lampassas is was 111.  Wow.  Today will be slightly cooler, predicted to be ONLY 107.  

I got to the clinic 20 minutes early and they got me right in.  I was actually walking out of there at 11:27, three full minutes before my appointment.  I told the staff it was not the worst part of my day.  I am sending in my Federal Income Tax this afternoon.  We all had a good laugh when I told them before my session I had an even dozen treatments to go  and that I was looking forward to missing them!  I drove over to the Mueller Greenway butterfly garden and got a few hummingbird and lizard pictures before heading home for a late, by my standards, lunch.  

The picture for today is of a Cooper's Hawk at Mills Pond earlier this spring.

Week 8 begins - a good Monday for a change

After 2 Mondays in a row that were disasters, I'm glad my new appointment time of 11:30 worked out well.  I was at Berry Springs Park in Georgetown this morning at dawn and got to see Painted Buntings, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and several Hummingbirds for highlights, as well as a Downy Woodpecker.  I got some good shots of each of them before they flew far, far away!  I had to time when to come home and left at 8:30 just to play it safe so I could get a few things done before getting prepared to go into my appointment.  I hiked for about an hour and a half and drank a 20 ounce bottle of water, which is not nearly enough, given that it was almost 80 degrees at dawn.  I'd like to do about a quart an hour to stay good and hydrated for my radiation treatment.  I did pound down a lot of water on the drive home and once I got there.  This new time will take a little getting used to.  I'm hoping to still be able to do a couple of hours in my boat early one morning this week, I'll just have to stay focused on the time.  

After today, I have 12 more treatments to go.  Things are still going well, none of the possible side effects of the radiation or the hormone therapy like hot flashes, weight gain, incontinence or diarrhea have manifested themselves in any big way.  I've been very blessed so far in each of these respects.

"OH NO!!! My wife gave me a Covid haircut!"  Today's picture is of a male Cardinal I took last week at Commons Ford Ranch near Lake Austin.  This Cardinal is molting, the changing out of all of his old feathers for new ones.  Some bird species do this more than once a year.  It happens in an orderly fashion, obviously all of the flight feathers couldn't fall out at the same time or a bird would be helpless.  I have seen other Cardinals and Blue Jays that were completely bald, it looked like they had a turtleneck sweater on!