Week Fifty

My goodness, fifty weeks!  That’s darn near a year….amazing how time flies.

I’m not sure how many more of these postings there will be.  There’s not much happening from week to week, just a slow, steady recovery.  We’ll try it for a few more weeks and see how it goes.

My weight this morning was 132.6…..holding pretty steady, but I’d like to get up above 135, then I won’t be so panicky about gaining more.  Now that my weight is stabilizing a bit, I am trying to add some fruits and vegetables to my diet…trying to eat ‘healthy’ after a boat load of hamburgers, french fries, high fat yogurt and cottage cheese, and anything else with lots of calories.

My endurance is still not where I’d like it to be.  I try to exercise at least four times a week, if we’re not traveling somewhere.  I got pretty worn out in New York.  We did a lot of walking, and taking the subway was fatiguing.  Often there are no escalators, and you might have to go down three flights of stairs to get to the subway line you want, then back up three flights at your destination.  We flew back to Sacramento on Sunday, and Monday I was really pooped.  I was supposed to have jury duty that day, but I got it postponed to July 10th for health reasons.

Our walk across Brooklyn Bridge

I’m still getting some acid reflux high in my throat at least once or twice a week.  That’s pretty unpleasant, and a little nerve-wracking.  Don’t know if it’s going to compromise the short length of esophagus I have left.  The back of my throat, also, is pretty tender, and sometimes just drinking water irritates it and makes me cough.  Then there are times food will get stuck in the back of my throat, and I’ll have to drink a bunch of water to dislodge it.  My throat definitely feels different than it did pre-surgery….I guess that is something I will just have to get used to.

The back pain also comes and goes.  It feels fine today, but who knows about tomorrow.  And, to finish off my litany of complaints, my shoulders are almost always sore and stiff.  That’s not cancer related though, the shoulders are just worn out from years of swimming, and I thought I’d throw in that complaint as well.

I’ve got a slew of doctors appointments next week:  the sleep study doc on Tuesday, dermatologist on Wednesday, chemo oncologist on Thursday, telephone conference also on Thursday with the UCSF doctor regarding the ‘decipher’ analysis of my prostate biopsy, and on Friday the meeting with my regular urologist to discuss what to do next regarding the prostate situation.  I’m a little apprehensive about the prostate diagnosis, and we’ve got two major travel plans still this year that I’d rather not have to scrap.  We’ve got an Alaska trip in August and a stay in a couple small towns in Mexico near Puerto Vallarta in late October, early November.

My taste, or desire, for alcohol and coffee is still absent.  I have lost my desire for my morning cup of coffee.  And a beer after golf, a cocktail before dinner, or wine with dinner no longer appeals to me.  That all seems a bit odd, but I guess it’s probably good in the long run….

So that’s about it for this week.  I’ll report next week on what the doc’s have to say about my prostate, and whatever else is of interest.

And I’ll close with a poem from some years ago, that no longer seems to be applicable….

Temptation

The drink it sits upon the bar

Awaiting to be sipped

 

The patron eyes it from afar

And purses thirsty lips

 

He forward leans with anxious grin

And heeds his inner call

 

The sturdy glass is filled to brim

With ice and alcohol

 

So cold it sweats and drops of dew

Run down onto the wood.

 

For him it would be just a few

If only that he could.