Welcome


Welcome.

When I wrote that banner above, I was just days into this adventure. I'm a pretty analytical guy, and the simple act of writing every day helped me wrap my head around the fact that I had just introduced the word "cancer" into my vocabulary, and it helped me rationalize my treatment options. It also helped keep friends and family informed on my status.

Those daily updates tapered off to weekly updates and eventually to monthly updates (which I continue to do on the 11th of every month, the anniversary date of being told I have cancer).

I've kept this blog going because I remember how helpful it was for me to hear first-hand experiences of other prostate cancer patients. I wanted to return the favor by sharing my own journey in order to educate others and increase prostate cancer awareness.

But I wanted it to be a truthful sharing of details, so you will quickly see that I didn't sugar-coat much of anything. That means that you'll find some pretty graphic descriptions of the male anatomy and biological functions in this blog.

Finally, if you're reading this as a fellow prostate cancer patient, please understand that I am not a medical professional, and you should not construe any of the content of this blog as medical advice. Each case is unique, so please solicit the advice of your own medical team.

I wish you all the best as you go through your own journey.

-- Dan

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Week 22 - Sneezy

Funny.  I'm struggling to come up with anything of real interest that happened in the last week.

Friday my head got all stopped up again, but I think it was from the explosion of pollen in the area.  Nearly every fruit-bearing tree is in full bloom, lawns are being mowed, and trees are popping leaves.  My allergies just didn't like it at all, I'm guessing.

Saturday rained a good chunk of the day so I spent the day indoors working on my spreadsheet for work.  Yes, I'm not keen on working at home on the weekend, but sometimes I can get more done in four hours at home with no interruptions than I can in eight hours at work with all the distractions.

Sunday broke temperature records here--we hit 85 degrees.  I had opened the windows and I think Saturday's rain knocked down some of the pollen. 

I tossed and turned Sunday night because it was a balmy 74 degrees when I went to bed.  The comforter was peeled off and I seriously debated turning on the air conditioning.  I left my window wide open and brought in a fan instead.  That helped cool things down a little.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday--all pretty routine days at work.

BIOLOGY AHEAD

I did see the optometrist on Friday and he gave my eyes a clean bill of health.  No signs of glaucoma, cataracts, or optic nerve damage.  It was the last that I was worried about from taking the Cialis.  He was okay with me resuming it, but after his comments about "catastrophic vision loss," should something happen, I'm not so sure I want to take the risk.  He had never seen or heard of someone who went through that, so the likelihood is "infinitessimally small."  But when you only have one set of eyes and the damage is irreversible...  Gives one something to think about.

The incontinence over the weekend and early this week was minimal.  In fact, I went the whole weekend without guards except for about 6 hours Saturday evening.  I had a giant pollen-induced sneeze that caused me to leak enough to warrant changing clothes and put a guard in place. 

But Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were all decent days.  Let's hope the trend continues.


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