Update and coping with cancer

It’s been a while since I last posted on this topic and I know some of you are more comfortable reading this than asking how I’m doing.

In a nutshell, I’m improving. My last test a couple of weeks ago was the first time my PSA levels have come down, although not as low as we need them to be. In 10 weeks I’ll have another test and we’ll hopefully see that it is trending down, which will mean tests every 3 months and I’ll be on the mend.

In the meantime I still suffer from fatigue 24:7 but not as bad as it was and when I’m busy and focused on doing things, I don’t notice it. But that also means that it is really easy to overdo it and if I have a really busy day at work, or even just at home, I pay for it.

I now have some nights when I don’t fall asleep at 7:30 or earlier, but it is still more common than not that my wife wakes me up somewhere between 8 and 9 to tell me to go to bed and off I trot, feeling ripped off both because I’m missing out on my time and our time and I feel bad about leaving her on her own each evening, while I trot off to sleep. It’s also frustrating that you feel tired all day whether you had 5 hours sleep or 12 hours sleep.

Anyway, what I’m focusing on is looking forward to things and trying to live in the moment. We have spent much of our lives looking to pay off our mortgage and reducing debt, rather than living life for today. Cancer makes you want to make sure you have taken care of your loved ones financially, but it also makes the bucket list more important. One of the things on my bucket list that I was confident I would never have is the new toy we bought.

I have always loved Corvettes and now I have one and I love it. Hopefully my wife and I will have fun doing road trips and make lots of new memories. Living in the now isn’t easy and it is important to be financially secure if you can. It is also important to have fun and enjoy life, which isn’t easy when sometimes life feels like crap. It doesn’t have to be a cool car, it can be just looking forward to going out for lunch or catching up with a friend you haven’t seen for a while. It is important to have a focus that takes your mind off the fact that you have cancer. Doing things that make you happy creates good chemical reactions in your body and if you are creating endorphin’s that has to help your immune system.

I want to share a poem with you that reflects a bit of the feeling I had about living. It was written by Alistair Morrison and I hope I’m not breaking any copyright laws by sharing it.

Such a Good Boy

He never said ‘Die’ to the living

He never said ‘Scat’ to a cat.

He never said ‘Boo to a Kangaroo.

He never did this or that.

He always kept clear of propellers

Never spoke to the man at the wheel

He always said ‘thanks’ to people in banks

And always took food with his meal.

He never took umbrage, or opium

Or ran round the rugged rocks

He never missed school, or acted the fool

And always wore woolen socks.

He never sat on a tuffet

Or pulled out a plumb with his thumb

And never in churches left ladies in lurches

Or opened the OP rum.

He never pinched little girls bottoms

Or peered down te front of their necks

Considered it folly to covet a dolly

Or think of the opposite sex.

He never did anything nasty

He never got stinking or cried

Unmarred by one speckle, a permanent Jeckyll

With never a shadow of Hyde.

He never called anyone ‘Drongo’

Or even ate peas with a knife.

He never crossed swords with the overlords

Such a good boy all o his life.

When he finally died and was buried

His loving ones tried to mourn

They put at his head a tablet which read

“Here he lies, but why was he born”.

 

 

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PSA Going Down

For those of you who have been following my prostate cancer story, I’m really happy to be able to report that I had my latest visit to my oncologist yesterday who told me that my PSA levels have finally started dropping.

This doesn’t mean the cancer is gone, but it does mean that things are improving and whilst I continue to be really tired and have other side effects, it’s all heading in the right direction.

I can now go from monthly visits to 3 monthly visits for the next 2 years assuming things continue to improve.

Relay For Life was awesome, thanks so much to those of you who supported team Early Birds. We raised almost $7,000 for cancer research and had a great time doing it. It appears that many of the team have already committed to doing it again next year, even before they got over the aches and pains.

There are still some donations coming in and the North Shore event raised just under $190,000!

Here’s a sobering thought for you, but if you think about it and your circle of friends, family acquaintances and colleagues. One in 3 people in New Zealand will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. If you wrote down a list of all the people in your family and then do those sums, this is a very important cause. Who will it be in your family or circle next? It’s the selflessness of people who fund raise for research that make a big difference and could save the lives of people like you and I in the future.

While I think of it, the Auckland Cancer Society Research Center ACSRC having an open day on Saturday 9 April. With TED Talk style presentations, a tour and loads of information about ground breaking research happening here in New Zealand. Click here for details.