No crowds on cancer’s road
Each day is a blessed
day of gratitude in the joy of living, and it was a year ago today that I rang
the bell at the Christie Hospital, signalling the end of hypofractionated
radiotherapy treatment for prostate cancer. It was a journey with very few companions,
a lover, a friend, a sister, a neighbour, a brother, a few colleagues at work
and at church, on a road often travelled to a destination rarely known.
The weeks that
followed radiotherapy brought fatigue, pain, and urges, but the reality that
dawned on me was I needed to be taken care of as my strength waned even as my
will and my spirit held on to the hope that there was a better story ahead of
my circumstances.
I embarked on sick
leave to recuperate, open-ended about my return from Cape Town and hoping to
spend as much precious time with Brian who sometimes helplessly watched from
afar how I tackled the diagnosis of prostate cancer and navigated the medical
establishment and healthcare system to select what I believed would lead to the
best medical outcomes.
My gratitude for care
and support
In our daily conversations
there was a bulwark of support, strength, and encouragement. Against the
protestations of others, I boarded that flight, almost an invalid and with a
voice that could barely be heard, knowing that Brian would take care of me.
The improvements in
the past year have been quite encouraging, as it was last week that I learnt
that my PSA test result had fallen to the lowest level since February 2024,
after an uptick in March 2025 that left me wondering about how effective radiotherapy
was.
While I do find
myself having to wield my Just Can’t Wait card even as recently as three days
ago, a lot more has settled down, as I manage from the occasional insomnia, the
regular nocturia, and my voice slowly returning to normalcy, the opportunities
to spend time with Brian have been a blessing.
I am thankful,
grateful, happy, and blessed, each new day is full of grace and mercy. Yet we
rise encouraging others to attend to their men’s things, notice the changes and
have it all checked out. Catch it early, so you have options and the
possibility of looking in the rearview mirror at that once threatening cancer
that no longer has a hold on you.
Other related blogs
Blog - Men's
things XXV: Prostate cancer under control
Blog - Photons
on the Prostate - A year from starting radiotherapy
Blog - A
prostate cancer diagnosis, one year on
Blog - Photons on the Prostate - XVIV - I Just Can't Wait
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