Photons on the Prostate - VI

Travelling and scheduling

Being prepared early for the hospital is one thing I have purposefully planned to give myself at least an hour for travel and this is not by bus, but by being driven there. If you arrive on time or well before time, there is a likelihood you could be leaving the hospital before your scheduled appointment time.

Talk of schedule, I met with two receptionists and between them the American pronunciation of schedule had taken a hold I could not ignore. The pervasiveness of American culture permeating every media outlet in films, on television, on the Internet and elsewhere means we might be losing out as we are the last holdout of the fight to the death to prevent the ruination of English.

Sides to the side effects

Meanwhile, finding ways to manage the fatigue is tending towards maximising my productivity when my energy levels are high, this tends to be just after midnight and having knocked a few emails and completed some pending tasks, I was tired enough to fall into bed and get a bit more sleep than usual.

My voice seems to be a wind vane of fatigue on a spectrum of strength to weakness belying something amiss, but it is still my voice, slow and soft to a whispering tone, words still properly enunciated and the mind as alert as it should be. The spirit is indeed willing, but the body is weak, daily bombarded with radioactivity meant to terminate every semblance of cancer on my prostate.

The bladder issues present a slight stinging feeling when passing urine and this I am told can be ameliorated by avoiding drinks with caffeine content and taking copious amounts of cranberry juice. I have not been that sold of still water even though I am supposed to be consuming litres of that stuff.

One other common symptom is with the bowel though I feel more constipated than diarrhoetic the glycerine suppositories seem to be more effective than the micro enemas, having got into a routine with it, doing the business at home within two hours of your appointment is better than the early day of SoD (Shit on Demand), the very least that is expected before going into the radiotherapy suite is to PoD (Piss on Demand). That is easier to do before you find yourself in need of an epidural while trying to birth cack.

Prostituted to many suites

There was cause for laughter when I was assigned to a different radiotherapy suite at the reception; which brings it to four suites I have attended at the halfway point. To which I quipped, “I am being sent around the suites like a prostitute.” Much mirth short of falling out of their seats. We can only do this with humour, positivity, and a sense of hope that this will pass.

That’s 10 hypofractionated radiotherapy sessions done and we are on the home straight Deo volente. Having a conversation with a couple where the man had already done 15 sessions and had a vast experience of prostituting in many more suites than I have, I could only point to one final thing to do when it is all done, he would soon be ringing the bell. [British Institute of Radiotherapy: Hypofractionated radiotherapy]

Blog - Photons on the Prostate - VII

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