Planning for the Unknown

 Ringing out of Radiation
Think back to when you were a kid. Everything was new and exciting. Sort of scary, too. That first school bus ride. The first roller coaster. The first year of middle school. High school. Going off to college - or boot camp for me. The first time I stepped on soil of a foreign country. We all thrive on new adventures. New experiences. Many times we are hesitant and even frightened, but we do it and create stories that last a lifetime. Then we often get married and have kids. Twenty years of ever changing life that gradually becomes less and less about us and more about others. We settle into a career, and live becomes totally structured and predictable. Anything that gets in the way of that and disrupts our repetitive lifestyle is a nuisance, and is cause for anger and frustration.As life goes on, the last remaining big change is retirement. A thing we all look forward too up until the day it arrives. I am still a couple of years away from it, but I live in a community that is comprised mainly of retirees.  Many of them have transitioned well. They do everything by schedule. Golf. Water aerobics. Dining out. Day in and day out. It is comfortable, predictable and easy living. Nothing different or scary.
Enter the unknown. Tomorrow is the day of my last radiation session. Following that, I meet with my oncologist to discuss my cancer management plan going forward. It will be July when I get my first PSA test - but it will serve only as a baseline. My first real indication will not be until my last hormone shot wears off. I take my next four month shot of Lupron in July or August, which, from what I understand, puts my first real data late in the year or next year.
04/19/16
Well, radiation is a done deal. I got to ring a bell and everything. I will miss it in a strange sort of way. My Oncologist meeting went well. I will go back for a PSA in June. Hopefully, My PSA will be undetectable and stay that way. The "all clear" will not be called until 5 years out with a non detectable level. He did finally let on that there is a possibility that the PSA would return, or that it would persist through the hormone treatment. In either of those scenarios, it would call for long term management through a variety of hormone treatments. The treatments for total cancer removal have been exhausted. It is a reasonable assumption that this will work, so I am not going to waste a lot of time worrying about "what if" scenarios. I know that right now, I feel great. I want to continue to exercise and regain my fitness. I am looking forward to Ashley graduating college in two weeks. Quetico in July. Everything in between.