2010 and 2011 and all that Stuff

Tempus Fugit – it really does!

Happy New Year yet again. 2010 was a pretty good year (after all, here we all are in 2011). In 2010 I celebrated my 70^th Birthday and 50^th Anniversary (with the help of my loving and eternally tolerant wife, of course). 

And I am entering my eighth year with prostate cancer. I may still be crazy after all these years but my cholesterol, blood pressure, PSA, and weight are all still under control. and NOT going crazy. I’ll take that as a good way to start any new year.

Life is good, time flees (what tempus fugit actually means), and there are still pages and pages to go on my Bucket List.

Maybe 2011 will be the year of the cancer-cure breakthrough! …or maybe not. That's probably not within our realm of choices so don't spend a lot of time worrying about it.

 All you guys living with prostate cancer keep hanging in there (it certainly beats the alternative) and actually do all the things you want to do (within some fuzzy and probably irrelevant legal limits anyway).

axman

On the Road Again…

There’s no place like home, but…

Whether it’s around the block or around the country, it’s good to be on the go. Really.

I have been in a seven-year prostate cancer holding pattern – a series of treatments, no cures, just doing what needs to be done to keep progression as slow as possible. That’s as good as it’s going to get far as I can tell. But I have also noticed that when I’m at home for any extended period of time – particularly in the wet Oregon winter (October until May) I tend to think more about my cancer and aches and pains.

So, we do a lot of running around (traveling makes us sound too sophisticated). We visit friends around town, spend time with kids and grandkids in other states, go to lots of historical spots, and do more than our share of camping and hiking in the summers. We even get out of the country once in a while. Our kids gave up any hope of an inheritance years ago.

When I’m doing things – especially new and interesting things, I feel better and go days at a time without ever thinking about my health problems – less time to dwell on self pity. It works for me.

axman