John Helmer was a quiet, caring, and friendly man. He was a well known businessman in the Portland, Oregon area for more than 60 years. I met him in a Prostate Cancer Clinical Trial program at Oregon Health and Science University in 2010. It was an exercise program for men with prostate cancer and their spouses - to help determine the effects of continued regular exercise on the health and longevity of prostate cancer patients.
It turned out that the men and women in the program enjoyed being together, formed a bond, and we have continued meeting every few months over the past year - long after the program had finished.
John was a world traveler, mountain climber, cyclist, and marathon runner. It turns out that we both ran the Boston Marathon the same year - almost 30 years before actually meeting. He was 88, but he seemed much younger. Carol and I will miss him as will his wife Beverly, his large extended family, and his very large circle of friends.
I raise a toast to John: a good man, a friend, and a terrific example for the rest of us.
axman
Monday, September 26, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
How Many Hot Flashes is Too Many?
...trick question__
you can never have enough!
Since being promoted to Lupron a couple months ago my hot
flashes have gradually increased in number and intensity—at least half a dozen
private mini saunas every day.
They appear mostly at night. Strangely, I wake up about a
minute before it happens, then beads of sweat pop out on my forehead and the
warmth moves on down to the rest of my body and for a couple of minutes I’m toasty warm all over—sometimes
too toasty. I usually get up and walk around and often step outside in an
attempt to cool down faster and get back to sleep.
Then, an hour or two later, it starts all over again. My
posse (half a dozen friends and acquaintances who are also doing the Lupron
Chemo thing) assures me my experience is pretty standard. So why am I telling
you all this? Well, if you have prostate cancer and it has recurred after
initial treatment, you’re likely to experience something similar sooner or
later.
Lucky you! Really! If you get to the hourly steam bath stage
it means you’re still alive and you’re keeping the cancer under some level of
control. And the sweat is just a part of the blood, sweat, toil, and tears of
life (thank you Winston
Churchill for those kind words).
axman
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