It’s that time again… I went for blood tests a week and a half ago… Yesterday I went to my urologist for the results.
My PSA’s went down to 0.4 from 1.1 about 4 months ago… I was hoping to get off of the hormone deprivation for a while again, but the numbers just aren’t right for that at this time. So it will probably be a few more rounds before I get another break. We’ll try to get the PSA’s down as far as they will go before the next break… so it could be even longer. Oh well, it’s always good to get in touch with my feminine side… LOL
So the news was good, which is always great!
On another note… I hope some of you have taken a look at my previous post… I talked with Scott this evening and he is working hard to keep up with all the phone calls and emails he has been receiving… He is excited with the response so far and is hoping that this project will continue to open lines of communications for everyone that is affected by suicide. Continued success Scott!
( Collateral Damage ) images of those left behind by suicide
“Collateral Damage, Images of Those Left Behind by Suicide,” will be a book of portraits, website and gallery exhibition of people who have had loved ones die by suicide. This is a project by a great guy who I met doing my cross Canada bike ride back in 2006. Scott Chisholm is a fire fighter/paramedic in Thunder Bay, Ontario. We met via email, then phone, prior to my ride… Then in person on the highway on my way into Thunder Bay… He did a lot for me even though he had his own projects going on at the time… He was always extremely busy with something… Now he has taken the time to do something else that is extremely important to him… He is an awesome photographer and an all round great guy… full of energy and life. This new project of his is something he’s been thinking about for a long time…
“Collateral Damage: Images of Those Left Behind by Suicide,” will be a book of portraits, a website and gallery exhibition, telling the stories of people who have lost loved ones through suicide. When I was 16, my father took his own life. Although I have always been honest and open about how he died, I often felt I was left to deal with my pain and recovery in solitude - my grief paralyzed by the social stigma associated with such an act. Even now, 27 years later, I still have so many questions.
Through this book of images, I hope to find some answers and at the very least, start a long, overdue conversation.
I hope you take the time to check out the You Tube video and then check out Scott’s site… Help him out if you can…
WOW… it’s been a long time since I’ve updated things… A lot has been going on… so much that I haven’t taken the time to write about it…
Before doing the Relay for Life back in June, I started helping a young lady with her cross Canada bike ride efforts. She is doing the ride to raise money for a medical clinic in Uganda… The medical clinic will continue to have the basic health care that they currently provide and will also include the services of a Maternity Ward. The Maternity Ward will provide women with prenatal care and a safe clean environment where a qualified midwife can help them through the difficult time of child-birth. The organization she is working with is Buiga Sunrise She is currently in Ontario… should be in Sudbury or beyond right now… I went out for a “training” ride with Tara before she left, and rode with her again when she was in the area… I actually rode 146.7 km’s that day… I was good up to the 120 km mark, but wanted to make it all the way home… I made it, but was exhausted… Tara, on the other hand, was not even working as she made her way in to Lethbridge… Youth, and having been on the road for 2 weeks already, made for an easy ride for her…
I’ve also been out on the bike a few other times this summer… I’ve now had 7 or 8 rides and have gone about 200 km farther than last year… Unfortunately, the weather and a few other things have caused me to take a break from riding… but I’ve got the bug again and am looking forward to a few more rides this year…
July took me back to the Cancer Centre for my injection of Eligard… My next PSA check is right away… in fact, some time this week I will head over to the lab… I see the doc September 1st… If all is still going well, I should be getting another break from the Eligard… really looking forward to that as the side effects are getting worse… but since I am still getting up in the morning, and able to enjoy some great walks and bike rides, it’s worth it!
Last week I heard back from the WCB about my Medical Panel Hearing and their findings… once again my claim was denied. The good thing is that there seems to be another appeal available… My third “FINAL” appeal… we’ll keep fighting!
Well, I took the plunge this year… after a couple of years of trying to put a team together to enter the Canadian Cancer Society Relay for Life and not succeeding, I finally just joined an existing team. This year I’ll be walking with the 107.7 The River and Rock 106 team. It should be a good time. Not sure how many of the 12 hours I’ll manage, but I will try for the whole thing…
If you would like to pledge me, just go to my donation page here.
Only one week to go… so the plans are to get plenty of rest between now and then. But plans often don’t come together… all we can do is try!
Well, I've never really gone anywhere... but life has a way of interrupting a blog. LOL
Life has been quite hectic for the past 3 months... and we've taken some time off to recover and rebuild, so I haven't updated the blog for a while.
All is well... at least as well as can be expected. Nothing new with the health issues yet... My energy levels are up and down as the weather changes, but for the most part I'm feeling pretty good. We still haven't heard from the WCB... but it's only been 4 months this Friday since my last hearing... I am hoping to hear by the end of June.... if not, it probably won't be until September... just the way things go!
I'm really enjoying the warmth lately... I always feel better when the sun is shinning! I've been getting out more and have even managed a couple of 15km bike rides... one more ride and I will have done more riding than all of last year... I do plan on many more bike rides this year... I just have to get used to the saddle again. Slow and steady.
When I learned that I had prostate cancer I had a lot of thoughts running around in my head. I knew it would affect my life, but I didn’t know how far reaching it would be. We all are touched in some way by cancer. Whether it is ourselves, our family or our friends, this is an unfortunate fact. In addition to the physical trauma brought on by cancer More...
