End of radiation treatments!

Monday this week marked the last radiation treatment for me. To celebrate the occasion I bought a couple of boxes of See's candy for the staff at the radiation oncology office (and I included the doctor's office as well). I wondered if candy would be frowned on, but a couple of the nurses said that (I quote) "Sugar is goooooood!"  Who says it's not a drug?

At home, we opened a great bottle of champagne at dinner, and I also brought a box of candy home for celebration.  I'm glad that the treatments are over, but I already miss seeing the great staff at the radiation oncology department.  Wonderful people who manage to keep a tolerable face on some very serious business.

Of course, stopping treatment doesn't mean I'm off the hook.  I was reminded by my body that the effects of the radiation are still underway, and so I've made some adjustments to my diet, and am sleeping whenever I can.  However, ending radiation does mean that I'm off the bicalutamide (the testosterone blocker).  I think it's also a bit sad to say good bye to my visual - the Roller Derby grrl I envisioned as a "testosterone blocker" ... aptly named "Maura Lee Bankrupt".  But all things have their time.  So, I'll embed one last view of Maura Lee... give her a big wet one, and move on.  OK... maybe not a big wet one. Maybe just a Roller Derby high-five.

So, what next?  Well, there's another hormone still in play here - the Trelstar shot that I have been getting every three months.  I have the third one of those coming up the end of March, and another one sometime in June.  This is the hormone shot that essentially keeps the pituitary gland "out of gas" if you will... so my body has none of the stuff that triggers testosterone production.  It's a strange and wacky world!  So, I need to keep slamming calcium and vitamin D.

And try to get some exercise, even when I don't feel like it.  Hopefully being off the testosterone blocker will have some effect that helps in that regard.  We'll see.