LifeNow

It has been a month since my last radiation therapy session. I had been advised that the first two weeks following would likely be the worst in terms of digestive symtoms – and that was correct. That meant that I could not return immediately to the food I'd been avoiding – coffee, fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. In the past several days I have managed to start eating fresh fruit and vegetables with no negative impact on the digestive system. Coffee was the single item about which the doctor's advice was most strongly expressed – coffee during radiation therapy would have a very negative impact on one's system. Interestingly, the issue is not caffeine – things like tea and diet pepsi were not considered a concern – although I had dropped them as well.

Therefore, the fact that two days ago I had my first cup of coffee – with no negative impact in the past forty-eight hours – strongly suggests I'm getting back to normal as had been projected by the therapy experts.

The other thing that supports that suggestion is that for the past several days I have not had to eat a lot of extra things — like cookies, ice cream, potato chips, etc — just to keep my weight constant as required. That is because the therapists want the pelvic mold to fit correctly. Today I'm actually a bit more than a pound above my desired weight – without eating all the extras.

What that means is that the balance of my recovery will remain slow. The second hormone tablet inside me won't be done slowly dissolving until the end of October. That means the low energy level – and the urge to nap throughout the day – will not disappear for some time yet.

Therefore, this is likely the last post on my therapy update – at least for the next several months.

It also means that, as my level of energy slowly returns, I may return to what was my original goal for rwhitney.com – a weekly or biweekly blog, perhaps about the books I'm reading, what's happening in my neighborhood during this extension of the pandemic and even, possibly, commenting on interesting YouTube videos I often watch, usually heterodox analysts talking about current social and political issues.