LifeNow

It's about ten weeks since the previous post, Recovery continuing as projected. Although my recovery from the worst effects of radiation therapy now feels largely complete, my hormone therapy continues for another two weeks or so. So what does that mean?

Well, if nothing else, it means I continue to have great sympathy with women going through menopause. Strange as that may seem, I continue to have hot flashes. From what various women have said about their hot flashes, mine have apparently been relatively mild. That symptom will continue for some time after the end of the hormone therapy. The reason is that it may take between six to twelve months for my testosterone level to return to a normal level.

The purpose of the Lupron® hormone was to eliminate the testosterone that feeds cancerous prostate cells. I was surprised when I learned that I would have only two Lupron injections, each lasting for three months. The reason is that it was simply a pellet injected subcutaneously – into the fatty tissue under my skin. The first one was into the abdomen, several inches from the navel. The second – and last – was into the upper, outer-thigh under loose skin. Those pellets dissolve slowly over three months, so the six months of hormone therapy, which started at the same time as the radiation therapy, expires at the end of the current month.

So the two symptoms that I will continue to experience for a few months will be the hot flashes and the lower level of energy. As far as my daily life, it has been back to normal, though with a tendency to take short naps a bit more often.

This is likely my last post solely about my therapy. I've been thinking about shifting to weekly posts about what I'm reading, watching, and thinking about these days.

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Life goes on – until it doesn't.