Tag: cancer

Where things Stand with US

Been quite a while since I took keyboard in hand and addressed this blog. Sadly I am also remiss in addressing my other blogs as well, but life goes on, I am at 83 still upright and breathing and my life is still looking not so bad.

Where are we now

Back in January of this year, my wife achieved a specific milestone in her life. She gained the status and birthday enabling her to join the greatest group, Senior Citizens, yea HER. During a conversation following her birthday, in our Alexandria, VA condo, she commented that she would prefer to retire, when that happened, nearer the water. Plus, she most assuredly did not want to retire in Alexandria, due to the hustle-bustle, high cost of living, traffic woes, etc. Having started a new senior management position with a new company, there was some concern that she could even consider a return to the area where there were many areas of water, rivers, Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic. In this new firm, she was fortunate in that she was hired with the status of remote/work from home, and as a bonus of having an excellent manager who embodied the very tenent of being the epitome of a strong, vibrant manager style. So it was decided at the end of our multiple discussions that she would approach her manager with the idea of her moving her remote location to the Tidewater area of Hampton, Newport News, or the History Triangle. Her manager agreed with the condition that she would report in person to the office on a reasonably regular basis. So our search for a real retirement location began with the agreement of her company’s management for this remote work location. YEA Us!

A large hurdle presented itself, purchasing a new home while selling our existing one. Remember at this particular time, interest rates were rather high considering where they were when we originally bought this home. It was a Condo Apartment in a very nice building, in a very nice neighborhood, but it was a bit pricey and our monthly condo fees were a tad on the high side for the area. Still we had on our side, the world’s greatest real estate agent! This lady was super, having sold our earlier condo home at a better price than we imagined, then later when we had to relocate back to NOVA, helping us locate and buy the current one and now she would help us sell that same condo apartment while we moved out of Northern Virginia and back to the peninsula area where the water environment was extensive and the cost of living significantly better than the Alexandria/NOVA area.

We located a great community in Williamsburg, VA and purchased a very nice townhouse unit there. But the condo sale was not moving as rapidly as we had hoped. So for the first time in our lives, we owned two housing properties, UGGGGH. We moved into our new house at the end of March, 2024 and our Alexandria Condo finally sold after an additional three months on our books, and even then at a very large reduction from our initial price. Thanks to the high interest rates!!! But it was done, and we were settling into our new retirement home. Ready to avail ourselves of the plethora of history locales in this area. Though I can’t do a lot of walking through these area, I can still get around using a scooter when they are appropriate and available or going to the driving tours of some places. A really great place to live, and to retire in.

What’s the status of my Cancer?

Well so far, I am still holding on. With the move from Northern Virginia and the great oncology team I had there, I had some concern about finding a good cancer specialist in this area. As luck would have it, we found an oncology practice that was connected through a parent company with the oncology group in Northern Virginia. My records, treatments, chemo prescriptions were all immediately available to the new penninsula group and my cancer fight was continued as if I were still with the other practice. Different Oncologist, and nursing staff, but still a practice of highly competent, dedicated professionals.

Just recently one of my chemo medications was changed to a different type. Stronger, and better at the next phase of my cancer program. Cost was considerably higher, but such is the environment of our medical environment and specially the cancer segment. At least the cancer staff for the oncology medications are working to keep me supplied with sufficient samples of the oral meds to get me through the year and my new insurance benefits will roll over making the cost much more acceptable. Oh yeah, the oral medication is a much larger pill and a larger dosage! But with a bit of water, I am able to get it down. Minor reactions, but actually increasing of the severity of the previous medications.

I am not trying to make light of this cancer invasion of my old body. Frankly, it terrifies me since many of my family and close friends have been taken from this life by Cancer. Anxiety, fear and of course depression are my companions quite often. In some months they become almost a daily companion.

But hey! I am still in the fight, I am upright, breathing, mobile, and still alive.

Things have changed though

2024 was a year of change for the Bride and I. She reached the first of the golden age, I was fighting cancer, heart problems, and other old guy stuff. But it was a good year for other things. In January we traded our Buick Envision SUV for another GMC Terrain. Remember, I loved the Buick, but we felt that it was time for a change. So our dark blue suv was changed to a very red suv and with updated electronics including a new approach to our navigation system. The new GMC was a bit larger than the Buick, but it had a smaller, more efficient drivetrain including all wheel drive and a turbo four cylinder engine. A very comfortable vehicle, especially comforting to this old guy when travelling any distance.

Our retirement house was very different from what we were used to. IT was a townhouse, and while we had actually owned a Townhouse style in Leesburg, this one was radically different. First of all it was the largest house we had ever owned standing at over 2200 square feet and three large bedrooms. It is in a senior citizen restricted community that includes a club house, a fine dining restaurant and a pub style cafe in that clubhouse location. There is an 18 hole award winning PGA grade golf course, tennis and pickleball courts, two swimming pools, one outside and one inside. So all in all, a great place for seniors to gather with others of their age ranges. Our house hosts a second floor two bedroom and bath, with a balcony overlooking the first floor. Char’s remote work office has been established in this balcony area. There is sufficient additional space for buffet style tables, a sofa, and other items, including perhaps a third TV. She is sufficiently removed from the rest of the house so her company activity can be conducted without outside interference. And the really great thing about this house is that the price was considerably lower than we paid for any of our Northern Virginia homes, except for the Leesburg house.

Sadly this past month, we had to say goodbye to the last of our four legged kiddos, our little kitty girl Penny left us to join her pals, Jessica, Norman, Dutchess on the other side of that Rainbow bridge. Another grief hole opened in our hearts with her passing and we have decided that there will be no more in our family. At our ages, the pain of loss of these loving little beings is simply more than our aging hearts can stand. So our household will now be bereft of the sounds of those little feet padding around our floors, or their little furry bodies curled at the foot of our beds. But we had their love for several decades, Penny with us for over 17 years before her leaving and Jessica our first furbaby was with us for almost 19 years. Through several moves, Virginia to Texas, back to Virginia, several homes in Northern Virginia, a home in Southern Virginia, and over four years aboard our classic motor yacht, Misty Lady (Dutchess and Penny despised those diesel engines) these wonderful little souls lightened our lives, gave us laughter, love and joy every day of their lives with us. They were not pets, they were family members.

I realize that I have been remiss in my entries to this blog and will try to do better. With the election coming in just a few more days, I will try to make every effort to offer my research results, my humble opinion and of course my old curmudgeon rants in more frequent issues. As our inlaw friend Kate closes her commentaries, ONWARD.

Facing the Big C

Yesterday, I had an appointment with an Oncologist! This was be the initial appointment since a set of tests over the past few weeks have determined that the cancer cells in my prostate have spread to the other areas of my body. My urology professional team and I had hoped mightily that the small level of cancer showing in the prostate would remain just another item to watch out for in my aging 82 year old body. Turns out we were wrong. Now it is going to be up to both my urology folks and my new Cancer specialists.

As some may know, back in December of 2022, when my wife and I were living in the Newport News/Hampton area of Virginia, I had a malignant tumor removed from my bladder. The urology/oncology physician determined that the entire tumor had been removed. He also discussed with me, during a subsequent follow-up to that surgery, the aspect of “shaving” or trimming the prostate gland in my abdomen. It had been diagnosed as being enlarged a couple of years prior to this and I had been taking medicine to reduce its size making my urethra more open. My wife and I had already made plans to relocate back up to Alexandria, VA because she had received a terrific offer with a company back up here, and had put our Newport News home on the market. Thankfully the first day of being on the RE market, we received several offers. We selected one and accepted the offer. I informed my Newport News area urology/oncology doctor of this and we agreed that as soon as we were settled into a home in Alexandria I would contact a urologist and have the prostate procedure performed.

Once we had completed the closing process on our new high rise condo apartment, I contacted my previous Primary Care Physician at the Virginia Hospital Physicians Group. He had been my PCP for more than 10 years before our relocation to Newport News and he was the first contact I made after we got our personal effects in our new Alexandria home. My PCP referred me to a VHC urologist and my first visit was scheduled. We determined that the prostate “shave” surgery should be performed very soon. The prostate surgery was performed by the Virginia Hospital Physicians Group Urology specialist on April 19, 2023. Lab analysis of the shaving samples from my prostate discovered the presence of cancer in the prostate. While it was a small amount, we felt that it was simply a case of monitoring to ensure that it would not spread in the prostate or elsewhere. Several months later, in October, a decision was made to test for the Cancer’s status using a PET scan test. Results of that PET scan caused the medical folks to schedule a biopsy of my lymph nodes to confirm the results found in that earlier scan. Turned out, the Cancer has spread from my prostate into other areas of my body and was found in those lymph nodes. I was informed of this status and an appointment with the Virginia Cancer Specialists organization was made for yesterday, November 30th.

I met with the Oncologist who would be in charge of my Cancer treatment plans. There were some tests performed and blood draws were taken. Turns out that the Blood Draw will be a regular event throughout the treatment process to monitor the red and white blood cells and other indicators, oh joy! Hate those blood draws.

Medications, both oral and injection were identified by the Oncologist and two other appointments were made with my new Oncology Team of professionals in this organization. One for palliative care and another for genetic evaluation; can my children be faced with the same type of cancer? Orders were placed for the specialized cancer medication, and another member of my new “team” will be responsible for interface with my insurance and my Medicare people. As they put it, the plan is to keep my focus on fighting this cancer and they will take care of the other things.

So, it seems this old man has hit another roadblock and now faces the aspect of the dreaded word CANCER. My father and one of my brothers died from Cancer so I just figured that this is perhaps a bit of Hodges male curse. I don’t plan on just rolling over and waiting for the Cancer to kill me through. With this great group of Cancer specialists, and my regular team of medical professionals in the Virginia Hospital Physicians Group, I hold great hope and confidence that we will put up a good strong fight and hopefully win this battle.

More on this as things progress. Just want to keep my cyber friends (primarily males because this is a male type of cancer), aware of prostate cancer’s danger and hope that they take lessons from this to keep awareness and evaluative testing to ensure that they catch any semblance of this disease in the early stage. Don’t ignore the danger, Prostate Cancer can be a horrible invasion, and in many cases a harsh end of life. I feel confident in my team of medical experts and specialists and do believe that this old curmudgeon will be around for quite a bit longer.