Banner Day for Terry!!!!!!!

Today is the day. Today Terry "GONGED OUT" of the Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His treatment for prostate cancer is complete. We have been here since December 27, 2010.

We have enjoyed Houston, but I hesitate to call it the "radiation vacation" as some of the wives refer to it. There is nothing about vacation and cancer that belongs in the same sentence. The reason they say this is because the proton beam radiation has fewer side effects than any of the other treatments for prostate cancer and boasts about the same results. It is a bit of a daily ordeal for the men involved, but it is one treatment that does not make you sick or cause you many of the side effects while promising to stop the cancer growth. A lot of the patients and their wives use the free time between treatments to explore Houston and eat out. We have done that, taking in the rodeo, the BBQ cookoff, the flea markets, the beaches down at Galveston and the Kemah Boardwalk. We have also joined Terry's college roommate for a tour of the Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham, famous for Blue Bell ice cream. We also have spent some quality time with my cousin and his wife, being fed luscious meals and meeting many of their friends. We have made friends at the campground, many who are cancer patients. We certainly have not been bored and have enjoyed ourselves. But there is some fatigue with the treatments and lately an afternoon nap has been the rule. Some men are here by themselves, their wives work or some choose not to come. I cannot imagine making Terry face something like this by himself. We have fared better than some, however, because we are "at home" every night. Even though our home is in Houston right now, we still go home to our bed, our recliners, etc., every night. Ah, another perk of the full-time lifestyle.

So tomorrow we say goodbye to Houston. We are headed to the Rio Grande Valley for a few days. My Dad just had knee surgery this morning and we are going down to see him and Mom. We have a lot there with a canopy, so we can stay in the shade instead of broasting in the 100*+ weather. We are staying till the weekend, then heading to Indiana for our normal round of spring doctor appointments. Will the fun never end? Haha.

Till next time. . .

Dale