After going through cancer surgery and the death of my father-in-law in early summer of 2007, my family was in need of a little change of scenery. So we decided to head to Fort Myers Beach, Florida. We had planned to go in the late March until all hell broke loose. So after a successful cancer surgical procedure and after the funeral, we leaded south on July 21, 2007.
By that time, I had starting running again. I started out doing several miles three days a week and steadily increased the mileage as well as the number of days. I still felt a little funny around my groin area when I ran, but it didn't hurt. With the temperatures in the 80's and 90's and the high humidity, I was drinking a lot of water. What I didn't realize was that even with some stool softeners, I would have as many problems with constipation. It wasn't too much fun. I literally spent 30 to 40 minutes trying to do my business and even then things didn't always work out. I believe that I was drinking too much city water with additives in it, which made the problem worse. Once I backed off on the water and increased my use of softeners, things cleared up quickly.
The place we stayed at was right on the beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Every morning I would either run or walk on the beach at around 7:30 or 8:00 am. I would always see dolphins near the shore looking for breakfast too. They would use the shoreline as a barrier to help trap fish. One day one of them came within several feet of where I was standing in the water. I was able to get some pictures, but not during this close encounter. With the hot and humid conditions, at least it was impossible to detect urinary leakage because 20 steps into my runs/walks, I was soaking wet from head to toe. It was a little more challenging when I wasn't running though. But the pads I used worked okay and they weren't too bulky to show through my clothes. I did make sure to continue to do my kegel exercises so that I would improve my urinary control.
After ten days of vacation, we headed back home. Towards the end of vacations, I tend to want to get back home to my own bed and familiar surroundings, but this time it was different. I felt like I could have stayed there for another week or more. Perhaps, I was dreading having to come back and face things and all the reminders of what I went through. I like to think I just wanted to stay on vacation. Although I prefer to run where I live because the temperatures are much milder, without the humidity most of the time.
One of my friends had been diagnosed with cancer a year or two before me and had gone through chemotherapy. He gave me a book to read called "Eat Right For Your Type", which contained a lot of information about what you should and shouldn't eat depending on your blood type. I was a little skeptical at first, but did read parts of the book to see what it recommended for me. Could my diet have been partly responsible for my diagnosis? I really didn't know. Based on my blood type, the book recommended I avoid things like beef, ham, bacon and certain kinds of fish like bluefish. Now I eat ham sandwiches almost daily and enjoy things like hamburgers and steak. I do enjoy chicken, which is recommended for my type. But I didn't buy into what the book was selling because it would have completely changed my diet and turned me into a vegetarian. As I write this article, I am rereading the relevant parts of the book again to see if I feel the same way as I did back in 2007.
I was a little nervous in August because on my appointment with my cancer surgeon was looming. I had to get another PSA test done in anticipation of my appointment. I hoped it would still be <.1 ng/ml. Luckily, my results were just that. I was able to get the results before my appointment, which put me at ease somewhat. What I didn't notice at the time was the written laboratory results had this language that read "This test was performed using the Bayer chemiluminescent method. Values obtained from different assay methods cannot be used interchangeably. " I had decided to get PSA testing done from one laboratory, Quest Diagnostics to minimize variability, but I hadn't focused on the actual method for some reason. After rereading the results, it became clear to me that I needed to make sure the same test method was used too.
I'm a environmental engineer, runner, writer and poet. I have a running blog at http://www.kenmajor.blogspot.com/. There are a number of articles about running and outdoor activities. Feel free to stop by and check out my posts. I think you might find something useful.
