A Personal Word

The purpose of this blog is not about me.  It never has been and is not now.  It has from the beginning been about reflections on our common spiritual journey and encouraging us all to stay the course on the way toward Home.  Today I veer from that purpose for personal reasons.  Today I finished a twenty eight day radiation treatment for prostate cancer.  It is also a time for remembering the death of my wife to leukemia one year ago (April 26, 2023)  after sharing 53 years of marriage.  This journey has brought me into countless contact with some fellow sufferers, some who have become survivors, but many more who never rang the bell marking a completed treatment.     

To older men like myself, please accept my encouragement to get a PSA test in your next blood work.  We may not like what could be found, but finding it early is always better than doing so too late.  My treatment was remarkably empty of any side effects other than some occasional discomfort and fatigue.  The end result being sought as any treatment begins is healing and elimination of the cancer.  The probability of that result is higher with early discovery so do not put off with dread something which can bring healing and added years with those whom you love and who love you.   

Finally, to those who are still fighting what seems to be an uphill and impossible battle, let me encourage you to not give up.  One of the things discovered on this journey into cancer treatment rooms is that new and better methods of treatment really are coming out of the labs.  It is not just a line offered to raise money.  Don't quit.  Hang in there.  There are people who love you and there are people who know that caring for you is not their duty but an expression of their love.  In this blog, I often write about the way God is revealing Himself and making Himself known to us by making what has been invisible visible in our lives.  It is surely true of treatments for cancer.  There are means of healing out there which will soon become visible even though invisible to us in the present moment.