Oh, thanks -- that makes sense.

We had to make a decision early whether to treat the cancer palliatively and focus on immediate quality of life (the traditional approach to stage-4 cancer), or take a chance and fight back hard. Since I was only 56, I chose the latter, and as I've mentioned before, my radiation oncologist agreed to "throw the kitchen sink" at it.

So yes, I do still have some radiation cystitis and proctitis from the high radiation dose 2½ years later, and at this stage I'll probably have them forever. But I can put up with occasional irritation and burning in exchange for being around to put up with them.

In 20 years, let's meet up somewhere for a drink. I'll tell you how happy I am to be alive, and you can tell me how dramatically your sex life has revived. 🙂