Things are getting better

It’s been just 4 days since I came off the Enzultamide tablets and the difference in me is huge

Gone is the feeling I’m walking in concrete slippers, gone is the feeling that I just don’t want to do anything gone is the feeling that I can’t get out of bed, it really is remarkable what the medication was doing to me. I feel now like I’ve had my wings untied and I’m ready to fly. Of course the I must also remember the medication is working hard on my cancer and was the most likely reason my lates PSA measurement of 0.15 is so low.

Going forward the doctor’s and me have got to find a balance in the strength of the drug and weigh that up against the side effects, which for weeks I thought I had got away with nothing significant untill last week it dawned on me that the my life force was just being drained out of me and now it just feels so incredibly good to be alive and functioning like a human should do. No doubt I’ve gone to the top of the rollercoaster again, I expect it to drop again but please not to the levels I’ve recently experienced.

Today is the last day of January so I decided to complete my last walk in aid of prostate cancer uk by taking a short drive to the lakes I love to be near.

By the way the last count I’ve raised , well let’s changed that to you the reader and my friends on social media have raised an incredible £1265 so far

There is still time to donate further by clicking on the link below every £ is incredibly valuable and goes towards helping find the answer to prostate cancer and hopefully eventually a cure. New treatments are being found regularly that will benefit blokes like me and allow us some more time on this beautiful planet.

Keith Woodward’s run the month challenge for prostate cancer – https://runthemonthme.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/keith-woodwards-run-the-month-challenge-for-p

Talking of beautiful planets today I visited one of my favourite places which is Leybourne Lakes, just 6 miles from my front door and nestled in a beautiful valley are these 5 lakes

Let me take you on a little walk around the lakes if I may and as you are reading this you might want to imagine you are there too. Imagination is incredibly powerful, did you know that when you imagine something you trick your brain into believing it’s really happening, your brain creates all the right chemicals to make you then feel as if you are there so come on let’s go for a walk

I get out my car and I’m hit by a blast of cold but crisp and fresh air, the Cumulous clouds are rushing across the sky as if they have some place to be. The lake is glistening silver as the sun reflects off it before the next little white cloud shuts the sunlight off briefly and leaves the chill as the warmth is blown away.

The sky between the dancing clouds is deep blue and you can see for miles the air is so sharp and clear.

I start the walk, it’s a fair walk I’m not sure how many km but I forgot to turn the strava app on my phone at the beginning to record the walk. The ground is surprisingly dry for this time of year. I’m exited, I feel great and I’m lucky to be alive. Cancer has certainly opened my eyes to see the world in a more kind and loving way, I have no bitterness it’s all a sense of feeling a part of the universe and that universe has got it arms around me and giving me a great big cuddle, it’s telling me, look around Woody the world is a beautiful place and that’s exactly what I do, I look threw eyes that are fully opened and love what they see.

I see two swans, their wings powerfully beating as they take off from the water and fly off together looking magnificent, did you know they stay together forever, that’s it no more relationships just the one and it’s for life.

The path runs into a field and from there I can see another of the lakes, this one is much smaller and is surrounded by trees almost as if they are trying to hide it. A few ducks are lazily floating around not going anywhere in a hurry and nothing is bothering them.

Then after about 10 minutes we come to a small wooden bridge with  a stream babbling beneath. I stay here for a few minutes and take in the peacefulness of it all. There is a disturbance in the water and a tiny little water vole frantically swims across the stream, I imagine it’s little legs paddling away, he’s brave to venture out so far and I watch him get safely to the bank opposite. I’m glad he’s across and safe, I can imagine he has a little home down there somewhere and a family waiting for him.

I’m loving the moment when I hear a noise behind me and an elderly gentleman being led by his beautiful black Labrador walk past I say hello but get no greeting back in return, just a head dipped down to avoid my gaze. I don’t get annoyed, I might in the past thought how rude, I just wish him well in my mind, this is what cancer has done for me, this is how I see the world, Empathy is a dying trait In the human race, it’s another powerful emotion that we should all do our best to use as much as possible.

I digress, I walk about another 20 minutes and now we have a tree canopy above, the wind is very strong here and the birds are suddenly doing their very best to out sing the wind. The tree tunnel is always full of birds, I pass a hedge that seems to be singing to me, it’s full of sparrows flitting about as sparrows do. The noise is quite something  I hang about for a while and just listen and consume every note that’s being sung. 

We are now at the very far corner of the lake, the water here is dark and choppy and I watch as the birds on the surface bounce along with the waves, I’ve never seen the lake so agitated. The clouds are now multiplying fast and the sun is losing its battle, I’m about half way round the lake feeling good and slightly cold now.

Onwards I go, my body is saying yes the cancer is quiet. I take lots of pictures of course the camera can’t do justice to what the human eye can see. I say hello to everyone I see most reply.

The walk is inspiring me, I feel almost at one with my surroundings, it’s hard to put that feeling into words, I guess you won’t know untill something in life threatens to take it away from you. It’s a fabulous feeling, it sends you to the top of the rollercoaster and beyond, I can only thank my cancer for giving me this.

Every step is a mindful experience, I feel tuned in, nothing matters in my world right now. Now is where humans are at their most happy. Now is where I stop worrying about the future and instead just focus and be aware of the present moment.

The past is history

The future a mystery

Now is a gift which is why it’s called the present.

I came to my favourite spot, time to sit down and have a cup of tea, it’s very quiet, no one is around, my tea is hot, it’s another one of the special teas, this one has lots of ingredients and is delicious in fact as I sit here with my tea, wrapped up in warm clothes and surrounded by nature I can think of no other place I would rather be, it’s one of those special moments that you just wish would go on forever, I’m so grateful for this moment, I want to capture it put it in a bottle and take it home with me.

Well I suppose I better get going

Thanks for reading

Be kind

Be grateful for what you have

Stay positive no matter what.

Take care

Woody❤️