When we arrived at the hospital we found the RV parking lot and pulled in. Couldn’t believe they had full hook ups and room for about 12 RVs. We learned the next day that we needed a treatment plan in order to park there, it’s really for those undergoing chemotherapy so they’re close to the hospital. No problem.

When you visit the MD Anderson Cancer Treatment hospital, one of the first things you notice is patients walking around with thick binders with their notes and schedules, signifying that they’ve had this disease for a long time, and you hope that that won’t be you in a few weeks. There are some patients who are alone, a very sad sight, others are swaddled in blankets.

The first thing we did was check into the hospital and show Steve’s insurance.
It was accepted. Phase I complete!

We were then introduced to our urologist/oncologist, Dr Mashni, who scheduled a pelvic MRI and based on that he then scheduled a biopsy.

The biopsy results confirmed stage IV prostate cancer, and nothing Steve could have done about it. The usual markers ie: high PSA levels were not evident. So a treatment plan was presented and the medical oncologist was introduced, Dr Isaac Bowman. Going forward this is who will be in charge of Steve’s treatment.

Next, we need to get rid of the catheter which he’s had for four months now. We’re introduced to a Dr Webster, another urologist, who will determine the correct path for removing the catheter. We met with him and he had 2 options, but the TURP (transurethral resection of the prostate) where they roto-route the prostate to help with the flow, appeared to be the right way to go. No removal of the prostate was suggested.. The TURP procedure was completed December 2nd. Steves been peeing ever since. The catheter had been in for so long his muscles needed strengthening again,

Steve will be on hormone treatment to reduce his testosterone, the first pill is $2,300 per month, the consequent one is $2,700 per month. his insurance came through and $0 copay for us. His deductible was fulfilled after his helicopter ride in Idaho, but not sure what next year will bring.

We found Towerpoint RV Resort just 5 miles down the road in Mesa. They were offering a special rate of $1,400 plus electric from September to December, inclusive. This was part of a chain of resorts by Cal Am who own 7 more properties in the area. This one had 1900 sites so a possibility of 4000 residents. not our cup of tea at all but it was close to empty when we arrived and would stay that way most of the time we were there.

There’s a large patio in the center of the property with 2 pools, jacuzzi, bar and grill and as October approached, masses of tables and chairs started to appear and then the people began to arrive.

Shuffleboard courts not only had some interesting tools they also had about 20 courts with stadium seating in the center

One evening we went to our first concert in a couple of years. Not our first choice but didn’t think we could go wrong with Manhattan Transfer. We weren’t disappointed.

Thanksgiving turkey in the Brevelle

New Years Eve sushi

This would have been a meal Steve would have eaten in the past with room for dessert. But no more, next visit he ordered half. Nice Asian restaurant though about 2 miles away

Since we’ve been in Mesa, we’ve seen a heart specialist who’s told us to keep an eye on Steve going into AFib again, but agreed with the oncologist that we could go down to Yuma for 3 months as long as we promised to come back for more tests and treatment. We have been told by many doctors that we need to change our travel lifestyle, we’ll have to wait and see about that.