Son of a Survivor

I posted the picture of four generations of Martins at Christmas on facebook and got several wonderful comments from friends and family.  Many people said how fortunate I am to have my granddad and dad still with me.  They have no idea how right they are. First, it's amazing that my granddad is as healthy as he is at 96 years of age.  Secondly, that special picture almost didn't happen because my dad was diagnosed a few years ago with prostate cancer and was told he wouldn't make it much longer.  He was told to go home and die.  Make last plans. He was told to enjoy the sunsets and plan "special" times for holidays.  He was told his prostate cancer was too far along.  So what is a man to do?  After wrestling with the normal cycle of emotions, from devastation to anger to sadness, my father decided he was going to fight; to give it his best shot and leave the outcome to God.

Thankfully, he and my mom found a hospital in Houston, Texas called MD Anderson.  You may have heard of it before.  Lance Armstrong went to MD Anderson to cure his cancer.  One of the really special things about MD Anderson is that they have treatment using proton beams.  It sounds amost sci-fi, but they actually shoot a proton beam into the area around the cancer, killing the surrounding cells so that it can't feed on healthy cells, in effect, starving the cancer so that it basically dies out.  The upside is that there are no side effects, no poisoning of the body such as with chemotherapy, and the individual going through this process basically can live a normal life while undergoing this type of therapy.  A miracle of sorts indeed.  I wanted to write about this today because my dad is in Houston today for a check-up.  His last check-ups have been incredibly good.  My father is now doing a 10 year case study for MD Anderson.  What a far cry from his original prognosis.

My profile says I am the son of a survivor.  It's important to me to identify myself in this manner because I am so proud of my father for how he has fought this disease and the positive things that have happened as a result.  As humans, we often become our best when we face the worst . I don't think a man can stare death down and not be changed and change those around them.  My dad and I have not always seen eye to eye, mostly due to me being stubborn.  But we have a different relationship today because of his experience.  Petty things don't seem as important as they once did.  We talk more often.  We tell each other we love each other and I know we mean it. I like it.  It feels right.  And while I wish my father didn't have to go through this terrifying and humbling experience, in a way, I am thankful that he did. 
I love you Dad.
(p.s.)  If you want to know more about proton-beam therapy, please click on the links below:

http://www.ricksprostatecancer.blogspot.com/
http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/cancer-information/cancer-types/prostate-cancer/index.html