I was talking to a friend of mine, who is the chief oncological pharmacist at the local CCC, and he warned me not to underestimate the abuse my body withstood with the treatment. As the guy in the Reader's Digest article, posted elsewhere, noted, "First we hit you over the head, then we set you on fire."

My buddy specifically observed that doctors often do a poor job of educating patients over the late effects of radiation, chemo and surgery -- the symptoms that don't even start for 1, 2, 3 or more years after treatment. He advised me to step up my exercise regimen, even if my muscles continue to hurt for awhile. He has seen more positive results from that than anything else. Of course, he then observed that I was getting old . . .