Wendy and I just returned from an extended weekend in California. We spent time in both the San Francisco area and in Los Angeles.

When we were in San Fran we decided to drive to Meir Woods and see the Red Woods. Wow, but I will write more about them in a day or so. Of course we jumped on a plane and attended the last day at the PCRI Conference which was oriented to Advanced Prostate Cancer.

At the conference I had the opportunity to meet some of my fellow prostate cancer survivors. Among the many people I met was David Emerson who often contributes to PPML and to Malecare’s Advanced Prostate Cancer support group https://healthunlocked.com/advanced-prostate-cancer. As usual, David was involved in “assisting” a newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer couple despite the fact that he was late for his plane home.

Our weekend adventure involved three different airplane rides so we had to listen to the FAA required safety lecture multiple times. One part of the lecture includes instructions on what to do if there is a drop in the air pressure in the cabin. Included in the instructions is the directive that you should first put on your own mask prior to assisting your fellow passengers with theirs.

This is good advice for both plane passengers and for cancer caretakers. Despite their love and concern for us our caretakers must first put on their own masks before assisting us to put on our masks. They can not help us if they also don’t take care of themselves.

To our loving caretakers, please don’t forget to care for yourself. We need you strong, happy and healthy. Thank you for all you do for us.

Joel T Nowak MA, MSW