I feel great.  Most of
the time, nothing hurts.  Yet lately I
have begun to feel that my body is letting me down. I received a diagnosis of
chronic lymphocytic leukemia last May. 
Even though it is “Stage Zero,” it has to be watched. In August I found
out that I had a growth on my parathyroid that was preventing calcium from
being absorbed by my bones.  That
resulted in (successful) surgery to remove an adenoma (benign tumor) in early
December.  Ten days later I had a
colonoscopy, and since a few adenomous polyps were removed. I have to be
watched carefully and have another colonoscopy in three years, rather than the normal
five to ten years.

It struck me that, body-wise, things are going in only one
direction and it’s the wrong one.  As a
friend who has had breast cancer put it, sometimes you feel like a walking time
bomb. 

What can I do?  I
already exercise rigorously. I try to limit the amount of red meat I eat.  I pack in the fruits and vegetables.  I (usually) manage stress well.  I (usually) get enough sleep.  I am aware that luck has a lot to do with
what happens.

But that doesn’t stop me from feeling like a walking time
bomb on occasion.