Just a quick note. On 11/12 I had a check up at COH to review my blood work and check my general progress. The good news is...better yet the excellent news is my PSA levels continue to drop and this time it was lower than the industry age dependent normal window of 2-4 ng/mL. This is super excellent the lower the better!! So this resulted in fist bumps galore between me, my doctor, and his assistant. This is a clear indication that the treatment is working and I am healing. The other good news is no more blood work until 2010! ( I hate needles) So my blessings continue. Additionally I received a prescription to address the side effects mentioned in my 10/30 posting. At this point I am noticing improvement. I now drive by my usual pit stops with welcomed disdain. Yahoo!!
I welcome your comments, happy holidays and we will chat next year if not sooner!!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
One Year Later
Well yesterday was the anniversary of me receiving the news that cancer was found. In addition to an initial "OMG" or something simular; as I have said the news was a mixed blessing. On one side no more biopsies and on the other hand now I know the mystery is over. So now what? What are my next steps? I must now formulate a game plan and put all of those months vetting this disease to work. So that is exactly what I did.
It's been 8 months since my last treatment and as expected, here comes some annoying side effects. Without giving to much information, I think I can be a virtual Mapquest for locating rest rooms any where between the valley and Pasadena. Oh and Imodium is my new best friend nowadays. But given the side effects associated with other more invasive treatments, I'll take the Imodium. Over time this will pass (no pun intended) and per my doctors I am doing better than most as my PSA levels continue to decrease.
Anyway just venting. My next doctors appointment is on 11/11/09. I continue to assume that it will be all good and I will keep you posted with a shout out after that visit.
It's been 8 months since my last treatment and as expected, here comes some annoying side effects. Without giving to much information, I think I can be a virtual Mapquest for locating rest rooms any where between the valley and Pasadena. Oh and Imodium is my new best friend nowadays. But given the side effects associated with other more invasive treatments, I'll take the Imodium. Over time this will pass (no pun intended) and per my doctors I am doing better than most as my PSA levels continue to decrease.
Anyway just venting. My next doctors appointment is on 11/11/09. I continue to assume that it will be all good and I will keep you posted with a shout out after that visit.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
My 6 months check up!!
Well it has been six months since my last Tomo Therapy treatment. So it was time for two hospital visits August 10th and 11th. I am happy to say that my doctors are pleased. My PSA readings are down considerably and the numbers are trending in the correct direction. As I heal I am starting to feel some expected but minimal side effects of the treatment. At the risk of giving TMI, I will not share specifics. I am just happy and blessed that by the accounts of my doctors, I continue to be exceptional especially as far as treatment side effects go.
As I mentioned I had to make two trips to the hospital. On each visit I had flashbacks of the 43+ trips I had to make. I began to feel somewhat depressed as I observed the sickness that surrounded me as I entered the hospital. As I waited to have my lab work done and the next day as I waited for my doctors it again resonated just how life really is so fragile and I am so very lucky. One particularly poignant moment was when I over heard the canned speech of the reception assistant checking in a lady and preparing her for her treatments. I could not help but think, " I remember that speech, been there done that and man I don't want to do it again". At any rate I am elated. That part of my journey is behind me now and I am doing fine. Things are going as planned and I get to have a happy birthday in a week or so.
I have to return in another 90 days for another check up, so I will update and give y'all a shout out in November. Peace out!
As I mentioned I had to make two trips to the hospital. On each visit I had flashbacks of the 43+ trips I had to make. I began to feel somewhat depressed as I observed the sickness that surrounded me as I entered the hospital. As I waited to have my lab work done and the next day as I waited for my doctors it again resonated just how life really is so fragile and I am so very lucky. One particularly poignant moment was when I over heard the canned speech of the reception assistant checking in a lady and preparing her for her treatments. I could not help but think, " I remember that speech, been there done that and man I don't want to do it again". At any rate I am elated. That part of my journey is behind me now and I am doing fine. Things are going as planned and I get to have a happy birthday in a week or so.
I have to return in another 90 days for another check up, so I will update and give y'all a shout out in November. Peace out!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Monoclonal Recheck
This is just a $50 word for my 90 day follow up which included lab work. I am very happy to say that my PSA is clearly moving in the correct direction and is well within normal limits. Yahoo!! Those 43 treatments seem to be working. Again I am truly blessed and fortunate. During this journey I have had none to minimal side effects. Little if any of the fatigue, skin irritations, GI and other problems and dysfuntions most other patients seem to experience.
I return for another check up at the end of June. You will hear from me then!!
I return for another check up at the end of June. You will hear from me then!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
New prostate cancer drug Provenge
Study bolsters hopes for prostate cancer vaccine rejected by FDA
The vaccine, Provenge, extended life an average of four months, nearly twice as long as the best available chemotherapy, researchers say.
By Thomas H. Maugh II April 29, 2009
A controversial prostate cancer vaccine that previously had been rejected by the Food and Drug Administration improves survival of patients with the advanced form of the disease more than existing treatments and should be brought to market, researchers said Tuesday. The therapeutic vaccine, called Provenge, extended average survival by four months compared with a placebo, nearly twice as long as the best available chemotherapy, and increased three-year survival by 38%, researchers said at a Chicago meeting of the American Urological Assn.
"This is going to change the way we treat . . . metastatic prostate cancer," said Dr. David Penson, a urologist at USC's Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Any patient who has this form of cancer, this is the drug they are going to want, and it is going to be first-line therapy.""This will be much easier for patients than going through chemotherapy because there are no side effects," added Dr. Stanton Gerson, director of the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland. Prostate cancer patients "have never had cell therapy or a vaccine as an option before. Now they will."Dr. Jonathan W. Simons, president of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, said in an e-mailed statement, "The results validate 16 years of modern research to harness a patient's own immune system to fight their prostate cancer."
Both Penson and Gerson participated in the study, but neither has financial links to Dendreon Corp. of Seattle, which developed Provenge. The foundation provided support for some of the initial research on the vaccine.As a therapeutic vaccine, Provenge is designed to treat the disease rather than prevent it. Physicians collect specialized immune cells called dendritic cells from the patient's blood, mix them with proteins collected from the surface of tumor cells and inject them back into the patient in three doses at two-week intervals.In a previous study released in 2007, Dendreon found that the vaccine increased survival in patients with metastatic disease by 18 weeks compared with patients given a placebo. After three years, 34% of those in the vaccine group survived, compared with 11% of those in the placebo group.An FDA advisory committee recommended that the vaccine be approved for marketing, but the FDA disagreed, arguing that the study did not provide evidence the vaccine slowed progression of tumors. The decisions provoked outrage among cancer patients. "Since 2007, I have watched men who could have been helped by Provenge suffer and die from prostate cancer," Thomas A. Farrington, founder and president of the Prostate Health Education Network, said in a statement. "I urge FDA to move as quickly as possible now to make Provenge available to patients."The new double-blind study involved 512 patients with advanced prostate cancer. Two-thirds received Provenge, and the rest received a placebo. Dr. Paul Schellhammer of Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., said that median survival in the Provenge group was 26 months, compared with 22 months in the placebo group. That may seem like a short time, experts said, but drugs that provide shorter survival are routinely approved."The ability to boost survival for patients is the gold standard end point in prostate cancer clinical trials," said Dr. Ira D. Sharlip, a urologist at UC San Francisco, a spokesman for the urology association.The current treatment for such patients is Taxotere, known generically as docetaxel, which extends survival two to three months at most and has often-disabling side effects. Many men refuse to take it, Penson said. He has seen many patients taking it end up in a wheelchair from its side effects, which can include bone and muscle pain, allergic reactions, decreases in white and red blood cells, and neuropathy.But with Provenge, "they might have a little fever, and the next day they are out playing golf," Sharlip said.Dendreon officials said they would reapply to the FDA sometime this year. They have not said how much the therapy might cost. An estimated 186,000 American men develop prostate cancer each year, and about 28,660 die of it.
The vaccine, Provenge, extended life an average of four months, nearly twice as long as the best available chemotherapy, researchers say.
By Thomas H. Maugh II April 29, 2009
A controversial prostate cancer vaccine that previously had been rejected by the Food and Drug Administration improves survival of patients with the advanced form of the disease more than existing treatments and should be brought to market, researchers said Tuesday. The therapeutic vaccine, called Provenge, extended average survival by four months compared with a placebo, nearly twice as long as the best available chemotherapy, and increased three-year survival by 38%, researchers said at a Chicago meeting of the American Urological Assn.
"This is going to change the way we treat . . . metastatic prostate cancer," said Dr. David Penson, a urologist at USC's Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. "Any patient who has this form of cancer, this is the drug they are going to want, and it is going to be first-line therapy.""This will be much easier for patients than going through chemotherapy because there are no side effects," added Dr. Stanton Gerson, director of the University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center in Cleveland. Prostate cancer patients "have never had cell therapy or a vaccine as an option before. Now they will."Dr. Jonathan W. Simons, president of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, said in an e-mailed statement, "The results validate 16 years of modern research to harness a patient's own immune system to fight their prostate cancer."
Both Penson and Gerson participated in the study, but neither has financial links to Dendreon Corp. of Seattle, which developed Provenge. The foundation provided support for some of the initial research on the vaccine.As a therapeutic vaccine, Provenge is designed to treat the disease rather than prevent it. Physicians collect specialized immune cells called dendritic cells from the patient's blood, mix them with proteins collected from the surface of tumor cells and inject them back into the patient in three doses at two-week intervals.In a previous study released in 2007, Dendreon found that the vaccine increased survival in patients with metastatic disease by 18 weeks compared with patients given a placebo. After three years, 34% of those in the vaccine group survived, compared with 11% of those in the placebo group.An FDA advisory committee recommended that the vaccine be approved for marketing, but the FDA disagreed, arguing that the study did not provide evidence the vaccine slowed progression of tumors. The decisions provoked outrage among cancer patients. "Since 2007, I have watched men who could have been helped by Provenge suffer and die from prostate cancer," Thomas A. Farrington, founder and president of the Prostate Health Education Network, said in a statement. "I urge FDA to move as quickly as possible now to make Provenge available to patients."The new double-blind study involved 512 patients with advanced prostate cancer. Two-thirds received Provenge, and the rest received a placebo. Dr. Paul Schellhammer of Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., said that median survival in the Provenge group was 26 months, compared with 22 months in the placebo group. That may seem like a short time, experts said, but drugs that provide shorter survival are routinely approved."The ability to boost survival for patients is the gold standard end point in prostate cancer clinical trials," said Dr. Ira D. Sharlip, a urologist at UC San Francisco, a spokesman for the urology association.The current treatment for such patients is Taxotere, known generically as docetaxel, which extends survival two to three months at most and has often-disabling side effects. Many men refuse to take it, Penson said. He has seen many patients taking it end up in a wheelchair from its side effects, which can include bone and muscle pain, allergic reactions, decreases in white and red blood cells, and neuropathy.But with Provenge, "they might have a little fever, and the next day they are out playing golf," Sharlip said.Dendreon officials said they would reapply to the FDA sometime this year. They have not said how much the therapy might cost. An estimated 186,000 American men develop prostate cancer each year, and about 28,660 die of it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
LA Times...A second Opinion on Prostate Cancer
This is an interesting Op-Ed from the April 1 edition of the LA Times. Prostate cancer can be an enigma. Recent studies clearly fuel the controversy. But I'd rather error on the side of caution.
However he writes:
I probably have prostate cancer. There's no need to feel sorry for me -- so do about half the men my age (I'm in my mid-50s). We doctors have learned this from microscopic examinations of the prostates of men who are autopsied following an accidental death. And the older men get, the more likely it is that they have prostate cancer. Autopsies of men in their 70s have found that about 80% of them had the disease.
I almost certainly won't die from prostate cancer, however. The lifetime risk of prostate cancer death for American males is only about 3%. So, although the prevalence of the cancer may sound alarming, 97% of men will die from something else. These two observations have forced doctors to rethink what it means to have this cancer. Some have envisioned the problem to be like an iceberg. In the past, we only saw the part of the iceberg above the waterline -- the cancers that caused disease and death. With early detection, we can see below the waterline -- and there are a lot more cancers there. Many of these will never cause problems. They would have been better off undiagnosed. But doctors can't tell who is better off undiagnosed. We can't reliably distinguish between prostate cancers that will never cause symptoms and those that are deadly. So we tend to treat everyone. The bulk of men who are treated won't benefit from it, because there is nothing to fix. But many of them will be harmed. Treatment causes significant side effects in about 30% of those treated, most commonly a decline in sexual function, leaking urine and/or rectal irritation. That's why prostate cancer screening is such a challenging issue. Yes, it may save some men's lives, but it will harm many others along the way.
Two weeks ago, we learned more. The results of two large, randomized trials of prostate cancer screening were published. The studies represented an enormous research effort: almost 20 years of work, involving more than a quarter of a million men and many millions of dollars. Yet there is still some uncertainty whether screening saves any lives. The European study said yes; the U.S. study said no. That in itself tells you something: If there is a benefit, it is undoubtedly small. In contrast, researchers in the 1960s were able to convincingly demonstrate the benefit of treating very high blood pressure by studying about 150 men over a two-year period. Why were they able to do this with so few men so quickly? Because the benefit was huge.
I believe there probably is a benefit to prostate cancer screening. But it is accompanied by a substantial human cost. Let's assume the European study is right. Its data give us some idea of the magnitude of the trade-off: For every man who avoids a prostate cancer death, about 50 are treated needlessly (some of my colleagues might say the number is closer to 30, others might say it's closer to 100).
Being 50 times more likely to be diagnosed and treated needlessly than being the one man who avoids a prostate cancer death doesn't strike me as a good gamble. To the extent I have control over my cause of death, avoiding a prostate cancer death isn't my top priority (I'm more concerned about a lingering cognitive decline in a long-term care facility.) And death is not the only outcome that matters to me. I place considerable value on not being medicalized and suffering the side effects of treatment any more than I need to. But it doesn't matter what I think about the trade-off. What matters is what you think.
American men have been engaged in prostate cancer screening for almost two decades with relatively little effort given to communicating the trade-off between the benefit and the potential harm of unnecessary treatment. The time has come to make that trade-off clear. There are a lot of bad arguments out there for screening. They include:
* Doctors who tell you they don't want to go back to the era when all their prostate cancer patients had advanced disease. It is true that the typical prostate cancer patient in the past had advanced disease. But we now know that the primary reason these patients now seem so rare is that they are being diluted by the many new prostate cancer patients who would have never been diagnosed in the past -- the majority of whom had cancers that weren't destined to progress.
* Media messages that highlight the tremendous improvements in survival. It is true that over the last 50 years, the five-year survival for prostate cancer has increased more dramatically than any other cancer (from less than 50% to almost 100%). But we now know that these numbers too are largely an artifact of over-diagnosis -- diagnosing a lot of men with prostate cancer who were never destined to die from the disease.
* Friends, family, acquaintances or celebrities who "owe their life" to screening. There are now a lot of men who appear to be in this group. But once you understand the problem of over-diagnosis, you recognize an alternative explanation: They never needed treatment in the first place. Some have labeled this the popularity paradox of screening: The more over-diagnosis screening causes, the more people who feel they owe it their lives and the more popular screening becomes.There is no imperative to be screened, or not screened, for prostate cancer. The only imperative is that men be informed about the consequences of either choice.
H. Gilbert Welch is a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He is the author of "Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here's Why."
However he writes:
I probably have prostate cancer. There's no need to feel sorry for me -- so do about half the men my age (I'm in my mid-50s). We doctors have learned this from microscopic examinations of the prostates of men who are autopsied following an accidental death. And the older men get, the more likely it is that they have prostate cancer. Autopsies of men in their 70s have found that about 80% of them had the disease.
I almost certainly won't die from prostate cancer, however. The lifetime risk of prostate cancer death for American males is only about 3%. So, although the prevalence of the cancer may sound alarming, 97% of men will die from something else. These two observations have forced doctors to rethink what it means to have this cancer. Some have envisioned the problem to be like an iceberg. In the past, we only saw the part of the iceberg above the waterline -- the cancers that caused disease and death. With early detection, we can see below the waterline -- and there are a lot more cancers there. Many of these will never cause problems. They would have been better off undiagnosed. But doctors can't tell who is better off undiagnosed. We can't reliably distinguish between prostate cancers that will never cause symptoms and those that are deadly. So we tend to treat everyone. The bulk of men who are treated won't benefit from it, because there is nothing to fix. But many of them will be harmed. Treatment causes significant side effects in about 30% of those treated, most commonly a decline in sexual function, leaking urine and/or rectal irritation. That's why prostate cancer screening is such a challenging issue. Yes, it may save some men's lives, but it will harm many others along the way.
Two weeks ago, we learned more. The results of two large, randomized trials of prostate cancer screening were published. The studies represented an enormous research effort: almost 20 years of work, involving more than a quarter of a million men and many millions of dollars. Yet there is still some uncertainty whether screening saves any lives. The European study said yes; the U.S. study said no. That in itself tells you something: If there is a benefit, it is undoubtedly small. In contrast, researchers in the 1960s were able to convincingly demonstrate the benefit of treating very high blood pressure by studying about 150 men over a two-year period. Why were they able to do this with so few men so quickly? Because the benefit was huge.
I believe there probably is a benefit to prostate cancer screening. But it is accompanied by a substantial human cost. Let's assume the European study is right. Its data give us some idea of the magnitude of the trade-off: For every man who avoids a prostate cancer death, about 50 are treated needlessly (some of my colleagues might say the number is closer to 30, others might say it's closer to 100).
Being 50 times more likely to be diagnosed and treated needlessly than being the one man who avoids a prostate cancer death doesn't strike me as a good gamble. To the extent I have control over my cause of death, avoiding a prostate cancer death isn't my top priority (I'm more concerned about a lingering cognitive decline in a long-term care facility.) And death is not the only outcome that matters to me. I place considerable value on not being medicalized and suffering the side effects of treatment any more than I need to. But it doesn't matter what I think about the trade-off. What matters is what you think.
American men have been engaged in prostate cancer screening for almost two decades with relatively little effort given to communicating the trade-off between the benefit and the potential harm of unnecessary treatment. The time has come to make that trade-off clear. There are a lot of bad arguments out there for screening. They include:
* Doctors who tell you they don't want to go back to the era when all their prostate cancer patients had advanced disease. It is true that the typical prostate cancer patient in the past had advanced disease. But we now know that the primary reason these patients now seem so rare is that they are being diluted by the many new prostate cancer patients who would have never been diagnosed in the past -- the majority of whom had cancers that weren't destined to progress.
* Media messages that highlight the tremendous improvements in survival. It is true that over the last 50 years, the five-year survival for prostate cancer has increased more dramatically than any other cancer (from less than 50% to almost 100%). But we now know that these numbers too are largely an artifact of over-diagnosis -- diagnosing a lot of men with prostate cancer who were never destined to die from the disease.
* Friends, family, acquaintances or celebrities who "owe their life" to screening. There are now a lot of men who appear to be in this group. But once you understand the problem of over-diagnosis, you recognize an alternative explanation: They never needed treatment in the first place. Some have labeled this the popularity paradox of screening: The more over-diagnosis screening causes, the more people who feel they owe it their lives and the more popular screening becomes.There is no imperative to be screened, or not screened, for prostate cancer. The only imperative is that men be informed about the consequences of either choice.
H. Gilbert Welch is a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute of Health Policy and Clinical Practice. He is the author of "Should I Be Tested for Cancer? Maybe Not and Here's Why."
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The First 30 days
Yesterday I had my first check up since my last treatment. It was good news! I am doing exceptionally fine!! (per my doctors) All side effects are gone and I seem to be back to normal. I don't have to return for another 60 days. So again thanks for your well wishes and prayers. It appears that I am on my way to being a cancer survivor.
As a side note I am a support volunteer working with COH. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with a fellow prostate cancer patient. The agenda was to provide him with support from someone who has been there and done that. Also to try to give him the reassurance that one, he has chosen the best facility and people to help him beat this disease and two, provide him another conduit to just vent and share his journey with a fellow traveler. My analysis after our talk is he seemed to have gotten to another comfort level with the treatment center and the treatment choice he made. Plus now I have made a new connection on my journey as well. In addition to the good news mentioned above, our talk made my day.
I will post again in another 60 days. May 20 will be a real bench mark day because this visit will really be a true measurement as to how things are progressing and are the "trains running on time" sort of speak.
As a side note I am a support volunteer working with COH. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with a fellow prostate cancer patient. The agenda was to provide him with support from someone who has been there and done that. Also to try to give him the reassurance that one, he has chosen the best facility and people to help him beat this disease and two, provide him another conduit to just vent and share his journey with a fellow traveler. My analysis after our talk is he seemed to have gotten to another comfort level with the treatment center and the treatment choice he made. Plus now I have made a new connection on my journey as well. In addition to the good news mentioned above, our talk made my day.
I will post again in another 60 days. May 20 will be a real bench mark day because this visit will really be a true measurement as to how things are progressing and are the "trains running on time" sort of speak.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Graduation Day and Easter!!
Wednesday February 18, 2009 is a day that will remain in infamy for me for the rest of my life. It was the day of my last therapy treatment. I am done with this phase. YAHOO!! I am not fully cured yet but let’s just say I am curing as we speak. 2/18/09 was my graduation day and 2/19/09 was my personal Easter of sorts. But before I continue my epilogue of the last eight weeks I must say that I cannot say enough about the doctors, nurses, radiation therapists and staff at The City of Hope. These are the most caring, professional and on point people I have worked with as a customer/patient. From day one they worked with the precision of Swiss watch. These guys are clearly the brand and a model for any business, health related or otherwise. They give you a reassuring feeling that we are all in this together. I became a part their team. On my last day I received a gold medal acknowledging the completion of my treatments and a bevy of good bye genuine hugs and handshakes and it got a little misty in there. (On my part as the reality of that day’s events sank in) So COH if you are listening, you are the best!!!!
But anyway as I enter my curing stage which involves a check up in 30 days and then a check up 60 days after that. The agenda is to make sure the side effects are gone and my PSA is moving in the right direction. Then we shift to 6 month intervals for checkups. I define this as my Easter because this is a beginning. This journey has touched me deeply. This has clearly been a metamorphosis of my view of life and where I am it. The only things that are really important in life are your personal health, the health and love of family and friends and of course your faith. I have had eight weeks to ponder this and reset my own mindset. I am certain that I will be 100% cured but I can’t help but think about those patients I left in the oncology treatment waiting room. I can’t help but think about my Aunt who is battling liver cancer and how chemo therapy is ravaging her body and slowly sapping her strength each day. That said I am in full acknowledgement that I am very blessed in many ways. In retrospect my overall treatment regiment was not that bad comparatively speaking. Thank God this is not my Grandfather’s Radiation treatment from back in the day.
I hope I don’t sound selfish but my front burner goals are to be cured, healthy, happy, and share my experience. Maybe I can save a life. I have offered to volunteer as a support group speaker/helper at COH. Again thanks to each of you for your prayers, and positive thoughts and I will update you in another 30 days. So let the curing begin. But I must leave you with what I believe to be very profound dialogue from the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. This was an excellent film, long but excellent.
"What I think is, it’s never too late...or, in my case, too early, to be whoever you want to be...There’s no time limit, start anytime you want...change or stay the same...there aren’t any rules...We can make the best or worst of it...I hope you make the best...I hope you see things that startle you. Feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you challenge yourself. I hope you stumble, and pick yourself up. I hope you live the life you wanted to...and if you haven’t, I hope you start all over again.”
But anyway as I enter my curing stage which involves a check up in 30 days and then a check up 60 days after that. The agenda is to make sure the side effects are gone and my PSA is moving in the right direction. Then we shift to 6 month intervals for checkups. I define this as my Easter because this is a beginning. This journey has touched me deeply. This has clearly been a metamorphosis of my view of life and where I am it. The only things that are really important in life are your personal health, the health and love of family and friends and of course your faith. I have had eight weeks to ponder this and reset my own mindset. I am certain that I will be 100% cured but I can’t help but think about those patients I left in the oncology treatment waiting room. I can’t help but think about my Aunt who is battling liver cancer and how chemo therapy is ravaging her body and slowly sapping her strength each day. That said I am in full acknowledgement that I am very blessed in many ways. In retrospect my overall treatment regiment was not that bad comparatively speaking. Thank God this is not my Grandfather’s Radiation treatment from back in the day.
I hope I don’t sound selfish but my front burner goals are to be cured, healthy, happy, and share my experience. Maybe I can save a life. I have offered to volunteer as a support group speaker/helper at COH. Again thanks to each of you for your prayers, and positive thoughts and I will update you in another 30 days. So let the curing begin. But I must leave you with what I believe to be very profound dialogue from the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. This was an excellent film, long but excellent.
"What I think is, it’s never too late...or, in my case, too early, to be whoever you want to be...There’s no time limit, start anytime you want...change or stay the same...there aren’t any rules...We can make the best or worst of it...I hope you make the best...I hope you see things that startle you. Feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you challenge yourself. I hope you stumble, and pick yourself up. I hope you live the life you wanted to...and if you haven’t, I hope you start all over again.”
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The treatment end is near...Yahoo!
Friday February 6 was treatment #35. I am thankful again that things continue to be uneventful with minimal side effects. Plus my doctors say that I am doing exceptionally well. But there was a minor glitch discovered when I mentioned my count for my remaining treatments. The schedule given me on day one showed my last treatment date as February 17th. But I learned that it is really the 18th. After a recount of my appointment schedule dates and a review of my weekly lab work/doctor visit print out, it was clear that the appointment schedule showed only 42 treatments and it was not the correct number which is 43. Of course you know I questioned the accuracy and why the discrepancy. I will not go into why the differential, but please believe that I had to be made comfortable with a make sense explaination. Anyway Wednesday the 18th is my last treatment date. So I guess an additional day is not the end of the world at this point. The bottom line is I have 8 more to go..... and I will be done!
So keep sending up those positive thoughts and prayers. As I said in the begining of this jouney....."I am going to be fine". We will chat next week!
So keep sending up those positive thoughts and prayers. As I said in the begining of this jouney....."I am going to be fine". We will chat next week!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Treatment # 30 and 12 more to go!!
Fortunately not a lot to update and that is a good thing. I met with my doctors and I was told that I was doing better than average especially given that I am having minimal side effects thus far. Your prayers and well wishes are clearly working. I even got to skip my weekly blood draw another good thing since I hate needles. So keep those positive vibes coming my way and I will keep my fingers crossed that on the remaining treatments I don't develop any new side effects.
As February approaches, my sights are set now on my last day of treatment, February 17. I can see and feel a degree of finality for this phase of the treatment process. Since cancer cells do not die immediately after treatment there is a 90 day period to allow the radiation to do its thing. Then I am checked at 90 day intervals twice. Then that shifts to a 6 month check and then I come back in 2 years to make sure my PSA level is going in the right direction. Given my early detection and the minute nature of the cancer cells, I should be OK.
As February approaches, my sights are set now on my last day of treatment, February 17. I can see and feel a degree of finality for this phase of the treatment process. Since cancer cells do not die immediately after treatment there is a 90 day period to allow the radiation to do its thing. Then I am checked at 90 day intervals twice. Then that shifts to a 6 month check and then I come back in 2 years to make sure my PSA level is going in the right direction. Given my early detection and the minute nature of the cancer cells, I should be OK.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
#25
I had treatment # 25 yesterday. I am doing fine. Also on Thursday’s I have my doctor’s appointment and the doctor says “I am doing very very good”. On Monday’s I get a weight check I have lost 5 pounds. On Wednesday’s it’s blood draw day and everything is reviewed on Thursday. I was feeling a bit fatigued on Wednesday so I went home early. I think is was due to lack of sleep while partying with Obama. You know I got it like that. Now I am good to go!
Interesting facts
Here are some interesting facts worth noting.
Did you know that the cancer of prostate is very often is not lethal? Did you know that some men never suffer the symptoms and actually have the disease? About 1 out of 6 American men will at some point be diagnosed with prostate cancer, yet only about 1 in every 35 will actually die of it.
Many prostate tumors are slow growing and low-grade, and if detected in its very early stages cure rates can be as high as 98% in some cases. Where the cancer has advanced beyond the prostate to nearby regions it is more difficult to cure but survival rates for many men can still be prolonged for years. Where the disease has metastasized that is spread to other organs like the liver, lungs and bones average survival time is 1- 3 years but many patients live longer some often dying of other causes.
If the cancer recurs after initial treatment and is still contained within the prostate, it can be cured. And even if it has spread beyond, hormone treatments for such recurrences will prolong life for many years.
Amazingly survival rates tend to get higher the longer a patient with advanced cancer lives. 2 years is the average survival rate for patients after diagnosis of prostate cancer advanced. 26 months is the average survival rate for patients with advanced prostate cancer who are still alive 2 years after diagnosis. 34 months is the average survival for patients in advanced prostate cancer stage who are still alive 5 years after diagnosis.
As far as death rates are concerned, only about 17% of men who have prostate cancer will die of it. In America each year approximately 234,460 men will be diagnosed with cancer of prostate and about 27,350 will die from it. The average life years lost form prostate cancer is 8.9 years.
And now finally the good news. Today, at all the stages of the disease, prostate cancer prognosis as concerns cure, survival and life expectancy has increased in the past 20 years from 67% to almost 100%.
Did you know that the cancer of prostate is very often is not lethal? Did you know that some men never suffer the symptoms and actually have the disease? About 1 out of 6 American men will at some point be diagnosed with prostate cancer, yet only about 1 in every 35 will actually die of it.
Many prostate tumors are slow growing and low-grade, and if detected in its very early stages cure rates can be as high as 98% in some cases. Where the cancer has advanced beyond the prostate to nearby regions it is more difficult to cure but survival rates for many men can still be prolonged for years. Where the disease has metastasized that is spread to other organs like the liver, lungs and bones average survival time is 1- 3 years but many patients live longer some often dying of other causes.
If the cancer recurs after initial treatment and is still contained within the prostate, it can be cured. And even if it has spread beyond, hormone treatments for such recurrences will prolong life for many years.
Amazingly survival rates tend to get higher the longer a patient with advanced cancer lives. 2 years is the average survival rate for patients after diagnosis of prostate cancer advanced. 26 months is the average survival rate for patients with advanced prostate cancer who are still alive 2 years after diagnosis. 34 months is the average survival for patients in advanced prostate cancer stage who are still alive 5 years after diagnosis.
As far as death rates are concerned, only about 17% of men who have prostate cancer will die of it. In America each year approximately 234,460 men will be diagnosed with cancer of prostate and about 27,350 will die from it. The average life years lost form prostate cancer is 8.9 years.
And now finally the good news. Today, at all the stages of the disease, prostate cancer prognosis as concerns cure, survival and life expectancy has increased in the past 20 years from 67% to almost 100%.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Treatment #20
Well after 20 treatments I am happy to say after #20 I am doing fine. The Tomo Therapy is working so far with only the for mentioned side effect which required more frequent visits to the latrine. Otherwise I am fine. I did however find out in my atempt to obtain more protein by drinking milk with Carnation Instant breakfast ( I hate milk) (Well not totally hate) but it is not my drink of choice. Anyway I am a little lactose intolerant. I also found out (via my dietitian) that 95% of all Blacks do not have the enzyme needed to digest the enzymes in milk. So I guess I am in the 95% group.
Anyway my next up date will be at #30. Well baring any surprises!! I will chat with you on January 30. Thanks to all of your prayers and best wishes.
Anyway my next up date will be at #30. Well baring any surprises!! I will chat with you on January 30. Thanks to all of your prayers and best wishes.
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