Medical update from SFI

by **A Person** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:01 pm

I'm getting a PSA next week. I decided I needed to get a proper checkup since I haven't had one in over ten years and he's ordered about 20 blood tests, a crap test, a cardiogram, plus the camera snake up the ass - which I have to wait 9 months for (I could get one quicker if I paid for it, but if I'm going to be anally violated by a plumber's snake, I'm buggered it I'm going to pay for it)

I think the warning is worthwhile in that even if the PSA is positive monitoring may be the best option for many men. For others - especially those with a family history - aggressive intervention may be very advisable.

The real question is whether a program of monitoring the general population yields overall benefits - probably not - but again, those with a family history are not the 'general population'. You are in a high risk group.

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:20 pm

A Person wrote:I could get one quicker if I paid for it, but if I'm going to be anally violated by a plumber's snake, I'm buggered it I'm going to pay for it.

LOL!

Not touching THAT with a 10-ft snake!

by **Liv** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 10:17 pm

AP, you're in to robotics... why not build your own ass crawler....

That would be an awesome how-to!

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:55 pm

Went for a check-in with my surgeon today. Was HOPING to be told that his personal examination of the biopsy slides from my removed gland would indicate that there's nothing to worry about so far as remaining cancer.

No such luck. :doh:

While he said that there was no clear evidence that the cancer had spread past the cut he made, it was sort of a "gray area."

So they drew my blood to perform a PSA test. He expects it to be zero or close enough as makes no odds. If it isn't, chances are that the cancer HAD metastasized, and other measures will be needed -- most likely hormone deprivation. If it is rather low, or zero, he suggests that I consult a radiation oncologist to discuss a "play it safe" course of radiation treatments... or simple close monitoring.

My initial reaction is to opt for close monitoring. I asked how a few cells of a slow-growing cancer, setting up shop in my urinary tract, could cause problems... he wasn't really clear on that.

In any event, I'm going to wait on the blood test result next week and figure out where to go from there.

And you know, it DID occur to me that I should question this fellow about whether he was trying to keep me going to doctors just for the extra money. However, his practice has no radiation folks in it, so unless he gets kickbacks, I think his financials would be untouched by any further treatment.

We'll see.

by **Liv** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:00 pm

Oh my... I'm sorry SFI....

by **A Person** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:33 am

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:However, his practice has no radiation folks in it, so unless he gets kickbacks, I think his financials would be untouched by any further treatment.

Doctors make good money from referrals

I'm keeping my legs crossed for you

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:11 pm

Ok, so the PSA test came back "completely undetectable." So no metastasized cancer is going on. They set me up with a talk with a radiation guy for Monday. Myself, I'm leaning toward PSA close monitoring, rather than looking immediately into radiation. Not interested in overkill, when it COULD screw up more then it helps...

by **A Person** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 2:38 am

Well that's bloody good news - considering it's 'normal' for even healthy men to have a low PSA reading

And your approach seems spot on, chemotherapy is not benign - it's a deliberate poisoning of your body, which while preferable to cancer, isn't at all good for you

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 1:08 pm

Interesting thing about prostate cancer: there is no chemotherapy treatment for it. The only options after surgery are radiation and hormone deprivation. Both options bite enormously, but in different ways. Myself, I'd prefer to hold off on either until it becomes more clear that it's actually needed.

by **C. Alice** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 3:49 pm

SFI, something you and I had briefly discussed in a phone conversation- and this was long before I knew about your brother's health situation (but I have to believe your doc was told early on about your bro and his prostate cancer...)
WTF has your doctor not ordered a PET scan to see if you're clear- or not?
I want you healthy, happy and well, dammit!

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 5:16 pm

Not sure what a scan like that would buy, over and above the diagnostic tools used so far. I'm seeing my primary doc today and a radiation specialist Monday. I'll ask them what might help in terms of detecting any left-over cells.

Thanks for the idea.

by **A Person** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:46 pm

He's had a CAT scan and has LAB work done - how many more PETs need to be involved

by **Liv** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:19 pm

I'm curious, when does SFI turn green and start flipping cars over?

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:16 pm

A Person wrote:He's had a CAT scan and has LAB work done - how many more PETs need to be involved

Well, the only cat scan I've had is the thorough sniffing I got from the 5 darlings that share my home... they were rather curious when I came toddling in from the hospital.

I did a look-up of PET scans. My initial guess on this is that it would not be effective for detecting prostate cancer, because the markers that are used in oncology scanning generally detect cells that have a higher metabolism than the surrounding tissue -- things that are reproducing rapidly and spreading. Prostate cancer, by contrast, moves at a glacial pace and probably has little to differentiate itself from surrounding tissue unless examined in a microscope. Which is why my diagnosis came via a biopsy of 12 cores removed from the gland last summer.

Still, I will ask the radiation guy Monday when I have my consult, to see if my guess is correct.

by **A Person** » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:46 pm

Five cats! You're way into crazy cat person territory there.

I once got up to four cats which is definitely two too many. One never came back one night and the other two left with my ex. I'm down to one and grateful for it.

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:46 am

Woo hoo! Physical therapy is done! I graduated today ... So I'm on my own with the bladder control now. And that's cool: I'm very much back in control now.

So my consultation with the radiation guy went well. He told me that with all the information at hand, there's no real reason to dive into a course of radiation therapy for the cancer. The blood tests available now can detect a patch of a few thousand cells of prostate cancer, and since my baseline is zero now, we can simply monitor that reading every few months and decide when to start zapping stuff.

So for right now, I'm considered a "cancer survivor," and can get back to the business of living my humdrum life. At least for now. Next check-in for blood work is January. So this year is done for doctors, unless something else decides to blow out on me.

Knock on wood. Of course.

Later!

by **A Person** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 2:45 am

If you can still produce wood to knock on then it really is a success

:clap:

by **Liv** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 2:47 am

Awesome!

Now you can return to your life of drugs, sex and rock and roll! Woo hoo!

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 10:10 am

A Person wrote:If you can still produce wood to knock on then it really is a success

Sigh... I put that opening in my post JUST for your benefit, AP. Thanks for following along with my expectations.

by **A Person** » Thu Nov 10, 2011 2:40 pm

Glad to be so predictable

:oops:

by **Jamy** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:41 pm

A Person wrote:All countries with an AAA credit rating have universal health care

Just sayin'

I think with our national debt being the way it is, the US probably has a credit rating of about 425. :oops:

by **Jamy** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:47 pm

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:So for right now, I'm considered a "cancer survivor," and can get back to the business of living my humdrum life.

Oh...I haven't been around much, this fall and totally missed all this! I'm glad it all went well for you. My dad went through this last year and the insurance companies ARE a nightmare. It's like you get the double whammy because it's not enough to get cancer...you have to deal with the pain of insurance company BS too.

But I am glad to hear things are going well for you now.

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 2:18 pm

Well, timing is vital. I avoided having my annual physical last year, while I was unemployed and losing money from savings at a depressingly regular pace. Once I got my current job, I went to the doctor and that started the process. Had I gotten diagnosed while I was unemployed, I would have had to make a rather hard choice between getting treated and keeping my home.

by **Liv** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:13 pm

Who needs a house these days... I see tons of people on the corner of Holden and Spring Garden without them.... though they do keep writing "God Bless" on their signs....

???

by **SouthernFriedInfidel** » Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:16 am

Don't know what I'd put on my cardboard sign. I may need to give it more serious thought before it's over with. If my wife leaves me or dies, I'll be up Sh@t Creek, insurance-wise. "I have cancer, any help will have many thanks"??