Shrivel Me Timbers!

     I’ve felt more energetic since the 30 days of taking Bicalutamide Bluefish 50mg pills ended, but I still get waves of fatigue and got flashes now and then. Hot flashes tend to arrive in the middle of the night like a Collins’ family vampire – yes, I saw the trailer for Johnny Depp’s new ‘Dark Shadows’ movie and used to watch the TV soap opera on occasion way back when.

Getting back to the topic; those mood swings (i.e. emotion/energy-levels) that are mentioned on the list of possible side effects can be better explained this way:

          One spends so much time in the lower levels that ‘normal’ becomes the high. No elation days like back in the 60’s, no … normal is now the feeling that glides over the high hump of this roller coaster ride.

And the shrivel part … read your side effects list for details, but that is more like a turtle hiding in its shell.

Thursday 10:40 AM I will be transformed into the golden boy once the gold implant marker pieces are surgically placed into my prostate in preparation for the future radiation beam therapy.

I still have strange dreams, but most involve me arriving/wandering-around large commercial construction sites with similar inner feelings I had when I actually did this way back when.

Got to run … back to bed, that is.

Dancing to the Flute

"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn."      -Matthew 11:17

Lately I have had dreams of being back on large construction jobs, including a hospital site. Of course, I was a forman for 10 years with a large HMO and continually worked on around 15-20 or more of their hospitals and clinics. Those were the days, weren't they?

Soon I will have my gold implants placed strategically inside my prostate in preparation for the radiation treatment.

Life dances on …

One of my favorite British character actors, Geoffrey Hughes, experienced a relapse in Aug 2010 after only one year of experiencing the comfort of mind that he was clear of his prostate cancer. Those types of stories, as with Bill Bixby's & Frank Zappa's, are always closer to home than they are for most readers unaffected by the PC malady. 

The TV legend, who has  publicly supported cancer  charities. He first appeared in  1960s classics such as Z-Cars  and The Likely Lads and he  was  the voice of Paul  McCartney in the Beatles film  The Yellow Submarine.

He  also starred as slobbish  Onslow (phot left) in the hit BBC sitcom  Keeping Up Appearances and  Twiggy in The Royle Family. His other roles have  included Vernon in Heartbeat  and Uncle Keith in  Skins.

Geoffrey, who left  Coronation Street in 1984,  also  guest starred in episodes of  Doctor Who, Casualty, Boon  and The Upper Hand.

In July  last year he was appointed  Deputy Lord Lieutenant for  the Isle of Wight, making him  “the official link between the  island and royalty at formal engagements”

A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words – 1,000 Pictures = ?

I just had my 'treatment' plan laid out today. My bone scan was clear, so no metastasis. The 1000 picture MRI showed everything ‘bad’ is contained inside the prostate and my tumor level is in-between the best and the worst, so not aggressive, but should be treated.  Up to 6 is considered low – 8 and up aggressive, Mine is a 7A (3+4=7A – Gleason Score).

My PSA level went from 14 down to 9.7 indicating it was most probably an infection that boosted PSA levels for 6 months. The infection showed up on the MRI.

I will get an injection of Zoladex 10.8mg into my stomach lining every 12 weeks for a year (began today), this blocks testosterone from being produced in my body. I also received 30 days’ worth of Bicalutamide Bluefish 50mg pills that also block male hormone production. The shot was in the stomach, but was nothing bad. I’ve always heard as a kid that those rabies shots in the stomach were a horrible pain, but this was not.

After 6 months or so, (Aug-Sept) I will have radiation beams to the prostate every day for 37 treatments. The first 25 cover a larger area due to glands associated/connected-to with the prostate - the last 12 are more specific. Before those start, I will receive 3 pieces of gold placed into the prostate for location purposes. So if I have more children  . . . will they have golden blonde hair? I will also begin using the major lubricant laxative, liquid paraffin, prior to radiation to ensure that there is less displacement pressure in the area of the prostate - I hate to eat and run, oh, well.

Other stats: Impotence - until after treatment is concluded and … 40% of men do not recover from this malady ever, whether they have beam treatment or prostate removal – and yes, either treatment does produce the same survival rate – no difference statistically within my range. One can expect a 10 – 15 kilo weight gain – just what everyone wants. Like a green & orange tie for Christmas … with ducks on it.

So, things look ok and the cancer doctor expects a complete cure since this is an early detection.

Treatments are based on a 10 years life scale. If you were 70, most likely no treatment, since you probably would not live to 80 anyway. ‘IF’ a sample PSA test were taken of all men 55 – 58, it would reveal 50% with prostate cancer across the board, but most 

men never die from this cancer.

This was good news for me today.

Got to run … Starting with today's male hormone blocking injection and pill gave me the urge to go out and shop for some red pumps and a matching purse, ha, ha.

Thank You - to God, my great oncologist and lovely wife.

Dreams and Nightmares

I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.   Daniel 4:5

How about you …

Good dreams, bad dreams you know you’ve had your share, when they come in the midst of a lone dark night they still don’t seem to scare.

Last night’s dream, I was on my way, or so I thought, to a prison cell and had planned to read a little book that was in the passenger side of my pickup (haven’t had a pickup in eons), but I was taken to another place instead.

I was distressed a bit over not being able to read that little book once ‘someone’ informed me I had two hours to live (until execution) as my late mother sat in a chair in the dimly lit corner.

What did I decide to do for my last two hours, you ask?  I started to organize my key chain and rid it of unnecessary items so that my wife would not be confused with it all when I was no longer around.

Yes, we all procrastinate on readying our affairs when we really should not, whether we are as healthy as a horse or as dreadfully sick as a politician is.

Another dream a short time ago entailed the turning over of some very nice dirt in the flower area of my grave near the tombstone – of course, ‘I do this’ for my 7-8 ,month summer season job – add fertilizer to dirt, plant flowers and rid the weeds on graves. I have anxiously awaited getting back to this job and its peacefulness.

Years ago, before I had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and re-attach a tendon to the head of my humerus (my biceps tendon was also broken, but those shrivel up fast and disappear and are, therefore, not usually repairable) the HMO I had my coverage through, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, did not perform any empirical examinations, they only gave me varying kinds of pills.

ANYWAY … those medications frequently resulted in wild and crazy dreams/nightmares. I actually began looking forward to seeing my next ‘free’ scary movie. No $7.00 - $10.00 a pop for those films … and … they are usually always unpredictable in plot!

I do enjoy those flying dreams, I must say. They usually entail more of a giant, floating-style leap that is based upon my focused will. I start descending when my focus diminishes. I have only had a couple of those Superman type flying dreams in my life, maybe only one.

When I was a little boy in 1^st or 2^nd grade, I had a recurring dream three times. I was being grabbed by my legs and pulled out of my bedroom window. In each dream I went further out the window until, finally, I was holding on to the side frame with my fingers. It may have resulted from someone attempting entry to my bedroom window when I was younger. I ran out of the room as the curtains were being drawn back, bumping my leg on my grandmother’s beige hope-chest.

Killing large black snakes and chasing out of the yard those barking, growling black dogs is also quite a satisfying thrill of a dream.

How about you? Dreams? Nightmares?

What about a collection of these fanciful tales of terror from the night being collected into an easy to read book for publication?

Any ideas?

The Ultimate Example of Preventive Medicine

I thought this was an interesting news video - HERE.


Thursday evening and Friday I will have both my full-body MRI and nuclear bone scan.

        Then ... ?

 I still hope for the best.

No News Is Not Good News - But Good News Is

Last Friday my GP helped run down appointments for me and ease my mind a bit with the technical info from my tests thus far.

It is amazing how some simple 'good' news (or at least not horrible news) can help someone to feel more rested and assured in their heart along with increasing hopefulness.
Information is the key. As with every realm of society, education, information and analysis help lead one down the pathway to enlightened and informed decision making.

My Gleason Score was actually better than I thought that it would be, or dreaded that it might be. My MRI & Body Scan tests are in the works, and I've slept in the middle of our bed where it is nice and firm and my back is so much better. 2 compressed discs, 1 herniated, calcium deposits up the spine and arthritis cause a bit of discomfort at times.

Oh, the picture of Jackie Gleason is just for fun. I played his character, Ralph Kramden -The Honeymooners, once in a Valentine's Day dinner theater.

R.I.P. Jessica Joy Rees

R.I.P.

Jessica Joy Rees

The 12-year-old girl who blogged her cancer fight has died.  She was one of the estimated 50,000 American children with cancer.

More info HERE