A big medical week

16 Dec

Yesterday the last in the current series of consultations confirmed the findings of last week's visits. I had the skin on my back checked for damage from the radiation. There were sensitivity, strength and capability tests around my legs and feet. With the lowered PSA, all the signs are that the cancer in my L5 vertebra has not put significant pressure on my spinal column.

We will no doubt be watching my regular PSA tests for indications of resurgence of my Gleason Grade 7 cancer. And if further radiation treatment seems to be required, we would prefer not to do that within a year. So, hopefully, I have a kind of warrant of fitness for a comfortable and medical-incident-free 2015. That's an outcome we didn't anticipate a year ago.

Thank you, Aragon and all the diagnostic benefits given to me In June and July while I was being considered for the for the ARN 509 Trial through North Shore Hospital. And Astra-Zeneca for quarterly implants of Zoladex. And the amazing NZ health care system which has spent an inordinate amount of money on this near-octogenarian over the last ten or twelve years. That's a lot to live up to, I guess. But I'm getting on with it. Life is so good.

11 Dec

Two consultations today… Ninety minutes’ drive into the city to meet again with the charming and ever-enthusiastic Frith (See 18 Sept). She was just back from an international prostate cancer experts’ junket in Portugal where there’s been interesting news of another drug trial with encouraging outcomes for men who receive chemo as the very first therapy after diagnosis. Well, that opportunity passed for me a dozen years ago.

But the good news is that the drop in my PSA during the last three months suggests that we will do nothing for another quarter. I am all in favour of doing as little as possible. We had a droll conversation about whether I should invest in much-needed glasses? (“Definitely!”), Do a $500 upgrade my video editing program? (“Why not?”) and go on a cruise? (“Well, perhaps not if you are going to take a couple of years to save up for it”). I forgot to ask about hearing aids and my ropey left knee prosthesis which is creaking ominously… But that was all pretty encouraging.

And so off to do a bit of windowshopping to fill in some time before Urology in the early afternoon at North Shore. I had nothing to complain of so there was nothing much to do there, either. We had another pleasant chat, collected a routine prescription or three, and said a final Goodbye. I won’t need to return there until, Madhu hinted a little mysteriously, I need a “bit of a plumbing job later on”. H’m… Well, if Frith is right, that won’t be for a while yet.

Considering the fairly vigorous nature of my cancer, and the absolutely regular rate of increase of my PSA for several years until October, that’s all a pretty good outcome. But we will still keep Monday’s appointment with Radiation Oncology…

8 Dec
I haven't started on this week of interviews yet but I have just now obtained my latest PSA result. It is about one-third down on the last quarterly one. 
Up until last June my PSA had been rising steadily at more than 50% increase per quarter for several years, and that's largely what prompted our move to the Village. So this is a significant trend, especially considering that we gave up bicalutamide nearly three months ago. It would seem that the targeted radiation on my spine has done some good.
I guess the discussions in the next few days will focus on whether we should start up an equivalent for the discarded bicalutamide. And no doubt some other options will be considered. But, all in all, if nothing else is done, this is an encouraging sign. It's some justification for all the time and professional skill and support lavished on us this year.

6 Dec
The other day I had my three-monthly Zoladex implant. That must be about the 40^th I’ve had since embarking on my prostate cancer journey. They cost several hundred dollars each so my bonus of extended life has come at some cost to the NZ taxpayer.

I also contributed more blood for a quarterly PSA test and some other tests which are going to be of interest this coming week. For I have appointments with three difference specialties in the next few days, each of them involving traveling into Auckland and traipsing all over the place trying to find the right offices. At least, with a bit of cajoling of the ever-sympathetic booking clerks, I have managed to get two of them on the same day – even if in different parts of the metro area.

So we will listen to the words of wisdom from another half-dozen people this week and, no doubt, have to make more decisions as to where we go with this journey from this point.

We have made one decision, pretty much unrelated. In January we are going on a two-week cruise around the bottom of New Zealand and across to Australia where we will have a further few days with family. 

Meanwhile, we are enjoying our Barbershop Chorus as we sing our way through gig after gig in our Village community and local venues. One touching moment was for our male quartet to make a hospital call on a former member who is coming to the end of a cancer journey. I’d never met him before but I naturally felt a poignant affinity with him. It was great to be able to see him perk up as he tried to sing "Riverside" along with us.

Perhaps the rest of the quartet will come and do that for me some time. How will I handle that, I wonder? I hope I can give them back as much as Ron did yesterday.