The CT Scan results are back and they are a bit mixed. The lesions on the liver and lung are still there, but unchanged. The enlarged lymph node near my right lung is still slightly enlarged, but has decreased a good amount. Those were the good parts, and they are definitely good. The not so good part is that the disease is progressing. The bladder wall has thickened noticeably from the prostate and the tumors have grown up to and possibly into the rectal wall. The increase in tumor size has caused hydronephrosis and hydroureter in my right kidney. This can cause infection at the least, but can lead to long term severe damage if left untreated. The solution is to have a stent surgically implanted. This is a pretty standard and routine procedure, so I am not overly concerned. I have had some significant nausea, lower back pain, and abdominal pain over the last 2-3 weeks, so this pretty much explains why. The concerning part is that the cancer is growing in multiple areas and at a fairly signnificant rate. I have discussed this with my Doctors and the consensus seems to be chemotherapy. There is still a possibility of doing another hormonal treatment first to stabililze the cancer for 2-3 months, but that would mostly be to get the logistics of a 4-10 month chemo regimen in place. They would not expect any long term changes to what would need to be done. I am still working with some alternative treatments. I am not sure if they are slowing it down or not, but we will continue to battle with everything in our arsenal. I pray, much more than daily, for healing and I hope that it is God's will that it happens. Until it does, we will do all we can. I pray for a peaceful and joyous Holiday Season for all of you.
Brian.

I am beginning to hate Roller Coasters...

Well, the PSA came back this month. It is up from 10.7 to 15.3 in about 3 weeks. That seems to indicate that the increase in Keto and Hydro did not work and we are on to the next option. Those options would include DES (an estrogen based hormonal therapy) or Chemo. Some have had success with both of the treatments, but the duration varies, so we will just have to give it a try and hope for the best. I will be discussing these options with the Prostate Oncologist in LA this next week and will see if he agrees that it is time to move to the next. At our consultation, he seemed to think that Chemo was the next best option. I am still continuing to pursue Provenge, but that is a process that will take awhile to accomplish. I will also be having a CT scan done on Dec 17 to see if the cancer is progressing. The pain associated with the rise in PSA would lead me to believe that it is. Hopefully, only in small increments. I will update again after the CT. Thoughts of Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Brian.