Chemo started today

I had my first chemo treatment today. They have this stuff down to a science. I have not had any nausea, but they dose you up with steroids at the time of infusion, so you feel pretty good. The true test is days 3-5. That is when your immune system is at it's weakest and you feel the fatigue. The fatigue is cumulative, so it will increase as I go through more cycles of chemo. Right now the plan is 4 cycles and we hope to see some good results after 2 or maybe 3 infusions. It generally works on about 45% of patients. While that does not seem high, it is much higher than other treatments. We are continuing to work with some alternative treatments in conjunction with the chemo, with the guidance of our doctors. We are blessed with some open-minded professionals. I will write more about the effects of this treatment as they present themselves in the hope it will help others in their decision making. Thanks to David E at The_Big_C for all of his insight into my decision to have chemo. His blog is linked at the right and indispensible for all those with cancer, especially but not only, prostate cancer. By sharing this information, we can find real answers.
My best to all!
Brian.

After searching for treatments and working with several doctors, we accidently stumbled onto a really good one. My regular oncologist informed us that they had just hired a Urological Oncologist that used to head the department at a very good University Hospital. She said we should meet with him and consider transfering care. We met with him on Thursday and were very pleased with his knowledge and demeanor. I had a bone scan the same day so we went over the results and were glad to see that the bone mets were stable. We discussed the CT scan and he was concerned about the progression in the soft tissue. My PSA also had doubled from 15.3 to 31.1 in just three weeks. He feels that chemo is the only real option right now. I will also see a Urologic Surgeon next Tuesday to talk about a stent in my right kidney. It will probably be needed at some point, but we have to weigh the greatest priority, the stent or chemo. It the priority is chemo, I will begin treatment on Thursday, January 6th. It will be every 3 weeks for 4-6 treatments. I'm not really nervous about it and I hope it will alleviate some of the symptoms I have had lately.
As we start the new year, I have only 2 resolutions. I will always pray for a miracle, but never forget to live each day as best I can and those that I love will never wonder about it.
Brian.

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.

The increase in the Keto and Hydro dropped the PSA from 16.6 to 10.7 in 1 week. That is good news that there is still a strong response to the Hormonal Treatment. The longer we can get this to work is more time before we have we need to switch to something else. Yesterday was 1 year since the Bone Scan confirmed the spread of the Prostate Cancer to the bones throughout my body. 1 year later and I seem to be doing pretty well overall. The PSA has been mostly controlled with some ups and downs and the pain has let up since the radiation. I believe that we are holding our own and hope that continues for a good, long time. I hope Thanksgiving was good for all of you. This fight definitely reminds me of the things that I am most thankful for.

New PSA and stuff

My PSA went from 1.6 in August to 2.8 in early October to 16.6 last week. Not really what we were looking for on the PSA, but the Alkaline Phosphotase (bone indicator) dropped to 43. Kind of a mixed bag of results. We are still working with the Enzymes and Ketoconazole, but we have 2 months of increase so it is time to review once more. The initial thought for this month is to raise the dosage of Keto and Hydrocortisone to the maximum dose, which we are doing. This still may be a temporary solution if next months PSA continues to rise. We had been discussing consulting with some doctors in Los Angeles that are strictly Prostate Oncologists. Very impressive credentials and experience. We decided that we should contact them and see when we could get an appointment. They had a cancellation for Wednesday November 17th and we were able to get travel arrangements made. So here we are. I will meet with Dr. Lam of Prostate Oncology, Inc tomorrow. At some point I will consult with Dr. Scholz, as well. These are names that many with Prostate Cancer or in the arena of the treatment of Prostate Cancer would know. Teresa and I hope for some additional options explained to us and also to deal with oncologists who are very informed and educated about our options, now and down the road. As many of you who read here and also David Emerson’s excellent blog, “The Big C” know, the options for us seem to be amazingly few when compared to the large number of men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer annually. A group associated with Prostate Oncologist, Inc that was formed to bring awareness, and hopefully funding, to Prostate Cancer Research and Prevention is BlueSeptember. I have also added a link on the right side to this group. I will be sure to share my experience with this appointment as soon as possible and hope that I will be able to pass on information to any who fight the same battle. Talk to you soon!
B.

Risk vs. Reward

I haven’t written anything in awhile, and haven’t written anything much of substance in even longer. I have felt a little unsure of where I am and where I am going in regards to this cancer and my prognosis. I feel pretty good right now. I get tired at the end of the day and the fatigue sometimes leads to back and shoulder pain, but I can do things most of the day. Sometimes fishing, or building a chicken brooder, or just messing around with the kids. I feel limitations that weren’t there last year, but I also have more energy than I did a year ago. If I get decent rest, all is well. So, do I believe that this is the eye of the storm or am I actually beating this thing? That is the $64,000 question. Like most things in life that are impossible to know without a crystal ball, it comes down to perspective and faith. Perspective in the sense that I need to maintain a positive attitude about where I was, where I am, and where I am going. This is not only true with cancer, but pretty much everything in my life to help recover from cancer and to live the life that I know I was meant to live. Most days I can do this. It is only because of people like you who read these words. Even if I don’t know who reads them, because I know that people do, and it means something. The faith that I can beat this is a little harder and can be a little slippery. I have the faith, but I know that this is a tough battle that most eventually will not win. Most hope for a significant delay and each day becomes very precious, but it is hard to dare to dream that this can be defeated and gone. That is the thought that hovers in the back, sides, and sometimes front of my brain. Do I dare get my hopes up that I can be cancer free by doing my part? I have decided that I can dream that dream and win this war. It is about faith. It is the same thing as trying to live a good life, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because I believe that I can live eternally with my family and my Heavenly Father. Some may think that this isn’t cool or I am fooling myself. Do I know without a doubt that this is true, or do I have to believe on faith? It has to be faith. But, if I am wrong, so what? I have hopefully lived a life to be proud of. I will have hopefully provided a legacy of example to my children. There is only upside. No downside. This battle is the same. If I do everything I can do to fight this and believe with all my heart that I will win, I just might. Will I ever know for sure? Not until the last card is played on the final hand. If I am wrong, am I a fool for trying? No. I will have shown courage, dignity, grace, strength, and faith. I still win. No downside. The “Point of the Post” then, is this. It is okay to aim high and dream big. If you suffer from cancer or any other ailment or affliction, have faith that you can win, because you can. Don’t fear being wrong about things unseen, including God. If you end up being wrong, what have you lost? Especially when weighed against what you have gained. The human body has amazing potential, but only when it is led by the head and the heart. Risk it! You will be rewarded, whatever the result.