Day before Chemo II

Tomorrow will be my second chemo treatment and I have to say it has gone pretty smoothly so far. I have felt well through this whole cycle and have not had to battle side effects. They tell me that the side effects are cumulative, so as I continue through these cycles, I may have more to deal with, but we take it day by day anyway, so if it happens, it will be dealt with. On the Hair Front, it has started to noticeably thin. To just look at it, it isn't overly noticeable, but if I run my fingers or a brush through it, I end up with a fair amount that has come out. It started on Saturday and has picked up speed. I don't know if it will all fall out or just continue to thin, but if it all falls out, I'll wear a hat. I will have blood work tomorrow and see the doctor also. I am hopeful that the lab results will correlate to the way I have been feeling, and my PSA will have dropped. I will update that part in a few days. A couple other things, please say a prayer of thanks for my good friend Sharon B. in Salt Lake City. She knows that this trial could have been much harder if not for her willingness to help us. She is very much appreciated. Also a prayer for my friend, David E, who fights the same battle. He is an inspiration and at a crossroads in his treatment. I wish him all the best that I can for him and his family.
B.

Day 11 after Chemo

Probably seems like a little overkill updating the uneventful, but for one, I'm very glad it is uneventful. So far I have felt really well. Better than even before the chemo. I would compare it to the pain that I felt before I had radiation on my hip last summer. Lots of pain before, and relief pretty quickly after the treatments started. This is kind of like that. The second reason is that I want to journal how it went for me at various stages for anyone else that needs to decide on this type of treatment. All of us are different, so I am not sure what anyone else's experience might be, but on Day 11 after the 1st treatment, I am pretty happy with the present direction.

Chemo status

My last post said that the low point was Days 3-5 after the chemo infusion, but it looks like the "Nadir" or low-point of the immune system is days 5-9 after the infusion. That would start today. So far, it has been a non-issue. I feel a little more fatigue today than the last couple of days, but still better than I did before the chemo started. I told my wife before chemo that I just did not feel good and hoped that I would feel better. My prayers were answered. I have felt more like myself since the chemo and steroids. There has been no hair loss, yet. They say that that usually happens 3-4 weeks after the first treatment. My luxurious locks are yet intact. I would have to say that, so far, and we are early in yet, this treatment is better tolerated than some of the oral medications and IVs that I have had so far. Other than that, things are peachy. We are staying with my Brother, His Wife, and their son. It has been a huge blessing to stay with such giving people. Before that, we were lucky enough to stay with the same Salt of the Earth type people like my Mother and Father in Law, and before that, my Mom and her husband. This has been going on for over a year, and we continue to be blown away by the generosity and actions of family and friends. Our Christmas at my Dad and his wife's home invited cousins, aunts, uncles, etc that were great to visit. It is such a shame to have to put up with cancer to recognize the true blessings the beautiful people around you! We are truly blessed and loved. And we love them all right back!!!

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.