...And maybe I'll start eating red meat again, and have another glass of wine with dinner, and eat more chocoloate, and drive another mile or two above the speed limit, or run with scissors or any of a number of more "risky" behaviors. Why? Perhaps as some kind of bad cosmic joke on me, I may also have prostate cancer. As part of my last routine physical exam, I had a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test - it's a blood test similar to the tumor marker numbers that I've been routinely sharing with you for colorectal tumor growth, except that it's specific to the antigens produced by the prostate gland. Like the other marker numbers, an increase in the number may be indicative of possible tumor activity. I received the results Wednesday afternoon, after I had just returned from having another CT scan done. Surprise! The PSA number showed an increase from a previous measurement into a level that merits further evaluation. You would think that with all the chemotherapy I've been subjected to, that no tumor could possibly initiate. But you might be wrong. Is it anything to worry about? Probably not. Nothing detected on the CT scan, and really not worth the trouble at this point to have it biopsied. We can do the PSA test again in a few months with my regular blood work and keep an eye on it, or if I'm really craving entertainment, I can have another another "digital" examination performed. Prostate cancer tumors are typically slow in growth, and frankly are small stuff compared to what I'm really trying to fight right now. Now that I know that Dr. Gold checks this blog, I'm not allowed to quote him directly, but in a nutshell, it more or less amounts to "let's worry about this after we take care of the other stuff".
Another way to look at this is the memorable scene in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, when Butch and Sundance are trapped by a posse on a high cliff above a waterfall. They are discussing jumping far down into the pool below to escape:Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid: No, I said.
Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can't swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
Not to worry about possible prostate cancer, the liver tumors will probably kill you first. It's not like I've been so bored with the cancer I already had that I thought I should shop around and try out another for a test drive. Really, it would be kind of backwards to start with a Stage IV cancer with immediate life-threatening consequences, and then pick up an easier cancer to treat just for a little extra practice. Shouldn't I have done the prostate cancer as say a "starter" cancer first to get the hang of it and then graduate on to the metastatic colorectal cancer? So, in the mean time, I might as well live it up, right? OK, maybe I don't need to pick up a tobacco habit and go for the trifecta of getting lung cancer as well, but the extra chocolate probably wouldn't be too bad.
About the CT scan - really pretty unremarkable. Stable, stable, stable - no changes. My favorite phrases in the radiologist's report: "A normal appendix is appreciated" (I sure appreciate it greatly for it's normalcy), and "Skeletal structures are unremarkable for age" - unremarkable? Gee whiz, not even just a little impressive? Marker numbers this week - up slightly to 6.4, but again, nothing that I'm losing sleep over.
Not to worry about possible prostate cancer, the liver tumors will probably kill you first. It's not like I've been so bored with the cancer I already had that I thought I should shop around and try out another for a test drive. Really, it would be kind of backwards to start with a Stage IV cancer with immediate life-threatening consequences, and then pick up an easier cancer to treat just for a little extra practice. Shouldn't I have done the prostate cancer as say a "starter" cancer first to get the hang of it and then graduate on to the metastatic colorectal cancer? So, in the mean time, I might as well live it up, right? OK, maybe I don't need to pick up a tobacco habit and go for the trifecta of getting lung cancer as well, but the extra chocolate probably wouldn't be too bad.
About the CT scan - really pretty unremarkable. Stable, stable, stable - no changes. My favorite phrases in the radiologist's report: "A normal appendix is appreciated" (I sure appreciate it greatly for it's normalcy), and "Skeletal structures are unremarkable for age" - unremarkable? Gee whiz, not even just a little impressive? Marker numbers this week - up slightly to 6.4, but again, nothing that I'm losing sleep over.
And about my last posting - you may have read the description of what chemotherapy does to me and went "whoa". I didn't mean to upset anyone, but for those of you who are also going through this, it's not just me that experiences this - you've been through this is as well. It's not fun for any of us, but we grit our teeth and bear with it because we'd still much rather live with it and get past it, than to throw in the towel and give in.
Snow falls in a pass in the Tatoosh Range
