Life Event

[Mosses78]

Stay strong @Medusa50! Wish you nothing but the best from across the pond here!

 

[Medusa50]

Treatment number 5 in the books. Meeting with the Oncologist they said my tolerance of the chemo looks good. My PSA is now at .84 and that’s down again from last time. Can’t look for major drop’s because I’m starting to plateau but it’s all promising.

I explained the side effects are like playing Wheel of Misfortune at a Psycho Circus Freak Show. Nose bleeds, burning tongue, dry lips and throat, sneezing, aches, pain, headache, hypersensitivity, neuropathy, fatigue. The overwhelming feeling of being crushed by a tank.

The port catheter has worked out better over the last two months. It was still tender only 7 days after surgery but with use of lidocaine it has greatly improved the comfort level. I would recommend it to anyone over the intravenous feed in your arms.

I am getting bone treatments and the doctors said starting in June they will begin doing CT and bone scans to gauge progress. I’m hopeful it’s working.

The last two days I haven’t slept much. I’m assuming when I come down off the steroids I will be in tough shape. This weekend we will see. I want to thank all those who have continued supporting my journey.

 

[TNGoldbeard]

Will continue to pray for you my brother.

 

[Manish]

Keep at it my friend, sending positive vibes your way.

 

[Marstain]

Good to hear you’re progressing Medusa. I just visited my son over lunch and it made me think of you. You guys are both fighters and I’m proud of you. He was so tired after he ate he could barely keep his eyes open but it was long enough for us to chat and catch up. Love reading your updates. Keep it up my friend.

 

[Medusa50]

Good to hear you’re progressing Medusa. I just visited my son over lunch and it made me think of you. You guys are both fighters and I’m proud of you. He was so tired after he ate he could barely keep his eyes open but it was long enough for us to chat and catch up. Love reading your updates. Keep it up my friend.

I felt exactly like that after my last treatment in early April. I went for chemo on Wednesday. By Friday night around 7:30 I was crushed. Had no gas left in the tank. My friend stopped by to spend time with me. I kept falling asleep. I was spent and it happened in the span of 30 minutes. Thankfully they gave me some oral steroids this time but even though I feel ok yesterday and today it’s going to wear off and when it does I’ll probably be wrecked again. Prayers for him!

 

[Lopaka KaMars]

Continued prayers goes out to you daily as I follow along. Keep it up Bro and keep fighting. .

 

[TheDukeOfIce]

Great to hear the last positive update brother. Glad to hear you are continuing on track!

Continuing sending positive mojo to you and your family, and thank you for sharing with us all.

 

[Medusa50]

Had my last chemo session yesterday. PSA test showed my score dropped again to a low of .51 which was down from .84 and a world away from where I started at 1,690. My beloved wife cried when she heard the numbers.

Normally the day after chemo is a pretty good day and most of Friday too because of the steroids. I suspect I’ll drop out tomorrow night when it all wears off. Other than the usual discomfort of receiving chemo the day passed without incident.

I said my goodbyes to the nurses and all the staff who put up with me since February. They took great care of me but I’m on my own now. The oncologist said I tolerated the treatment very well and exceeded their expectations undergoing hormone treatment. He wants me to get a blood test every 6 weeks and continue to flush the port a cath until after the imagery in August.

He gave me some rules like exercise regularly to increase heart rate, eat nutrient dense protein foods like fish, poultry, fresh vegetables and fruit. High fiber, low carbs and avoid red meats and animal protein. My wife will make sure I stay on track.

I have to see him regularly for the next 5 years. I’ll be on hormone pills for the rest of my life and will continue to take Eligard injections and Xgeva for bone treatment indefinitely. They believe the chemo did its job but no one is using words like remission or anything. I don’t blame them. It’s a waiting game now.

It isn’t over, we all know that. They don’t cure cancer. They talk about containment, controlling spread, dormancy and other terms, always with an emphasis on prolonging life, increasing quality of living and giving patients more time.

In the beginning I used to ask myself the question, What is going to happen if I die? The question has evolved into, What will I do today, knowing one day I will die? The answers have come over time. I’m going to live, love, laugh, share, explore, be with family, friends, go places, buy what I want, stress less, enjoy the little things in life.

Above all be thankful I get another minute, hour or day. Not a single day has passed I haven’t prayed. Not for me, but for others who need prayers. I pray for my wife. May she be blessed, free of illness, strong, at peace, safe and never alone. I’ve prayed for every person I came to know who are engaged in their own battle. I’m a better person today and I’ve reconciled with others. Most importantly I’m at peace knowing when I’m judged by my creator I am ok with the decisions I’ve made and the remorse I’ve expressed when I was not at my best.

In early May my wife and I made a road trip to be with friends attending a rally. No one knew we were coming. I walked in and everyone’s jaw dropped. The outpouring of emotion was overwhelming. One of the crew made special shirts and everyone was going to wear them on the first day to show their support. My wife and I wore ours and I took the leaders spot and had the best week I’ve had since January. The last day was heartfelt as one by one people said their goodbyes. Upon getting back I was spent. Physically the trip took everything I had but one of my best friends said to me You are a 1 percenter! You’ve done what no one else who’s gone through what you have, could or should do.

I don’t think I’m special. I don’t walk on water and I’ve been extremely blessed by good fortune. I do believe I had help. For this reason I dedicate this post to every person who read what I had to say. For those that prayed, offered thoughts both on and off this forum. For those that shared some words of encouragement, shared their own story or perhaps took the time to silently ask that I get through this. Thank you!

I’ve told my wife I love her more than I have in years. I wanted to recover but as much as I didn’t want to be sick I wanted to show her I could do it. I may be tested again in the future. Only time will tell. I said on my first day of chemo I wasn’t going down without a fight. Cancer will have to go through me. I’m not giving up! Failure was never on the table.

 

[Medusa50]