As expected, my PSA is up…..from 159 to 186 or 185? I don’t remember, but it’s back on the Goods October 25th.
PSA stands for prostate specific antigen. It’s a protein that's produced exclusively by the prostate gland, and elevated levels in the blood serum indicate prostate cancer. The number is supposed to be 0. I had prostate surgery when mine was 3!
When I first started chemotherapy it was 374! (I got it down to 26)
The Doc is very optimistic about this new drug, Jevtana. He said it is more tolerable than the Taxotere, and the results have been very good. He knows I’m a superstar at this stuff!
I’ve often referred to my situation as a detour in my life…..I’ve kinda decided that’s not really true; a detour is when you by-pass the trouble and come back to the same route. That’s not what’s happening here.….this is a full blown course change.
People I meet ask if I’m retired? “Well….I guess……..but it’s not voluntary!”
I sometimes forget that as my readership grows, 3,840 and counting, that some of my terms may be unfamiliar. The biggest one is “What is NADIR?” (Pronounced “naydeer”).
This is the lowest point of the 3 week cycle of chemo. I get treated on Tuesday, and the following few days are OK (They pump you full of steroids with the treatment, so what’s not to be OK). Wednesday thru Friday are days of preparation, gathering medication, food......polishing the silver (steroids), etc…….. Saturday morning I feel like Mac the Truck has surely run me down! The feeling lasts for about 3 days and then subsides….with each day after being better than last…..so you feel better every day…for 3 weeks….then it starts all over again.
An on line dictionary describes NADIR as this:
1. The low water mark---an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything!.............Well, I can see that as a good definition.
# 2. Went like this:
“The point below the observer that is directly opposite the zenith on the imaginary sphere against which celestial bodies appear to be projected”……………………………...What the HELL does that mean!
When I was a sophomore in high school, my parents informed my sister and I that we were moving to what is now North Myrtle Beach, S.C. In those days it was called O.D., short for Ocean Drive Beach. In the mid ‘60s, this was where everyone in the region went. It would be a smaller equivalent to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break and beyond………..So here I was …..15 years old……a walking hormone…..and we’re moving to Ocean Drive Beach!
I entered the local high school, Wampee-Little River High (now North Myrtle Beach High) as a junior. The next 8 or so years of my life represent some of my fondest memories. I guess I can’t say I grew up there………..but I sure did come of age there!
As I continue to revive old acquaintances and develop new ones at “The Beach”, it almost seems as if I’m in the right side of a bookend…..maybe I never should have left?.....I had to leave….it was my destiny. And now….it’s my destiny to be back.
Ya know….the novelty of all this wore off a long time ago. I started to make a list of the things I wish I could still do….walk from one end of Lowe’s to the other without having to sit down, eat a good hot dog….things like that…..it could be a long list. Then I decided….it wasn’t worth the thought or the effort, and it was whiney…..and I don’t do whiney!
None of us (you) know how we will react when we look the devil in the eye. I guess some people collapse, some complain and some fight. I choose to fight….and Know this…….Attitude is Everything!
Thank you all for the Prayers and Spiritual Energy. Also thank you for the kind words so many of you send…we’ll get through this. B.
Bob, I continue to salute you for your lack of whininess, and for helping other people by publishing this blog. There's no telling how many readers you actually have out there! I wish you didn't have to start more treatment again, but am glad the Doc has something new and very promising up his sleeve. As always, I wish you the best and keep sending positive thoughts your way. Amy
ReplyDelete