I went to see the urologist yesterday, to get the results of my latest blood test. That seems to be the way that they decide if the radiation and hormone therapy is having an efficacious and salubrious effect on getting rid of the cancer. They monitor my PSA level.
I smiled when the Doc told me that my PSA level was at 0.22. That was down from my last test a month ago, which was 0.3. Normal range for an old duffer like me, is 4.5 to 6.5. He seemed to be pleased about it.
And the Doc gave me my next shots of Lupron and Prolia. Lupron is the shot that depresses my level of testosterone production, to starve any cancer that might be left from the radiation. It is effective for 6 months more. Which means that I will only have 2 more in the series after that, and that I will only be suffering the hideous hot flashes and night sweats for another year and a half. At least I hope that is the case.
The Prolia is to boost my body’s absorption of calcium, because a side effect the Lupron is that it can cause onset of osteoporosis. I have been taking a calcium pill twice a day to help hedge my bet. I had asked the urologist to test my calcium level as well, and was pleased to find that my calcium level was right in the middle of the healthy range. Whew, I was kinda worried about that.
The Lupron shot left a knot in my right butt cheek like an acorn buried under my skin. And my right hip was painful all day. It reminded me of the Gamma Globulin shots I had to get while I was in Peace Corps. They too left a knot in my hip for a day or two. When you are skinny and have little body fat, that is what happens.
Later in the day, a friend who does a lot of online research sent me an article she had come across, about the type of therapy I am undergoing. The article states that this type of therapy, radiation and hormone manipulation, is the best therapy available, and has the best results in killing prostate cancer. It lifted my spirits to read it.
It is weird having a sort of silent cancer. The only side effects that I had before I started treatment were that my urine stream was diminished. Then I got the needle biopsy of my prostate, and that showed that I had a particularly aggressive tumor growing there. My Hansen score was high. So that caused the doctors to advise me to undergo the radiation and hormone therapy.
I have been hoping for the best, and it seems like it is working. I am thankful for that.
The best part of the therapy is that it gave me the impetus to write down some of the thousand stories rattling around in my brain, something I have wanted to do for a while.
It has also given me pause to appreciate the many things that are groovy and fun that I have brought into my life. I am truly a lucky boy.
The positive effects of knowing that you have cancer 
On being a truly lucky boy.