98%…

Drink(s) of choice. Staring with a Four Roses Manhattan, to be followed by a 2009 Rudd Oakville Estate Napa Cab Sav (Its one of those wines where the salesperson has to get a key to let you in the special room and they have to carry the bottle to the register) after which we will enjoy a 2014 Napanook by Dominus. If any of that mean anything to you, you know where this is headed. Foreshadowing.

I got my first PSA results today since beginning treatment on September 28, 2017. On that day my PSA’s were 6.84. High for a healthy man, very high for someone like me who did not have a prostate gland at the time. Prostate cells are the only thing that produce PSA’s and all of mine are cancerous. In brief, that’s a lot of cancer cells. On that day I received my first set of injections and daily meds.

On October 26, 2017 I had my blood work done and received my second round of injections. In those 28 days my PSA’s dropped to 0.14. That is a 98% reduction in cancer cells in a very short amount of time. In short- its working. And, more importantly, I do not have the feared Castrate resistant Prostate cancer. That one has a 2-3 year life expectancy. But in Paul Harvey fashion, here’s the Rest of the Story.

My Hospital, like most, shares medical data electronically. We use something called MyChart. Its quite nice. Go online, use the app, and everything (almost) is there. I woke up this morning and had six different test results to view. Because I’m in a clinical trial, they do a lot of tests. I have been anxious for the results, in particular my PSA’s. I logged in and although I was pleased that my blood and thyroid function are in good working order, there were no PSA results posted. Usually this means there is bad news and they’d rather tell you in person. My initial Cancer diagnosis is on MyChart, but not until the Doctor called to tell me in person over the phone.

So I got nervous. Started thinking about the things I’d need to do- call the Insurance agent, lawyer- that kind of stuff. How am I going to tell who and when. Bad Company, ’til the day I die.

At Phyllis’s suggestion, I reached out to my Primary Care Physician. It was a good idea. He’s a good doctor, I’ve been with him for over 20 years, but; he doesn’t know shit about cancer. He’s an Internist. He admits it. But more importantly, he has access to The System. So I asked him via email to check my PSA results. It took him 500 years- no really, it did, 500 total years- but he got back to me. Worst 500 years of my life. There were times when I was literally shaking. I checked my in box every 25 years- I was that nervous. Finally he got back to me. I paraphrase here,”PSA’s are down to 0.14 from 6.84, which is interesting.” Like I said, he’s an Internist, not an Oncologist. “Interesting” must be Doctor speak for “Holy Shit Batman, it Worked!” (Switched over to a Buffalo Trace Manhattan here. Waiting for Phyllis for the really good stuff. Its better shared).

So I’m not entirely out of the woods yet, but there is a light. The way it has been explained to me- by the Oncologist, not my Primary- is that even if the cancer spread to the bone or elsewhere, its still prostate cancer. Which means that with the dramatic reduction in those cells over just 28 days, my chances of dying from something else has risen exponentially. Or thereabouts. I was an English Major, after all. They don’t make us take much math. Exponentially means “A Really big number I don’t understand, or the number 10 with a silly symbol attached to it. I’ll take Emily Dickinson for $500 Alex.”

And my Year goes on. That does not change. Androgen Deprivation continues. The gym beckons. Incontinence, impotence, gender issues, powerful drugs; these must all be met, head- on. And so I will, with a renewed vigor.

I am thankful and grateful for your help along this ride and hope you continue. It feels good knowing you are there. I’ll do my part. I promise.