Last
update for a while…
But, first, a commercial.
This
is the biggest time of year for the choir... the 2005 Pastor's Conference. We
sing 35 different songs, from memory, at the conference. This year the music
will be more special than normal, I believe. The conference starts Friday Feb
18th and goes through Tuesday Feb 23rd. The choir will be singing on Sunday,
Monday and Tuesday. If you can't make it to the conference then I'd suggest
coming to a Sunday service sometime between now and then (except Super Bowl
Sunday).
Franklin
Graham (Billy Graham's son) will be speaking Sunday night. That will be the
hardest time to try and get seats. I would come around
Now,
on to my update.
The
PSA test result was 0.1. That's awesome.
The
Lupron shot/injection went very well. I stressed out
over it for nothing. The doctor inserted a 'capsule' under the skin of my left
arm. It will slowly release the Lupron over the next
year. To those of you who have seen it already, I apologize. The Steri-strip came off so, I cleaned up the dried blood and
all that's left is a little slit where he inserted the capsule. I should've
waited before sharing.
I
laid down on the 'table' and rested my head on a pillow. He gave me a tiny
little shot to numb that area. I think he did another little shot as well. But,
I didn't feel that and didn't ask what he was doing. I was trying to avoid
stressing out too much.
The
capsule is about the size of 2 or 3 toothpicks together. It was inserted just
under the skin in my left arm, because I am right-handed. It's in the inside
part of the arm and not on the outside part.
A
Steri-strip was used to patch the 1/4
inch slit closed. It's not sore. It's not tender. It's just there. I
can barely tell where it is under the skin.
What
happens next year? I have no clue. I guess he removes it somehow and replaces
it with another one. I can wait and stress out about that when it happens next
year.
I
had to ask him what the Lupron and Casodex was for. I still have some Casodex
pills that I quit taking just before the surgery. He said that the Lupron and Casodex cuts out the
testosterone production. The Lupron cuts out the 95%
produced by the testicles. The Casodex cuts out the
remaining 5% produced by the Adrenal gland. Now I know. He said I could finish
taking the Casodex pills. That's nice... if I can
just find them.
As
I said I wanted to do, I updated the web site with my 'thoughts'. You can check
it out by going to the following:
Go
to www.stroke4.com
click and go to www.stroke4.net
click
on the Prostate Cancer link
The
Too Much Information link will take you to a dead end version of the Too Much
Information page. If you want to know more then prove to me you aren’t some
silly teenager trying to get access to this page…
There
are 3 areas of comments on that page: Goodbye (Internal) Catheter, Hello
External Catheter and What about Sex?
As
you can tell, the topics are pretty "out there". Evidently, this
whole incontinence thing has been a 'consuming' process for me. Actually, I
think I 'turned' the corner last week. I don't know how or why or when. Let's
just say, Wow. It's been something along the epic proportions of Moses parting
the
I'm
sure the doctor had something to do with it. I'm sure the medication had
something to do with it. But, it's been 6 weeks since I've felt comfortable
with getting down on my knees and praying again. Once I did that, things really
started improving.
These
3 areas are really designed for people who are considering Prostate Surgery or
knows somebody else who is going through this period of time in their life.
I
say a few things that will make people go... Oh... really... you didn't HAVE to
say that. I use a bit of humor as well. I draw some pretty vivid pictures with
my words.
I
just want to prepare you for what I say. I can't really prepare you. But, I
just want to warn you. You won't believe what I've written.
The
External catheter page refer's to the 'incident' I
had on my (almost) follow-up visit... you know... where the cap came off.
Amazingly, I did have one social moron try and joke about that. They quietly
walked up to me and asked if my cap had come off. I silently crumbled inside
and looked to where I'd just come from to see if there was a trail. There
wasn't. This person just thought the comment was kinda
funny. I would love to talk about it, seriously... but, don't feel free to
tease me about it. Let me dictate the level of humor to use in the
conversation.
Wait
a minute... It's that pesky Lupron again... (c:)~
It's not me. It's the Lupron!!! Yeah, that's it. I've
got a good excuse now!!! (C:)~
I
can say this because most of the people on my distribution list are computer
geeks. There's a reason why certain people love working with computers...
it's because they relate better to a computer than they do to a real person...
go figure. I just want to be blunt for a few of those people.
The "What about Sex?" page is kinda funny,
I think. I used a VERY personal moment I had on that page. The comments in the
last paragraph will probably blow people away... just watch out for the 3 or 4
paragraphs just before the last one... (c:)~
Where
do I go from here? I have another follow-up visit in 4 weeks. The doctor gave
me an alternate medication to see which one I liked best. Me, a Guinea
Pig? Oh, well. I'm very happy just as I am right now. Anything better would
just be really nice.
I
want to add an update on my mother. She's fine. She feels tired and run down a
lot. After talking with her doctors she found that the chemo was not going to
cure her cancer so she opted to NOT do chemo anymore. She is following a Liver
detoxification regimen. She is taking Shaklee Liver DTX Complex pills, plus
Herb Lax, plus fresh carrot and apple juice with something green added. Then,
she's drinking Shaklee shakes with a concoction of various things, including
shark oil, I believe. The doctor gave her a year to live with chemo. Her GP
said she's the longest living patient he's had that's had a common bile duct
tumor.
A
lot of the reason why I was able to face my Prostate Cancer like I did was
because I have watched my mother face her cancer. Plus, I've watched her as
she's dealt with my grandmother. And, I watched her as she dealt with my father
(who should've died) being hospitalized for 7 months straight. It all started
with Lulu, our French Poodle. That dog lived to be 21 years old. She was deaf
and blind for several years. That dog was just the beginning.
Life
is a process. Handle with prayer.
Paul