Cancer sucks
In the spring of 2024, I went to my regular doctor for my annual checkup. He ordered labs as he always did. The rest was uneventful and off I went to work.
A few days after the results were published, I got a message from his office. Please re-take the PSA test because the levels were high, they said.
PSA is Prostate-Specific Antigen. An antigen is a marker that tells your immune system whether something in your body is harmful. A prostate-specific antigen is a protein produced by the prostate in response to the presence of cancer cells or other conditions. A high number from a PSA test cannot by itself prove the existence of cancer.
But it can set off alarm bells.
I got this message shortly before Nancy and I were going to fly to California to see my sister and her husband. They live just north of LA, up in the hills. I figured I would re-take the test when we got back from our trip.
So, guess what happened! Nancy got sick just before the trip and had to cancel her ticket. This was back when Biden was running things, so we got a full refund within three days. Those days are over. For now.
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I flew alone to see my sister while Nancy stayed home with her feet up and studied for her Managing Brokers exam. She passed, easily. I had a great time with Kathy and Paul. We spent the time getting caught up on years of stuff.
When I returned, I took that PSA test again. It was high, again, for whatever reason. To figure out why, I took what’s called a 4K score test. It is a blood test that assesses the likelihood of finding aggressive prostate cancer. It found aggressive cancer.
To measure the amount of cancer I was walking around with, they performed a biopsy of my prostate. They discovered cancer in every section of my prostate except for one. The next step was to find out if it had moved beyond my chock full of cancer prostate.
I went in for a PET scan in August 2024. In this way they could look at the entire region for signs of cancer. Sure enough, the cancer had struck out on its own, like pilgrims on the Mayflower and found a home in a nearby lymph node. This changed everything. Now I was officially in Stage 4 territory, and removing my prostate would be like kicking a hornet’s nest. Now I could add an oncologist to my growing list of doctors.
My oncologist prescribed radiation and hormone therapy. Prostate cancer thrives in the presence of testosterone. Some prostate cancer cells can acquire the capability to produce testosterone themselves. This adaptation allows them to thrive even in low-testosterone environments, which complicates treatment efforts. I started taking Abiraterone daily which reduced the amount of testosterone in my system. I also began radiation treatments in October 2024. Five days a week for six weeks they radiated my hips while I lay on a platform within a giant rotating transmitter located inside a shielded room. I never felt a thing during the treatment, but there were definite side effects. It really screwed up my lower GI tract. To avoid radiating my bladder, I had to come to the treatments with a full one. This resulted in a race to the bathroom when the treatment was complete.
The abiraterone had its own side effects, lasting beyond the lingering effects of the radiation. It affected hair growth, hair disappeared from my armpits and my chest and back. I didn’t mind that much, but the hot flashes started almost immediately. That was the most intense side effect and the most annoying. I think they call it manopause.
I made regular visits to my oncologist and my radiation oncologist for two years. They conducted PSA tests and each time my numbers were less than zero. Also, I got shots of Eligard every six months, which also kept my testosterone low.
After two years of hormone therapy, during my appointment on September 4, 2026, my oncologist burst into the room and announced, “You’re done!” That meant no more hormone therapy. My abiraterone/prednisone daily routine was over. The fatigue, weight gain, muscle wasting effects were over. It will take several weeks for my testosterone levels to reach a point where the hot flashes will end.
Remission feels pretty good.
