One day at a time

It’s always interesting to see how things can change. One day you’re up, another you’re down – one day there is good news and the next there is not so good news. The title of my last blog post was “Prognosis positive” because it was just confirmed that the root cause of the cancer was prostate, which was a much better prognosis had it been upper gastrointestinal (stomach or esophagus).

This past week I received the results of my prostate ultrasound and biopsy and the news was not so great. In terms of prostate testing, a benchmark called the Gleason Score was developed using values going up to 10. Patterns of cells in the prostate tissue are evaluated and the most common cell pattern is given a grade of 1 (most like normal cells) to 5 (most abnormal). The two most common grades are then added together to make the Gleason score.

A high Gleason score (such as 10) means a high-grade prostate tumor. High-grade tumors are more likely than low-grade tumors to grow quickly and spread. Unfortunately my Gleason score has come back as a high value of 9.

I have now been put on a combination of medication and injections to treat the cancer, and currently, these methods are being using to treat not only the prostate cancer but the cancer found in my bones and spine as well. In two weeks, my doctor will evaluate my blood PSA levels to see how I have responded to these cancer treatments so far. This will be a big test and then determine the next course of action. Hopefully I will receive an early Christmas present the week of December 19 when the results are in and hear that I am responding well to this current plan.

Over the next week I will be finally off my dreaded Dexamethasone steroid medication which is welcome news for me (and my family for that matter!). I’m hoping that after I get off this drug I will be able to drive again, work full time, and things will start to slowly get back to normal again (or as normal as they can be at this point).

Overall I feel good. It’s a nice time of year. We’ve just put up our Christmas tree and the kids are really excited about the holidays. Kathryn has booked our vacation and the plan is to spend the holidays with my family, then Kathryn’s family in Montreal, and fly to Europe and visit Croatia, Paris, France, as well as a stop in Zurich, Switzerland. We’re all really looking forward to this trip and I know that it will be something that we will never forget.

Yesterday I received a second delivery of incredible Edible Arrangements from Susan and Doug – 2 boxes worth! Both boxes were finished within 3 hours – it was actually a bit embarrassing (those chocolate covered banana things are crazy Susan I won't tell you how many I had!!) - thanks Susan and Doug it was just what the doctor ordered and thanks once again to all my friends and family for your concern and well wishes. As always it’s much appreciated and I will continue to keep you all posted with my news.

Decorating the tree