Wow it doesn't seem possible that it has been 2 weeks since I updated this, but I've got too much great news to report to let things slip another day.
I have purposed in my heart that I would keep this updated more regularly but you know "Life Happens!". There is always something to fill in our time even if it is nothing, right?
So Thursday August 4th I showed up at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester at 6:45 AM (affiliated with the Mayo Clinic) with the intention of having shunts put into both kidneys (called a nephrostomy) which drain fluid directly to drainage-collection bags. I actually think that whoever invented cargo pants must have had this operation, because they work perfectly to hold the bags without them being so "in-your-face". They checked me into a room and Sherry and I were fully expecting to stay there through Friday.
The surgery went without a hitch (I don't remember any of it) and by 10ish I was back in the hospital room, feeling really good. Sherry and I took a long walk around the entire floor of the hospital (which is huge) and the Dr. and nursing staff were so pleased with my progress they sent me home. First they gave me a bunch of supplies. One set of drainage-collection bags for daytine usage (each bag holds about a pint of fluid) and a different set of bags for nighttime (each holding about a quart of fluid). It takes a bit of getting used to and presents somewhat of a challenge when sleeping but I got the knack pretty quickly.
It is the Dr's. hope that the hormone shot will shrink the size of the lymph nodes in my abdomen and reduce my PSA from 8,300 and that the surgery will restore full functionality to my kidneys and relieve the jaundice and the incredibly pesky itching. That combined with the knowledge that one of the many provisions of the New Covenant (Testament) is that Jesus took all of our sins, sicknesses and diseases on the cross so that we don't have to makes it a sure bet that I am healed.
Friday evening Sherry, I and the girls (and each one brought a friend)and the dog headed up to the Luck/Cumberland WI area to stay at my boss Norm's cabin. What a great place to get away and just chill (Thanks Norm!!!!!). I spent a good bit of time that weekend figuring how to work with this newfangled plumbing of mine. We did a bunch of hanging-out, some four-wheeling, had a great time watching hummingbirds feed at the feeder on the porch. Of course the girls stayed up until all hours talking, playing guitar hero, etc. and before we knew it it was Sunday afternoon and time to head back to reality.
Monday the 8th it was back to business as usual. I headed into work and began the process of wading through emails and getting back "into-the-game". It felt good to be back to work, get caught up and everyone said I looked 100% better, not as yellow (less jaundiced). I worked all week on a somewhat reduced work day since it takes a while to get the plumbing squared away and to do all of the other prep work necessary first-thing in the morning. Everyone said I looked a little better each day (I'm guessing I must have looked HORRIBLE prior to getting the nephrostomy) and I felt a little stronger each day as well.
The weekend was really chill, nothing very eventful, went to church Sunday morning relaxed in the afternoon and got to bed early so I'd be ready for the week. I worked Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th and Tuesday night Sherry and I and the dog (the girls stayed at some friends (Thanks Kari and Jordan)) headed to Rochester so we could be at the Mayo Clinic early this morning Wednesday the 17th.
So we got up early, Sherry's Dad Gil dropped us off at the appropriate Mayo building and at 8:15 I was giving my first vial of blood. At 9:30, I was getting a shot of radioactive dye for a bone scan and Sherry an I went and had some breakfast. After breakfast we had a few hours to kill before the bone scan (the dye needs about 3 hours to get where it needs to) so we went to the Plummer Building which houses the archives and kind of Mayo Museum.
Many of you wouldn't know that my grandfather (my mother's Dad), Dr. Samuel Franklin Adams, was a doctor at the Mayo Clinic (my Mom was born in Rochester, MN before moving to White Plains, NY). He entered The Mayo Foundation as a fellow in 1921 and left the Mayo Foundation in 1931 following 10 years of dedicated service and research. My grandmother often told the story of him administering the FIRST shot of insulin to a human patient. It was a farmer from the Rochester, MN area who was found in a diabetic coma, he administered the shot and the farmer sat up and returned to his fields that afternoon. She said it was truly a miracle!!!! There is some correspondence in his file at Mayo with Dr. Best (of Banting and Best fame) who did most of the pioneering work in the development of insulin. Quite fascinating stuff. His bibliography cites 22 different items published in various medical journals. While most all of his published works dealt with diabetes, insulin, diet etc. Sherry found it very interesting that he had one article entitled Carcinoma of the prostate gland with early and extensive metastasis to the cervical, axillary and inguinal lymph nodes!!!! Interesting. Anyway my grampa, Dr. Adams, died in September of 1933 of pneumonia, quite ironic don't you think?
So back to our story, at 12:30 I went back to have my bone scan and when that was completed we had about 3 hours to burn before all of the test results would be in and we would meet with the urologist. So Sherry's high school friend Kathy came and picked us up and took us back to her house to relax for a few hours before the Dr. appointment.
We went back to the clinis at about 3:30 and by about 4:30 the Dr. finally had all the test results in and we sat down with him. Here is what we found out:
1) The bone scan showed no evidence of metasticized cancer into the bones. Praise the Lord!!! My Dr. was absolutely shocked by this as he was sure we would find it in the bones.
2) All important numbers in the blood analysis are moving in the correct direction (improving), meaning that the nephrostomy and the hormone treatment are doing their job.
3) Kidney function is rapidly returning to normal. His comment was that if I had waited another week there would have most likely been permanent damage to the kidneys.
4) Everything is going just as he had hoped. We will wait and see what impact the hormone therapy has on the lymph nodes. He mentioned that there is a one in a million chance that the hormone therapy will eliminate all signs of the cancer. I am going to believe for that option!!!
5) I will return on September 9th for a Chest and Abdomen CAT scan with contrast, ongoing blood samples to monitor progress and to get the next 30-day hormone shot.
So until then I am to just sit tight, continue getting lots of rest and eat "right" and we will see what miracles the Lord has in store on September 9th.
What I know as of today is the report I received COULD NOT have been any better!!! We are on the right track!!! Soooooo...please keep up your prayers
it isn't time to let up yet. In fact let's double-up on prayer so that the report on September 9th is even more positive.
A big shout-out to you all for your prayers, support, phone calls, emails, texts, etc. I appreciate each and every one of them!!! I do my best to get back to you in a timely manner but please accept my apology if it has taken me awhile to respond to you, forgive me! It has been a busy time to say the least. Hang in there and I'll get to you as soon as I can.
All My Best,
PD aka Bucky
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Monday July 25 through Wednesday August 3, 2011
Okay after the latest lengthy missal I'll try to keep this short and to the point.
I really appreciate all of the phone calls, prayers and well wishes, but I figure if I can get a bunch of folks keeping up with the symptoms and daily developments on this blog it will leave more time on the phone for positive conversations, prayer and general catching up. Please feel free to leave comments and to call me at any time. I'll do my best to get back with you as soon as I possibly can. Please understand if it takes awhile, just bear with me.
So, Monday the 25th was fairly uneventful as I worked from home, adjusted to the new meds and a different sleeping schedule than normal (it seems like I didn't really get good sleep until about 4AM) still coping with some sporadic itching.
Tuesday Morning the 26th I woke up with a terrible eye infection in my left eye. I got right in to the eye Dr. and was diagnosed with an ulcerated cornea. Which is the result of wearing a soft contact in my left eye (only) for way too long. Anyway it hurt to keep my eye open and it hurt to close it. I got antibiotic drops and went home. It was a very painful experience but I kept putting the drops in every chance i got and by the time I got up Wednesday everything with the eye was good.
Wednesday I kept up the drops, worked from home and continued to make appointments for the following week (actually this week).
Thursday a return to the eye Dr. confirmed that my eye was doing well and I was scheduled for a follow-up a week later.
Friday I worked from home in the morning and had a Dr.'s appointment in the afternoon with the general practitioner who tried to wrangle all of the specialists together for me in the hospital. We chatted about the plan which was to work with Dr.'s in Burnsville, The Mayo Clinic and The U (University of Minnesota) hospital to triangulate on a solid diagnosis and develop a comprehensive treatment plan. He ran some blood tests (I've had quite a few of those lately, kind of surprised I'm not tapped out) and we generally agreed that we would make sure that all test results were forwarded to him and we would continue to use him as an advisor through this process.
The one weird piece of the puzzle is wildly erratic PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) numbers. On Monday the 18th the blood test showed that it was about 8,300 (remember 0.0-4.0 is good), in the hospital it was taken at least twice with one test showing 99 and another that showed 4,000+, another test showed it was immeasurable (off the charts). So it would be nice to get some answers regarding this. Although in any case the number is not good.
The weekend was very chill. Braden came over Saturday, we went to the store and bought a bunch of stuff to grill and eat (and He split the grocery bill with me, which was an awesome gesture) then we headed home and got to fixing dinner: Grilled steaks, chicken and shrimp; cilantro lemon marinated asparagus and green beans; sweet corn, coleslaw and potato salad. It was a great time. Braden did all of the grilling and did a masterful job!
Sunday we went to church, got blessed and prayed for then headed home for some leftovers and a big nap. Again, thanks for everybody's phone calls, facebook posts (to sherry's wall), texts, emails, etc!!!! They mean so much. Especially the prayers of Faith everyone is offering up. See James Chapter 5 regarding the prayer of faith.
Monday the 1st I headed in to NPC to work for the first time in weeks. Thanks Norm, Rich and the rest of the great team for all of your incredible support and understanding. It is overwhelming!!! I worked from 10ish to 4PM and was pretty worn out, so I headed home.
Tuesday Morning the 2nd I had an appointment with the urologist I had seen a few years earlier. He listened, evaluated what he could of the test information we could provide and recommended hormone therapy (drugs which stop testosterone production which tends to relieve symptoms and shrink testosterone positive tumor tissue). I'm not too keen on the hormone thing since it induces Manopause and can lead to hot flashes and other similar symptoms and the results of the therapy are strictly palliative (deals with symptoms but doesn't cure the disease). He didn't seem too concerned with the continued jaundice and/or kidney function. So we really didn't feel he engaged too much in the process.
Tuesday night (last night) Sherry and I drove down to Rochester to stay at her parents since my appointment was at 6AM at The mayo Clinic. My Mom and Dad were gracious enough to stay at the house with Breanna and the dog. Thanks Mom & Dad!!!
This morning Wednesday August 3rd we showed up at the Mayo Clinic, with our 20 pages of paperwork filled out. I gave a blood sample and a specimen then we headed up to see the urologist. They work as a team of 3 a Dr. a Physician's assistant and a nurse. The Dr. introduced himself and his team we had a brief chat regarding the seriousness of the situation and he excused himself and left me in the capable hands of his PA. After an hour and a half of various questions, his recording previous tests in their database and a prostate exam he set up: extensive blood testing and another specimen; a Lupron Depot hormone shot 7.5mg(a one month dose), an EEG and an appointment for tomorrow to have some shunts put into my kidneys. This is in order to help them drain properly and relieve them of the pressure they have been under for the last month. The shunts will come out my back and run into a bag. Not my idea of a great time but... I'll deal with it.
The idea is to restore optimal kidney function so that they can move ahead with high contrast diagnostics. The contrast dyes they use put an excess burden on my kidneys and they didn't want to do that while the kidney function was compromised.
So tomorrow morning I will report to St. Mary's at 7AM to have the surgery performed and then they want to keep me overnight for observation to make sure there are no complications from the shunts. I'm okay with that!
I'll update this as I can in the next few days, so that you all are on top of the situation. I should be home sometime Friday. Current plans call for further testing the 17th of August at Mayo. In the interim I have a few appointments in the Twin Cities with Oncologists and at the U to continue to sort through things!
In the interim I know a few things:
1. According to Deuteronomy 28:61 Prostate Cancer and Metastasized Prostate Cancer are part of the curse of the Law and pertain to the Old Testament (Covenant).
2. According to Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law and made me (through my confession of Him as my Savior) an heir to a better Covenant with better promises!!!
Therefore, I am redeemed from Prostate Cancer and it's metastasis and consequently it has no place in my body. If you are not a Christian and are reading this it may be confusing, I am happy to explain it. If you are a Christian, then I appreciate your prayers of agreement, which line up with the fact that it is God's will to heal me and everyone who believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!!! I Love You All!
PD aka Bucky
I really appreciate all of the phone calls, prayers and well wishes, but I figure if I can get a bunch of folks keeping up with the symptoms and daily developments on this blog it will leave more time on the phone for positive conversations, prayer and general catching up. Please feel free to leave comments and to call me at any time. I'll do my best to get back with you as soon as I possibly can. Please understand if it takes awhile, just bear with me.
So, Monday the 25th was fairly uneventful as I worked from home, adjusted to the new meds and a different sleeping schedule than normal (it seems like I didn't really get good sleep until about 4AM) still coping with some sporadic itching.
Tuesday Morning the 26th I woke up with a terrible eye infection in my left eye. I got right in to the eye Dr. and was diagnosed with an ulcerated cornea. Which is the result of wearing a soft contact in my left eye (only) for way too long. Anyway it hurt to keep my eye open and it hurt to close it. I got antibiotic drops and went home. It was a very painful experience but I kept putting the drops in every chance i got and by the time I got up Wednesday everything with the eye was good.
Wednesday I kept up the drops, worked from home and continued to make appointments for the following week (actually this week).
Thursday a return to the eye Dr. confirmed that my eye was doing well and I was scheduled for a follow-up a week later.
Friday I worked from home in the morning and had a Dr.'s appointment in the afternoon with the general practitioner who tried to wrangle all of the specialists together for me in the hospital. We chatted about the plan which was to work with Dr.'s in Burnsville, The Mayo Clinic and The U (University of Minnesota) hospital to triangulate on a solid diagnosis and develop a comprehensive treatment plan. He ran some blood tests (I've had quite a few of those lately, kind of surprised I'm not tapped out) and we generally agreed that we would make sure that all test results were forwarded to him and we would continue to use him as an advisor through this process.
The one weird piece of the puzzle is wildly erratic PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) numbers. On Monday the 18th the blood test showed that it was about 8,300 (remember 0.0-4.0 is good), in the hospital it was taken at least twice with one test showing 99 and another that showed 4,000+, another test showed it was immeasurable (off the charts). So it would be nice to get some answers regarding this. Although in any case the number is not good.
The weekend was very chill. Braden came over Saturday, we went to the store and bought a bunch of stuff to grill and eat (and He split the grocery bill with me, which was an awesome gesture) then we headed home and got to fixing dinner: Grilled steaks, chicken and shrimp; cilantro lemon marinated asparagus and green beans; sweet corn, coleslaw and potato salad. It was a great time. Braden did all of the grilling and did a masterful job!
Sunday we went to church, got blessed and prayed for then headed home for some leftovers and a big nap. Again, thanks for everybody's phone calls, facebook posts (to sherry's wall), texts, emails, etc!!!! They mean so much. Especially the prayers of Faith everyone is offering up. See James Chapter 5 regarding the prayer of faith.
Monday the 1st I headed in to NPC to work for the first time in weeks. Thanks Norm, Rich and the rest of the great team for all of your incredible support and understanding. It is overwhelming!!! I worked from 10ish to 4PM and was pretty worn out, so I headed home.
Tuesday Morning the 2nd I had an appointment with the urologist I had seen a few years earlier. He listened, evaluated what he could of the test information we could provide and recommended hormone therapy (drugs which stop testosterone production which tends to relieve symptoms and shrink testosterone positive tumor tissue). I'm not too keen on the hormone thing since it induces Manopause and can lead to hot flashes and other similar symptoms and the results of the therapy are strictly palliative (deals with symptoms but doesn't cure the disease). He didn't seem too concerned with the continued jaundice and/or kidney function. So we really didn't feel he engaged too much in the process.
Tuesday night (last night) Sherry and I drove down to Rochester to stay at her parents since my appointment was at 6AM at The mayo Clinic. My Mom and Dad were gracious enough to stay at the house with Breanna and the dog. Thanks Mom & Dad!!!
This morning Wednesday August 3rd we showed up at the Mayo Clinic, with our 20 pages of paperwork filled out. I gave a blood sample and a specimen then we headed up to see the urologist. They work as a team of 3 a Dr. a Physician's assistant and a nurse. The Dr. introduced himself and his team we had a brief chat regarding the seriousness of the situation and he excused himself and left me in the capable hands of his PA. After an hour and a half of various questions, his recording previous tests in their database and a prostate exam he set up: extensive blood testing and another specimen; a Lupron Depot hormone shot 7.5mg(a one month dose), an EEG and an appointment for tomorrow to have some shunts put into my kidneys. This is in order to help them drain properly and relieve them of the pressure they have been under for the last month. The shunts will come out my back and run into a bag. Not my idea of a great time but... I'll deal with it.
The idea is to restore optimal kidney function so that they can move ahead with high contrast diagnostics. The contrast dyes they use put an excess burden on my kidneys and they didn't want to do that while the kidney function was compromised.
So tomorrow morning I will report to St. Mary's at 7AM to have the surgery performed and then they want to keep me overnight for observation to make sure there are no complications from the shunts. I'm okay with that!
I'll update this as I can in the next few days, so that you all are on top of the situation. I should be home sometime Friday. Current plans call for further testing the 17th of August at Mayo. In the interim I have a few appointments in the Twin Cities with Oncologists and at the U to continue to sort through things!
In the interim I know a few things:
1. According to Deuteronomy 28:61 Prostate Cancer and Metastasized Prostate Cancer are part of the curse of the Law and pertain to the Old Testament (Covenant).
2. According to Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law and made me (through my confession of Him as my Savior) an heir to a better Covenant with better promises!!!
Therefore, I am redeemed from Prostate Cancer and it's metastasis and consequently it has no place in my body. If you are not a Christian and are reading this it may be confusing, I am happy to explain it. If you are a Christian, then I appreciate your prayers of agreement, which line up with the fact that it is God's will to heal me and everyone who believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!!! I Love You All!
PD aka Bucky
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