12 People went and got PSA tests for Prostate Cancer

If you’ve been following my story, I’ve been asking for $5 donations for the NZ Cancer Society Relay For Life event where my friends and I will be walking around a track for 18 hours on 19 and 20 March.

I’ve also been encouraging everyone I can to go and get a PSA blood test AFTER checking their insurance cover, because as my insurance broker said to me once they found malignant tumors, “You are now uninsurable!”

Today I was talking to one of my colleagues, who has also been a generous donor to this cause and he told me that he and 3 of his colleagues have all been to get PSA blood tests. That means that now 12 people have gone and had tests as a consequence of hearing my news. That is awesome!

Hopefully all 12 are clear and they now have a base line so that in future years they will be able to monitor their levels, which is how I found out that I have cancer. My levels weren’t high at all, but they were increasing consistently every 6 months or so, which alerted my GP to the fact that there could be a problem.

Thank you all so much for your support, whether it’s donations, offers to drive me around when I’ve been over tired, colleagues for supporting me when I’ve had time off work, cards, offers of places to stay for a break and the “how are you doing” comments, tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn messages. It’s quite overwhelming and I’m feeling very humbled.

Most exciting of all though is the people getting tested because of me. If I could save one life or reduce the impact on someone because they found out early, wouldn’t that be something! Go Team Early Birds!

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Shuffling of Papers

HOPE

Yesterday I arrived at the Oncology office to see my specialist, confidently expecting good news. I thought that he would be telling me that my PSA had dropped to zero or thereabouts and we could start looking towards 6 monthly catch ups, despite the fact that the fatigue and frequent bathroom visits continued.

He shuffled the papers and took a little while, with a big confidence inspiring smile told me that not everyone gets over the radiation quickly. He reminded me that no one gets cured of cancer, the goal is to achieve remission.

I took confidence from his smile and asked him about my PSA levels. He had another look at the papers, frowned a little and then told me that they had increased by about 50%. He said that I am in the 5-10% of people who take 6-12 weeks to get over the radiation treatment, gave me a form for another PSA test and a script for more Ural and we arranged another appointment in 4 weeks.

So, not what I wanted to hear. I’m still digesting it and what it means. I need to take some action steps.

1. I need to learn to pace myself at work and leisure. I’m not good at that. I’m at my best when I’m focused but when I get home I’m often asleep within an hour or less after walking in the door, even when I manage to get home early. Whatever I do one day impacts on the next.
2. I need to drink more fluid. It was much easier when I was going to radiation for 8 weeks and had to drink my bottle of water before I got there.
3. I’m starting to focus on Relay For Life and I hope you’ll join me in that, either supporting our team at Millenium on the 19th and 20th of March, either in person, or by making a $5 tax deductible donation Donation. $5 isn’t a big deal to any of us right, but I keep thinking what a difference we could make for people like myself if all of us gave $5. I’ve already used up the donations some of you have made with phone calls to the society, attending a support group (which costs money to run) and met people who get to stay at Daffodil Lodge for free because they don’t live in Auckland and it’s expensive to spend a couple of months here when you are getting treatment and not working.
4. I need to see a podiatrist as I have a sore foot. I don’t expect to do 50km this year, that’s probably not consistent with pacing myself, but I don’t want to be cut short by a minor injury either:)
5. As of this morning I’ve gone back on Pomi-T again. It didn’t help before, but I still have plenty and it can’t hurt.
6. Focus on quality of life. Play my guitars more, write some more songs and have fun with my friends and family.
7. Look forward to a better PSA result in 4 weeks time.

Thanks so much to you all for your support and positive vibes. It means a lot to me. I really am serious about the $5 donations. It may seem hardly worth the effort for the price of a regular flat white, but it truly is, both in lightening my spirit and in everyone giving a little, we actually give a lot. Can you do that for me? Don’t worry about the donations buttons for bigger amounts. I have so many connections, if each of us only gave that amount (which is tax deductible) it would add up to something meaningful for the Cancer Society, but each little one will also put a big smile on my dial and smiles generate endorphin which makes you feel good.

 

There’ll Be Days Like This

Damn this fatigue. Yesterday I got half way to work and turned around and drove home again feeling very guilty about the meeting I was supposed to be chairing and the work that’s piling up. Most of all being there for my teams in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

When I got home and went to change out of my work clothes there was a Harvard Studies paper sitting in my wardrobe which I had been meaning to reread. I have reading material everywhere and my apologies to OCD people who like to have everything in its place. Its about delegation, which has been a focus for me, but one I need to focus on much more because reading the symptoms of someone who is not delegating enough, it could have had me as the cover boy. Having read that, I started planning for the next day.

Last night I went to the North Auckland Prostate Cancer Support Group for the first time. Unfortunately there were only 3 couples there. The organizers thought it might have been because of touch matches at the club next door who had not only taken all the parks around the field, but even had a truck parked across the disabled parking area.

I met two men with advanced cancer, both of whom were retired, both whose cancer had spread to other areas, one is terminal and one whose cancer is now undetectable, but still having hormone therapy to make sure it didn’t come back.

The main advice I got from them and their wives was to take things a moment and a day at a time. Another was the benefit of walking, they both walk between 6 and 10km a day. I need to find a way to get back to doing that.

I set the alarm for 6:20 and started waking up about 2AM, isn’t t funny that when you are the most tired, you can’t sleep at night but you can sit down at 10 in the morning and fall asleep. I decided I’m off to work this morning and am going to do a stock take. Get an idea of where the true priorities lie for the rest of the week and focus on what matters, which is mostly the people.

I showered, took some medication which I have for night time (no it doesn’t make you drowsy and won’t affect my work or driving, but it shows where my head’s at). I had Van Morrison in my head.

I’m looking forward to getting back to Day’s Like This.

When it’s not always raining there’ll be days like this
When there’s no one complaining there’ll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there’ll be days like this
When you don’t need to worry there’ll be days like this
When no one’s in a hurry there’ll be days like this
When all the parts of the puzzle start to look like they fit
Then I must remember there’ll be days like this

I should be peaking today

That is, according to the medical law of averages, today should be the worst day of my side effects after 2 months of radiation treatment for my prostate cancer and on average after today I should start feeling better.

That’s awesome news and a day I’ve been waiting for, or in fact, tomorrow should be the better day. The main side effect I’m looking forward to losing, because medications don’t help, is the fatigue. I’m looking forward to being able to get through a normal day at the office, or a little work in the garden or going for a walk around a classic car show without feeling totally wasted the next day.

Hopefully I will fall within the average, because some people’s symptoms continue for a few months.

The good news: I don’t have to restrict my food and drink any more which is awesome. I don’t have to get up at 5:30AM for radiation any more. I only have to wait another 2 weeks for some indication of success from the treatment and I have awesome support from my friends, colleagues and family. Seriously, you guys have been amazing, with phone calls, places to stay for a rest, cards and kind words on social media.

Now I just need the energy to start training for Relay For Life next month. We still have room for a couple of team members as a few have had to pull out and we’d love a few more donations. I have a mission to get all my Kiwi friends (because a $5 donation is tax deductible) to donate $5 to the Cancer Society through the link above.

I also challenge my male friends to get tested. You don’t have to get the digit, just a little blood test will do and remember, before you get the test, make sure your health and life insurances are in order. I am now uninsurable. That little bit of advice alone is worth $5 and makes me one of the cheapest consultant on the planet.