F3 Radio Silence and pre-run

Got in a good pre-run to warm up before Radio Silence bd this morning.

F3

Pretty much sums up F3!!

Check out Radio Silence ruck on Relive!

Easing back into exercising with a nice 4.7 mile ruck at F3 Radio Silence.

Check out Radio Silence ruck on Relive! https://www.relive.cc/view/vrqDAg721wv 

Biopsy update

Completeld a 5 mile ruck today with 30 lbs. Was still seeing a small amount of blood when urinating this morning but seems to be clear now. Of course it has 'cleared up' a couple times since last Friday's biopsy. Waiting for a several day stretch of no blood to declare 'all clear ' and get back to normal exercise levels.

Be blessed,

Tom

My complete PSA history

 As I said earlier, your prostate cancer may not just come out of the blue and hit you full force.  After the diagnosis in 2014 it dropped (wish I knew exactly why), but then it slowly crept back up and went on to even higher levels over the next 8 years. The first 4 years it stayed at a 'normal' level, but in 2019 it began to climb into higher and higher ranges.

Now the goal is to get it headed back in a downward trending pattern!!

Be blessed,

Tom

On-going Active Surveillance activities for my prostate cancer

As of last December, I decided to try going Vegetarian, in order to better allow my body's immune system to do its job, without the additional burdens caused by eating meats.  I originally started by stopping all meat eating, but have recently added fish back to my diet.  There are many studies and articles out there indicating that a no meat, or no read meat diet can positively help our bodies to deal with cancer.

I've also recently discovered a new line of Health and Performance products from a company called Pure.  For the past couple weeks I've started a new regimen, with hopes, and possibly already some indication of positive changes regarding my journey with prostate cancer. 

For the past couple months I've experienced some "pressure" when starting to urinate. It's nothing painful, and doesn't keep me from "going" but it was noticeable.  Since I've started taking the new supplements that sensation has gone away, and "things" have gone back to normal (with respect to urinating). :) As the prostate cancer consists of a tumor in my prostate (which of course surrounds the urethra) it occurs to me that maybe the tumor has shrunk some due to my immune system's increased ability to fight the cancer.  The upcoming biopsy results and next PSA check should shed some light on whether that hope/assumption is accurate. 

My daily regimen of Pure products consists of the following:

Morning: I'm dissolving 2 scoops of Sulfur in water and drinking them. 

Mid-Morning: I drink 1 out of each of the following superfruit juices:  Noni, Mangosteen, Goji, Acai

Lunch - Daily Build Multi vitamin

Afternoon: 2 more scoops of Sulfur in water

Night: Reset powder dissolved in water

I've also resumed drinking at least a gallon or more of water per day to flush out my system. 

I wasn't even aware of Sulfur as a supplement until recently talking to a friend of mine about my cancer. According to WebMD:

            Your body needs sulfur to build and fix your DNA and protect your cells from damage that can                 lead to serious diseases such as cancers. Sulfur also assists your body to metabolize food and                 contributes to the health of your skin, tendons, and ligaments.

and per NCBI's article 'Are we getting enough sulfur in our diet?':

            Sulfur, after calcium and phosphorus, is the most abundant mineral element found in our body.                It is available to us in our diets, derived almost exclusively from proteins, and yet only 2 of the                20 amino acids normally present in proteins contains sulfur. One of these amino acids,                            methionine, cannot be synthesized by our bodies and therefore has to be supplied by the diet.                Cysteine, another sulfur containing amino acid, and a large number of key metabolic                                intermediates essential for life, are synthesized by us, but the process requires a steady supply of             sulfur.

I've also cut waaaaaaay back on sugars, which honestly is probably the biggest challenge. It has become clear to me that my body is not able to effectively combat the cancer based on my previous efforts and I'm still hesitant to pursue medical procedures which tend to introduce new challenges of their own (ie side effects) that DO affect my 'quality of life'.

That's all for now.  My prayers go out to you in you're among those that are dealing with the terrible disease called cancer, as either a patient or a caregiver!!

Be blessed,

Tom

Make sure you truly get "MRI Guided" when you ask for an 'MRI Guided Biopsy'.

 Hi folks,

Hopefully this will prevent other of you from experiencing something I just went through.  Due to my previous Prostate Cancer Radiologist's decision to stop accepting insurance, this year for my 'MRI Guided Biopsy' I followed the advice of my current Urologist, Dr Carl Capelouto and let Northside Hospital do my 'MRI guided biopsy'.  The number of times he and the other Drs and Nurses corrected me to say "MRI Fusion Prostate Biopsy " should have been a clue, but for some reason it didn't sink in until I was in the operating room.  There was NO MRI machine present for the biopsy.  As I later (ie today) discovered, the MRI is only used as a "guide", and is "mapped" or "fused" with real-time ultrasound data to guide the Dr in where to target the biopsy efforts.  I don't recall it taking this long with my previous MRI guided biopsies, but today, Monday, 3 days after the biopsy, there's still blood present every time when I start to pee. 

More details on the differences between an 'MRI Guided Biopsy' and a 'Fusion Guided Targeted Biopsy' can be found at the following link on the Sperling Prostate Center's website:

MRI-Guided Targeted Biopsy vs Fusion Guided Targeted Biopsy

Be blessed,

Tom

Prostate Cancer Progress Update for 2022

 Hi folks,

It has been about a year since my last real status update.  Lately my numbers have been trending up, so I thought it might be a good time for an update. 

The main point is that my PSA numbers have been trending up lately. I don't think it would be a stretch to associate my journey with prostate cancer to the old story of 'how to boil a frog'.  In my case, I'd have never known I had cancer if not for my quarterly PSA check-ups.  Guys, YOU'VE GOT TO MONITOR YOUR NUMBERS in your annual check-ups!!  Otherwise things like this can sneak up on you, and you don't find out until they actually do start causing problems with your health. As of today, I can still honestly say I haven't had any symptoms so far that would indicated anything other than an enlarged prostate. 

Just to re-coup, here's a brief history of my numbers.  

Date:            PSA
Jan 2017       2.94
Jul 2017        2.78
Jan 2018       2.7
Jul 2018        2.96
Mar 2019      4.88 (there are some things you shouldn't do just prior to PSA testing!! :) ) 
April 2019    3.76
Sept 2019     4.12
Jan 2020       5.13
Apr 2020      4.27

Dec 2020     5.97

Jan 2021      4.71

May 2021    5.58

Oct 2021     6.67

Feb 2022     7.53

An MRI in  Dec, 2021 indicates a larger tumor with more aggressive signal characteristics than the previous examination. 

Based on that Dec 2021 MRI, last Friday I underwent what I believed to be an MRI guided biopsy.  I've done this every couple years since being diagnosed but this was a new experience.  Up until last Friday my MRI guided biopsies had been done by Dr Joe Busch in either his Chattanooga or, most recently his Alpharetta office.  He'd give me a local, load me up in the MRI and directly stick the tumor once or twice.  After recovering for a few minutes, I'd drive myself home.  Going to Dr Busch was a quick and easy process.  

This last time was performed by Northside Urology though, and was definitely different.  Shame on me for not noticing the difference until the last minute, but what they perform is a 'Fusion Guided Targeted Biopsy' when I requested the MRI guided biopsy.  They administered anesthesia to knock me completely out, which of course required me to have my wife there to give me a ride home. Also, there was no MRI directly used during the biopsy.  As I'm now confirming with some research, I feel like I've been duped!!  During a Fusion Guided biopsy; 

    The urologist sees the target based on images generated from a previous MRI fused with real-time         ultrasound. However, real-time ultrasound does not distinguish tumor from prostate tissue within the     gland, so the software creates a “model” of the patient’s gland showing an artificial depiction of the         size, shape and location of the targeted tumor.

That sure explains why the Dr this time indicated he took 4 'sticks' to get the samples for the biopsy when Dr Busch only used to need 2.   Also makes me wonder whether my having to say 'Fusion Guided Targeted Biopsy' at least 4-5 times during the visit in response to "What procedure are we performing today?" from the nurses and Drs. was to cover the fact that I had requested an "MRI Guided biopsy".  Again, shame on me for not noticing and reacting to the different terminology used by my Urologist and the Radiologist and Nurses just prior to the procedure.

I'll cover MRI Guided vs Fusion MRI-targeted biopsies more in another post.

All that being said, I'm waiting to see the results of the biopsy to determine my next steps. I'm also anticipating looking for all new Drs related to my prostate cancer.  Anthem BCBS is currently negotiating with Northside Hospital here in the Atlanta area regarding whether they'll continue to recognize Northside Hospital as a preferred provider.  This relationship was originally going to end Dec 31, 2021 but due to 2 extensions ordered by local state judges, the contract between Anthem and Northside Hospital has been extended through April 15th, 2022.  I'm not looking forward to having to find all new cancer specialists, but I have to stick with someone that is covered by my insurance. Sadly enough, Dr Busch recently stopped accepting insurance and his prices  for procedures are high. The value he provides is significantly beyond what I've experienced from Northside Hospital and GA Urology, but without insurance coverage I find that I can't afford him.

Take care,

Tom