A Long Day, But Worth It

JOY SCALE: 9/10

Hi Everyone, Today was a long one. My beautiful wife and I spent from 10 am to 6 pm learning things that we will need at sometime during our two year apprenticeship. I prefer not to tell you what our apprenticeship entails at this time. Just know that what we are learning is no easy task, but worth every second. I am sure that later I will divulge what we are doing.
I want to thank everyone for taking time from their busy day and reading my blog. This is a first attempt and I will make mistakes. That's ok because sooner or later someone will benefit from the information I have shared in this blog.
I am tired and need to get ready for a long day tomorrow.
Peace and Love to All

A New Adventure

JOY SCALE: 8/10

Hi Everyone, My lovely wife and I will be starting a new adventure that begins Friday evening and runs all day Saturday and Sunday. I can't promise you much posting during this time. Just know that if something important comes up I will let you know.
Peace and Love to All

Today My Daughter Would Have Been 30 Today

JOY SCALE: 7/10

Hi Everyone, Today is a sad day for me. My Daughter, Heather, was taken from us on April 21, 2005 in an auto accident. It still seems like yesterday. She was a beautiful, vibrant, and compassionate young woman. I have to believe she is in a better place and that she is happy. Several people who travel in those esoteric circles have told me that she is very happy where she is. They have also told me that Heather is always watching over me. I talk to her all the time. The two pictures above are a couple of my favorites. The one on the top is when she was in beauty school a year before she died. The one on the bottom is many years ago when she was approximately two and I was a youngster of about 30 (about the same age she would have been today). Notice that her and I are wearing the same kind of flannel shirt. I can still feel her arms around my neck. I miss you Heather, but I know ou are safe and happy. I love you Heather.
That's it for today.
Peace and Love to All

A Good Day

JOY SCALE: 10/10

Hi Everyone, Not much to say today. I had an appointment with my surgeon this morning. All is well concerning my surgery, but I still have to wait 2 more weeks before lifting anything more than ten pounds. Right after that appointment I had another with my psychologist. My session with him was a very productive one. I see a psychologist every two weeks. I think that anyone with cancer should have some type of counseling. The sessions can give you tools to deal with your cancer. Sometimes just talking with someone impartial can help. I am lucky because I feel that I have an excellent psychologist. He has helped me answer a lot of questions. He has also given me many tools for dealing with my cancer. Two great appointments equal a good day in my book.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Peace and Love to All

I Honor all The Men and Women That Gave the Ultimate Sacrifice This Memorial Day

JOY SCALE: 9/10

This will be a short post due to the holiday. I am spending the day thinking about all the men and women who have served past and present and have given the ultimate sacrifice. Just about an hour ago a fighter jet from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base suddenly appeared, flying very low, over our house. We actually heard the jet before seeing it because it was low, directly over our house, and very loud. My beautiful wife said that it was a fly over to honor me on this Memorial Day, but I said this day is to honor all the dead who served.

Peace and Love to All

The Lighter Side of Hormone Therapy and Some Serious Talk

JOY SCALE: 9/10

Hi Everyone, Every three months I go to the VA hospital and a kindly nurse sprays an area on the lower left side of my abdomen with freeze spray. While the area remains cold she takes a needle the size of a pencil eraser and injects it into my belly and releases the hormone implant. It really doesn't hurt. Now I know what a dog goes through when the veterinarian puts in a chip. The difference is the dog's chip goes into the fleshy part of his shoulder . Ok, let's get back to the hormone implant. It's sole purpose is to stop testosterone production. Remember that testosterone feeds prostate cancer. Just like any drug there are side effects. There is always a trade off. I think that being alive is well worth the side effects. Let's just say that without testosterone my feminine side comes out. Now I love to go shopping-I actually can outshop my wife! I cry for no reason. I change my mind frequently. And here is the best one. I am developing gynecomastia. Boobs! Man boobs! Help me Jesus. I didn't sign up for that change. You can bet that this summer you won't catch me without a shirt unless I am at home and no one is around. The worse thing about growing my little friends is that they are sore as heck. I always knew women were the superior to men in many ways. I am even more convinced every time I bump my new found boobs. I now have an idea of what girls experience during puberty and just before their periods. I have trouble playing my guitar. When I holding my guitar to play it hits my little buddies and I have to hold my guitar out from my body. I am sure most of you guys are laughing right now and you women are smiling in understanding. Maybe many of you think I am crazy for revealing such a private side effect, but I think that if one decides to share his life with cancer then it has to be all or none regardless of how sensitive, or embarassing, some of it is. My wife has great fun at my expense, but I don't mind because I know she is having fun for fun's sake. She is thinking of developing a line of Man Bras. They will have trucks, tools, camo, and other manly objects imprinted on them. If any of you out there have any other ideas please leave them in your comments or email me.
It's time to pop the old balloon and get serious. Along with the the total cessation of testosterone production comes another side effect, impotence. That is a tough side effect to deal with, but being alive is more important. Like most problems in life you adjust to it. I am very lucky because in our marriage our love has transcended beyond the physical and into the spiritual. Are we lucky or what? That's it for the side effects of the hormone treatment. If there are any more side effects I will let you know.
There are two treatments available if you have prostate cancer and it has spread to your bones and/or organs. Hormone therapy, which I covered above, and an Orchiectomy. An Orchiectomy is castration plain and simple. Ouch! The second treatment is the hormone therapy. In some cases the hormone treatment can last 10 years or more: however sometimes the prostate cancer can learn to grow without testosterone. Since my cancer has spread to my bones I had these two choices. As you read at the beginning of this post I chose the hormone therapy which is a chemical neutering. If you have prostate cancer and the cancer has remained in the prostate gland there are several methods of treatment. There is gland removal, radiation, radioactive seeds are placed in the gland, and usually a year of hormone therapy-the same as what I am on. I know I have repeated a few things here and on other posts, but I feel that they bear repeating.
With that I wish you all a good Memorial Day.

Peace and Love to All

Supplement Addition, Some Nice Things at the Hospital, and Other Goodies

JOY SCALE: 9/10

Hello Everyone, I apologize for missing yesterday's post.

The picture above is one that will be on my Son's motorcycle during Rolling Thunder. There is a more detailed explanation at the end of this post. I don't like sharing pictures of myself, but I felt this time was acceptable.

I added a new supplement to my previous list. The supplement is called Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex. It has a substance called naringenin and what it does is stimulate DNA repair in prostate cancer cells, it is an antioxident, it inhibits the secretion of Hepatitis C in infected cells,and could offer a new approach for treating the disease according to a Harvard Medical School study. Here is the link if you would like further information:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_4_10/ai_n15969621/

I told you all that I would share some nice things that happened to during my hospital stay. I met a couple of very caring and experienced nurses. They explained everything that they were doing to me which satisfied my insatiable curiosity. In one particular instance one of my many doctors prescribed a drug called Reglan. I asked what it did and he said that it gets things moving along (he was referring to my bowels and diarrhea). I refused the drug because I wasn't that mobile and to be struck with a case of diarrhea didn't appeal to me. I had visions of pooping my bed and having a nurse's aid clean me up. I prefer to remain the independemt man that I am and take care of my own bodily functions. With that being said I somehow got into a conversation with one of the nice night nurses about this Reglan. I told her that I refused to take it and she asked why. I told her what the doctor had said about getting things moving along-diarrhea. She laughed and proceeded to tell me what Reglan does. She said that the drug works on my digestive juices in my stomach. Well that sound much better than the drug giving me diarrhea. It just so happenned that the doctor showed up a few minutes after the night nurse's Reglan explanation. I told the doctor that I will start taking the drug and the reason I refused it before was because he said it got things moving which meant diarrhea to me. The night nursec ame back to my room while the doctor was there and stood against a wall. She was listening to everything the doctor said and she motioned to me that her explanation was the correct one. In retrospect I think the doctor and the night nurse both were right in their explanation of what Reglan does, but the night nurse had the better one. I really appreciated the night nurse's help and I consider that event a nice experience. Another nice thing that happened to me was what a very thoughtful and caring nurse's aid did for me each and every day. She would come into my room at scheduled hours and ask me if I wanted fresh water, a clean blanket, etc. My bed constantly had clean sheets and pillow cases. She would also carry on a pleasant conversation that would make you feel like you were sitting at a table with her and having a cup of tea or coffee. Another nice thing was my main doctor and surgeon. A few days before my operation he took the time to thoroughly explain what was going to happen and what could possibly happen. His bed side manner was excellent. He joked around at all the right times. He showed compassion and looked you right in the eye whenever he talked to you. Another nice thing was the food. No I am just kidding. It was terrible. Yech! I bet if you had insurance and was in an upscale hospital the food would be much better, but this is the VA and you get what you get. Some of the interns were very nice and caring even at 4:30 in the morning. I know that there a few more nice thing, but all this medication has messed around with my memory.

It has been brought to my attention that some people have been having trouble leaving comments. I am not sure what causes it, but I can suggest a couple of ways to work around the problem. The first is that in the "Select profile......." box you can select "anonymous". Sometimes that works. The second thing you can do is to just email me your comment and I can reply to it. In any case please try and if you find another way that works let me know so I can share it.

Well people I wish each and every one of you a safe and fun Memorial Weekend.

Please remember our Veterans.

Speaking of Veterans I belong to a motorcycle club called Granite Vets. All the members except me reside in New Hampshire. The GV is a club for Veterans and we adhere to a very strict code of conduct. Some of the GV members are going to Rolling Thunder and I was supposed to go with them this weekend, but my surgery prevented that trip. I am bummed, but there is always next year. My Son Jesse has a picture of me that he is keeping on his motorcycle during the ride. That way I can be spiritually there. He will also take lots of pictures to share. The picture is at the top of this post.

Peace and Love to All

A Short Post

JOY SCALE: 8/10

Hi Everyone, Today I would like to start up a Joy Scale. I got the idea from my lovely wife and it seems very appropriate to use instead of the Pain Scale. I am very tired of doctors and nurses asking me what my pain is on a scale from one to ten.
I would like to announce that I had my blood drawn the other day to check my PSA level. Well my PSA score is 0.01. Yes that's right 0.01. Yeah. What that means is that the 3 month hormone implant-Zolodex-and the Casadex. So I am feeling good about that. Statistics say that prostate cancer patients can tolerate the Zolodex for approximately two to five years, but I am not a fan of statistics and I belive my body will tolerate it much longer. My reasoning is that everyone is different and reacts different to medicines.
That's it for today.
Tomorrow I want to share a few nice things that happenned during my hospital stay.

Peace and Love to All

The Supplements and Prescriptions That Keep Me Going

Hello Everyone, I mentioned that I wanted to share what supplements and prescription medicines I take on a daily basis. I will mention that the supplements and medicines might not work for every one. This list is a guide only. I encourage any of you that want to try the supplements to test one or two out at a time. I will say that if you have any questions about the supplements or medicines please email me, leave a comment, or message.

Following the supplements and medicines I will give a brief description of what each one does. The items that have prostate cancer as a description means that the item has been studied and found to help combat prostate cancer. In the prescription medicines description you will see a couple of drugs that reduce testosterone. Testosterone is fuel for Prostate Cancer. If you have further questions you can also go to Swanson Vitamins at:

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/

5/09 Prescriptions, Vitamins & Supplements

SUPPLEMENTS

Acidophilus 2 capsules-digestive health and immune system

St. Johns Wort 1125 mg-mood enhancer

Flax seed meal 3 TBS-prostate cancer

Grapefruit Pectin 800 mg-prostate cancer

Alpha Lipoic Acid 100 mg-heart health and antioxident

Garlic 1000 mg-heart health and cholesterol control

Vitamin C 2000 mg -antioxident

Calcium 300 mg-bone health

Vitamin D 1200 IU-prostate cancer and bone health

Zinc 50 mg-prostate cancer and antioxident

Milk thistle 1000 mg-prostate cancer and liver

Fish Oil 2000 mg-heart health

Turmeric 720 mg-prostate cancer

CoQ Enzyme 100 mg-heart health

Vitamin E 400 IU-heart health and antioxident

Selenium 200 mcg-antioxident

Lycopene 20 mg-prostate cancer

Astragalus 940 mg-prostate cancer and immune booster

Ginger 540 mg-nausea

Echinacea 1200 mg-immune booster

Red Clover Extract 430 mg-prostate cancer and immune booster

Kelp 225 mcg-iodine

Copper 4 mg-organ health and trace mineral everyone should have

Pomegranate 480 mg-prostate cancer

Vit. B complex 125 1 tablet-immune system and stress reducer

Potassium 99 mg-prostate cancer

Magnesium 1000 mg-heart health, bone health, and pain

Niacine 500 mg-heart health and cholesterol control

Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex 2 Capsules-prostate cancer


PRESCRIPTIONS

Tamsulosin HCL .4 mg- once daily-PM -AKA Flomax-helps urinary flow

Provigil 200 mg- AM/then 200mg-noon-combats opioid induced sedation (morphine makes me sleepy and this helps to keep me awake)

Omeprazole 20 mg-once daily-AM-Prilosec-acid reducer (I have Barrett's Esophagus)



Casodex 50 mg- once daily-AM-reduces testosterone produced by adrenal glands

Zolodex 1 implant every 3 months-reduces the majority of testosterone

Gabepentin 900 mg TID-pain and hot flashes (hot flashes are a result of low testosterone in my system.)

Docusate 250 mg –once daily-lunch-laxative (morphine will constipate you)

Senna 50 mg Docusate/8.6 mg Sennosides-laxative

Morphine 15 mg PRN every 4- 6 hours-pain



Morphine 21.241 mg daily delivered through intrathecal pump-pain





My lovely wife is responsible for researching the supplements. They change from time to time depending on whether they work or not. The prescription medicines have been trial and error and have lead to this current regimen.


I think this information is enough for now. I bid you all a wonderful evening and I will continue tomorrow with some more interesting stuff.

Peace and Love to All.

Every Day is Better Than the Day Before

Hi Everyone, My recuperation is advancing nicely. Everyday I can see and feel my body healing. Yesterday I had my three month Hormone implant so I am set for another three months. Monday I will call the VA and get my PSA results. The PSA score should still be well within acceptable limits. So for now all is well on the Prostate Cancer front and the recuperation front.
I would like to share a couple of events that occurred near the end of my stay. On the seventh night of my stay a very good night nurse give me a new IV because the old IV that had been in me for one day was starting to infiltrate which made the medicine burn in my vein when it was administered. By medical standards an IV can only be in a person for three days. Any longer and one can contract Phlebitis which is an infection of one's veins. Ouch! Back to the story. The IV that was put in by the good night nurse almost three days ago was starting to infiltrate. Well the day nurse on duty decided that I needed a new IV and commenced to removing my old one. She left to get supplies and six hours later she shows up! During the six hours I had pressed my nurse's call button three times because I needed the medication that was administered through my IV. Each time I asked for help the nurse would say that they would be right there. When the nurse finally showed up I asked her what took so long. She said that they had an emergency in the next room. I couldn't believe my ears. For six hours I was without my medicine. Liquid Morphine, Pepsid, and Phenergan that needed to be administered through an my IV. Needless to say I was in a lot of pain while I waited. There is no way that the hospital was shorthanded enough to not have enough nurses to take care of business whether it be major or minor. I know that there were enough nurses because I noticed how many there were when I did my daily walk around the halls. I wanted to share this story with you so that you can see that hospitals don't always run smoothly and there are a few bumps along the way.
Next time I post I would like to share what daily supplements and prescriptions I take to combat my cancer. For now I want to settle in for the evening and enjoy a movie with my wife. I will say that my wife spent much time doing research on supplements and cancer. I was her little guinea pig, but we found a regimen that worked. It is very possible that the supplements could work for most anyone who has prostate cancer. Of course the usual cessation of alcohol, caffeine, and red meat also help your body to fight off the cancer. I know that there is a major shift in one's living habits, but I think it is definately for the best. After all don't you think being alive is worth it? I balked at first when it came to giving up all of my favorite foods, but my life was worth more than a nice juicy BBQ steak. LOL.
My lovely wife had a couple of sayings that I want to share with you. She called all the changes that I went through my "New Norm." She also used to tell me, "Inch by inch life's a cinch. Yard by yard life's hard." Perhaps when things get a little crazy you can think of these words of wisdom. Maybe they will help you cope. They sure helped me.
That's enough for today people.

Peace and Love to All.

Eleven Days and Finally Set Free

Hi Everyone, After my surgery I spent 2 days in ICU. I don't remember much about ICU except for the nurse's aid that forgot to tell me that the wipes she gave me had soap in them. Consequently when I wiped my face I got soap in my eyes. I told her about my eyes burnng and she just laughed and said that she forgot to tell me about the soapy wipes. After her laughing spree she took the time to find me a washcloth without soap. Ahhhh.... relief for my eyes. The only other thing I remember is that the nurses want me out of bed the day after surgery. They wanted me to fart so that they could remove the tube from my nose. Try as I may I couldn't fart and, given my history of being a great farter, that was unexpected. They also wanted me to try and have a bowel movement. All this lower attention was to make sure that all my plumbing was working and not leaking. Later on the second day in ICU I was moved to a semi-private room. Even though I couldn't fart the nurse removed my nasal tube.
So here I was in a semi-private room with an IV for liquids and a catheter to drain the liquids. My room mate was a decent sort who was in the hospital for pneumonia. Every day was like the one before except for the daily visits of my lovely wife. She made sure that I had what I needed. She gave me a sponge bath every day and powdered me with Anti Monkey Butt Powder. My wife even made up my bed with clean sheets. How about that for quality care. I should mention that my wife is a nurse and she knows how to take care of her patients. She called me her 'naughty patient.' She called me that because I didn't breath enough, walk enough, drink enough, and eat enough. I ask you out there would you feel like doing all those things if your guts had just been sliced and diced? Well some of you would because you would take my wife's side, but I thank those of you brave enough to take my side. I know my room mate took my side. Eventually my room mate and I strolled around the halls with our IV poles on wheels. I started to drink a bit more, but the nausea really took me for a spin for most of those eleven days. Lots of morphine and other various drugs to relieve this and prevent that.
Finally I had enough. The next time I saw my surgeon I told him I was ready to go home. There were too many things in the hospital that didn't agree with me and I was ready for some good old home care and recuperation. The doctor had my paperwork cleared and I was ready to go the same day. I am at a loss for words to explain my feelings about going home. Home to my beautiful wife. Home to my 4 legged children-7 Siamese, 1 Pomerian, 1 Long Haired Chihuahua, and 1 Miniature Sheltie. Home to my Stuff.
Well I think that is enough for tonight. The rest of my entries will be much shorter as I cover the rest of the days of my recovery. I will say that today I had to go back to the VA Hospital for my Hormone implant-it keeps my bone tumors and my prostate cancer from growing.
Goodnight all.

Peace and Love to All

My Hospital Journey Begins

Hello Everyone, It is April 27th, 2009 and approximately 0715 hours. Previously I was told by my doctor that I would be able to tell how extensive my surgery was by the presence of a simple nasal tube. He said that as I was wheeled out of the recovery room to take notice of any tubes coming out of my nose. If there were no tubes, then my appendix was all I would let them have. If there was a tube(s), then I left more of me behind than I wanted.
Just before I was wheeled into the Operating Room I kissed my lovely wife and told her I would see her soon.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
I vaguely remember a tube down my nose when I was wheeled out of the Recovery Room. The importance of the tube didn't hit me until I was in ICU and my wife told me the details.
I was in surgery approximately 8 hours. One can deduct an hour while my appendix was at the lab and the doctors waited for the results. I suspect that while my doctors waited they had my body covered with a very chic picinic tablecloth and were eagerly munching down deviled eggs, cheese, and a nice bagette. LOL. I think not. Ok, ok back to reality. My appendix, it turns out, was hiding a small carcinoid (a malignant tumor arising especially from the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract). The doctor decided that the prudent action would be to perform a Right Hemi of my large colon. That means that my entire right side of my colon was to be removed. Break out the chain saw and zip there goes the right side of my colon. Finish up by stitching the ends back together. Now on to the other good stuff.
Back in 2001 I had an incisional hernia repaired. A couple of years prior I had to have approximately ten inches of my left colon removed. Yes I know, I am not very lucky when it comes to colons. Back to the hernia repair. To repair a hernia a screen is inserted between the muscle wall and the intestines to prevent the intestines from bulging through the muscle wall. I had a little trouble recovering from that repair, but nothing too serious.
Back to the present. When the doctor had me open he noticed that the hernia repair mesh had separated into two pieces and that some of my small intestine had grown between the layers. My intestines had also became stuck to the mesh. My doctor tried for quite some time to separate my intestines from the mesh, but to no avail. The next step was to cut away the useless parts of my intestines and restitch the ends back together. I found out later that that particular make of mesh had been recalled due to that same problem of separating.
Whew what a trip. Here I am in ICU, sore as hell, and wondering what hapenned. Did they get the bus that hit me? Now you have the background and the rest of my stay at the hospital will go fast, but I will wait until tomorrow to tell you that tale.
Goodnight everyone and sleep well.

Peace and Love to All

Hello I'm Back

Hi Everyone, I returned home on the 9th of May from an unexpected and prolonged stay at the local VA Hospital. Please give me a few days to gather my strength and thoughts. I promise you lots of exciting and true medical adventures sure to have you gripping your chair, or some other anatomical part. while you wait please relax and enjoy these beautiful May days. I will be back before you know it.

Peace and Love to All