Posted 10/24/2012 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
A recap of today’s Oncologist Visit,
it lasted a full hour
They drew 2
tubes of blood for the PSA and other bloodwork, they will call with results tomorrow
on the PSA
He is going
to find me a higher level urologist from a medical university in the area, to
go over my entire PC and medical files for the past 4 plus years, to get a 2 nd
opinion of what is going on, in particular, my still ongoing bladder spasms,
which he agreed, should not be happening with a non-functional bladder
He is
setting up an appointment with a higher level gastro doctor in
Spartanburg. He was not happy with the
other gastro’s lack of interest in getting to the bottom of my appetite/cramping/weight
loss issues. He said the answer “I don’t
know” was not acceptable or professional.
He said there are some gastro doctors that are just scope technicians,
and won’t think beyond scoping. He said
all that I got out of that, was finding
and removing the polyps from my colon.
He then
dictated a letter I needed to send to the VA county office, so that they can
expidite my now 3 year old claim with the VA for Agent Orange related Prostate
Cancer. In the letter, he spelled out that
I now have metalizing prostate cancer, which is no longer curable. It was a bit hard hearing the “M” word.
He reminded
me, that in cases of prostate cancer where both primary and secondary treatments
failed fast, that they are the most difficult cases of PC to deal with. He said the cancer could be anywhere and
everywhere in my body. Said it’s much
more predictable and easier to treat, if it takes the normal route of showing
up in either the bones or lymph nodes, which he does not feel is the case for
me. In those cases, there are known
treatments and remedies that could help. He said after a couple more PSA tests,
he may decide to go ahead and attempt a few rounds of Taxotere to see if it
will slow down the progression.
He’s
concerned with the overall level of pain that I have, despite the pain
meds. He said my case has an unusually
high level of cancer related pain, and for the first time, admitted that it may
be much more difficult to control the pain properly as the cancer
progresses. He did not recommend any
changes to my pain meds right now, choosing to reserve the higher doses of
Fentanyl for the future, to make sure that there are still some pain tools to
use in the future, without over drugging me currently. I agree.
Told him I did not want to be over-medicated at this juncture, to where
I felt too drugged up to be functional.
So the trade off, is I have to suck up some of the existing pain, and
work with the doses that are on the table right now.
He did put
me on Lexapro (finally went as a
generic). But not for the primary
purpose of depression. He said that
since most of my cancer pain is nerve related at this point, it might help with
the pain control, by calming down some of the nerve bundles that are being affected. Said it won’t hurt to try for a few months. That way he won’t have to up any of my pain
meds right now.
Also, at the
last minute, decided to test me for Celiac disorder, so they drew 2 more tubes
of blood for that, to see if that He
said a lot of my symptoms mimic Celiac.
And he was surprised that the gastro doctor didn’t simply test for
it. He said that trauma to the body
could easily cause it to onset, especially as an older adult.
Finally, he
wants to keep a closer eye on me, so he’s having me see him every two months
from now on, instead of every three months.
Said he would call me in two weeks to see how I was doing.
That’s all
that comes to mind, will add more later if I remember more. I thought it was a very good and thorough
visit. He gives me a great sense of
confidence and trust.
David in SC