Yesterday I had an appointment with a consultant oncologist at our local hospital. I expected that the discussion would cover what treatment I will need to undergo to deal with my prostate cancer … and I was not disappointed.
It appears that two lymph nodes near my prostate show signs of cancer, and these need to be stopped from growing any further. This will require me to undertake a further thirty-day course of hormone tablets in conjunction with my three-monthly injections, and at the end of this treatment a decision will be made about how much radiotherapy I will need to undertake.
So, it’s a mixture of some good and some nor so good news … but I remain positive. I always try to remember that far more men die WITH prostate cancer than die OF the cancer, and they must think that I stand a good chance of survival as the drug I am going to be taking for thirty days costs €4,532 in Europe and $14,235 in the US.
Good luck with the next stage of your treatment.
ReplyDeletePeter,
DeleteCheers! Thanks very much for your best wishes.
All the best,
Bob
Good to hear they’re looking after you well, Bob. All the best with the treatment.
ReplyDeleteMartin S.,
DeleteThanks for your best wishes.
The NHS has been great, and I cannot fault the way I have been dealt with.
All the best,
Bob
Sorry to hear your disappointing news Bob, but glad that you are keeping positive. We can all just take one day at a time, and try to make the most of each one. How lucky that you have such an absorbing hobby, and that you have so many different "irons in the fire". Distraction is everything, and you are fortunate to have so much that you can enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that there is lots of postitive good will coming from your many online friends and supporters.
best regards
Paul
Thistlebarrow (Paul),
DeleteI must admit that I was not that surprised at the news. After all, I had been told that it was felt that the cancer was aggressive, but had not spread outside the pelvic area. With luck, the hormone treatment I’ll be experiencing should stop the cancer from getting worse so that any radiotherapy can be targeted at a smaller area. I understand that this would either kill the cancer or stabilise it so that I can live with it.
Having a hobby like wargaming - and the support of all those people I’ve met as a result - is helping me no end. Instead of sittings brooding, I can renovate some figures, do so writing, or plan a wargame campaign.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteSo far the road back to good health seems to have taken a rocky course. Let's hope your new round of treatments smooths the way.
All the best,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteYears ago I realised that I’m one of those people who are destined to ‘enjoy’ an ‘interesting’ life, so this news was no great surprise. With luck, the treatment will be as effective as the consultant thinks that it will be. If not … well that’s something I’ll worry about then and not now.
All the best,
Bob
Bob, I'm sorry to learn about the discovery of more signs of cancer, but hope the drugs will prove successful. I know your positive attitude will help you to keep fighting the big C!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes, Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteWhen I was told that the cancer had been identified as being in the pelvic area rather than just in the prostate, I already had an inkling that it might have been in any nearby lymph nodes. In my case it is worse in one that the other, and the treatment is intended to stop it getting worse.
Years ago I would have probably brooded about what might happen … but I’ve learned that having a negative attitude helps no one, especially oneself!
All the best,
Bob
Bob, best of luck with your next round of treatments. Love your positive attitude ; its an example for me.
ReplyDeleteMark Nichipor,
DeleteCheers! With luck, I’ll get better sooner rather than later, but regardless of how effective the treatment is, I intend to enjoy my life as much as I can.
All the best,
Bob
Good luck Bob. I was recently chatting with a friend who was diagnosed with it a year or so ago, with a very high PSA score. A combination of some very clever radiotherapy and hormone therapy means his PSA is now <0.1, which is incredible.
ReplyDeleteA PMA helps as you know and as rightly point out, more men do with it than of it.
Steve J.,
DeleteIt’s stories like the one you relate that helps me to be positive about my treatment. As to a positive mental attitude … well, I’ve experienced the impact of a negative mental attitude, and I know that it helps no one.
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes Bob. Hope this treatment sorts things out for you.
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteCheers! Thanks for your best wishes … and I’m also hoping that the treatment is successful.
All the best,
Bob
BOB,
ReplyDeleteCertainly hope that all the Treatments do the trick for you in the near future. Best Wishes- thinking of you every day. Cheers. KEV.
Kev Robertson (Kev),
DeleteCheers, old chap! Thanks for your kind words of support. They are greatly appreciated.
All the best,
Bob
Hopefully this course of treatments will be effective. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteCheers! Many thanks for your continued support.
All the best,
Bob
With cancer, it seems that as often as not there is some kind of "round two" that follows on from a course of treatments. Always concerning, but unfortunately not unexpected. Thankfully, outcomes are much better than they used to be even a decade ago
ReplyDeleteEd M,
DeleteYou’re not wrong, and at the time I had a feeling that my colon cancer might have been a precursor of something more serious.
All the best,
Bob
Oops! I hit publish on my last without adding the most important part: my best wishes to you on your further treatments!
ReplyDeleteEd M,
DeleteNo problem! Thanks for your best wishes.
All the best,
Bob
Hello there Bob,
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for the next steps and know that you have the whole blogosphere in your corner!
All the very best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteThank you very much for your continued support and best wishes. I greatly appreciate them
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes. We are all hoping this next treatment repels the invaders.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Freitag,
DeleteMany thanks for your best wishes. The sooner I start the next round of treatment, the better I will feel.
All the best,
Bob
Best wishes with the treatments Bob.
ReplyDeleteI had a pr*state biopsy a few weeks ago. Whilst it wasn’t pleasant, there’s little point ignoring things and pretending they aren’t happening.
All the best,
Geoff
Elliesdad (Geoff),
DeleteCheers! I hope that your biopsy shows that you have nothing to worry about, but if you do require treatment, I hope that your medical team is as good as the one that is treating me.
You are absolutely right about not leaving things unchecked in the hope that they will get better by themselves. I’ve become a bit of a proselytiser for medical testing for older men since tests turned up the presence of my colon and prostate cancer, and I think that I’m beginning to get the message across to my target audience.
All the best,
Bob
All the best with your treatment Bob. Sounds like you're in good hands. Keep on rolling!
ReplyDeleteDonjondo,
DeleteMany thanks for your kind words. They are much appreciated.
All the best,
Bob
Hope everything goes well for you. Certainly sounds positive.
ReplyDeleteRob Young,
DeleteCheers! I am hopeful that things will turn out alright, but I’d like to get the latest course of treatment started ASAP.
All the best,
Bob
We got back from vacation in the Catskills Sunday evening, so I've been avoiding the internet. I hope you manage this next round of treatment as well as you have others in the past, Bob. I am pleased to read that you are finding a way to keep it all in perspective with a good attitude.
ReplyDeleteMr Pavone,
DeleteI hope that you and your family enjoyed your time in the Catskills.
I’d love to get started on my next course of treatment ASAP, and I understand that the drugs should be ready for me to collect sometime next week.
I can be positive about life most of the time, but once in a while - usually in the middle of the night - I wake up feeling apprehensive. I usually read for a bit, and it passes.
All the best,
Bob