Part 2 - Adeno-Carcinoma of the Prostate

I walked into my initial visit with the urologist, thinking that it was only going to be a consultation. Based on my high PSA level, he advised that I should have a biopsy of my prostate done. I agreed, because I'd rather have a biopsy done and find out that everything was okay, than to not have one and find out later that it wasn't. Just to be sure, he wanted the PSA checked again. Then he told me to "drop trou" and turn around. We all know what happened next. Right?  He said it felt totally normal and that he wanted to do one more thing. That "thing" was to get a sample of the bacteria in the lower areas of my large intestine, using what looked like a large, long Q-tip. He explained that they get the biopsies by going through the intestinal wall directly into the prostate, and want to make sure that I'm already on appropriate antibiotics when the procedure is performed.  Oh joy of joys...

Ultrasound Assisted Needle Biopsies
I wasn't watching, but it felt like they drove a submarine up my bum and then fired torpedoes though the intestinal wall, into the prostate, and then retrieved the torpedoes. TWELVE times. Of course they were needles, not torpedoes, and each time they came back, they had a core sample of tissue. The submarine injected lidocaine first to deaden the area, but each biopsy still felt like a small bolt of lightning. Not much pain, but very uncomfortable.

Biopsy Results
Four of the twelve biopsy samples were malignant. They were all on one side, but both sides still had to go. Prostate cancer is rated (from five to ten) using a measurement called the Gleason Scale. Five is the least aggressive and ten is the most aggressive. Most of mine were in the middle, but unfortunately, two of them were aggressive.

Options
Do Nothing:
Prostate cancer is initially pretty slow growing, and if none of it is at the aggressive level (and subject to spreading), then it is fairly common to only monitor it while frequently checking your PSA.

Chemo:
Generally used if the cancer has metastasized (spread). Mine was advanced, but had not spread. Not for me.

Radiation:
The nerves and other items that control many of the body's functions either run through, or are immediately adjacent to the prostate. Radiation damages, and sometimes destroys them. Not for me.

Traditional Surgery:
Very invasive. Done either through the area from the navel to the groin, or in the "taint" area. Both surgeries are difficult, not easy to recover from, and have the potential of leaving you incontinent (both #1 and #2) and/or impotent.  NOT FOR ME!

Robotic Surgery:
The Da Vinci Robot is used for several types of surgeries now. It changes prostate surgery to something that is minimally invasive and totally eliminates even the tiniest tremors in a surgeon's hands. It seems like something that is totally science fiction. Here is a link to a video about the robot. If you are interested and have the time, check it out.

 This was the ONLY choice for me. Minimal, if any side affects. 

One night in the hospital, was all I needed. I had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon 10 days later. He told me to come back in three months. That was nice to hear, BUT the best news was that the 14 lymph nodes, bladder sample and assorted other bits and pieces of the margins he removed, were all biopsied, and all were NEGATIVE.  That means, no chemo, no radiation, no nothing! I've now dodged the big "C" bullet twice and am very thankful for it. My surgeon's name is Moses Kim. Another stroke of luck for me, because he is one of the pioneers and most respected surgeons performing surgery with the Da Vinci Robot.

There is clearly a lesson to be learned here...

 My PSA level was pretty high. I've had the PSA blood test done before and also the more traditional "digital" exam several times. Many doctors (and even some countries) don't believe that the PSA test is necessary unless there is some irregularity detected by the "digital" exam and/or some other indications. Both my doctor and surgeon said that my prostate felt normal during the traditional exam. Without the PSA test, I'd still be walking around with an aggressive cancer, that would eventually kill me.

If you are a male, or in a relationship with one, MAKE SURE that you/they get a PSA test done whenever they get a physical, or have blood work done. It could save your/their life.

For those of you who already know about what has been going on with me, I thank you for all the prayers and positive thoughts.   The next article you see here will be a normal one!



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An Interesting and Very Scary Thing Happened on the way to 65 - Part 1

I'm baaaaaack...

In nutshell (a darn big one), here is the primary reason that I haven't posted anything for several months. I don't usually publish personal stuff about myself here, but because of my long and unexplained absence, I feel compelled to do so.

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After battling lung cancer, breast cancer, and finally terminal brain cancer, my mom died in the 64th year of her life. 

My father had a couple of different cancers and ultimately died of throat cancer, this also occurred during his 64th year. 

I recently completed my 64th year and have to admit that I was a bit worried going into it. Being a proactive sort of person, I embarked on a grand tour of all the "specialists" I could think of. What follows is a list of them and what they found (also some conditions that I already knew about).

Rheumatologist (ongoing) - I've had a ton of injures and several broken bones in my life, so it's no surprise that I have arthritis in several places. I've yet to enter into any treatment yet.

Neurologist (ongoing and recent) - I have a herniated disc in my lower back at L5-S1. An update revealed that it has been made worse by the addition of several bone spurs in the area. Surgeries at L5/S1 are difficult, recovery is very painful, and they are usually at least partially, if not fully unsuccessful. In fact, sometimes the condition is worse afterwards. My surgeon (that did my earlier spinal surgery), is a great one, and he advises against having it. I agree. I have a pretty strong disposition and can tolerate and/or ignore a lot of pain. So far, I've pretty much learned to live with it (with no pain killers). 

Orthopedist (ongoing) - I've had a ruptured ACL in my right knee for a long time. I've just lived with it, but once again, I've grown some bone spurs in the area. As you know, I hike a lot and don't really allow it to slow me down much. 

Dermatologist (recent) - A top of head to tip of toe examination, resulted in him freezing 12 precancerous things off of me. 

Gastroenterologist (recent) - As recommended, I get a colonoscopy every 5 years. It has only been three years since my last one, but hey, it's my 64th year and my insurance will pay for it. He has found and snipped out a couple of polyps every time he's been "in there." The polyps have always been benign. NOT this time though. I had three of them and one was precancerous. 

Endocrinologist (ongoing) - As many of you know, I had thyroid cancer several years ago. Two surgeries later and my thyroid and related cancer was removed. The endocrinologist now monitors my blood and prescribes medication to keep me alive and functioning. A lab does a complete workup on my blood and this time it came up with an abnormally high PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) reading. He strongly advised that I immediately contact a urologist. If you are so inclined, here is a link to post 1 of 4 relating to my thyroid cancer.

Urologist (recent) - My first visit to this specialist made the danger of my 64th year a reality. 

  

To be continued....

Don't worry, I'll be back to my regular posting afterwards!

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Alive, Well and Redacted

Some folks have contacted me about my absence here. This isn't a "real" post, but I do want everyone to know that I am alive and doing very well. Very busy also.

I could just post some of the stuff I have in draft form, but I realized a long while ago, that what I like best about blogging is the interaction between myself and those who comment on what I post. The same thing is also true about looking at and commenting on the blogs of others. So not having the time to "blog" isn't really about posting, It's about the human side of it all. I promise, that I will be back at it very soon.

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As long as I have you here, may I burden you with a personal rant? 

Okay, don't mind if I do! This may sound odd, but I think I love the research side of what I do, almost love it as much as visiting the places related to the research. I've REALLY been immersed in something lately (a big part of me being so busy). It's related to something that nobody else seems to have given much thought to. The obsessive part of it, I don't mind. The part I do mind though, is that I'm trying to find information that other people have gone to great lengths, to make sure that people like me, can never find. I really do understand, but I don't have to like it.

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My frustrations revolve around a single word. Imagine yourself having the pleasure of minutely examining a hundred pages or so, of an official document, only to turn to the pages (that should contain the meat of the issue), but instead, only contains one word, on an otherwise unblinking, glaring, mockingly censored, blank document.  That one word is REDACTED...

re-dact

• verb
• past tense: redacted
• past participle: redacted
• to edit (text) for publication
• censor or obscure (part of a text) for legal or security purposes

There are people out there with intentions that are far less than admirable, legal, or ethical. These people are Pot-Hunters, Grave-Diggers, Vandals, etc. I clearly understand why much of it needs to be kept hush hush. However, I am NOT one of those people! My intentions are noble and my spirit is pure. I find a lot of these places based on instinct alone (not to mention all the fine training my granny gave me). It just isn't enough though.

I typed a lot more about this subject, but that information has been...

REDACTED!

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Dragon of the Stars by Alex J. Cavanaugh

I rarely use my blog to pitch things for people. However, I have no qualms about doing it on my own, for Alex Cavanaugh. Alex is a friend, a great guy, and one heck of a writer. Dragon of the Stars is his fourth science fiction book and is currently available for pre-order. The official release date is April 7, 2015. You can find a little bit about this book below and more on Alex's website. If I had a choice between reader comments on this post and selling a few books for Alex, I'll go for the books! If you like science fiction, you won't be disappointed. 

Dragon of the Stars

By Alex J. Cavanaugh

The ship of legends…

The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, son of a Hyrathian Duke. Poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter, he’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But when the Alliance denies Hyrath’s claim on the planet of Kavil and declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray. Entrenched in battle and told he won’t make captain, Aden’s world begins to collapse. How will he salvage his career and future during Hyrath’s darkest hour?

One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship?

Preorders:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

ITunes

Kobo

Indigo

Amazon UK

Add it to your Goodreads now!

Goodreads lists:

Most Anticipated Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Novels of 2015

Can’t Wait Sci-Fi and Fantasy of 2015

Excellent Space Opera

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Dead Mountains Petroglyphs - Eastern Mojave Desert

The Dead Mountains are a fairly small range in the Eastern Mojave Desert. About 20 years ago, the federal government created the Dead Mountains Wilderness area. That designation bans vehicles of any type from entering the area and assures (allegedly), that there will NEVER be any type of development allowed. The only tire tracks to be found here are those from BLM jeeps, who enter the area to enforce the laws. Like most other desert mountain ranges in the Mojave, during the summer daytime temperatures can reach deadly high levels (how about 120 degrees). That is why we were there recently and not in July!

In the early 1800's, mountain man and frontier explorer Jedediah Smith* was tasked with finding an acceptable route for crossing the brutal Mojave Desert. The route had to lend itself to both horses and wagons. The canyon in which we found these petroglyphs, is about six miles long, and was part of the very route Smith hoped to establish as part of the route for pioneers and others traveling west. He observed many of the same petroglyphs we saw there two weeks ago (love the history of that). Unfortunately, there are a few places in the canyon that were blocked by dry waterfalls, or very rugged areas. Wagons would never be able to use the route. The path was moved a little bit to the north and was eventually known as the "Mojave Road."  The Mojave Road, has an amazing history of it's own, and today is used only by four wheel drive vehicles out for a few day's adventure into the past. More about the Mojave Road, in the future.

*Jedediah Smith is credited as being the first white man to travel overland from Salt Lake City, Utah, to the Colorado River, through the Mojave Desert, and eventually into California. He is also credited with being the first United States Citizen to explore and cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains and into the Great Basin. He was also thought to be the first American to travel up the California coast into what is now called Oregon. Not much a hero to me though, because this period marks the beginning of a long period of genocide, inflicted upon the Native Americans. The Spanish deserve some of the blame also, but the later expansion of the United States from "Sea to Shining Sea, was much worse.
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Here is one of the areas deemed impassible for wagons. Now back to the beginning...

After driving about an hour from where our RV was parked, we had to go off pavement and onto this "power-line" road. Very deep sand in places and very easy to become stuck. The wilderness area starts a few hundred yards up this road and to the right. When we reached a spot just over the horizon, the driving part of this trip was over. We parked the jeep and started hiking towards the Dead Mountains. You can see a little bit of the them in the upper far right of this photo.

Did I mention that it's been getting warm and there are rattlesnakes out here? While we were hiking our way into the canyon, my wife stepped off a little eroded ledge in the wash and almost landed right on top of this guy!

Judging by his length (about 18 inches) and that he only had one rattle segment, he was clearly a youngster. However, being young doesn't make him any less dangerous or deadly. Like most snakes, they like encounters with humans, even less than we do. He went his way and we went ours. No harm done.

Working our way down wash, towards the canyon.

The actual entrance into the canyon is just to the right of center. We were hiking in the opposite direction as Jedediah Smith.

A look back

My wife on the north side, while I'm on the south.

Very rugged country in the Dead Mountains

See what is right next to the orange blotch towards the top?

A closer view. This petroglyph is very old and the desert varnish is reclaiming it. As far as we knew, the petroglyphs were only supposed to be around a spring, which was still a couple of miles into the canyon.

I don't know (or claim to know) much about geology, but I do know that those veins (of whatever it is) is an amazing sight.

You need an eagle eye to spot the petroglyphs in this jumble. The next photo is a dark horizontal rock just above center.

A cross in the center (much conjecture about exactly what it means). In the upper left are a couple "atlatls." If you don't remember, the atlatl predates the bow and arrow as the means of propelling arrows/darts and spears.

My wife is the one with the eagle eye and here she is using it.

To me, the most interesting part of this panel, are what appear to be antlers of some type. Not like the usual mountain sheep you usually see around here.

Interesting symbols in a pretty scene

Most of the petroglyphs in this canyon are geometric symbols, and referred to as being of the "Grapevine Style." There are many "styles" out there, and many of them overlap, so I'm sure they are called other things as well.

Diamonds and what looks to me like a "D" as in Damn graffiti! I hope I'm wrong, but it looks totally fresh.

LOVE the anthropomorphic symbol with the huge hands in the upper right.

This part of the canyon is covered with petroglyphs and close to a spring. If there was any habitation here, it probably took place in this area. I also say that because, it was fairly level here and the canyon seemed to drain in both directions.

Closer

Even closer. See the big hands near the bottom?

Here is the spring.

The round "baseball" looking symbol on the right part of this rock, looks very similar to a symbol in Joshua Tree. I need to find it and post it under this photo.

Where is Waldo?

This is the level area I was talking about. There were a couple of very shallow grinding stones near here. I have so many more photos from this place, but I think I've already overdone it...
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One thing I almost forgot to mention... There were more animal footprints in this canyon, then I've seen in a long time. There was one kind of animal that we saw exactly ZERO footprints from. HUMANS! Not a single print for miles.



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