I laid in my bed last night praying and it occurred to me that I needed to call the next day to get my biopsy results. I started to automatically pray for the people who were conducting the tests and that the results would be good but I got distracted. I had a hard time shaking the realization of how relaxed I was. I don't know if I was just really tired or what. I realized that I wasn't in the least bit worried over the possibility that I might have prostate cancer. I spent my remaining waking minutes thinking about how at peace I was with the whole deal. On my way to work this morning I thought more about my state of mind and I know for a fact that it has come from all of the prayers of my friends and family. Part of it I'm sure is also a side effect of knowing that we are all mortal and will leave this world one way or another, and I know what's on the other side and it doesn't scare me in the least. It's a strange thing to think that you know how you are going to check out, only to have it changed by a potentially other scenario. These are strange things to think about when I don't feel as if there isn't anything wrong with me besides I'm old, overweight and bald. I'm thankful every day that I have my own kidneys and the worst thing I have to deal with is to take my blood pressure medicine every night.
Sorry, I got distracted from the reason I chose the title of this post. So, I finally got a hold of someone at the oncology clinic where I had my biopsy done. She looked my results up and out of the 12 samples that they took out of my prostate, ALL of them were benign. She said I was all clean, besides having a slightly enlarged prostate, they didn't want to see me back at the oncology clinic again.
Praise the Lord that I'm back to having just one major health problem and that one is slow moving and hopefully far off in the future.
Again, I can't thank everyone enough for their prayers they were definitely felt.
Stay Tuned ...
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Glad That's Over
Well. My much anticipated prostate biopsy is complete. It was a lot of waiting for just 10 minutes of highly uncomfortable moments. I survived, so I can definitely check it off of my bucket list.
I'll spare you all of the details, if anyone is about to have one done let me know I'll give you the low down.
So, now all we do is wait. They said that I can call them back in a week to get the results.
Thanks to everyone who was praying, I felt your prayers. I wasn't too terribly nervous or anxious. The waiting was almost the hardest part.
Stay Tuned ...
I'll spare you all of the details, if anyone is about to have one done let me know I'll give you the low down.
So, now all we do is wait. They said that I can call them back in a week to get the results.
Thanks to everyone who was praying, I felt your prayers. I wasn't too terribly nervous or anxious. The waiting was almost the hardest part.
Stay Tuned ...
Monday, August 22, 2011
A new anxiety
I've had a few people ask me to update them on my situation, so here I sit thinking about what to write about.
My last post mentioned that I was headed to see a urologist about my elevated PSA. That specific appointment didn't happen because my nephrologist office, that made the appointment, didn't tell me that the doctor wasn't in my insurance coverage. We made a new appointment with a Gastro-Oncologist at UAMS, which I learned meant that he was a specialist with cancers affecting the lower tract. So, I had my appointment with him last week which was not much more than him poking and prodding in places I care to not remember. He said that 1 out of 3 men who come in with elevated PSA actually have Prostate Cancer, but he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary during his poking around. The only way to actually tell for sure is to have a biopsy of the prostate. I'm not going to attempt to explain what that procedure entails, ask a couple of middle age men you know chances are they have had one. Anyway, my biopsy procedure is scheduled for this Wednesday at 11:15am. For some reason I'm not especially concerned or nervous about it yet, it helps that I'm very busy at work and that helps keep my mind off of things. I'm sure by Wednesday morning I will have some high blood pressure.
I also had an appointment with my nephrologist last week which was not very eventful since I had been with the transplant people so recently. The only thing new that I didn't know was that there was a mandatory waiting period for a kidney transplant candidate of at least 2 years if they are diagnosed with cancer. Certain types of cancer have a 5 year waiting period for a transplant. This is disappointing but I guess it makes sense, they do not want to have any cancer in the body when they introduce anti-rejection medicine that drastically reduces the immune system. I guess that raises the stress level associated with the results of this biopsy procedure.
Consider yourself up to date because that's all I know.
Thanks again for the many genuine inquiries about my situation. I would appreciate your prayers for a good result from this biopsy test, I would prefer to only have one major health problem to deal with. I'm getting good at enduring needles and poking, but I'm not excited about combining them.
Stay Tuned ...
My last post mentioned that I was headed to see a urologist about my elevated PSA. That specific appointment didn't happen because my nephrologist office, that made the appointment, didn't tell me that the doctor wasn't in my insurance coverage. We made a new appointment with a Gastro-Oncologist at UAMS, which I learned meant that he was a specialist with cancers affecting the lower tract. So, I had my appointment with him last week which was not much more than him poking and prodding in places I care to not remember. He said that 1 out of 3 men who come in with elevated PSA actually have Prostate Cancer, but he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary during his poking around. The only way to actually tell for sure is to have a biopsy of the prostate. I'm not going to attempt to explain what that procedure entails, ask a couple of middle age men you know chances are they have had one. Anyway, my biopsy procedure is scheduled for this Wednesday at 11:15am. For some reason I'm not especially concerned or nervous about it yet, it helps that I'm very busy at work and that helps keep my mind off of things. I'm sure by Wednesday morning I will have some high blood pressure.
I also had an appointment with my nephrologist last week which was not very eventful since I had been with the transplant people so recently. The only thing new that I didn't know was that there was a mandatory waiting period for a kidney transplant candidate of at least 2 years if they are diagnosed with cancer. Certain types of cancer have a 5 year waiting period for a transplant. This is disappointing but I guess it makes sense, they do not want to have any cancer in the body when they introduce anti-rejection medicine that drastically reduces the immune system. I guess that raises the stress level associated with the results of this biopsy procedure.
Consider yourself up to date because that's all I know.
Thanks again for the many genuine inquiries about my situation. I would appreciate your prayers for a good result from this biopsy test, I would prefer to only have one major health problem to deal with. I'm getting good at enduring needles and poking, but I'm not excited about combining them.
Stay Tuned ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)