Delayed Abiraterone and a Bump on the Floor

29 Sept
I had the first of the monthly PSA tests last week. Not quite a month, but near enough, and the results today show the smallest increase ever over any previous reading. My doubling rate since March is now moving back out to 3.6 months. Still pretty serious, but a lot more relaxing than the two month rate reported three weeks ago (below).

PSA readings normally bounce around a bit, but this is a remarkable slowdown - the rollercoaster of prostate cancer... Meantime we're getting on with life and enjoying the ride, the village and the singing. Oh, yes, especially the singing; our quartet is accomplishing things we thought quite beyond us...


9 Sept
Yesterday's appointment reviewed my history (not to mention my views!) and we agreed that until I exhibited clear signs of the cancer, it would be inappropriate to commence Abiraterone.

Although my PSA doubling time for the past five months has been around two months - pretty high - we are going to watch it month by month and look for other clear symptoms of the cancer. So, technically, I am still classed as Castrate-Resistant but Unsymptomatic. That's not at all uncomfortable for me and, as usual, Bev and I are getting on with life.

After that, "getting on with life" meant popping into another hospital on the way home, to call on a Village friend who's had surgery. It was very hot in the ward - I thought it was just me having a hot flush! We'd been standing talking for some time when Bev tried to comment to me about the heat and then collapsed onto the floor with a huge bang.

Now,  there are advantages with collapsing in hospital. A dozen people were there in a moment and she was scooped up onto a chair and then onto a mobile bed and whisked off to Emergency. By then she was fine, thanks very much.

But then the "Protocol" clicked into place.  She was written up on three sets of forms, wired up in a dozen places, given her very own national health information number (for the first time), given all kinds of tests and scans by various initials. Finally, with no obvious problems in sight, and after some pushing on her part, she was allowed to go home. She's a bit sore here and there but is otherwise fine, for which we're both very grateful. But it was a long, long day...

So, back to the routine and the ordinary...