A day in the life....

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Tako_Kichi
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by Tako_Kichi »

Airspeed wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 13:09
Latest:
No cancer in my bones. :)
PSA reading slightly lower. :)
Some irregularities in the scans, so I'm listed for surgical and urological clinics for eyeballing. *-)
Another PSA test in October, then back to the radiation team to review situation.
Good news Mike. :welldone:

I finally got my appointment with the endocrinologist and it's set for August 16th. Hopefully I can start to make some progress after seeing him as I am sick and tired of feeling sick and tired all the damn time! 8)
Larry

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Airspeed
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by Airspeed »

blanston12 wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 15:37
........
surgery on the melanoma on my arm is scheduled for today, but so far the tests have looked good.
All the best with that, Joe. :thumbsup:

It's been a long haul for you, Larry; sincerely hope that they do find a fix for you.

btw, what medical system are you each being treated under? Mrs A. & I use public, which is basically free, but you don't get to choose where the treatment is given, or by whom. Private costs big $, but you can insure, which may or may not cover your particular circumstances. Shocked to hear this morning that our Federal Government subsidises the private system to the tune of $9 billion. I may have to check that fact.
Here's a cut & paste from The Guardian: Taxpayer subsidies total around $9bn a year, including $6bn for the private health insurance rebate and $3bn for inpatient private medical services.

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Nigel H-J
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by Nigel H-J »

Latest:
No cancer in my bones. :)
PSA reading slightly lower. :)
Some irregularities in the scans, so I'm listed for surgical and urological clinics for eyeballing. *-)
Another PSA test in October, then back to the radiation team to review situation.
Good to hear that Mike and really hope that everything works out well for you and that also includes both Joe and Larry. :thumbsup:

Regards
Nigel.
I used to be an optimist but with age I am now a grumpy old pessimist.

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Tako_Kichi
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by Tako_Kichi »

Airspeed wrote:
18 Jul 2019, 10:14
It's been a long haul for you, Larry; sincerely hope that they do find a fix for you.
Thanks Mike, I was fist diagnosed with ME/CFS back in '99 or 2000 so I've had that for nearly 20 years. Then the arthritis and osteoporosis have come along as I've aged. I gave up smoking on April 1st 2018 and it seems like I've been ill with something new ever since. First it was a bad reaction to the glue on the nicotine patches and I came up in huge red welts everywhere a patch had been, this was fixed by spraying the area where a patch was to be applied with a spray usually used by asthmatics and then after the patch was removed all glue had to be cleaned off with alcohol and hydro-cortisone cream applied to reduce the swelling and itching.

Once I'd got the reaction down to a tolerable level my Doc decided it would be a good idea to put me on a course of bone hardening meds for my osteoporosis as my last bone density scans on my hips had shown bones that looked like the inside of Crunchie or Aero bars! :worried: I started on the meds and took them for a few months (one pill per week) but started feeling really ill (way more than normal) and decided to check the extensive notes sheet that came in the pill package. I then discovered that not only did I have a bunch of the minor side-effects but I also had every single one of the side-effects in the box titled 'If you see any of these symptoms stop taking the medication and consult your Doctor immediately!' Thankfully I spotted the issue(s) in time and it seems no permanent damage was done (liver failure was a strong possibility) but needless to say I'm not taking that med anymore so I just have to be careful not to break any bones as healing may not happen under normal time-frames!

I was just starting to feel a bit better after that episode when I went down with all these hyperthyroid problems so it has not been a good time since I gave up smoking (it's almost like the god of nicotine has cursed me!) :wall:
Airspeed wrote:
18 Jul 2019, 10:14
btw, what medical system are you each being treated under? Mrs A. & I use public, which is basically free, but you don't get to choose where the treatment is given, or by whom. Private costs big $, but you can insure, which may or may not cover your particular circumstances.
I am really glad that I live in a country/province that recognizes that 'free' healthcare (free as in no cost at the time receiving care, it's paid for out of taxes over the years) is a fundamental right of it's citizens, unlike our neighbours to the south who are ripped off by 'big-pharma' every time they blink and think that's OK! 8)

In Ontario we get to pick our family healthcare team and in many cases we can pick which specialist we want to see if the need arises. When it comes to needing hospital treatment cases are dealt with on a needs basis i.e. the ones that need it most are seen first! Insurance can be bought and many employers provided it as part of their pay package but that generally just covers the cost of medications and bumps up hospital stays to semi-private or private rooms instead of wards. As I am registered as disabled I don't have to pay for medications and I also get free dental and eye care too.

The much loved British 'National Health Service' (NHS) was actually modeled on the Ontario system which started a couple of years before it at the end of WWII.

A long answer I'm afraid but I hope it was useful! ;)
Larry

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blanston12
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by blanston12 »

Airspeed wrote:
18 Jul 2019, 10:14
blanston12 wrote:
17 Jul 2019, 15:37
........
surgery on the melanoma on my arm is scheduled for today, but so far the tests have looked good.
All the best with that, Joe. :thumbsup:

...

btw, what medical system are you each being treated under? ...
Thx Mike, it all went well and the sent me home the same day. Here in the states since i am not yet retirement age my insurance is through my employer, there some public options for those with low income but since i don't qualify I don't know too much about them.
Joe Cusick,

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blanston12
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by blanston12 »

Tako_Kichi wrote:
18 Jul 2019, 16:33
I am really glad that I live in a country/province that recognizes that 'free' healthcare (free as in no cost at the time receiving care, it's paid for out of taxes over the years) is a fundamental right of it's citizens, unlike our neighbours to the south who are ripped off by 'big-pharma' every time they blink and think that's OK! 8)
As one of your neighbors to the south I could not agree with you more.
Joe Cusick,

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Re: A day in the life....

Post by 511Flyer »

Many people complain about our NHS, but I've had nothing but kindness and great treatment whenever it was needed. All free, even to those who, unlike myself, haven't put a penny in the pot. I have no qualms about that.

In the past two years I've seen every ologist, except for gynaecologist, and only one of them was English. What would we do without our foreign health workers? Every one of them, from cleaners, nurses, doctors, specialists, are wonderful people. We should all be eternally grateful to them. :welldone:

Thankfully, at 80, I'm in very good health, and hope to remain so. Mind you, having played 18 holes of golf, I still get aches and pains. Scotch helps to lubricate the joints, but you can't get it on the NHS. That goes for golf buggies too!

:)

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Airspeed
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by Airspeed »

Tako_Kichi wrote:
18 Jul 2019, 16:33
[time-frames!
...............................................
A long answer I'm afraid but I hope it was useful! ;)
Larry, you had plenty to tell, no need to apologise . Thanks for giving us that info. and again, all Good Wishes.

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Re: A day in the life....

Post by cstorey »

This is a cheerful topic, but just to encourage you Airspeed my PSA is 46 !!! However, the MRI scans are somewhat equivocal , so at my age of 74 the trouble may have been there for years . I have refused a biopsy so far on the basis that a.functionally I seem to be OK with no sign of spread and b. they are hit and miss with a large and vascular prostate - which I have - and c. sometimes they cause more trouble than give information . We will have another scan in the Autumn to see if there is any change radiologically . All the very best wishes for your treatment

Incidentally to answer an earlier question of yours, there is not really any suitable chemotherapy in the cytotoxic ( i.e. cancer killing ) sense . What is available is hormonal treatment to deprive prostate cancer of Testosterone derivatives which are the ultimate drivers of growth of cells, but this is usually reserved for the situation where all earlier treatment has failed and there are signs of distant spread into e.g. bones

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Airspeed
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Re: A day in the life....

Post by Airspeed »

cstorey wrote:
20 Jul 2019, 19:42
This is a cheerful topic, but just to encourage you Airspeed my PSA is 46 !!! However, the MRI scans are somewhat equivocal , so at my age of 74 the trouble may have been there for years . I have refused a biopsy so far on the basis that a.functionally I seem to be OK with no sign of spread and b. they are hit and miss with a large and vascular prostate - which I have - and c. sometimes they cause more trouble than give information . We will have another scan in the Autumn to see if there is any change radiologically . All the very best wishes for your treatment

Incidentally to answer an earlier question of yours, there is not really any suitable chemotherapy in the cytotoxic ( i.e. cancer killing ) sense . What is available is hormonal treatment to deprive prostate cancer of Testosterone derivatives which are the ultimate drivers of growth of cells, but this is usually reserved for the situation where all earlier treatment has failed and there are signs of distant spread into e.g. bones
Hi Chris,
46 is certainly up there, isn't it? Mine should be undetectable; I haven't had a prostate for seven years, so no good reason to have specific antibodies.
btw, my query on chemotherapy was in response to Joe (Blanston) 's comment, but I do appreciate your explanation of it. :thumbsup:

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