Rantings Diversified

OK so on my birthday I had another CT scan because they saw something wrong on the first one.  What they saw was two nodules on the bottom of one of my lungs.  I then had a CT scan of my chest.  I just saw my family doctor yesterday and she said the scan found that I have two non-calcified nodules on my left lung right down by the diaphram.  They are very small and can’t be biopsied so she said that we should wait for three months and have another CT scan and see if they have grown.  If they grow it’s lung cancer if they don’t grow then they’re just two little nothings to worry about.
The other news she gave me is that I have Emphysema!  That has kinda’ freaked me out a bit.  Now I don’t have a choice but to quit smoking.  Today is my last day of smoking.  Tomorrow I quit.  No choice here.  This time I’m gonna’ make it more than a week or two.  I have to.

I went to see the Urologist this morning and he presented me with the results of all the tests.  I have stage T2a  non-metastasic prostate cancer with a Gleason score of 7 (3+4).  What that means is I have an early form of cancer on one side of my prostate and the cancer is not very aggressive.  This is all good news.  The options given me for dealing with it were long term radiation therapy or  surgery to completely remove the prostate.  I chose surgery.  My attitude is cut the cancer out and I no longer have to deal with it.  It has not spread so let’s just get rid of it.  The next step is meeting with the surgeon and that is scheduled for next week.  So stay tuned until next week kids.  Same bat-time same bat-channel.
UPDATE:  The appointment with the surgeon has been changed to Sept.4th so there will be no new news until then.  Please stand by.

I have prostate cancer.
A few months ago my family doctor felt the need to give me a prostate exam and despite my protests she did her exam and announced my prostate was enlarged.  She took some blood to run a PSA test.  The test came back slightly elevated and she sent me to a Urologist.  He also did a prostate exam and said that the way it is enlarged pointed towards cancer.  He scheduled me for a biopsy.  This was done last Wednesday and I was to hear the results on Tuesday of this week.  My phone never rang on Tuesday so I called his office on Wednesday morning.  They told me he had the results but had not called me yet.  Duh!  He called me about an hour and half  later to tell me the biopsy confirmed the fact that I have a malignant form of prostate cancer.
The next step is to have both a bone scan and a CAT scan to find out if the cancer has grown into any other organ.  After these tests I’ll meet with the Urologist again to go over my options and see where we go from here.
My attitude has been to take things as they come.  I’m not upset.  If any thing I’m surprised that I’m not just riddled with cancer.  I was a kid in the 60′s and grew up in the 70′s.  I grew up drinking soda, watching TV and riding in cars that used leaded gasoline.  Better Living Through Chemistry.  I am the long term study of all that was new and improved in my life.  So I am taking things as they come.  One step at a time.
I asked the Doctor if it is possible to cut out the offensive tissue or to remove the entire organ to which he responded that in cases like mine it is SOP to remove the organ.  There are still many questions to be answered but I just have to be patient and get these tests done then I get to sit down with the Urologist and find out where we go from here.