Treatment
I had another PSA test done November 30th and the results are in today.
In the last 3 week period, the PSA has risen from 2.4 to 2.6 - - considerably slower than previous raises.
This is good news since with such a slow increase there is no urgency to intervene - yet.
It is interesting that the PSA increase has slowed since for the last 3 weeks, since the previous test, I've been taking a coctail of Chinese herbal medicines prescribed by my GP who says that this cocktail has shown in other patients that it has a very strong effect on prostate cancer which has metastasized.
The next weeks will prove interesting indeed.
You will notice I talk in these blogs about "the psa" not "my psa". Eckhardt Tolle stresses in his talks and his books (The Power of Now and A New Earth) about the importance of not identifying with disease and I think he's onto something there. The cancer is definitely NOT me. It is happening to the body I live in. My job is to look after this body in which I live to the best of my ability and that's what I am doing. 100% "school" medicine and 100% of anything else I think will help.
But back to the documentation of what's been happening in the last 3 weeks. I increased the amount of time I spent meditating, using an excellent CD from a company called Centrepoint; the cd is called "holosync" and it claims to reduce stress - in fact, it claims to build resistance to stress. Listening to it for half an hour does calm the mind. There is a feeling of having more space inside the head and of feeling happy.
Diet continues to include fish high in Omega 3 oils: salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna. Wherever possible I choose organically fed and raised fish. NO dairy whatsoever and NO red meat and NO sugar (ok. I have a piece of chocolate once in a while). And a glass of wine perhaps twice a month. Otherwise NO alcohol. Organically grown chicken and turkey breast as well as fresh vegetables and fruit make up the rest of the diet. I prefer rice milk to soya milk on my muesli in the mornings.
So, for now, a breather from treatment but the PSA will be checked every 4 weeks. Since there is a lesion on the pelvis (on the illiac crest, left side, about 4cm long) the urologist at the National Cancer Hospital in Amsterdam has suggested one low dose of radiation which he says will illiminate it. I'm going slowly with that idea. The GP recommends "wait and watch" as long as there aren't any more sudden spikes of PSA value and it stays under 4. I agree with him.
Christmas is coming; we are planning a family get together so we'll be 8 people around the dinner table. Time to enjoy life.
In the last 3 week period, the PSA has risen from 2.4 to 2.6 - - considerably slower than previous raises.
This is good news since with such a slow increase there is no urgency to intervene - yet.
It is interesting that the PSA increase has slowed since for the last 3 weeks, since the previous test, I've been taking a coctail of Chinese herbal medicines prescribed by my GP who says that this cocktail has shown in other patients that it has a very strong effect on prostate cancer which has metastasized.
The next weeks will prove interesting indeed.
You will notice I talk in these blogs about "the psa" not "my psa". Eckhardt Tolle stresses in his talks and his books (The Power of Now and A New Earth) about the importance of not identifying with disease and I think he's onto something there. The cancer is definitely NOT me. It is happening to the body I live in. My job is to look after this body in which I live to the best of my ability and that's what I am doing. 100% "school" medicine and 100% of anything else I think will help.
But back to the documentation of what's been happening in the last 3 weeks. I increased the amount of time I spent meditating, using an excellent CD from a company called Centrepoint; the cd is called "holosync" and it claims to reduce stress - in fact, it claims to build resistance to stress. Listening to it for half an hour does calm the mind. There is a feeling of having more space inside the head and of feeling happy.
Diet continues to include fish high in Omega 3 oils: salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna. Wherever possible I choose organically fed and raised fish. NO dairy whatsoever and NO red meat and NO sugar (ok. I have a piece of chocolate once in a while). And a glass of wine perhaps twice a month. Otherwise NO alcohol. Organically grown chicken and turkey breast as well as fresh vegetables and fruit make up the rest of the diet. I prefer rice milk to soya milk on my muesli in the mornings.
So, for now, a breather from treatment but the PSA will be checked every 4 weeks. Since there is a lesion on the pelvis (on the illiac crest, left side, about 4cm long) the urologist at the National Cancer Hospital in Amsterdam has suggested one low dose of radiation which he says will illiminate it. I'm going slowly with that idea. The GP recommends "wait and watch" as long as there aren't any more sudden spikes of PSA value and it stays under 4. I agree with him.
Christmas is coming; we are planning a family get together so we'll be 8 people around the dinner table. Time to enjoy life.