What a strange ride this has been.

I had a resection for colon cancer in May, 2009 and went through a rough ride with chemo. After all the emotional upheaval that goes with a close encounter with cancer, things started settling down lately and I was thinking I was out of the woods. Then I went to my doctor yesterday and in reviewing my records he informed me, for the first time, that my PSA level was 5.4 last July. Why didn't he tell me then? In case some of you don’t know, PSA is a test for prostate cancer and the normal rage is below 4, but many doctors feel anything over 2.5 is a cause for concern. Also, a fast increase in PSA is another cause for concern and my PSA last year, on June, 2009, was 1.5. So my doctor did another PSA test and all day today I waited with more than a little anxiety for the results. Somehow I knew it would be bad and I mentally prepared myself for more surgery, for more chemo, and then late this afternoon my doctor’s nurse called. Surprise, surprise. My PSA was 0.84, which is very, very good, and my Free-PSA was 28.8%, which is also very, very good. So, I dodged the bullet and in celebration I took my wife to our local Irish pub for a couple of Guinness Stouts in celebration. In short, I took the time to sit back and enjoy life, and instead of thinking about cancer all I had to think about was how great the Irish are at making beer. It’s nice to win one now and then. I’m happy.