Post RP and SRT journey - oh joy

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  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    edited July 2021 #222

    It is blowing a gale but I have a bottle of Pimms...

    Hi Hew,

    Good for you, I see that the dreaded COVID-19 is on the downturn in the UK so maybe you will snag a few pints in a beer garden, etc.
    It is as dry as a dry thing here, blowing a gale and cold, but I have snagged a few bottles of Pimms for EUR 10 per bottle and when the summer arrives it will be Pimms on the terrace in the sun with baguette and tapenade faite maison.
    We bought a rotary clothes line today, washing machine arrives tomorrow, fixed line internet instead of the current 4G fix Wednesday
    Life must go on!

    Best wishes for a good summer because you deserve it!,

    Georges

    Hope life under global

    Hope life under global warming is treating you well.

    Hopefully if nothing else, the rude awakening the leavers are getting right now over Brexit is causing you as much hiliarity as it is me.

    Blood draw on Monday and call the week after. Beers either way once done.

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    edited July 2021 #223
    Dappled shade

    Hi Cushions,

    I have good and less good days.
    Physically I have pretty much recovered, but it has affected me in terms of my spirit of optimism.
    It is two months since we moved out of the apartment and into the house, there is still a lot of boxes around, we have an amazing amount of stuff and this has to be found homes.
    We some serious furniture to buy to stow it all away.
    The garden is pretty big, about 600 square metres and grassed over, it would be too kind to call it lawn.
    At the moment it is getting mowed, but its days are numbered.
    Cattifluff has gone from being an apartment cat, eat sleep, repeat, to having a garden to hunt in, cat neighbours to chase off, etc, a massive change at fifteen years of age!
    Summer so far has been cool and rainy, unlike parts of the south of France, which are gripped by another drought.
    Brittany is like a warmer version of Wales but with fewer sheep!
    I reckon that your results will be good, you have a very good chance that there was only a small amount of localised spread and the radiation and ADT have finished it off.
    Best of luck, but it is the can, so no worries!

    Best wishes,

    Georges


  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member

    Dappled shade

    Hi Cushions,

    I have good and less good days.
    Physically I have pretty much recovered, but it has affected me in terms of my spirit of optimism.
    It is two months since we moved out of the apartment and into the house, there is still a lot of boxes around, we have an amazing amount of stuff and this has to be found homes.
    We some serious furniture to buy to stow it all away.
    The garden is pretty big, about 600 square metres and grassed over, it would be too kind to call it lawn.
    At the moment it is getting mowed, but its days are numbered.
    Cattifluff has gone from being an apartment cat, eat sleep, repeat, to having a garden to hunt in, cat neighbours to chase off, etc, a massive change at fifteen years of age!
    Summer so far has been cool and rainy, unlike parts of the south of France, which are gripped by another drought.
    Brittany is like a warmer version of Wales but with fewer sheep!
    I reckon that your results will be good, you have a very good chance that there was only a small amount of localised spread and the radiation and ADT have finished it off.
    Best of luck, but it is the can, so no worries!

    Best wishes,

    Georges


    Me too. My depression and and

    Me too. My depression and and anxiety is a running battle. It is mostly that that causes my pessmisitic thinking. It is something I just have to endure. No one who has not had cancer can every understand the black dog it causes, however much they say they do.

    It sounds to me like your garden is ripe for turning into a vegetable plot. It will attract birds which your cat can hunt :)

    Weather here has been alternating between blazing sun and heavy, muggy rainstorms. Global warming proceeds as predicted, sadly. At least we are not in thge US or Canada.

    We shall have to see what the next week or so brings. Hope for the best, ignore the rest :)

    H

  • Bill91101
    Bill91101 Member Posts: 81 Member
    edited July 2021 #225

    Dappled shade

    Hi Cushions,

    I have good and less good days.
    Physically I have pretty much recovered, but it has affected me in terms of my spirit of optimism.
    It is two months since we moved out of the apartment and into the house, there is still a lot of boxes around, we have an amazing amount of stuff and this has to be found homes.
    We some serious furniture to buy to stow it all away.
    The garden is pretty big, about 600 square metres and grassed over, it would be too kind to call it lawn.
    At the moment it is getting mowed, but its days are numbered.
    Cattifluff has gone from being an apartment cat, eat sleep, repeat, to having a garden to hunt in, cat neighbours to chase off, etc, a massive change at fifteen years of age!
    Summer so far has been cool and rainy, unlike parts of the south of France, which are gripped by another drought.
    Brittany is like a warmer version of Wales but with fewer sheep!
    I reckon that your results will be good, you have a very good chance that there was only a small amount of localised spread and the radiation and ADT have finished it off.
    Best of luck, but it is the can, so no worries!

    Best wishes,

    Georges


    Georges, Glad the cat is

    Georges, Glad the cat is adjusting to the new life! We’ve got two cats who only show up for meals. I think they’d really like being indoors in the air-conditioned house instead of outside in the Southern California heat wave. When I try suggesting it to them, they run away. Bill

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    edited July 2021 #226
    Our  next door's cat has

    Our  next door's cat has adopted our garden to get away from the toddlers running happy rampage round his. It has put me in mind to get a cat again.

    I am thinking of asking my nurses next week to just say "< 0.1" or "You are rubber ducked, sunshine" to get over my fear of the ups and downs of decimal places.

  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,700 Member
    edited July 2021 #227
    Quem será será

    Yes, you are going to receive an "undetectable" report. In any case you may recall that 4 years ago you were close to the 4.0 mark and asymptomatic. 

    I  am eager to celebrate again your results. After all I am allowed into a pub with my vaccine certificate. 

    Best

    VG

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    Dancing around

    Hi there,

    Your PSA is dancing around .07, which is close to the limit of detection of the old machine, it is also declining slightly.
    It will be interesting to see if the new machine hands in the same results, PSA testing is notoriously dependent on analytical methods, standards and machines.
    As long as it stays thereabouts I would not worry.
    There is a lot worse stuff going on!
    One of the neighbours came round tonight, she was having problems with her mobile phone, she had her **** and a small dog in tow, both of them were spat and hissed at by mademoiselle, so much for the entente cordiale!
    Cattifluff is a mate in a furry onesie; she cuddles up in the evening, walks round the garden with us, has chatty miaows, does turbo purrs if I scratch behind her ears, etc.
    On the downside, she is fiercely territorial and will attack other cats, small dogs, foxes, etc that stray on her turf, she also kills anything small and killable if she finds it.
    Bastille Day, Mercredi, get the vin in!

    Best wishes,

    Georges

  • Bill91101
    Bill91101 Member Posts: 81 Member
    edited July 2021 #229

    Dancing around

    Hi there,

    Your PSA is dancing around .07, which is close to the limit of detection of the old machine, it is also declining slightly.
    It will be interesting to see if the new machine hands in the same results, PSA testing is notoriously dependent on analytical methods, standards and machines.
    As long as it stays thereabouts I would not worry.
    There is a lot worse stuff going on!
    One of the neighbours came round tonight, she was having problems with her mobile phone, she had her **** and a small dog in tow, both of them were spat and hissed at by mademoiselle, so much for the entente cordiale!
    Cattifluff is a mate in a furry onesie; she cuddles up in the evening, walks round the garden with us, has chatty miaows, does turbo purrs if I scratch behind her ears, etc.
    On the downside, she is fiercely territorial and will attack other cats, small dogs, foxes, etc that stray on her turf, she also kills anything small and killable if she finds it.
    Bastille Day, Mercredi, get the vin in!

    Best wishes,

    Georges

    PSA jitters on this end, too.
    PSA jitters on this end, too.
    I’m getting a PSA blood draw done tomorrow. I’ve been on Lupron for the last six months. Even though I’ve had decent success with hormone treatments, I’m still worried about this blood test result. Somethings never change. I have allowed myself to be fairly trusting in the numbers (if they’re good). I’m thinking if I get a bad result this time around, I’ll be less accepting. I really like my urologist, but I’m we’ll see how the conversation goes if I balk at a ‘bad’ PSA number and decide to wait a month or two and get a second draw before going back on Lupron.
    The Lupron Experience has been mixed for me. Worse than with Degarelix, Vanta or Zoldex. I felt lousy around the third month in: hot flashes, nausea and pain over a couple of weeks’ time. Slept okay. Not a lot of trouble since.
    We had a problem with rats about a dozen years ago. The local housing market crashed about that time, and people left their homes and (too often) their cats behind. We (well, my wife and kids) were keeping an eye on about a dozen cats at one point. But (!) no rats.
    The ranks of cats have thinned out since.
    Reading the discussions on this site helps me enormously with coping.
    Bill
  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    Feb 2019: 0.07

    Feb 2019: 0.07

    Jul 2019: 0.05

    Nov 2019: 0.09

    Feb 2020: 0.09

    May 2020: 0.05

    August 2020: 0.06

    Jan 2021: 0.07

    July 2021: <0.03 undetectable with new ulrasensitive assay - tests six monthly going forward

    Thak you for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

  • Josephg
    Josephg Member Posts: 443 Member
    Great News!

    Great news Hew!

    I will toast your great numbers tonight with a glass of red wine.

    I wish you continued success on your PCa journey.

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    Josephg said:

    Great News!

    Great news Hew!

    I will toast your great numbers tonight with a glass of red wine.

    I wish you continued success on your PCa journey.

    Cheers Joseph.

    Cheers Joseph.

    I have to be up early so I will save my celebration for later in the week.

    My profound relief is only matched by suprise at such a large drop into ulra sensitive undetectable.

    One banks the successes and moves on.

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    edited July 2021 #233
    Pat on the back

    Hi Hew,

    I think you can give yourself a pat on the back and a wee dram of whatever you fancy for that.
    It looks like you are in durable long term remission, a couple more like that and it will be really definite.

    Best wishes,

    Georges

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    edited July 2021 #234
    Hey Georges

    Hey Georges

    I will certainly be doing that this weekend :)

    I think you are right - such a drop was unprecedented and unexpected. I am going to work bloody hard to change my thinking to the positive outcome. I have six months to do so :)

    Hope all is well where you are.

    H

  • Bill91101
    Bill91101 Member Posts: 81 Member
    edited July 2021 #235

    Hey Georges

    Hey Georges

    I will certainly be doing that this weekend :)

    I think you are right - such a drop was unprecedented and unexpected. I am going to work bloody hard to change my thinking to the positive outcome. I have six months to do so :)

    Hope all is well where you are.

    H

    Good news, H
    Good news, H
    Glad to see the drop in PSA. I had to reread your results several times and thought ‘hey, that’s pretty good!’
    Bill
  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    Bill91101 said:

    Good news, H
    Good news, H
    Glad to see the drop in PSA. I had to reread your results several times and thought ‘hey, that’s pretty good!’
    Bill

    It threw me as well. It was a

    It threw me as well. It was a huge drop and totally unexpected as I pessimistically expecting it to creep up.

    Had my celebration last night and am feeling it now :)

  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,700 Member
    edited July 2021 #237
    ?

    I do not recall if we celebrated with Bitter last time but it doesn’t matter. I will pop-up one of my favorites red wine "Esporão" (world's best) and raise my glass to your success. 

    Congratulations 

    VG

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    It never rains.

    It never rains.

    A friend of mine spotted a small bump on my lip and said she is having a similar one removed as it may be a Basal Cell Carcinoma.

    I now how the joys of getting a face to face appointment in our maxed out NHS.

    Ding, ding, round 2, I hope not :(

  • Georges Calvez
    Georges Calvez Member Posts: 547 Member
    Out of the woods

    Hi Hew,

    I hoped that you were out of the woods and heading off into the sunlit uplands.
    Hopefully you will have a good and quick experience with the NHS.
    Things have been moving along in good and bad ways here, I will have to do an update soon.
    PSA test on the 22nd of the month.
    30 C today, cat was hiding indoors during the afternoon, she is now sprawled out under her favourite bush watching the sun go down, we are drinking Pimms and fizzy wine cocktails, barbecue later.
    Thunderstorms, rain, etc later in the week.

    Best wishes,

    Georges

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    Well I am seeing the GP face

    Well I am seeing the GP face to face tomorrow. I had a clearing call today and sent in a photo. He reckons it is not BCC but tomorrow will confirm.

    Since you have not had the test yet, I am hoping that the bad ways do not include your PCa status.

    It is hot here and we are due rain soon - the elusive thunderstorms never arrive though :(

  • hewhositsoncushions
    hewhositsoncushions Member Posts: 411 Member
    Turns out to be a venous lake

    Turns out to be a venous lake. Unsightly but harmless. phew.