Hello and Update from Sonny

My Fellow PCa Brothers and Sisters,

It has been far too long since I have been here, and for that I apologize.

There hasn't been much to update or report and Lynn and I have been traveling quite a bit in the new RV. In fact we just got back from a 4 week trip. Lynn really enjoyed the traveling by RV and it kept her away from public transportation and hotel rooms. As most of you know she is a Multiple Myeloma cancer patient and with her past stem cell transplant has a very compromised immune system.

Not much has changed for me as regards PCa. My latest PSA is still hovering in the 1.2-1.5 range and came in at 1.3 last week. Tomorrow I start radiation on the MET that was found on my leg at the top of the femur where it meets the hip joint. The RO plans for 10 treatments over the next 2 weeks. The necessity to radiate it now is because it is in a major weight bearing location and as he says, "you don't need to break your leg climbing in and out of your RV".

My last meeting with the Oncologist, in May, has him somewhat puzzled that my PSA is still hanging in there after the surgery and IMRT. We ran extensive tests and the only thing that was found was the leg MET. Hence the appointment for radiation.

We discussed HT therapy but are holding off on doing anything until after the radiation therapy is concluded. I am still not a fan of HT and am going to need some heavy convincing that my life is in imminent danger before I jump on that trail. My RO and I discussed the PSA numbers in our meeting last week. He said that in his experience, and in the absence of anything other than the MET, it may just be my number for future reference. There are a multitude of things that could be contributing to the stubborn danged PSA number. As we all know, each of us has PCa that acts differently, we all respond differently to each treatment and the side effects, i.e. ED and Incontinence. So we'll continue to monitor the PSA and be diligent in future testing to make sure that nothing surprises us or gets out of hand.

So at present the plan is to complete the rad and follow up with PSA testing.

Lynn and I have another trip planned for September. We are starting off by going from Orlando to Niagara Falls and then heading to points East and North, ultimately bringing us to Maine for the fall colors. In all this trip should take us about 6-8 weeks.

My personal mantra still remains, "EVERY DAY IS A BONUS". And Lynn and I are committed to enjoying every one of them for as long as we are able.

Bless you all my friends and our prayers are with each of you as you travel your own path and journey through life affected by PCa,

Sonny and Lynn

60 years old when diagnosed
PSA 11/07 3.0
PSA 5/09 6.4
Diagnosis confirmed July 9, 2009
12 Needle Biopsy = 9 clear , 3 postive
Gleason Score (3+4) 7 in all positive cores
da Vinci 9/17/09
Post Surgery Pathology: GS 4+3=7
Stage: T3a
Tumor Volume 12.5%
positive margin, extra-prostatic extension
30 day PSA 0.4, 50 day psa 0.53, 64 day psa 0.6
IMRT completed 1/15/10 35 treatments- 70Gy

2/24/10 FIRST POST RAD PSA 1.0---CARRRP --waiting for the next test.
3/22/10 Second Post RAD PSA 1.5 Dammmmnnn stubborn son of a gun
4/19/10 YAHOO PSA dropped to 1.2 Moving in the right direction.
5/7/10 PSA test 1.3 Sodium Fluoride PET Scan & CT SCAN -scheduled
5/20/10 PSA test 1.2 Holding off on future tests for 3 months- single lytic lesion found and scheduling radiation.
7/27/10 PSA test 1.3 - Begin radiation for MET on leg