Planning Begins

I met with my oncologist today and got started with planning the treatment for my metastatic prostate cancer (PC). We went through the history of different treatments, the current status of my PC, and the rationale for the planned treatment. The first move is to get started on an androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) drug, which in my case will be Orgovyx, a daily pill, no injections or infusions. That will start in January. At this time there are no other drugs and no chemo in the plan. The small PC lesion on my right femur may be a candidate for obliteration by radiation. The radiation oncologist will have to determine the feasibility of this. If it's possible it would happen after two months on Orgovyx.  

Back in 2010 I was on ADT (Lupron) for 9 months and it wasn't pleasant. The drug itself is not problematic, and it did it's job well. The problem is that the mission of all ADT drugs is to shut down production of testosterone, and without testosterone things can get miserable. The best defense for me is to stay active, walk regularly, and do weight bearing exercises. I've been lazy for a few weeks but I'll get a new regimen going next week. This is a challenge given the other disabilities I've acquired over the years. Upper body exercise is bounded by natural "you're getting older" damage to my left shoulder and permanent damage to nerves and muscles on my right chest due to surgery in 2018. Exercises like pushups and lat pull downs would only make things worse. Long walks are a challenge due to hip tendonitis on both sides. I'll have to get creative with this because I'll be on Orgovyx for two years. I'm looking for a balance of things that work and are interesting enough to make me want to do them. 

Because you're reading this you've probably already seen my book. Unlike this blog, which is updated frequently, the book doesn't change and it's unlikely that you visit that site or think much about the book. Please go back and have a look at that web site. Renew your understanding of it's purpose and send a link to your friends and colleagues. You are the promoters. I have to leave it up to you because I'm tapped out on this and frankly do not have enough time and energy to work on it. I'm in fact the guy with eight cancers and I'm pretty damn busy just trying to survive. If you have any thoughts about this feel free to contact me directly. 

Tomorrow is Christmas, a big holiday in the US and important to Christians all around the world. This year it is also the first day of Hanukkah, which is important Jews in the US and all around the world. Best wishes to everyone! I think we can all use a day of peace and community.