WTF - Also Known As Another Day Another Medical Issue

This morning I went to my Chiropractor in an attempt to get my back to feeling better.
I arranged to have a copy of the MRI that I had taken on my hip faxed to him.
When I got there for my appointment, he sat me down and was obviously somewhat confused.
He asked me to go over what tests had been done on me and what doctors I have seen and he wanted it in a chronological order.
I did the best I could to fill him in.
He then discussed the findings that were on the MRI.
I kind of knew what was on there based on what my family doctor had discussed with me.
What I could not remember is if my local Oncologist had discussed these findings with me. As hard as I tried, I could not remember him ever discussing the results of an MRI that he prescribed for me, after I complained about the pain that I was experiencing in my upper right leg and hip.
The first time that I can remember anyone discussing the results with me was when my family doctor talked to me about the findings during an office visit 5 weeks after  the MRI was done.  My family doctor suggested that I go to an Urologist for followup.
I finally got a copy of this report from my Chiropractor and I was rather alarmed at what I read.
I am really perplexed as to why my Oncologist never reviewed the results with me.
Because I was not happy with this Oncologist, even prior to these findings coming to light, I had already made a change so that I could go back and see my old Oncologist that I had been seeing for years, prior to moving to the Outer Banks.
I suppose that it is possible that I somehow "fell through the cracks" after I switched back over to my old Oncologist.
But I would also think that a doctor that sees these types of results,would have at least made telephone contact with me even if I had switch him for a different doctor.
After discussing the MRI findings with my Chiropractor, he promptly faxed the findings to my Oncologist in Virginia and also made a telephone call to them to let them know that the MRI had been faxed to them.
After leaving the Chiropractors office, I went to the Regional Medical Center where I have had all MRIs and X-Rays done since we moved to the Outer Banks.
I will be picking up copies of everything that they have on file for me on Monday.
I will either take those files with me personally or have them shipped overnight to my Oncologists office.
I wanted him to have them before I go to see him, which is this next Thursday. I am hoping that if I get them to him early enough, he can have one of his radiologists read the MRI and X-Rays because they are more experienced with seeing and understanding what Mast Cell Disease looks like on the MRIs and X-Rays.
Other than that, there is not much more that I can do. Unfortunately I might have lost some valuable time depending on the outcome of the Radiologist readings and interpretations of the MRI and X-Rays.
I also just started taking my 30 day supply of Cipro treatment today.
So to say that things are all up in the air and that I have even less answers than I did before, that would be a great understatement.
Good news...I got the ok to start back into my weight lifting workouts as long as I watch the type of movements and lifting that I do, so that I don't further aggravate my lower back.
I will start my weight lifting routine up again tomorrow. It will give me something to keep me busy and to focus on other than all of this other medical stuff. But for today, I think that I will try to relax as much as possible and just let everything sink in.
Below is a copy of the MRI results that I finally got to see. To enlarge it, just click on it:



 

What To Do

Let me refresh everyones memory about some recent prostate issues that I have been dealing with.
The last time that I discussed my prostate issues and concerns was when my last PSA test came out with a score of 6.7ng/mL This was an elevated level compared to the PSA test that I had prior to this one and I should mention that there was not a long time period that had gone by between those 2 PSA tests.
I also had a DRE...Digital Rectal Exam done by my Urologist and he could find nothing out of the ordinary at all.
Due to the speed that my PSA had elevated to its current level, my Urologist decided that I should be put on Cipro for a month. Cipro is an antibiotic that is used to treat Prostatitis.
Prostatitis is swelling and inflammation of the prostate gland, a walnut-sized gland located directly below the bladder in men.
Prostatitis can be caused by a number of different things. If it's caused by a bacterial infection, it can usually be treated successfully. However, sometimes prostatitis isn't caused by a bacterial infection or a cause is never identified.
After my 30 day treatment period on Cipro, I went back and got another PSA test performed.
I got a telephone call the other day and was given the results of that PSA test.
My PSA level had dropped from a 6.7ng/mL to a 5.2ng/mL.
I was somewhat disappointed that my PSA had not dropped more but after discussing it with my family doctor, it appears that what I had originally expected the Cipro to do was not really realistic and that the drop in numbers that I had was actually good.
So it appeared that the Cipro had an effect on whatever was going on with my prostate.
The next thing to be done was to wait for my Urologist to get a copy of this PSA test and decide what to do next.
Today I got a call from the Urologists' nurse. I was not really prepared for what she had to say. As it turns out, the Urologist wanted to schedule me for a prostate biopsy.

So what is a prostate biopsy and how is it done you might ask. Here is that information straight from a John Hopkins Prostate informational literature that I purchased and downloaded:

   Transrectal Ultrasound and Prostate Biopsy

If the results of a digital rectal exam, PSA test, or both suggest cancer, transrectal ultrasound is performed to determine the size of  the prostate and to identify areas of possible cancer. Ultrasound also is used to direct the needles used for prostate biopsy. A prostate biopsy typically takes about 15 to 20 minutes and is performed on an outpatient basis. Most doctors use a local anesthetic such as lidocaine (Xylocaine) to reduce discomfort during the procedure. ( just wanted to interject that I would not get this procedure done unless they could make me semi-conscious). The ultrasound examination is performed with the man lying on his side. An ultrasound probe (about the size of a finger) is gently inserted 3 to 4 inches into the rectum. The probe emits sound waves that are converted into video images corresponding to the different prostate zones. Small prostate cancers are usually not detectable by ultrasound

examination. Fitted to the ultrasound probe is a biopsy gun with a needle that is fired through the wall of the rectum. The needle extracts small pieces of prostate tissue in less than a second. Ideally, at least 10 to 12 tissue samples (“cores”) are taken from the prostate. A pathologist examines the samples under a microscope to determine whether
cancer is present.

A prostate biopsy usually causes only minor discomfort. Common side effects include minor rectal bleeding; blood in the stool, urine, or semen; and soreness in the biopsied area. All of these side effects disappear with time.

I have had a bone marrow biopsy done in the past and that wasn't something that I would put in the fun category. And then there was the tongue biopsy that showed a precancerous growth and the subsequent cutting out of said growth.....really truly not fun at all...actually downright miserable. I have also had a colonoscopy which when I look back on it...the preparation of the body for that exam was much worse than the exam itself. Of course that is easy for me to say that because I asked them to basically knock me and have me in a semi conscious state and I was "semi" enough that I could not remember a thing after I woke up.

But this prostate biopsy has a different feel to it and I am not getting "good vibes" from the possibility of having to get it done. There are always chances that things can go wrong or the healing process doesn't always go as planned and with my luck the way it is, I am just not sure that I want to take any chances. It really is beginning to be a tough decision...do the prostate biopsy and live with however the results turn out and deal with whatever problems that might result after having it done....or...not worry about it because even if I did have cancer, nothing is being felt on my prostate now so it could be a very slow growing problem...slow enough that I would die from natural causes and old age long before the cancer became any real issue for me to have to deal with.

Definitely a roll of the dice. I guess there is a reason that they call it "craps". 

I was able to talk the Urologist into one more month of being on the Cipro. My logical line of thinking is that if this last month of being on the Cipro dropped my PSA level down 1.5ng/mL then it shows that Cipro had a direct effect on whatever is going on with my prostate issues and it would be possible that after this next 30 days on Cipro, my results could drop another 1.5ng/mL and that would bring my PSA level back down to a more respectable 3.7ng/mL.

And if this newest upcoming round of Cipro has no effect on my PSA levels......

then I am back to making that tough decision again....what to do?????

If anyone out there has gone through the prostate biopsy, please let me know what to expect...both good and/or bad...I need to know both sides of the coin to make a good sound decision.

Mea Culpa

Lately I have been very neglectful in posting any blog entries.
Not sure why but I think laziness would probably be the best answer. I don't really think that anything blog worthy has been going on around here which would also feed into my temporary bout of laziness.
No matter what the excuse might or might not be, I will try to do better in the future.
I am still dealing with a very sore back. I am working on the second week since I threw it out reaching for that darn picture frame that I placed leaning against the wall on the floor.
Since then I have not been able to do any of my weight lifting routine at all.
Instead I am focusing on things I can do with minimal pain such as walking and riding my recumbent bike.
I spoke with my family doctor the other day and she referred me to a woman that does deep tissue massages.
Yesterday I had an appointment to see her and had my first ever massage.
It was different and at times rather painful.
This young Asian woman was great at what she did and found places on my body that I did not realize were all knotted up and tense.
After an hour of "torture" I was released to return home.
She suggested that I go to a Chiropractor to see if he could re-align whatever was out of alignment and hopefully take care of the problem that I have been having in the upper portion of my right leg for the past 8-9 months.
She felt that what was wrong with my leg was a nerve issue rather than a muscular one and that something in my lower back was causing the nerve to be "pinched".
I will call a local Chiropractor tomorrow morning and schedule a day and time to get worked on.
Also yesterday we had someone from Charter Communications to come out and put in a new upgraded modem for our internet service.
Charter has been upgrading their system for some time now and as part of their upgrade, they offer faster internet speeds.
Unfortunately we had an older modem that could not handle the upgrade in speeds and we had to get a new one.
Before getting this new modem, we noticed that we were losing internet connectivity quite often and we were running really slow on the internet too.
I had also been having problems with watching movies via Netflix which utilizes are our wireless setup.
So far so good and we are really moving around a lot faster on the internet now and after testing out Netflix, we are loading up movies rather quickly too.
As much as I dislike Charter Communications, they did a good job this time around.