You've just got to believe.
Today is my doctor’s appointment to discuss our plan for treatment. The appointment was at 10.20 so at least I didn’t have all day to sit about and start creating any negative thinking , my sister was coming with me for support and it turned out that was just what I needed.❤️
We only got lost 3 times trying to find the office,😀 it was located in the brown zone only on the floor below us, I will hold my hands up and accept the blame it was my unique navigation skills that I’ve been blessed with.😃 Angie Keith or Steff my old colleagues if you are reading this you will not actually be that surprised to see it still affects me. even on my feet.📡
We arrive at the office and have a short wait untill we are called into the Drs office a lovely Italian lady greets us I wont share her name on here let’s just call her doctor B 🏥👩⚕️
We do the formalities and get straight into it
Bone scan results
I won’t lie this is difficult she asks me if I wanted to see the scan, she said some don’t , and some do, I didn’t want to see the scan but that’s not the words that came out of my mouth, can i see the scan please Dr , where that came from part born of curiosity and part fear of missing out.
And there I was or rather there was my skeleton, now that’s freaky , I thought I looked quit handsome for a skeleton make no bones about that ☺️
Sorry about that , couldn’t resist, but yes there I was , there were 4 of me and you could see the cancer as it was represented by a black shadow on various parts of my skeleton. My cancer had metastisized in other words it had gone on its own little journey and had travelled to other parts .
This was not good news and this is where I got a bit emotional, well I think I’m owed that one am I not I staring at the screen for what seemed ages when the Dr spoke again. Woody there is good news here too, I wondered what could be good about this.
These cancers that have spread are very small and controllable. I clearly have cancer in the prostate and pelvis area but the major organs have been spared, there is none in your blood.
The tumours in my back are very small the cancer is also in your lymph nodes this is also small, we can control this. The cancer doesn’t appear to be aggressive and seems to have metastasised but not in a bad way.
A typical bone scan mine was not as bad as the three on the right. But you can clearly see the black shadows that represent cancers.
The good news
Well, that was the bone scan and although it revealed multiple tumours the silver lining which you must look for is the size of the tumours, in this case size does count.😀 Sorry jokes are my way of dealing with stuff right now in fact I’ve changed my laugh , I’ve always been a bit of a comedian, ask any of my students, I like fun and laughter, well now I laugh much louder on purpose, I actually find it really feels good. I hear some thing funny and I give it a real loud laugh , try it , it really makes a difference. I also read a story about the man who cured himself from cancer by literally laughing his head off all day on a diet of comedy, and of course there’s Patch Adams the true story of an American doctor who treated his cancer patients with fun and laughter and his patients did show better outcomes. To be honest I actually enjoy it anyway.
Back to the good news, the Dr told me my latest PSA level . This was the big one of it had stayed the same which was 272 or increased the hormone therapy was not working and this would be a huge problem for me going forward.
I almost feel like I need a drum roll here the change was really significant she said and was good news my PSA level had plummeted to 58, this was a massive positive result , it meant that not only the hormone therapy was working but as the Dr said it was working fast.The universe appears to be on my side
I have to believe that all the thoughts and kind messages I’ve received all added to the positivity inside of me I’ve been blown away by the kind thoughts of my friends and colleagues and feel extremely grateful for the support, it makes a difference you know.❤️
Some more good news.
Nobody knows how long they have left but I wanted to know my reasonable out come I still have no idea, you read stuff and it tells you one thing you read other stuff and it tells you something else .
Look, let’s not think it’s all rainbows and unicorns I’m still in a serious health condition do I asked the question that I knew nobody on this planet could answer with any real certainty, how long have I got left doctor B? , I was shocked at the reply.
She said Woody worst case scenario if the treatment continues working 3 years, 3 yrs, wow I was expecting worst case scenario to be months or even weeks. Best case 8 years. Double triple fucking wow sorry mum for my language but that was not expected either. Now most of you would possibly be unhappy saddened by my news, let’s take the average and go for 5 years.
That’s an awful long time unless I waste it by constantly worrying about the future, well that would be a waste of time but while I’m here did you know the average human being spends
55% of their waking life regretting past events or worrying about stuff that hasn’t happened yet.
Well that’s just crazy but unfortunately it’s true, are you the reader, one of those people who spends 55% in the past and future. If you are see my previous blog. Start a new page in your life book from today. This is your opportunity.
Let’s say I get 5 years, medical advancements are changing rapidly with cancer. Who knows what will happen. I have to keep believing, it would be silly not too, I feel I’ve been given another chance, not had it taken away.
When I used to teach learners I used to get a bit fed up every now and again. Something I used to say to myself when I felt like that was Woody imagine the person that’s sitting next to you right now is going to be the one that discovers the cure for cancer, we know the universe works in mysterious ways I wouldn’t rule anything out, remember there are no such thing as accidents it just was meant to be🙏
Of course there are no guarantees but I believe so strongly it’s almost enevitable. You must too, you may be a teacher who gives inspiration, you may inspire someone by what you do, you may be the person who puts a cup of coffee down next to a homeless person, you may be someone who talks someone off a bridge, you may be someone who just says the right thing at the right time to give someone belief. That person is out there , they not even be born yet but it’s got to be so.🙏💯❤️
Keep fighting Woody,
Yes I will