It’s been a relatively busy two weeks. We had a lean-to constructed in the garden, attached to the back of the house – thanks Gerard for your hard work. Araon and Angela joined us for dinner which was great fun - I even had a very small ‘nip’ of the whisky they generously gave us; Shirley loves a small dram. We also had the pleasure of seeing Freya Ridings in concert at the Royal Albert Hall – by far my favourite venue – preceded by a delicious dinner in the Elgar Rooms, what a lovely treat! And, last weekend, our wonderful friend Sam visited us, it’s so delightful to have such attentive friends.
So, my consultation was yesterday, and I have to admit that both Shirley and I were a little anxious, especially after my last encounter. To my surprise the phone call came early, about two hours ahead of schedule, this caught me out, but I re-grouped quickly, lining up questions in my head. The consultant got straight into it with my PSA number: ‘You’re most recent PSA result was 2.0, this is very good ….’. The consultant continued to explain my PSA result, whilst I took a moment to process. I asked her to repeat the number: ‘2.0’. It really was 2, I hadn’t misheard, I was ecstatic, I’m back in the ‘normal’ range. What about my ALP? ‘You’re ALP has risen a little to 157, but for your circumstance this is absolutely fine.’ – and even I know that it’s way better than 900, which was my start point. So, what does all this mean? ‘We can now extend your review periods to three months’ – ‘Watchful Waiting’ is now officially a go! Needless to say, I am delighted with this outcome … and Ecosia’s AI tells me my results are ‘exceptional’, well I would expect nothing less!
I then got the chance to have the consultant qualify my scan results, which was reassuring. We also briefly discussed the ‘exercise’ related aching that I’m getting in my lower back. I did have some low-level anxiety about this, but as that aching pretty much tracks against my activity levels – busy, physical exercise bringing it on - it’s ‘probably’ not anything to worry about. The consultant agreed, but informed me that it is something to be aware of and monitor, along with other aches and pains, unexplained weight loss and urinary changes. All these factors I will need report back on every three-months when my bloods are done. On-going, it will be trends in PSA and ALP, along with scan results and reported symptoms which will determine how I’m doing. But all that is for the next check-up in three-months time, yay! In the meantime, with fantastic support and help from my gorgeous wife, I aim to get back to something approaching normal life, albeit a little less energetically. A fun and rewarding three-months beckons.
