Seidman ... Again

 

Seidman Cancer Center
Beachwood, Ohio

Monday, August 10, 2020; 9:00 a.m.

In a couple of hours, Joyce and I will drive back up to Seidman Cancer Center in Beachwood (for the gajillion-th time), where I will meet with my oncologist, review my recent test scores, talk--and I'll probably get a couple of injections, too.

I've been on a new med, Xtandi, since July 17, and its effects have been quick: My PSA score (Prostate Specific Antigen) dropped from my June measurement of 5.12 (it had begun rising again after a steady fall for a bit) to 0.65. (The PSA score is an indicator of the growth of my cancer.) That's very encouraging.

The other blood work was good, also--a couple of small deviations from the norm, but we'll see what my physician has to say about them.

Less encouraging: My dizziness has grown ever worse since I've begun the Xtandi. On Saturday, Joyce had to help me up the stairs, help me get ready for bed. And this morning I didn't dare walk over to the coffee shop (as is my long, beloved habit): I knew I couldn't make it--not without some visits with the sidewalk, up close and personal. (A new kind of Face Time?)

There is an alternative drug we'll probably talk about today (I forget the name), but it includes some other unpleasant side effects, so we'll see what he recommends. Right now, I have very little time during the day when I can stand up--sitting and lying down are all right, so far.

Today's appointment is for early afternoon, so I may post a follow-up later today--or tomorrow. We'll see.

Monday, 2:51 p.m.

We're back. A fairly easy drive up there--the I-271 project, which has lasted longer than the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, is starting to make sense (though some drivers on the road are manifestly not)--and we arrived a bit early.

We went through the checks: temperature, questions about COVID, etc. Then we sat socially-distanced in a waiting room before they called us back for vitals (weight, BP, etc.)--then some more waiting for my oncologist to arrive (not all that long, really).

He was happy with my numbers--but not happy with my dizziness (join the party!), so we are going to try adjusting the meds to see if there's any effect. (He's also submitting a request for an inner-ear guy.) I felt better, just talking about it with someone who's concerned about it and wants to try some things. I've often received just shrugs before--as if to say, Not my thing ... sorry.

He also wants me to drink more--no, not that way!

So ... I will go off Xtandi for a week--and if there's dizziness-improvement, then he'll adjust the dosage. Today, I also received no Trelstar injection (another suppressant of testosterone--another possible source of the dizziness) and will see how I'm doing in six weeks, when I visit again.

I did get an injection of Xgeva, a bone-strengthening med (my cancer is now in my bones--and Trelstar weakens the bones). Not a bad one--in an area beneath my arm. Can be painful--but this nurse was excellent.

So ... encouraging numbers, discouraging dizziness, encouraging efforts by physician to look for solutions, wonderful ride home with Joyce--and small lunch with Joyce--and hope, hope, hope, which, as Miss Emily wrote, is winged.