Category: Cancer

Cancer Beat

Posted in Cancer, Guy's Cancer Centre, NHS, Prostate Cancer2 Comments

I’m fully aware there is something a bit performative about writing a cancer blog, I knew it from the start, and I know it now. Look at me banging on about my prostate cancer. It’s very self-regarding, but all writers like a subject and from the day in November 2017 when I received news of an unwelcome guest inhabiting my insides it’s been my subject. Or rather it used to be.

Looking back at this blog’s content you’ll see there hasn’t been much activity of late. This has been entirely intentional. I used to write and get paid for my musings by a US cancer website. I’d read every article I could find on the subject to see what new treatments might be on the way. I was a close watcher of other cancer blogs and substacks. I was a walking talking cancer commentator. After a while, and with my cancer in something of a rout and retreat I decided to walk away, enough cancer for a while. Frankly I was sick of it. Seven years was more than enough.

As readers will know I’ve always thought my cancer would likely return. Perhaps this is just another way of dealing with the superstition that if you say you’re cancer free then cancer would probably sidle up to you one day and say: Really? Yah think so?

All of which has probably got you thinking that Jim’s cancer has returned, but I’m here to tell you that so far it hasn’t.

Last year, having been free of the little bastard for five years, my treatment was passed back from Guy’s Cancer Centre to my GP. I now get a PSA test every January to see the state of play. The current reading, which I got yesterday, is a healthy 0.48 a little down from last year when it stood at 0.51. Only when it exceeds 2.0 do the alarm bells start to ring.

I always get a little nervous at this time of year with what I’ve previously described at Stats Angst. I was pondering this over the weekend. If the result was saint style as Bridget Jones used to say, then my life would wander on as it has been for the last year or so with the major worry being that I’m not practising the piano enough. If, however, the number was a shocker then things would look very different indeed. This is of course a statement of the entirely bleeding obvious, but it still had the ability to occupy my mind.

For a year I shall endeavour to worry about other things but not cancer. I still think it’s entirely possible that I’ll be back on the cancer beat at some point in the future but not today you little bastard, not today.

My Prostate Biopsy Story

Posted in Cancer, Prostate CancerLeave a comment

A biopsy is a check to test whether you have prostate cancer or not. Perhaps you’ve been told you may need this procedure and would like to know what happens. This is my story.

Feeling nervous about a biopsy?

If you’re having a biopsy, you may be nervous for two very good reasons.

  • The medics think there is a chance you have prostate cancer
  • It’s a procedure that can hurt for some

For reason one, I’m unable to offer much comfort. You may have had digital exams, PSA tests, and more. The biopsy is there to confirm whether there is cancer located in your prostate.

As to reason two, I can at least offer a little comfort. It is a relatively quick procedure, and while being invasive and unpleasant for me, it was not too terrible and only hurt a little.

Read on

Coping with Prostate Cancer Over the Holidays

Posted in Cancer, NHS, Prostate CancerLeave a comment

Coping with prostate cancer at any time is stressful, and over the holiday season it can be so much worse. The contrast between a festive atmosphere when you feel obliged to have fun and the reality of a serious illness can be emotionally draining.

How to face tough holiday challenges

There is the risk of isolation. Sufferers may not have the energy to get involved with celebrations and long-held family traditions. There may be difficulties with travel, getting food on the table, and other holiday activities. This can contribute to loneliness.

Families may be tasked with explaining to children why grandad isn’t so spry and chipper this year. Any serious illness will bring uncertainty and fear as to what the new year may bring and what the future holds. These are tough challenges. How can they be faced?

Read on…

Climbing the Cancer Mountain

Posted in Cancer, Guy's Cancer Centre, Mental Health, Prostate Cancer, Radiotherapy, St Thomas' HospitalLeave a comment

We’ll get to the cancer mountain in a moment but first let’s examine ignorance. Ignorance among men about prostate cancer is widespread. A UK cancer charity, Prostate Cancer UK, recently set about unearthing the problem. They discovered many men assumed if they had prostate cancer they would present with symptoms. Most had no idea where the prostate is located or what function it performs.

Answers to common prostate cancer questions

In short order here are some answers to common questions:

*You can contract prostate cancer and have no symptoms.

*Your prostate is located just below your bladder. It is described as being the size of a walnut.

*The prostate generates fluid that is part of semen.

*The average age at the time of diagnosis is 66 years. It is rare in individuals under 40, though can happen.

*Black men are at higher risk for developing and dying from prostate cancer.

*A family history of prostate cancer can also put an individual at greater risk.

READ ON

Unwelcome guest update

Posted in Cancer, Guy's Cancer Centre, Hormone therapy, NHS, Prostate Cancer, UncategorizedLeave a comment

It’s 9th August 2023 and once again good news comes from the Oncology department at Guy’s Hospital. 

Six months ago my PSA level stood at a commendable 0.50 and I’ve just been told by my contact Jenneh from radiology that it now lists at 0.52.

As ever I was a little nervous before the call but can now sit back and relax for another six months.

I was diagnosed in November 2017, and all treatment was completed in August 2020. Having climbed to Annapurna Basecamp in April of this year things could be a whole lot worse. Still part of the NED Squad and thankful for it.

Picking the right treatment

Posted in Cancer, Cryotherapy, Guy's Cancer Centre, Hormone therapy, Prostate Cancer, Radiotherapy, TomotherapyLeave a comment

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men in the United States. As a result, there has been a lot of research into prostate cancer treatments.

When your doctor tells you you’ve contracted this malicious disease and you’ve picked yourself off the floor, there are many therapies for you to consider. At the risk of telling readers what they already know, among the options are prostatectomy, where the prostate is removed; hormone therapy, which depletes testosterone on which the cancer thrives; and radiotherapy, which fires beams of energy at the cancer cells. There are other options such as cryotherapy as well.

How I selected a treatment

When I was diagnosed, I remember a nurse telling me that ultimately when I had all the facts, I’d have to decide between a combination of hormone and radiotherapy or having my prostate removed. I remember being bemused by this responsibility. Not being a doctor, how would I know what the best treatment would be? It was such a huge decision that was about to be taken by someone intrinsically involved, but without any of the insight required.

Read on

Trying to Dodge (But Also Deal With) Health Issues and Aging

Posted in Cancer, Hormone therapy, RadiotherapyLeave a comment

Thirty years ago (can it really be that long?) I was working at ABC News and was a frequent visitor to Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict. You may recall all the journalists stayed at the much-bombed Holiday Inn that had been built for the 1984 Winter Olympics. The Serb forces were ranged above in the mountains that surround the city. Outside the hotel was Sniper Alley. You had to drive at top speed to gain access to the underground car park before a sniper decided you might be an interesting target. It was an adrenalin rush, but not one I’m keen to repeat.

Now at the age of 68, I have a new Sniper Alley where bullets are traded for prostate cancer, heart attack, stroke, and shingles, just to name a few. Prostate cancer caught me, but so far I’ve managed to dodge the other bullets. Other friends and colleagues also cruising (or stumbling) down this new alley have not always been as lucky.

Read on…

Putting the Freeze on Cancer With Cryotherapy

Posted in Cancer, Guy's Cancer Centre, Prostate CancerLeave a comment

A case study about a friend of mine

During the summer of 2022 I learned my friend Les had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Eagle-eyed readers of this website may remember I wrote an article titled “A Friend Phones With Bad News” where we left Les considering either brachytherapy or cryotherapy to treat his condition.

To refresh your memory, his prostate cancer was discovered relatively early. He had been on active surveillance, so when the bad news came, the cancer had not spread outside the prostate. His PSA stood at 5, and his combined Gleason was 7.

To cut to the chase, Les decided to go with focal cryotherapy, so a brief look at this not-so-well-known treatment seems in order.

What is cryotherapy?

There are two types of cryotherapy: whole prostate and focal. As the names suggest, the former targets the whole prostate and the latter just the cancerous area. Both take place under general anesthesia. Cryotherapy is generally offered if the cancer has not spread outside the prostate. This treatment tends to be less invasive than others, such as surgery

Read on…

Grief, Anger, and Coping With Loss

Posted in Cancer, Mental Health, NHSLeave a comment

It was my six-month cancer call with the oncologist recently. Thankfully my bullet-dodging skills seem to be in good shape. Two years after completing 36 months of hormone therapy and nearly four years since my last ride in the radiotherapy donut, my PSA stands at 0.41.

Back in February it measured 0.23, so although it has nearly doubled, the figures are still small. With testosterone back in my system, and a welcome drop in side effects, this was to be expected.

So far so good, but if my PSA were to hit 2 then all kinds of alarm bells will start to sound. Obviously, things don’t always go right, which got me thinking about grief and loss and how we deal with those two tormentors.

What grief looks like

I’m guessing many people reading this will have heard the phrase or perhaps even used it themselves. It usually comes in the form of a question: “Is there anything I can do to help you get through this?”

Perhaps I need to back up a little. Some explanation is required. In Hollywood when a character is hit with a life-wrenching event such as the death of a friend or child, a certain amount of destruction seems to be required. Televisions will be smashed on to coffee tables and crockery swept to the floor. Good visual shorthand for grief and anger.

Perhaps it’s my staid middle-class upbringing, but in times of grief our glassware has little to fear as all the action takes place off stage in my head. The hurt and anger is internalized, which is not much use to a film director.

Read on…