Hi guys, I was just about to get stuck back into my Word Press blog development modules when I realized (some would call it escapism – I’m no tech-head.) that a personal update from me was long overdue, so here goes…

Recent blood test indicates my prostate specific antigen, PSA, has gone up slightly over the past six months or so. Up from 9.50 to 9,90. A disappointing result considering my efforts to control progression of my aggressive prostate cancer (9 on the Gleeson scale).
But by the same token the result could well have been much higher without that effort
Besides, and as I have said before, I don’t give much credibility to PSA readings
being, as they are, dubious in terms of accuracy and further, subject to causes
other than the cancer.

Main concern for me at present is the 6-8 mm kidney stone lodged in the lower left
lobe of my lone kidney. Initial assumptions made by my urologist 12 months ago
that it was of a Uric acid composition have now been discounted following many
months attempting to dissolve it medically. The diagnosis is now that it is calcium
based and cannot be dissolved.

Being my only kidney I have little choice but to review the options open to me with
some urgency. According to my urologist my options include: Lithotripsy (+/- retrograde imaging), a flexible pyeloscopy with laser, percutaneous nephrolithotomy or watchful waiting. They all sound bloody awful don’t they?

Having read that kidney stones can be a precursor for chronic kidney disease (CKD) I
am not keen on the watchful waiting idea believing I need to resolve this issue as quickly
as possible. My thoughts tend towards the lithotripsy (+/- retrograde imaging) also known as extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) but will be seeing another urologist shortly to get another opinion and then to arrange treatment.

Meanwhile, I can only hope that the stone isn’t dislodged into the urinary track creating
a need for emergency treatment. An extremely painful experience as I know from my
distant past.

Meanwhile, I will visit my Chinese herbalist tomorrow for his opinion. On my last visit
he suggested a program for me which I didn’t follow up with because of a six weeks bout of flu. I’m keen to hear what he has to say. I have heard of other people having excellent results from him.
Wish me luck, huh?

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Update - Dec 08. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.