Update: My Prostate "Thing" And Stomach Problem

Cody Fousnough

Cody Fousnough

Well-known member
As for my prostate cancer and stomach problem: Where I get my Lupron Hormone Injection, in which the 18 of this month, I will get my 3rd one, I got a Signatera Blood Draw (at the high recommendation of the Cancer Center) on January 14th. Got the results back as Negative. IOW: "Indicates that no tumor DNA was detected in my blood, suggesting a lower likelihood of cancer recurrence and effective treatment." The treatment means, the 28 days of radiation and the hormone injections (two so far) are working! When we both seen the results, in the Portal I have, we started crying with happiness. A "negative" result is much, much better than a "positive one", when it comes to cancer.

As for the stomach problem, that I've had two Ultrasounds, a Fibro Scan (liver) and a CT Scan done on. First Ultrasound and Fibro Scan was done before my Radiation Therapy started and before I got my first Hormone Injection was given to me. The second Ultrasound and the CT Scan was done after the Radiation Therapy and second Hormone Injection given. My wife and I had the consultation with a GI doctor and was pretty surprised, and shocked, at what he had to tell us, after a quick review of the Ultrasounds, Fibro Scan and CT Scan. BTW, if I've already stated what we were told, I'm sorry for telling again, but I have to blame a "repeat" on my age (LOL). Anyway, what we were told: "As for the 6mm gallstone, many people have a gallstone/gallstones and, depending on the size and what it/they are doing in the gallbladder, nothing needs to be done. You don't need surgery/gallbladder removed or an HIDA Scan. Your pain may just be coming from your old hip replacement. If you need to see me again, please make an appointment."
To say the least, my VA doctor was quite surprised at what he told us. However, I, sometimes, can still get a pain in that right-quadrant abdomen area. Not a serious pain, as in "got to go to the ER" pain, but still a pain.
 
Hey Cody. I'm glad to hear your great results from the Signatera! It is surprising that they don't do anything about that gallstone. Gallbladder pain can be terrible so you'd think they would go ahead and remove it. I had my gallbladder removed in 2012 and it was a very easy procedure with a tiny incision in my navel!
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Hey Cody. I'm glad to hear your great results from the Signatera! It is surprising that they don't do anything about that gallstone. Gallbladder pain can be terrible so you'd think they would go ahead and remove it. I had my gallbladder removed in 2012 and it was a very easy procedure with a tiny incision in my navel!
Click to expand...
Since we were happy, surprised and shocked, all at the same time, about what the GI doctor told us, I will, most likely do this: get either another Right Upper Quadrant Abdomen Ultrasound or CT Scan or get a second opinion from a different GI doctor. However, I do know that the pain isn't as bad as it use to be. I also read that, depending on the age of the patient, there are surgeons that don't want to do surgery on an older senior, even if it is an easy invasive surgery.

Also, my wife had her gallbladder removed, due to gallstones, in 2000, however, she was 51, not 76, like I am right now.
 
Maybe you have referred pain from your hip @Cody Fousnough. That sounds like what the GI doc was talking about. Women quite often get that stuff, but it is rare in men as far as I know, but we can still get it. A second or even a third opinion never hurts if you can afford it. The more info and opinions you can get the easier it is to make decisions.
 
Don Alaska said:
Maybe you have referred pain from your hip @Cody Fousnough. That sounds like what the GI doc was talking about. Women quite often get that stuff, but it is rare in men as far as I know, but we can still get it. A second or even a third opinion never hurts if you can afford it. The more info and opinions you can get the easier it is to make decisions.
Click to expand...
Anything that I get done, outside the VA, thru Community Care Network thru TriWest Insurance, I don't pay for. I'll talk to my VA doctor about either getting another Ultrasound, CT Scan or a second opinion with another GI doctor. Or, even an MRI of my right hip could help, to see if the hip replacement, done in 2005, is the problem.
 
That's great news on the prostate cancer, buddy!!! Ain't technology great???

Regarding stomach problems: I had that maybe 6-7 years ago and lived with it for nearly a year because I lost my health insurance (for a stupid reason) and could not sign up again until Jan of the following year (Obamacare rules.) I thought I had stomach cancer. When I got insured again I went in an had a CT Scan with a barium contrast (the milkshake you drink) and then had a colonoscopy a couple of days later (with the laxative cleansing.) A day or two after that, I realized the pain was gone. I was still aching from the months of issues, but I could tell the underlying cause was gone.

I've read that lots of people experience this...that after the cleansings, they feel better. It's as though bad bacteria (or something) gets flushed out. Of course, the doctors say "not possible," but it happened to me. The scan and colonscopy found nothing except kidney polyps (very common, and mine was benign) and a bladder stone I had taken out.
 
John Brunner said:
That's great news on the prostate cancer, buddy!!! Ain't technology great???

Regarding stomach problems: I had that maybe 6-7 years ago and lived with it for nearly a year because I lost my health insurance (for a stupid reason) and could not sign up again until Jan of the following year (Obamacare rules.) I thought I had stomach cancer. When I got insured again I went in an had a CT Scan with a barium contrast (the milkshake you drink) and then had a colonoscopy a couple of days later (with the laxative cleansing.) A day or two after that, I realized the pain was gone. I was still aching from the months of issues, but I could tell the underlying cause was gone.

I've read that lots of people experience this...that after the cleansings, they feel better. It's as though bad bacteria (or something) gets flushed out. Of course, the doctors say "not possible," but it happened to me. The scan and colonscopy found nothing except kidney polyps (very common, and mine was benign) and a bladder stone I had taken out.
Click to expand...
Interesting! When I do get another opinion, from a different GI doctor, I'll bring this up to him/her and see what they say. We have no idea why the first GI doctor gave us such a "clear path" for a diagnosis, but he did. Even my own VA doctor wonders the same thing. Something seems to be wrong, just don't know what it is or how to find out what it is.
 
Faye Fox said:
@Cody Fousnough Glad to hear you are keeping your cancer controlled. I hope you can get your digestive problems under control soon. I am doing better after gall bladder removal and keeping inflammation out of my hiatal hernia. I think GI problems are just something that comes age.
Click to expand...
First, glad to hear from you! I'm headed to that "77" age mark in a few months and I definitely (now) believe "age" has a lot to do with GI problems.
 
This past Wednesday, Feb. 18th, got that 3rd Leuprolide (Lupron) Hormone Injection and I (Nancy with me) had a short consultation with the Oncologist's Nurse Practitioner. Funny, but she was super surprised that I had all of the information with me, from the computer Portals I have, of the results of the Signatera Blood Draw that was done, as well as the PSA lab the VA Clinic done. IOW, guess none of the patients that go to this cancer center use a computer as much as I do, if at all. The NP told us "That is what my consultation with you was about (the results), but you already know both."

I did ask her just long I'd have to get this injection and she told us, "every three months for about three years."

I also told her about the tailbone pain that I sometimes get, but also, thru computer research, found out that bone density pain can be/is a side-affect of this hormone injection. She told me, "If it gets any worse, or stays for a longer period of time, please let me know".

She has scheduled me for another Signatera Blood Draw, again, from doing computer research, is basically suppose to be done every three months that I'm getting the hormone injection. I'm also scheduled for a different blood draw on the same day in April. After that, I get my last hormone injection, while living here, in May, and at that time, we will also have a consultation with the Oncologist about both blood draws.

IOW, if everything goes as planned, with our move back to northern Colorado in either the end of May or into June, I will be getting the labs and hormone injection there after we move.
 
Have a new Oncologist and seen him for the first time on July 20th. My wife was with me. He is much younger than the one in Henderson I had and from the U.S.. IOW, the other Oncologist was from another country and somewhat hard to understand (accent). The office of the new Oncologist does both Cancer treatments and the study of blood labs and is part of a major hospital here in Loveland. It's called, UC Health Medical Center of the Rockies.

The new doctor is having me get an extra blood lab that I didn't get before. This lab checks my testosterone to make sure, along with the PSA lab, that the Lupron Hormone Injection is working. He is also having me get a Bone Density Scan, because Lupron affects the bone structure in the body and an EKG. He is also going to have me, with my wife with me, go thru a class explaining the affects/side-affects of the Lupron Hormone Injection.

Both, the class and my next Lupron Injection will be August 13th. My VA Community Care Network/TriWest Insurance (again) will be paying for my continuing treatment here. Please see my next post reply.
 
Last edited:
First, on August 13th, of course with my wife with me, I had my first appointment with my VA doctor. From his standpoint, I look good, but, by our request, I'm going to get another Full-Stomach Ultrasound. I still get some pain in that right-upper quadrant of my stomach sometimes. From one Ultrasound (Right-Quadrant) I had, in Henderson, that showed a 6mm gallstone, a GI doctor told wife and I, after reading the Ultrasound report, "many people have gallstones and aren't affected by them. If you need to see me again, just make an appointment." Had another Ultrasound done (Full-Stomach one this time) before we moved from Henderson. I told my VA doctor in Henderson I'd wait and have that Report evaluated by a GI doctor in Loveland. Well, instead of seeing another GI doctor here, I'm going to get another Full-Stomach Ultrasound done at the VA Clinic here in Loveland. After that, my VA doctor, and us, will go over that report.

Anyway, got the labs done that were requested by the new Oncologist doctor and my PSA lab number now is 0.01. The class I attended for the Lupron information, was ok, and my wife was again with me. My wife and I were the only ones in the class, along with an NP (Nurse Practitioner) explaining things to us. She also went over the blood labs I had done for the Oncologist and told me that I'm anemic. Funny, but my VA doctor hasn't said a word about that to me. Will have to ask him about that. This NP has to remember that she is NOT my PCP, my VA doctor is. She done an order for me to have nine more labs done. Yes, nine more and I will tell my VA doctor about that also. Wife and I went to the Blood Laboratory at the hospital and had those done, as well as the EKG, right after I got my 5th Lupron Hormone Injection.

My next Lupron Injection is scheduled for November 5th. This will be my 6th one.
 
Sure glad to hear your cancer treatment is going so well.

Probably nothing they can do for your hip at this time in life.

I still have my bet that your gallbladder will have to come out some day. I only had occasional right lower ab pain from it, but I didn't want to chance any small stones deciding to take an exit. Also removing it helped my stomach and bowel problem. It wasn't as easy for me as some, but well worth the few hours of pain I had from removal. They did it robotically as a day surgery. Doc said it looked like a bag full of sand and gravel.

I certainly hope my new cancer journey goes as well as yours. I will have surgery sometime in October. If the full body scan shows clean, then just follow up monitoring for life. They will do blood test looking for markers that indicate spread. Even if they get it all with surgery, they explained to me, that the cells of this kind of cancer can go undetected until they reach a stage 3. I have several tumors, most 3 but a few 4 according to the biopsy. They will remove all of them, plus associated lymph nodes. Biopsy on the nodes, once removed, will determine my future treatment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top