Still on the Right Side of the Grass

[BrooklynJerry]

Sorry to read this. Since with all you've been through I'd have thought the Dr's would be more on your side. But I guess they don't understand that being strong is the best way to survive. I hope you get what you want.

[Browndog]

4/20/24

Started a new training cycle this week. The weights are still on the light side, and we're trying to move the "fast / explosively".

Unfortunately, everything felt really heavy, and today everything hurt ... especially both my knees (what's up with that, I thought we were past that shit).

Had the latest blood draw on Tuesday, and I'm still waiting to hear back from the docs. I know they have the results, tic toc muthafuckers ...

Not gonna lie, this has got me down at the moment.

[BrooklynJerry]

Sorry to read this. Some doctors are very uncaring.

[Browndog]

4/24/24

**** Rant On ****

I post here for any number of reasons, one of which is to simply let off steam, and by golly, that's what I'm about to do.

For those of you who are interested, go to the search engine of your choice and query:

"Does radiation therapy (I did not have Proton Beam) for Prostate Cancer cause a drop in testosterone levels?"

In short, IT DOES !!!

Did you know that? I sure as hell didn't know that, though is hindsight it makes all sorts of sense.

Did any of my doctors think to mention this prior to treatment, during treatment, after treatment, or perhaps entertain the idea that the problems I've been experiencing the last 4+ years were due to my treatment regimen ... they did not, nor have they to date.

This "discovery" pissed me off, upset me, baffled me, and kept me awake all Monday night.

My cancer team belongs to "a center of excellence for cancer care", a supposedly hard to obtain certification for US institutions. The lead doctor was a friend (he has since retired), and was very attentive to my lifestyle and concerns going forward, and even he never mentioned the eventuality of a drop on T levels. My PCP prior to and during treatment was a person we're all familiar with, and he too was attentive to my needs and wishes, but never ever mentioned the eventual drop on T levels I'd experience. My current PCP ... pfft, I've had to drag him along to address any and every concern I've had #useless.

So I find myself being told by this center of excellence, that my T levels aren't what they consider low, and that they feel that TRT therapy would present a danger to a recurrence of my PC going forward, and won't sign off on such treatment.

Here's a thought experiment:

You go into your doctor and present with (gross symptomology to save space and time):
1) Overwhelming Fatigue
2) Musculoskeletal Pain
3) Demonstrable Loss of Strength and Coordination and Explosiveness
4) Low Libido

Don't you think there are issues here that warrant investigation? Hmmm ... HMMMM ?!?!

I had to fight like hell just to get a thyroid panel processed, and when that came back as a problem, the PCP treated it ineffectively: by the book, strictly by the numbers, and not the symptoms.

And here I am, in the same damn place, fighting the experts to address my symptoms ... symptoms they created. They're hell bent to treat me by the numbers, and not my symptoms.

This sounds like one of those Penthouse Stories: "I never thought this would happen to me ..."

***

I just want some honest dialogue from these guys, and I'm not getting it.

I'm gonna have to ask to speak with a patient advocate / ombudsman, and then demand a sit down with the Urology team.

It shouldn't have had to come to this, but here we are.

****Rant Off****

[Mr. Bingley]

This sounds like one of those Penthouse Stories: "I never thought this would happen to me ..."

You made it to the stories? I never got past the "Letters" section

I'm so sorry to hear about all these continued problems BD. As you know I chose a date with the robot for my cancer and for me it was like I'd won the lottery too: pretty much all the side effects that they said there was a small chance of getting I got. I'm still sort of figuring out what (if anything frankly) to do about it, as everything it seems has side effects and trade offs. It roundly sucks but for me I'm glad the cancer is gone at the end of the day. But my road has been a lot less bumpy than yours.