Exit Stage Left

Wednesday, 07^th June, 2023

Today is a bit confusing. I had a double booking, an afternoon with the Hampshire MS Support group — who are lovely — and an 1130 telephone appointment with Oncology. Probably my last with Gloucestershire. This one is feedback from my MRI scan. The MRI seemed almost to have been fitted in because the PET scan didn’t happen.

So.

The scan shows a Prostate tumour, which we know, BUT no sign of spreading to the lymph node. The left iliac proboscis neve, or whatever it was, didn’t get a mention. From my layman’s knowledge, the lymph nodes are the likely vehicle for the big C zooming around my body, as opposed to the slow ponderous neighbouring ‘infiltration’ of localised spread. Which, it seems to me, is jolly good news. 

‘What about the bladder?’ I ask.

‘Why do you say that?’

I mention the previous report that mentioned localised infiltration of the bladder (see where I got the vocabulary from?).

There is no mention of the bladder on the report. Which is curious because if there was local spread it would normally be mentioned on the document.

‘I’ll check with imaging, but I would have thought they’d have mentioned it if it was there.’

Well. That might be even better than jolly good news. Don’t get giddy, don’t get complacent. But a little good news amongst a catalogue of eyebrow-raising is worth something, no?

How to deal with it? Process it. What’s going on?

I ask about the surprisingly low PSA of 16.5 from the blood test in May. She won’t be drawn. I ask about the value in going private for a PET scan. I’d have to listen to the recording again for the full detail, but nutshelling, don’t bother, whatever it tells us we go down the same path anyway. I could have had one if I still lived in Wales, apparently. If you’re English and live in Wales, good news. Welsh and live in England, boo-hoo. Well, Gloucestershire, at least. We discuss the move to Southampton. They should invite me in, soon, she’ll chase them up.

Tracey has sat with me and listened to the call. I’m confused because I thought it was the bladder causing my weeing problems. She’s spoken to a couple of folk who have had similar problems and theirs was from the Prostate tumour. So, the pain from weeing is good news. Who knew?

‘So that seems all good news, then?’

‘Seems to be.’

‘Blimey.’

It’s back to the MS crowd. But that’s for another blog.