Scattered Thoughts . . .

T his evening, I was notified of my latest test results...  all results were negative and, when it comes to test results, negative is a good thing. PSA - my numbers were low which is a good thing since high numbers are a possible indication of prostate cancer...  so, no indications of prostate cancer...   good news. Metabolic Panel - all results were in normal range which means no signs of kidney infection.  This is a good indication that I don't have a far more involved strep infection...  good news.   Urinalysis - all results were normal here as well.  No blood in urine...  all characteristics of the urine was normal...  good news. The only remaining possibility that is left is that perhaps I passed a small kidney stone and that caused a fast healing abrasion in my urinary tract that bled only shortly after passing the stone. The doctor said if I see bleeding again, then I will be referred to a urologist.  In the meantime, I need to keep drinking plenty of fluids which I've

A s I mentioned in a previous blog entry, I had another appointment with my oncologist the other day.  This morning we took a trip up to the hospital to run some tests. The other day, my oncologist and I discussed my current health, obviously, as well as some new treatments that have very recently been FDA approved for my rare illness.  These are the first two approved treatments specifically for my rare illness.  I spent some time over the past two days researching these treatments and discussing them with Sheila. First, let me start by saying that I'm fairly confident that my health is not  at a point where I think either of these drugs should be necessary.  My oncologist is simply trying to help improve my daily life.  She also wants to ensure that we aren't putting my health on the back burner instead of quickly jumping on treating something that is treatable but could quickly become life-threatening if left untreated.   One of the newly approved drugs to treat my rare illn