Annual Physical

Well, it's official.  The P&S has been signed for our new house.  We are looking to close on January 2, although we still don't know when we will be moving in.  Nancy, who bought our house, would be happy for us to stay here through the winter, as she won't be moving in before spring.  That gives us a lot of flexibility to allow the owners of our new house to stay for a while if they need time to find their new home.  I don't know when this game of musical chairs will end.

I haven't had an annual physical for a while, so I recently scheduled one.  After the obligatory proctology exam (bend over and smile), Dr. Guidi informed me that my prostate is somewhat enlarged.   Over the years, I have elected not to have my PSA tested during normal blood tests.  The last time I had a PSA test was at least 15 years ago, and my number was below 2.  There is a lot of controversy in the medical community about the necessity for the PSA test, as it often reveals false positive results, which may lead to over-treatment of either benign or slow-growing prostate tumors.  Besides, I had no family history of prostate cancers.  So I again told the doctor not to schedule the PSA test when I came in for my blood test the next week.

When I arrived for the blood test, I suddenly made a spur-of-the-moment decision to have my PSA tested.  I changed my mind on this based on the fact that the chemotherapy I underwent for my ASCT (melphalan) and long-term use of Revlimid both have resulted in increased incidents of secondary cancers in MM patients.  For example, I had surgery to remove a squamous cell carcinoma from my face earlier this year.  I don't know that that was linked to my MM treatments, but I think I can no longer wait passively while sitting on potential time bombs like this.

A few day later, the nurse, Gail, called me with the results of the tests.  "They were mostly good", she said.  Hmmm.  So, exactly what does "mostly good" mean.  Well, she then told me that my PSA result was high.  How high?  "10.5", she said.  Gulp.  For someone my age, normal PSA results should be less than 6.5-7.5, so this is a bit out of the normal range.  She then proceeded to get me an appointment with a urologist at Lahey Clinic on December 15. 

At this point, I decided to seek Dr. Richardson's advice.  I emailed him about my results and my scheduled appointment.  I told him that if I do get diagnosed with prostate cancer, I want to be at the Farber, and who should I see?  He responded immediately and said to go ahead with my appointment next month and we can go from there once we know what's going on.  He then recommended a couple of specialists at the Farber if that becomes necessary. 

I have to admit that I'm mildly concerned, but I'm not stressed out about this.  Que sera, sera.  All I can do is wait and see.  In the meantime, The Patriots are about to play the Colts, so I have to go watch the game!