Good news ...

  ... it's not in the bones. Paul's cancer, that is.

Bad news ... yep, it's not all good news ... it's an aggressive cancer (for those in the know, Gleason scale 9, 4+5) and has to be treated. Seems some Prostate cancers aren't treated but just 'watched'. Paul's has to be treated else it will spread and it will kill.

Good news ... treatment started immediately after we were given the news. He's started on hormone therapy and the consultant tells us that from the first pill it starts to kill the cancer. There are side effects to the hormone therapy, or likely to be, not least menopausal symptoms ... hot flushes and the like. Brought a smile to my face, I have to say. As long as he doesn't suffer mood swings I think we'll cope! He might suffer more than I did going through that stage of my life 'cos I had it pretty easy compared with a lot.

He's still to have an MRI (next week) to check out the surrounding soft tissue so we're still keeping fingers crossed that it's not found it's way into that. We're after good news again. Treatment is now transferred to an Oncologist who will decide, once the hormone therapy has started to really do it's work, whether he needs radiotherapy. If he does he'll be looking forward to about 8 weeks of daily visits to the hospital to be zapped (except for weekends and Bank Holidays ... of course) in a few months time. Hormone therapy is likely to be for life and given by injection every 3 months.

Dad - well, what can I say?  He had more than a couple of stitches in his head.  From what I saw it was more like a dozen.  Youngest son ended up going to keep him company at the hospital because carer had to go in the end.  I'm told he kept the other patients amused.  Seems he thought he'd lost a leg.  When it was pointed out he still had a leg he decided it was a foot he'd lost.  My son, his grandson, became his son-in-law whose name was Russell (his name is Wayne),  Could understand that to some extent if we had a Russell in the family but we don't and don't know anyone with that name either.  Hospital wanted to make sure he could walk OK before they discharged him.  Loaned him a walking frame and decided he couldn't possibly go home walking the way he was.  Wayne asked if they were going to keep him permanently, in that case, 'cos the way he was walking was as good as it got - lol!

  

Today (yesterday now 'cos I'm typing this at nearly 5am in the morning!) I spent the afternoon at the hospital with him.  Scheduled appointment at Trauma and Orthopaedics to have them consider knee replacements.  Finally got him to agree to consider that option if they would do it.  It's only taken about 20 years from when he was originally offered that option and refused it ... because he might end up in a wheelchair!  Thinking they'd say, no way José, they've not blown the idea out of the water but he has been referred to a specialist unit and a specialist knee surgeon.  Xrays show he has no knees to speak of.  They have disappeared under years of neglected osteo-arthritis.  It's possible that they are too bad to do anything with, hence the referral to a specialist unit.  If it is possible, and they're prepared to do it, then it will be both knees, fully replaced, at the same time.  Keeping fingers crossed that they will give it a go and it works.  He can't be any worse off it it doesn't, that's for sure.

Still trying to get time together to update this blog and to start blogging properly again but it just doesn't seem to be happening.  One day ....

Thanks for dropping by .....