Cycled over to the university for a CT scan and a PET/Bone scan. The whole process takes about four hours and I do this every six weeks for the study. Within a few hours, reports for both scans popped up in my phone app, with nothing new to report, which is good.
Category: Cancer
Payday
Today I received my monthly stipend for participating in the clinical trial. I feel uncomfortable being paid for receiving great healthcare, so the payments will go to a University of Minnesota Medical School scholarship fund.
Happy Places
Chatted with nurse Danielle about her upcoming trip to Portugal while she set up an infusion line. I’ve now had two (of four) Lutetium-177 PSMA I&T (!) infusions and early results are promising. Danielle is excited about her first trip to Europe on Friday.
Atomic Me
Got the first of four radioactive infusions. For a few days there’s no kissing or flying, which is easy, as I’m in Minneapolis and Dwight’s in Palm Springs. When I do return to Palm Springs, I may set off an airport radiation detector, which could be interesting.
My Atomic Superpower
Posted My Atomic Superpower.
My Atomic Superpower
Will a radioactive drug give me atomic superpowers?
Buying Time by Sticking It to Cancer
These drugs are becoming less effective against my prostate cancer. Today I was randomized to a study drug on a phase 3 clinical trial. I’ll be injected 4 times with a drug that selectively sticks to tumor. A radioactive metal stuck to the drug may “stick it” to the tumor. I’m grateful and hopeful.
Big Boy Toy
Walked the Mall of America with friends. Made an impulse purchase at the LEGO store: a reward for riding a medical rollercoaster in the past 24 hours. (It ended well, reward enough.) There’s a tradition here: whenever I visited “the doctor’s big house” (hospital) as a kid, my dad would give me a toy car.
Eyes to Thighs PET/CT Scan
Got injected with a radioactive tracer that sticks to prostate cancer cells, prior to being slid through a hybrid PET/CT scanner. This will help determine if I qualify for a clinical trial. The tracer and the high sensitivity of the scanner are recent innovations.
A Focus on Normal Activities
Last appointment of the day: haircut by Emily. I’ve known her 30 years and look forward to our conversations. Earlier, managed to sandwich GED tutoring between a radioactive tracer injection and a whole-body bone scan. All those activities were on today’s walk: I choose to live as normally as possible.