Hismones 05/29/25

I'm so glad that to the expression, "Good things come to those who wait," the word "patiently" wasn't added. Because I haven't been. That said, my telemed appointment this morning with radiation oncologist Dr. Jerry Barker revealed some very good news: after 5 months of hormone therapy and 44 radiation treatments, my PSA that measured 6.4 last August when diagnostics began is now down to 0.01 (the lowest they are able to detect). Thanks be to God, to the medical team, and to science! The follow up treatment is to continue Orgovyx daily (ostensibly for 19 more months) and to have PSA checked every 3 months. Dr. Barker and I discussed pros and cons of shortening the hormone therapy or changing to another drug, but I don't want to consider that until 1 year of this drug is completed. It was nice, too, that office staff worked to connect Tammy on the call even though she was driving across Kentucky at the time. It was in essence a three-way FaceTime conversation that their communication software accepted. On another very different aspect of my health, I have been doing a little vegan experimenting in the kitchen while Tammy is away. I've tried some packaged items ("Ultimate Burger," "Roasted Poblano Enchiladas") and our neighbor brought me a bowl of Panama-style chicken with vegetables soup with white rice (I gave the chicken and broth to our pup; all was delicious) but also followed recipes to create a Tofu Scramble (looks like scrambled eggs, served on toast and tastes pretty decent!) and Vegan Collard Greens which were pretty tasty but probably better with bacon or ham. :-) These might not be favorites but are palatable and make "veganizing" survivable. I'm not sure how completely I can follow the plant-based lifestyle, but the more closely I do when hormone therapy is complete, the better off my long-term health will be. I have two upcoming procedures: thumb reconstruction June 4 and routine colonoscopy June 16, so there's little time for boredom, and I'm working to have the Miata ready for Ashley to have a driving/instructor day June 21. My next PSA check will be August 22 and I will now be followed by Dr. Andrew Hollander, surgical oncologist and hormone specialist, beginning in September. God is good all the time, but today is an exceptionally good day.