Advanced Prostate Cancer

DOB: 9-9-96

Advanced Prostate Cancer, birthdays, David Emerson, family -

It seems like yesterday, it seems like a lifetime ago.

To see him born, to see him grow into a young man and bring me the joy that he does. It makes me proud to be his father.
Twelve years is not nearly enough.
So today, on his twelfth birthday I have a request to God, please allow me to continue my battle with Prostate Cancer long enough for me to:
– watch him graduate from middle school and move on to high school (May 2011)
– teach him to drive and get his first drivers license (2012)
– celebrate his high school graduation (2015)
– send him off to college
– attend his wedding
– hold my first grandchild
……so much more…..
Happy Birthday Brad, I love you son, you are the best!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So where does a twelve year old ask to go for his birthday dinner? Houston’s, where else! We had a great evening and I even cheated by having bbq ribs for the first time in four years! They were fantastic, just as I remembered! It was a great meal, for a special occassion, spent with special people.

Some good, some not so good

Advanced Prostate Cancer, chemotherapy, David Emerson, INR, white blood cell count -

What a whirlwind day yesterday was.

First, I barely slept Monday night. I would guess I got about 4-5 hours of sleep. Most of it was tossing and turning. Must have been the Dex!
My treatment appointment was at 1:00pm. We usually do mornings but with the holiday we had little choice. Morning avoid delay and backlog…..afternoon appointment tend to get you want we got. I checked in at 1:00pm and just before 2:00p, I was called back to have my blood drawn for lab work (PSA, CBC panel, INR all the good stuff!).
The phlebotomist says “I can’t believe you checked in at one and they just gave me your paperwork. We’ve just been back here catching up on paper work and refilling supply cabinets”. I don’t believe you could describe the look on my face as a smile.
So, needless to say that was followed with a meeting with Dr. V’s Physician Assistant. All went well there. She did review the radiology report from Friday’s bone scan. “No new areas, all existing areas (i.e. tumors) are stable and show no uptake”. She did not have my INR or PSA but my CBC showed my WBC had fully recovered and was actually a little high. She said it can indicate that I am fighting an infection but after further discussion and a re-cap of my activities over the last two weekends she was confident I am not. I shared with her the lovely bruising across my stomach (from the Lovenox shots) and expressed my desire to get off them ASAP. No such luck as I’ll share later.
After this we went up to treatment. This takes about two hours with all the preparation, pre-treatment medications and then one hour of Taxotere. Mary was catching up on work, I watched most of the movie “Sideways” on my iPod [great movie!]. As the time was approaching 5:00pm Mary went back down stairs to get my lab results.
PSA – 41.36
INR – 1.6
The PSA was ‘stable’ using her words. The increase was just 1.38. As others have described this is ‘statistically insignificant’. Whatever! We had pinned our hopes on another decrease, but oh well, we looked forward to the next test on the 22nd.
As for the INR (test for blood thinner to deal with blood clot in leg). They want this number to be over two. After almost four weeks we obviously are not there yet. They upped the dosage of Coumadin but I have to continue the shots. I am getting REALLY tired of poking myself with a needle each morning. I mean REALLY tired! I think I do a pretty good job of not complaining or whining here, give me a little slack for once….this just plain sucks! So it’s back to Walgreen’s to get a new stock of needles!
The good news at the end of the day is last night, after all the Dex that I took and that they pumped into me I actually got some sleep! It was not complete or without interruptions, but it wasn’t the standard night after treatment when I am awake from 1-5am! The silver lining, well perhaps bronze but I’m not complaining!
And so the saga continues…..

#5, 9-2-08

Advanced Prostate Cancer, chemotherapy, David Emerson, Macon MO, Olathe Disc Golf, PCa -
Tomorrow is chemo treatment number five.

We spent Friday night through Sunday noon at my brothers place in Macon, Mo.
We ate really well (grilled glazed salmon one night, smoked chicken with grilled pineapple another)! Brad got to ride the four wheeler all by himself, he was getting pretty good tearing through the mud by the time we left! As in the past I mowed grass for about two hours on Saturday morning and then chopped about a quarter cord of firewood. Strange, but very therapeutic for me.

Last night I finished another book, James Patterson’s “1st To Die”. A very interesting murder – mystery. What I didn’t know before I started the book was that the main character begins a battle with a potentially incurable disease. I have a knack for movies and books with characters like this one. This was the first in a series of six. I bought numbers two and three at Target today.

This morning we played disc golf. I shot four over par at a course we don’t play very often. After I returned home I spent around two hours doing much needed yard work. Tending to the vegetable garden, trimming and fertilizing our roses etc. After that, I spent another two hours painting window frames.

Why bore you with all these details? Just trying to point out that once again, I seem to have fully recovered three weeks after my last treatment.

Here’s to number five; may my tests bring good news and may God grace me with the strength to combat the side effects one more time.

Peace be with everyone.

Hi, remember me?

Advanced Prostate Cancer, bone scan, David Emerson, PCa -

Back in September 2006, I posted this.

Tomorrow I have to go in for what I am estimating is my 8th bone scan. This is a routine part of the clinical trial I am taking art in, so don’t get worried. There’s not much to it; I’ll go in at 8:00, get injected with some radioactive fluid, then I’ll come back two hours later and lie on an x-ray machine for about 40 minutes and that will be it!

Tuesday I’ll review the results and they my provide me with chemo transfusion number five.

We have a big, busy weekend planned, more details on that in a later post.

Here’s to long weekends, may each of you your Labor Day: be safe and enjoy some time with your family and friends!

54? Let’s make it an even 72!!

Advanced Prostate Cancer, Albert Oakland Park, David Emerson, disc golf, Marshall MO, PCa -

Yesterday was a little more that a typical Saturday in August for David. Why let Prostate Cancer and chemotherapy keep you down when you love disc golf?

Joe, Rich and I decided we had talked about a disc golf road trip long enough, it was time to act. We decided we would make a day of it and play in Marshall, MO and two different courses in Columbia, MO.

So yesterday morning Rich and I left my house at 6:00am, picked Joe up and headed 60 minutes east on I-70 to Marshall, MO. They have a great little disc course there, Indian Foothills Disc Golf Course. When we tee’d off a little before 8:00am it was damp, due to heavy dew overnight. Our feet were instantly soaked, and they remained that way for the next 12 hours. This had no impact on our day however! The course was new to Rich and myself and the three of us really had a great time, despite the face full of spider webs each us experienced multiple times. Eww!!!

By 10:30 we were in Columbia, MO at Albert Oakland Park. I love this course. It had been almost four years since I played in Columbia, certainly – BC (before cancer). The threat of rain had long passed, the sky was still overcast but the humidity was typical for an August day in the heartland! Joe shot a nice round at even par and Rich and I finished equal at +3.

Next it was off to the campus of the University of Misssouri and lunch at Shakespeare’s Pizza.
The pie was delicious and with little delay we were off for our next round at Indian Hills Disc Golf Course. The previous time I played this course I really liked it. This time, by the time we reached the back nine we couldn’t wait to leave. I’m all for a challenge, but this course is in need of some serious trimming! There was at least one tree and multiple limbs on every hole that needed to be removed. I even questioned at one point whether the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department owned it or knew how to operate a saw. I’m not whining here, but the condition of this course was ridiculous.

By the time we finished it was only 4:00. We agreed we couldn’t finish on a bad note. A quick phone call to Mary and we were on our way back to Oakland for round four! 72 holes of disc golf in one day!

The last round was perhaps the most fun. We played in less than 90 minutes and finished the back nine in 28 minutes! Joe and I barely missed ace’s on number 16. His shot went right over the top, mine cut right across the front of the basket!

In total, it was an unbelievable day! I haven’t had that much fun playing disc golf since Europe in 2006.

Here are the scores for the day (Par is 54)
Joe – 53, 54, 60, 50 = 217 or +1
David- 61, 57, 64, 57 = 239 or +23
Rich – 57, 57, 70, 57 = 241 or +25

One thing to note – I definitely had an advantage over Rich in one aspect. I had played both courses in Columbia previously. Due to the layout, my experience did not provide an advantage at Oakland however, at Indian Hills, due to the number of blind shots, I had a leg up.

In the end, the scores really didn’t matter. We had a fantastic time, a nice trip and great conversation on the trip home. Thanks Rich and Joe for sharing this day with me. You both are great guys. I wonder where we’ll go next?

EPILOGUE: I was slightly concerned that after all that activity I’d be a little sore today. And of course, Mary shared in my concern. Well I was not fatigued or hurting in the least bit! Take that chemotherapy and PCa!!

Belated Milestones

Advanced Prostate Cancer, David Emerson, Faith-Love-Hope-WIn, FLHW, golf tournament, milestones -

This completely slipped my mind as I wrote my last post.
I actually spent a lot of time on the airplane Monday thinking about this, but forgot to include anything….

August 18th, 2008

This date might not mean much to most people. To me it marked 42 months, or three and a half years post diagnosis. So much has changed, yet so much remains the same.

First and foremost, we, Mary and I have settled into a somewhat comfortable way of dealing with having cancer on a daily basis. I am not suggesting that it’s easy, I’m just saying that it does not feel like this all encompassing burden. We have learned to deal with it, and we continue to live our lives, and maintain as much ‘normalcy’ as possible.

Next, I have met so many fellow Prostate Cancer survivors, it’s incredible. From all over the US, from all over the world! I really cherish their friendships, advice and feedback. However, there are a number of good people that we have lost; Ric, Wes, Rick, Aubrey and more. This is the sad part, merely typing their names makes me cry. God bless them, God bless their families.

Finally I come to our foundation; Faith, Love, Hope, Win. As the planning for our fourth annual golf tournament continues, I stop and think about what we have done in such a short time, with such limited resources. By the time our tournament is completed on September 26th we are hopeful that will be able to have raised over $100,000 for advanced prostate cancer research. Wow!

If you feel like reminiscing with me, this is a link to all the references of the word ‘milestones‘ in my blog. Pretty interesting, at least it was to me.

I’ll finish with a list from my blog entry dated July 21, 2005:
So these are my milestones, these are the things I roll out of bed each morning and work for, these are the things I live for and fight for:
– We will celebrate our 15 year wedding anniversary (Aug 2006, no doubt! ~ at a minimum 25 in 2016!!!)
– I will celebrate my Grandmother’s 100th Birthday in November
– I will see my niece graduate from college (May 2008, for sure ~ as long as she doesn’t begin a 5 year plan, no pressure Meg’s!!)
– I will see my nephew graduate from high school (May 2009)
– I will see my son get his drivers license (September 2012)
– I will see my son graduate from high school (May 2014)
– I will live to see him graduate from college
– I will live to see him get married
– I will live to be a grandfather
– I will live to be cured………

The first two are completed. The third…looks like I’ll see her married before graduation, but that’s OK. No doubt about number four. As for the others, I still have a few years, but each is getting closer and certainly more attainable as the days fly by! The final one is what I fall asleep praying for each night.

Running from Fay

Advanced Prostate Cancer, Coumadin, David Emerson, hurricane Fay, wbc -

I have been trying to put off work travel as much as possible, but I had to go to Orlando on Monday and Tuesday. I was originally scheduled to return Tuesday night on a 7:20 flight. As it turns out, that was supposed to be nearly the exact time hurricane Fay was to cross over Orlando.
After meeting for most of the day, the folks I was traveling with and I scrambled Monday afternoon to move to a hotel closer to the airport and onto flights that departed Tuesday morning. Things seemed to be in order, I was scheduled to take a direct flight and be back in KC by 12:30pm.
As fate would have it, things turned out a little differently. First, Midwest Airlines decided not to send the planes for their 11:20 and 12:30 flights into Orlando. They were the only airline that pulled the trigger this early. In order to shorten the story I’ll just say my day was filled with many hours of standing in lines, employing patience and dealing with airport security. In the end, I was home by 7:00pm Tuesday night, about 12 hours after arriving at the Orlando airport. That sure beats the first response from the employee at the Midwest ticket counter….”The next flight we can get you on is Friday morning”.
And now a health update, the reason most of you are here…..
I was pretty fatigued over the weekend, but I was able to get in a round of disc golf.
Blood test results from Monday showed the following:
WBC: 1.6 (all time low)
INR: 1.5 (Needs to be 2.0 to 3.0 so they have increased my coumadin from 5mg to 7.5mg)
The first accounts for the fatigue and elevates my risk of infection, amongst other things. The latter is being tracked for the blood clot medication.

Hair today….gone tomorrow?

Advanced Prostate Cancer, blood thinners, Coumadin, David Emerson, DVT, Lovenox, PCa -

First, I’m going public with this a little early: my hair is at best ‘thinning’ at worst I’m losing it.
It started last week at some point. I noticed more than normal on my towel and then Tuesday morning Mary said my pillow was covered in hair. It has not started coming out in clumps (that will result in me immediately shaving my head) for now, we’re going with the description of ‘thinning’.
On another note, the Lovenox shots will only have to continue for another two weeks or so. I just talked to Dr. V’s assistant and I will start taking Coumadin (an oral or pill form of blood thinner) tonight. It might take a few weeks to get the dosage correct, so I will have to keep taking Lovenox at the same time.
I slept very little, three hours on Monday night however last night I was out for seven uninterrupted hours. That was a first in weeks, perhaps months!

BIG NEWS, GOOD NEWS….BIG GOOD NEWS!

Advanced Prostate Cancer, chemotherapy, David Emerson, Lovenox, Lupron, PSA, taxotere -

I was going to drag this out, be cute, be creative, etc. but I am tired!
My PSA today was 39.98, a 25% reduction from three weeks ago!!!
WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
As I mentioned above, I am beat. We did not sleep well last night, and we had to leave the house at 7:15 this morning to make the 8:00 appointment. I had both my monthly appointment for Lupron and Zometa and my three week chemo treatment all in the same day. We were through at the hospital 12:30ish. In the four and a half hours we were there, I had the following procedures:
– 8:35 blood drawn
> White blood count back up to over 12 !!!!
> Most other markers were back in range, red blood count was still a little low, but no show stopper
– 9:00 Met with Doctor V, the Physicians Assistant and the Clinical Trial Coordinator
Everything seems to be progressing as expected with the blood clot in my leg. The good Doctor did give me the green light to play golf on Wednesday afternoon, so I was happy
– 10:00 Began pre-treatments
– 10:40 Began Taxotere infusion #4
– 11:45 Began Zometa infusion
– 12:20 Received the Lupron shot
Mary and I made our usual stop for lunch at The Blue Koi and were home by 2:00.

I’m not ‘Lovenox’

Advanced Prostate Cancer, David Emerson, DVT, Lovenox -

Last night I came home from work and after cleaning up dinner I noticed my right leg was slightly swollen and felt rather firm or tight.

Even though it was going on 7:00pm we called my Oncologist office, since they told us when I started chemo to call for whatever reason. Dr. V himself called back in ten minutes. He told me to keep it elevated the rest of the evening and come see him at 8:00am this morning.

Knowing that he would have to work us in, we prepared for another long day at the doctors office.

I was in the lab waiting for an ultra-sound by 8:15, finished with the scan and in his waiting room by 9:15. So quick my head was spinning.

So it turns out I have small blood clot or a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in my right calf. The good news is clots in this area, though a reason for concern, are far less serious than if it were located somewhere else. The bad news is for at least the next six months I have to take yet another drug, Lovenox.

At first blush this might appear to be so bad, expect the Lovenox is self administer as explained here. And comes with these side effects:

• Bleeding or oozing from surgical wound
• Any other bleeding episodes; for example, bleeding at the site of the injection, nosebleeds, blood in your urine, or if you cough or vomit blood
• Spontaneous bruising (a bruise not caused by a blow or any apparent reason)
• Pain or swelling in any part of your leg, foot, or hip
• Dizziness, numbness, or tingling
• Rapid or unusual heartbeat
• Chest pain or shortness of breath
• Vomiting, nausea, or fever
• Confusion

OK, I know this is serious, but Mary Brad and I are currently laughing about the last one!

With nothing more to say, I’ll just end with this; the saga continues……