Hot Saunas, Cold Showers, Bare Feet & Tofu. (a.k.a. Six Years Later)

In case you wondered what the
inside of a cancer center looks like.

Time for my four month check up with my oncologist. A visit that coincides almost to the day six years ago that I played my first hand in the game against cancer. September 15, 2015 - the day I had surgery to remove my prostate. Smack dab in the middle of "Prostate Cancer Awareness Month" - which I knew nothing of  at the time. But if you look at the picture at the bottom of this post, which I took the day after my surgery, you can notice the blue ribbon on the "complementary" newspaper laying on my bed. Something I was blissfully unaware of at the time - much like the fact that surgery was not the end, but just the beginning of this wild and crazy ride. Here I am six years later, walking down a hall labeled "medical oncology" for yet another test. Who knew? I am about to find out if "Doubling Down" paid off for me. More on that later.

Another blood work
That I managed
to not pass out on.

Waiting on my Onc.

As I mentioned in my previous post "Doubling Down" back in July, I have been focusing a lot on diet and exercise. That, combined with being off of the lupron, has been an awesome experience. I weigh around 186 pounds now, and am starting to see some definition in my upper body. Strength, stamina, and flexibility are also improving a lot. My 5k times are dropping significantly, and I recently finished a 10k event as well. Of special note is my right shoulder. I have had a wonky shoulder joint for well over ten years, with a very limited range of pain free motion. I had surgery done on it in 2020 which helped only marginally if at all. Final prognosis from orthopedics was that the joint was compromised by arthritis and the only valid next step was a complete shoulder replacement. That didn't happen. What did happen was a diet almost devoid of processed foods and sugars, combined with some intermittent fasting. There is a lot of current information available on the relationships between diet, stress and physical maladies often associated with just aging. I can tell you for a fact that my shoulder feels better than it has in decades. I can now throw a ball "overhand" for my dog. Something I haven't been able to do in years. Long before cancer ever entered the picture. I know that there are a lot of naysayers about the importance of specific dietary focus, but from first hand experience, I am reaping significant benefits from it, and it is the only thing I am doing different from all the times before. So I will leave it at that.
    So, where do hot saunas, cold showers, and bare feet fit in? (I threw in tofu just for the hell of it - nobody eats that shit.)  Well, one of the other aspects I have been working on is my mental game, as well as experimenting with ways to take care of all aspects of my body. Hot dry saunas have long been known to provide healthy benefits with regard to your skin (your largest organ), helping to release absorbed toxins and open pores. (besides, my gym membership comes with the use of one) There is also meditative aspects of the sauna experience - for those of us who don't bring our phones in there with us, that is. Cold Showers. The jury is still out this one. One of the health gurus that I follow on line touts cold showers as being a healthier option than using a lot of hot water. Not sure, but it better prepares me for swimming in some of the local springs, and probably saves a little on the utility bill, so what the hell. 
    Now, barefootin..that is a whole nother subject altogether. In certain hippie-ish circles, there is this notion of "earthing" or "grounding", where by going barefoot on the soil, you ground yourself to the earth. It supposedly has medicinal benefits - much like a copper bracelet. Well, I have worked in electronics all my life, and can tell you without hesitation that all of that is complete bullshit. Anyone who has made it through basic electronics can tell you as such. That being said, there is nothing more relaxing than working in my yard barefooted. It is a calming and freeing experience. And perhaps there in lies the key. Finding ways to relax and unwind. Taking off the shoes and letting your feet breathe. Not to mention, allowing all the bones and joints in your feet and ankles to work and do their job. My mom worked in the yard most every day that I can remember - most times barefoot or in house slippers. Though she had her other issues in her latter years, falling and stability on her feet (like most elderly people) was never a problem. Perhaps her feet and ankles were more capable because from all that time unshod? Who knows..

    So, back to my recent appointment. Did all of this make a difference? Yes it did. most definitely. Did it stop the cancer from growing? No, it did not. Since July 19th, my PSA went from 0.06 ng/dl to 0.50 ng/dl. Still a small number, but also an eight fold increase in two months. That my PSA is returning is not a surprise. We knew it would, because going off the drugs allows my testosterone to return and prostate cancer feeds on testosterone. My testosterone has gone from "castration levels (,5) to a current 460 - right in the middle of the normal range for a man my age. We just didn't know when the PSA would start to climb So what is the plan? What next? Well right now, nothing. That is the part about intermittent therapy that I am learning to cope with. The waiting game. The part where I go on with my life, knowing that cancer cells are multiplying at some unknown rate and do nothing about it (initially). At present, the cancer cells are either just blood born and not physically metastasized, or there is a micro-metastasis too small to be detected by scans.  I will retest in three months. When my PSA reaches 2.0 ng/dl, I will have a specialized pet scan done to see if there is any detectable metastasis. If the scan detects a hot spot or lesion somewhere, It can be targeted with radiation treatments. If the scan does not find anything with a PSA of 2, then I have a decision to make. I either chose to go back on lupron and send the cancer cells dormant (not kill) again and deal with the side effects of the drug, or I choose to wait it out a little longer, let my PSA rise higher, and scan again. In my current mindset, I would opt for the latter. I would much rather have a defined target to go after. In an over simplified analogy, it is way easier to swat a fly that has lit on a counter than to swat one in the air.
Also, the cumulative side effects of long term ADT are physically brutal, and data shows that going too aggressive with it too soon provides no appreciable longevity benefit for the reduced quality of life it brings. So, while some things are up in the air, It seems like I will have some more work coming up in the not too distant future. 
Knowing that fact, was all my efforts toward a healthy lifestyle worth it? Absolutely, without a doubt. You see, I never expected any of it to cure anything. Sure, we all would like a Disney movie style ending, but those sort of things rarely happen outside of the Magic Kingdom. I did it to help me regain what I had lost physically from being on ADT for two years. I did it to have me in the best shape possible for facing any upcoming challenges. Even though my cancer is growing, there is no doubt in my mind that my choices and efforts have helped to keep it to a slow growth. What would my results be had I chosen to throw caution to the wind and live off of cheeseburgers, wings, and beer? At least I know that I am doing everything I personally can to take responsibility for my own health. No what-ifs and no shoulda, coulda , woulda. I am doing my part. But the biggest reason is that I feel great, and feel better every day. I like how I feel. I like what I see in the mirror. And I like the level of physical activity that I am capable of. I am in fact living my best life. And that is exactly what I intend to keep doing. In every way I possibly can. So yes, it is all worth it to me. Every single bit of it.
Well, except  for tofu. Nobody eats that shit and smiles about it.
    Doubling down is most definitely paying off. In more ways than you can imagine. I am just getting started in this game, I have a full cache of chips and it's time to "Ante up". See you at the gym. Or in the woods. Perhaps at the local market in the organics section. Or maybe at the beach. I'll be the guy with a good tan and no shoes.
Peace.

 Have I really been at this for six years? 
Wow.

Six years earlier to the day,
The day after my prostate
was removed in 2015