2 For 1 Special?

Wow, it has been so long since I have posted anything on here.  I guess that is a comment on what has been going on with my life as of late.  Or at the very least, a comment on what has been going on with my life that I wanted to talk about.  I suppose however, it is time for me to start talking.  If for no other reason than to just get the crap running around in my head a chance to breathe.  My last post was a parting note about Relay for Life 2015.  That was May 30^th, now it’s July 7^th.  I didn’t check but I don’t think I’ve gone that long without a post since this site began in the fall of 2010.  Back then it was filled with updates on how Joe was doing, how I was doing, how it all “was going”.  We all know how that chapter ended and now I guess it is time to start a new one.  Sadly, the blog title can remain the same but with a twist.  However, nothing is “written in stone” yet, but I’m preparing psychologically.   I’ve had lingering gastrointestinal issues for the last 2 years and I figured if anything was really going on with me, that would be where the problem would lay.  But no, things had to get really interesting.  So here is where this 2 part story begins.

January 2015-  Tinnitus:  Somewhere in mid-January I started having severe ringing in my  right ear.  I spoke to my doctor and he suggested a decongestant nasal spray, which I took but to no effect.  For months I just “dealt” with it.  When I went to have my annual physical in early June, I mentioned it again, he again examined my ears, saw nothing and suggested that I see an ENT.  So being the good patient that I am (yeah, right), I called and made an appointment.  Went to the ENT, had a full exam including hearing test.  Result, I have a significant loss of hearing in my right ear, but still no apparent reason for the ringing and by that time, I was also having pain/pressure in my right ear.  The doctor put me on a course of prednisone for 10 days to see if that might reduce any inflammation that might be going on in my head and also recommended I have an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) test.  This test evaluates the electrical pathways from the brain to the ear measured with electrodes.  Reason for test, to see if there is possibly something growing on my brain that should not be there causing the pressure/pain/ringing.  Fun right?  I love it when the doctor says “brain tumor”.  The ABR is set for July 13^th.

Also at the same annual physical, I had my regular PSA and prostate exam. (too much info?)  My history with the PSA has been a rocky one with my first abnormal number back in June 2013.  We followed up with a 6 month re-evlauation and I got a lower number that time.  Since then, my PSA number has steadily increased and this year, it was well over the acceptable limit and my doctor referred me to a urologist.  Today, I had my appointment with the urologist.  Another PSA, another prostrate exam.  However, the urologist indicated that during the physical exam there was a definite hardening/mass on the right side of the prostate.  So then we had the prostate cancer talk, followed by the biopsy talk, followed by the MRI talk, followed by the decision to go ahead and schedule the biopsy.  So that is scheduled for next Thursday, July 16^th.  He clearly outlined what the procedure is like, what I can expect, and what my options are.  Of course I Googled it immediately upon getting to work afterwards.  While it by no means sounds like a jolly good time, it doesn’t sound terrible either.  20 minutes of discomfort, 5 minutes of a little pain, and then it is over.  Of course, I’ll probably feel differently about it the closer it gets.

So there you have it.  2 different areas of my body, 2 different possibilities of something there that isn’t supposed to be.  What are the odds?  I suppose in this day and time, the odds are probably very good, but still.  So I wonder if the Duke Cancer Center has a 2 for 1 special?