Cancer Can Suck It!

The Beginning

In early February 2024, I caught the Covid-19 virus again. After feeling like a train ran me over, I got better, but I couldn't get my blood sugar to a healthy level again. It was time to see my doctor.

After some years of being able to control my A1C through diet, exercise, and activity, I knew Metformin, or one of the other diabetic drugs, was in my future. I'd had a good run and was over 50 after more than a decade of being diabetic.

"We haven't run a complete blood workup on you in a couple of years. How would you feel about doing that?" asked my primary care provider.

It made sense. I went to the lab and had my blood drawn. On my birthday, I got the results. As I scrolled through OSF MyChart, looking for my A1C, I noticed one test was flagged. It wasn't my A1C.

My PSA was 329.8. The result indicated that under four was healthy. I looked up what a PSA test meant. I was in shock for several minutes after reading the information.

It was a long weekend. I spent a lot of time reading up on prostate cancer, test result levels, and different studies posted by hospitals like Johns Hopkins, St. Johns, and the Mayo Clinic. One study from the Mayo Clinic indicated that out of more than 5,000 men with a prostate-specific antigen of over 200, less than 30 percent survived 24 months.

"Dammit!"

What else could I say or feel? It was Sunday night, and I hadn't heard from my doctor. I was learning it alone.

The first trip back to the office was a few days later. It was confirmed. I was facing cancer. Happy Goddammed Birthday to me!

I had decisions to make. What was going to happen was going to be up to me. Onward to another doctor. Then he told me the same thing, but with greater detail.

"You're going to die. I'd recommend you talk to your family, see an attorney, and get a will put together. And you probably don't have much time," he explained.

"Well, I appreciate the honesty, but to hell with you," I responded.

While we were going through all the testing, I spent hours reading about prostate cancer and the possibilities. There are a great many studies ongoing. Some of the studies indicated certain supplements might kill prostate cancer cells. Other supplements may help to fight cancer.

I started taking supplements, eating the right things, and fighting the cancer three months before all the diagnostics were complete. Why the hell not? We owe it to ourselves to be as present in the fight against life-threatening diseases as possible, and I decided I wasn't going out without a fight.

The Middle

I underwent a biopsy. God, that sucked! The needled biopsy happens while you're awake. Twelve needles get inserted into the prostate to take the samples.

A week later, the doctor doing the biopsy contacted me.

"Mr. Morton, your samples were all nines and tens on the Gleason scale. It's a very aggressive cancer," explained the doctor.

They were now referring me to a different doctor. What the first specialist saw was beyond his skill level.

The fourth doctor I saw was an honest man. He told me I was going to die. That was his opinion, but he is the fourth best in the states at treating prostate cancer. I had to believe what he was saying, then I refused.

A full-body bone scan indicated I was suffering from an extensive spread. With as many areas suffering cancer as they found, I felt like I was in trouble.

Oral chemodrugs came next. My PSA went up, making it to 941. Doctors all believed that was the worst sign possible.

Then, things came down. My PSA dropped from 941 to 25. Then, it fell again. Again and again, it fell. It fell to 1.1 in a short time.

There was still the matter of what spread through the body. Cancer was in nearly every organ and had spread extensively through the bones and lymph nodes. What would happen next?

Next came a round of scans. That's when the big surprise comes. Remember when I told you this all started in February? Well, it's October. We are eight months into this story.

The oncologist looked at my scans and didn't see anything to worry about. Those were her exact words. She also indicated that I'd responded "far better than expected" to treatment.

There'll be a period I'll have to follow up, and more testing will occur at different intervals. However, if nothing comes back, in a year, we will have gone from a less than two-year expectancy to anything possible.

What you have to know about cancer is that it's going to get a lot of people. It's not a death sentence, even when it sounds like it is. I threw myself into the fight, and I used everything that made sense to use. Turkey Tail mushrooms may help boost your immunity to fight cancer. Eating the right foods and staying on a forward path helps. We need doctors to help kill the cancer, but the most important part is we remember it's up to us.

I refused to let this break me down or put me on the run. The smartest thing I've realized about cancer is that it's an all-hands-on-deck fight, and you're the Admiral. Stay positive, believe your life isn't over and that you have a future, and keep learning as much as possible.

What have you got to lose? It's only cancer.