GREAT NEWS HAS TO BE SHARED!

Odel called me from the golf course a few minutes ago - he had just received a call from the doctor's office with the results of his first followup PSA results since receiving Proton Beam Therapy for prostate cancer this past winter. PSA: 1.5!

Odel's highest PSA reading was 9.7, in October of 2008. After 45 Proton Beam treatments, the prognosis is that the first followup PSA reading should be half of what it was prior to treatment. 1.5 is fantastically fabulous! I am teary-eyed with happiness and relief as I type this (while he is out on the golf course no doubt grinning ear to ear).

Odel was diagnosed with prostate cancer 11 months ago, right here in Sacramento. If any of you want to read about the treatment he chose, here is my long (and illustrated) description of the process from a prior blog post. To read more about Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC), Odel's treatments, and our three month stay in Loma Linda, click on LLUMC under "Find Blog Posts by Topic" on the left side of the blog. We can't say enough good things about the LLUMC experience.

And one last reminder: please, please, all male readers, get a PSA test. Medical experts say to begin testing at age 50, earlier if there is ANY history of prostate cancer in your family. Establish your "baseline" number early, then watch for "doubling", a sudden jump in the number (no matter how high or low). Maybe it is nothing, maybe it is something - monitoring and perhaps a biopsy will tell. Odel's cancer was caught early, so he had his choice of excellent treatment options. Everyone should be so "lucky". :)

Now, back to my previously scheduled program - vacuuming and dusting! I'm floating on air.