My first follow up with my urologist was mostly good news

 As usual, I don't think it's possible to have a urologist's appointment without giving a urine sample, so I did!  I also got to show a picture of the day to the nurses and my doctor and they liked this one. It's the same one I showed at the radiation lab last week when I got my blood work done, but they hadn't seen it yet.  After taking my blood pressure, the volume of my bladder was scanned.  Once these preliminary formalities were out of the way, my urologist came into the exam room and told me he was happy at this point that my PSA level was undetectable, the lab report showed it was less than 0.05.  I was told that we will be monitoring it every 3 or 4 months for the next 2 years, but that we were definitely starting out on good footing.  Once my testosterone levels begin to rise in early November, there may be some changes in the PSA.  He was not so pleased with the fact that my bladder was not empty enough after my urine test.  This could be a sign of incomplete healing from the radiation treatments or maybe an infection, among other possibilities.  So, we set a followup appointment to measure how my bladder is doing in another month's time.  I'm not in any discomfort but I am very blessed to have such a great medical team that is paying attention to every little detail.  More to follow as the adventure continues.

The picture of the day is of a Hummingbird hovering at a spider web, a lucky shot if I ever got one!

Follow-up began today with a PSA blood test

 I drove to the radiation lab in a monsoon, something we haven't seen here in Austin for months.  I welcome the rain, but the road was slick after such a long drought.  I arrived a few minutes before my 1 pm appointment and showed my picture of the day to Isabel at the front desk as she took my temperature and got me checked in.  

The reason for my visit was to get my PSA checked via a blood test in advance of a visit to my urologist next Thursday.  My understanding is that the first reading can be almost anything from 0 to twice the reading I had before the radiation and hormone therapy started.  It is used to begin to establish a baseline for what the new normal is going to be.  I will be tested periodically for the next couple of years to try to determine what the range is that it will eventually settle into.

I had a great time, I was able to go to the back and see the radiation therapists and visit with them about their lives and of course, everybody wanted to see the picture I brought with me this time.  It was nice to hear about modified upcoming wedding plans and everybody wanted to know how well I was recovering.  I was happy to report that every side effect was getting better by the day.

Here is the picture of the day, a Black-chinned Hummingbird at the Mueller Greenway butterfly garden that I took on August 1st.  It was so cool that I was able to capture this image with the cobweb in just the right position.