Dear friends,

Merwin writing today. Regular blog readers will know from Bernice’s recent posting that I had a prostate biopsy that revealed cancer in that always-described-as walnut-sized organ. It seems that Nature is intent on shutting down this appendage after it has likely served its usefulness. The diagnosis news came from my new young urologist who I just started with weeks before because my urologist of many years had retired. It is wise to enlist younger doctors to avoid this inconvenience. The diagnosis came last Monday and I moved quickly this week to follow up. I know from media articles and from son Harvey that something like 90% of men who die over the age of 70 normally have some level of prostate cancer but have succumbed to something else. The latest recommendations are to just wait and see. All that is well and good but even with miniscule chances someone always wins the lottery. This is a distraction we did not need at this time but few of us any choice in these matters.

On Wednesday I had a CT scan of the abdomen and pelvic regions. No eating for four hours prior to the fun. The most notable feature of that episode was having had to drink a half gallon of an over-sweet concoction to give nice contrast to the pictures.

Doctoring during the day seems to absorb more time than it is entitled to. On Friday I had a nuclear medicine bone scan and, if nothing else, I was entertained by the technology, independent of what the results may be. There were no diet restrictions but I had to make two trips — about 30 minutes each way. The first visit at about 10:30 was to be injected with a radioactive fluid. It was a minor injection with a narrow gauge needle and, to me, a surprisingly small volume. The substance enters the blood stream, percolates through the body, and is designed to reach the surface of bones. I asked about the half-life. It is 6 hours. This means that after 6 hours the amount of the substance remaining undecayed is half the original and thereafter this half decay continues each 6 additional hours. In 60 hours there will be 0.1% of the original dose. The technician who administered the shot warned me that, if I went to the airport soon I could set off a radiation alarm. She gave me a little printed form to give to the authorities in case I had to prove that I was not about to explode. Not in my plans I told her. I had to return in 2.5 hours for the scan itself. I was positioned on a comfortable platform lying on my back. The platform was moved through a circular opening and then stopped until I was staring up into what I surmised was the camera. Unaware at first of the slow reverse movement I soon realized that I now had a view of a plain room ceiling. The table moves at a rate of 10 cm a minute. In the 20 minutes I was being scanned it moved 2 M, about 6 feet.

These two procedures, of course, are to determine if none of that nasty stuff has escaped the confines of the prostate. I will probably get the results of the two procedures by early next week and we will move from there. My biopsy slides were sent out this morning to Sloan Kettering for a second opinion by one of the world's top pathologists. This was Harvey's doing and I can see that he will be satisfied for no less for his Dad.

Today we are going to a Met Opera HD performance of Verdi's Don Carlo and intend to arrive early enough to secure a seat that allows Bernice to elevate her legs. It is a five-hour performance and I doubt we will stay the course. These performances are marvelous and are great for the Met for these simultaneous shows are put on in specially equipped theaters worldwide. I would have preferred one of the three or four hour operas.

Enjoy your weekends,

Merwin