On Our Way

Entry 67

Having been encouraged by my urologist/surgeon to enjoy the summer, I will return to see him in the fall after a six month period (instead of the usual three month interval) to have a check up. The last blood test in March revealed that my PSA is still slightly under 1 ng/ml. It's hard to believe that it has been more than four years since we learned that I had prostate cancer and began to explore the options for treatment.

The summer continues to be a busy time for me. I drove with a long time friend to Nova Scotia then flew home in June, drove to Vancouver and back in July, and tomorrow I'm heading out on a paddling adventure in northern Manitoba to commemorate Harcus Strachan, the only member of the Fort Garry Horse to receive a Victoria Cross and for whom a lake in Manitoba has been named. We will be placing an engraved aluminum plaque in his honour on the shore of the newly named Strachan Lake.

We expect to be on the water from August 10th until the 22nd.

Update: We have returned from the canoe trip. I added a few pictures below that were taken by Ed Loewen, one of the paddlers in our group.

Commemorative rock cairn beside plaque

Harry cooking

The paddling group. (left to right, Brian Greenberg, Joe Greenberg, Mike Sellors, Ed Loewen, 

Bob Williams, Harry Stimson lying in front)

Bob Williams and Harry Stimson

        hstimson @ shaw.ca
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2014: Fourth Year of the Journey

Entry 66
January 8, 2014

I had my first visit of the new year to Urologist/Surgeon Dr Jeff Saranchuk yesterday and for the most part it was positive.

The PSA # (Prostate Specific Antigen number) was up again.  It has trended up over the last 9 months from a low of 0.01 ng/ml (negligible reading) to 0.33 to 0.66 to 0.96 (yesterday's readout).

The reason this reading is interesting is that the previous assessments indicate that the numbers are 'doubling' ie 0.33 to 0.66 ng/ml. In Urologist speak this means the 'velocity' (speed at which the cancer is recurring) and the 'volume', (the amount of cancer present) is doubling. This time however, it went from 0.66 to 0.96 ng/ml - it didn't double.

This at best is a minor accomplishment but in the big scheme of things it means the cancer is not moving fast, and, as measured by the PSA#, there isn't a lot of it - and that's a good thing.

To put this into perspective it still hasn't broken the solid number 1 yet. Prior to going in for the surgery to remove my prostate gland my PSA# went from 5 to 18 ng/ml in 18 months - the above numbers show it has taken 24 months just to go from 0.01 to 0.96 ng/ml! Yay!

So, all in all, pretty good news from my point of view. But - and there is always that word when it comes to cancer, the very fact that I have a PSA reading means the cancer has metastasized, in all probability into my lymph nodes. As Dr Saranchuk has pointed out, don't get too giddy about the low PSA. The doubling is the issue - it becomes a logarithmic equation. Now I don't know a logarithm from a ski pole but I do understand doubling - 1 becomes 2 , 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 8, 8 becomes 16, 16 becomes 32 etc etc. Once it gets going it can happen in a hurry. That's why Cancer Care monitors me every 3 months.

So what happens next. Well - not much really - I keep doing what I have been doing. When the PSA# starts to ramp up again - and it will - I will go back on the ADT (androgen deprivation therapy) and hopefully it will do the same thing as last time and knock it back down to that negligible 0.01 number again. My body responded well to that treatment last time and I assume it will again. It is worth remarking that typically metastatic prostate cancer patients have to return to the ADT within a year of stopping. It would appear in my case that timeline will more than double! To me that's fantastic and a clear vindication of the route we chose to go in dealing with the disease.

One thing for sure, I feel considerably more myself off the therapy than on it. That comment may fall into the ' amazing grasp of the obvious ' category but nevertheless it's true. ADT is NOT chemotherapy - many people confuse the two - however it does come with its own set of side effects that are less than pleasant, but I hasten to add, tolerable. I find it very difficult to explain to people what it's like to function without testosterone.

We will see what the new year has in store.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this. All the best to you and yours for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.

Lunch with friends
Click on images to enlarge them

hstimson @ shaw.ca
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ADT Still On Hold

Entry 65
September 17, 2013

My PSA remains below 1 but not by much. The measurement increased from .3 to .66 ng/ml since my last appointment three months ago, still well below the level (5-10) that will trigger a return to Androgen Deprivation Therapy. We will revisit the blood lab and urologist in three months as we continue to monitor the PSA velocity. 

In the meantime, I am enjoying the autumn, paddling the next few days with my friend, Jim Munro. 

Map of Northwest Ontario

hstimson @ shaw.ca
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Back from China

Entry 64
May 7, 2013

We just returned from a month's travelling, most of that time in China. There is a compilation of photos at http://animoto.com/play/HX2HSzmw8Dut2xLafA01QQ

Harry walking on the Great Wall of China

hstimson @ shaw.ca
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Between Journeys

Entry 63

March 29, 2013

New York, Rome, the Canary Islands, Rio and very soon... China. During the last six months, my wife and I have been busy visiting these places we imagined experiencing before we retired.

It's been several months since the last entry on this blog. As I have alluded to on previous entries when you live with the reality of cancer, it's sometimes valuable to take a break from referencing it and analyzing your condition. This is especially the case when not much is happening, as has been the case with me since the last entry.

By way of a quick recap, I had a radical prostatectomy two years ago last December and recovered quite quickly. The not so good news was the cancer had escaped the prostate gland itself and was found in two of the lymph nodes removed during the operation. Between that and a post surgical PSA# of 0.26ng/ml it was clear I would require additional treatment to keep it in check. That treatment, Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) aka Hormone Therapy, essentially stops the majority of testosterone manufactured by the male body. Testosterone, by some diabolical quirk of fate is the source a prostate cancer cell uses to sustain and multiply itself.

In consultation with my urologist I chose intermittent ADT as opposed to continuous ADT. This means I was injected every 3 months for a full year with a time release medication called Zoladex. After a year I was taken off the therapy and my PSA# was tested every 3 months watching for it to begin to rise again. When it begins to rise they measure how quickly the PSA# doubles. This doubling is referred to as the 'velocity' and it gives the urologist a yardstick to measure the aggressiveness of the cancer.

So this brings us to where I am today. I have now been off the Androgen Deprivation Therapy for over a year and not unsurprisingly my PSA# is starting to rise again. It has risen from 0.02 to 0.09 ng/ml. Disappointing, but frankly not surprising. We knew the cancer is still in there it is merely manifesting itself as my urologist suggested it would. My next PSA reading, in about 3 months will give him an idea of the 'velocity' and I will likely go back on the Androgen Deprivation Therapy medication sometime on or before this fall.

Harry at the Colosseum

Margaret in the Pantheon

Walking the streets of Gibraltar

Harry on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro

 (More photos)

hstimson @ shaw.ca
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Back to Good News

Entry 62
June 27, 2012


Dr. Saranchuk, my urologist/surgeon delivered the good news yesterday during my appointment at the Manitoba Prostate Centre. My PSA levels remain undetectable, six months after my last Zoladex injection. Apparently, I am responding as hoped to the anti-hormonal treatment that is now in the "drug holiday" phase.


Dan and I returned from our paddling trip in Woodland Caribou Park on my 67th birthday. The two week trip, which while challenging, was an experience we both enjoyed. Here are some of the stats as compiled by Dan along with a few pictures that I took.

"Average daily paddling/dead time from camp down to camp up is 8.25 hours.  Longest 11 hours 31 minutes, shortest 6 hours 15 minutes.  Both numbers exclude the last 1/2 day, 4 hours to Johnson.

Distance was 203 kilometers. Total portages 50, noteworthy rapids 3, noteworthy chutes 4, rock gardens 2.  Of course all the beaver pulls as well."

hstimson @ shaw.ca
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Paddling Upstream

Entry 61
May 30


I will be thinking less about prostate cancer for the next few weeks. The reason? As mentioned in a previous post, I'm going on another canoe trip to Northwest Ontario. If you are interested, there is a live map of our current location . We'll post pictures when we return.  I will have been on the "drug holiday" for six months by then. On June 26, 2012, I will be visiting my urologist for the update on my PSA levels. In the meantime, this appointment, PSA levels, and drug holidays will be at the far back of my mind.


My cancer was discovered right after a similar trip two years ago. 

Harry and Brian checking out Harry's solo canoe

Update : Harry's Current Location: June 7, 2012

hstimson @ shaw.ca
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