Another monthly post a few days ahead of schedule…

One thing about getting care through the Veterans Administration (VA)—I may see the same doctor only twice before a new one takes over my case. I think they’re on a six-month rotation and I’m on an four-month test cycle. Sometimes, I find the constant change in physicians annoying; other times, I like the idea of a second, third, or fourth opinion for differing perspectives.

This afternoon, I met with Doogie Howser, M.D. to review my PSA results from April. (Okay. He wasn’t actually Doogie. He’s a resident from University of California San Diego and didn’t appear to be much older than Doogie.) He was quite sharp and familiar with some of the more recent research and studies that have been done.

The meeting went pretty much exactly as I expected it to go:

1. No real explanation for the yo-yo PSA readings.
2. No need to panic yet; we’re not approaching the 0.2 ng/ml recurrence threshold.
3. Slight concern about the last two consecutive readings increasing.
4. Keep retesting on a four-month cycle.

And that was that.

I’ll go for my next blood draw in August with the follow-up appointment with Doogie (or his replacement) in September.

You may have noticed that I now have links to my Facebook and Google+ pages in the sidebar and footer in an ongoing effort to continue to raise awareness by sharing my story with a broader audience.