Author: Dan

Cedar Breaks National Monument

On By DanIn Prostate Cancer4 Comments

And the final post from my vacation highlighting a side trip to Cedar Breaks National Monument in southwestern Utah.

Dan's avatarTravelin' Dan

On the return from my recent trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks, I stopped by Cedar Breaks National Monument. You can think of it as a smaller scale Bryce Canyon, but with fewer hoodoos and no way (that I could tell) to hike down into the canyon.

One of the amazing things is that all of the observation points are above 10,000 feet / 3.048 meters above sea level. It was windy and cool at that elevation, even when temperatures in nearby Cedar City (where I would spend the night) were bordering on hot.

I drove in from the north on UT 143 and headed to Cedar City to the west on UT 14. Both drives require a bit of attention as you’re going up or down steep grades on twisting, two-lane mountain roads. It’s not really recommended for larger vehicles towing trailers.

It’s a hidden…

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Grand Teton National Park

On By DanIn Prostate CancerLeave a comment

The second post of my vacation, this one covering Grand Teton National Park.

Dan's avatarTravelin' Dan

Prologue

In early September 2021, I journeyed by car from San Diego for my first visit to Yellowstone National Park, the world’s first national park. As a lover of mountains, I planned my trip so that I could bookend my visit to Yellowstone with time spent in Grand Teton National Park. Finally, on the way home, I detoured to Cedar Break National Monument just outside of Cedar City, Utah.

Rather than cram all three destinations into a single blog post, I’ve chosen to create three separate posts, one for each destination on this same trip. Please be sure to read each. (Or at least look at the photos from each.)

One final request. Please be patient if the photos are slow to load. I try to maximize quality and minimize file size, and I’m not so sure I’ve got that tweaked in yet. Oh. And please use a big screen…

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Yellowstone National Park

On By DanIn Prostate CancerLeave a comment

Here’s the first of three posts highlighting my vacation. This one focuses on my time spent in Yellowstone National Park. Enjoy!

Dan's avatarTravelin' Dan

Prologue

On one of my many cross-country trips in the early 1980s, I took a considerable detour off of Interstate 80 and spent a few hours touring around Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone National Park. I knew that I didn’t have time to do Yellowstone justice, so I skipped it and vowed I would return at some point in the future.

Now, about 35 years later, I’ve made good on that promise. (Better late than never!)

Going into the trip, I was both excited and a little apprehensive. Excited because it was someplace new for me; apprehensive because I wasn’t sure that it was going to offer the sort of things that really appeal to me.

As with my story about the Grand Tetons National Park, please be patient as the photos load. Also, you may click on any photo to enlarge it.

Yellowstone National Park

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Month 130 – Enjoying Some R & R

On By DanIn Prostate Cancer6 Comments

I’m actually writing this post at the end of August and am scheduling it for an 11 September publication date because, as you’re reading this, I’m returning from my first trip to Yellowstone National Park. That, or a grizzly bear dragged my carcass off into the woods for a late evening snack, and this will be the last post you see from me. 🤣 With luck, you’ll be reading about my trip on my other blog, Travelin’ Dan in a few days.

On a more serious note, I had been planning this trip since March, but the timing could not have been more perfect. I really needed the break from some of the challenges at work plus, I view this as the calm before the prostate cancer storm. It would be good to go into that with a rested body and more relaxed mind.

The prostate cancer storm being, of course, being able to get the 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET scan scheduled, seeing the results, and then planning a course of action based on those results.

So that’s it for this relatively short post. I hope I had a great trip and I wished you were there!

Be well!

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

On By DanIn Prostate Cancer3 Comments

It’s that time of year again. Time to remind our friends, family, and coworkers that September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

Even if you don’t think it can happen to you, it can. I’m a classic example of that. There was no family history and, at the ripe old age of 52, I was diagnosed without exhibiting any symptoms whatsoever. Surprise!

There’s a ton of really great organizations out there educating men and their spouses about prostate cancer. You can see many of them on my Resources page.

You don’t have to become an expert on prostate cancer, but you should take time to learn the risk factors, symptoms, different types of prostate cancer, and treatment options. Hopefully, you’ll never have to put any of that newfound knowledge to use, but if you are unfortunate enough to hear those three little words—”You have cancer”—you’ll have a little bit of a head start when it comes to making decisions.

Day 3,943 – Referral Ping-Pong

On By DanIn imaging1 Comment

Well, that was disappointing.

UCLA did, in fact, receive the referral form from my doctor at San Diego VA Medical Center, but it was incomplete. They sent it back to be filled out correctly this time because they can’t schedule the scan without all the information.

You know me… Of course, I sent an email to my buddy at the VA informing him of the situation and asking him to advise me when the corrected, fully completed of the form is returned to UCLA. We’ll see how that goes.

The saga continues…

Have a great weekend and be well!

Day 3,941 – VA and UCLA

On By DanIn imaging, Prostate Cancer2 Comments

Progress. Slow, steady progress.

I received an email today confirming that the urologist had received, completed, and returned the referral form back to UCLA. They asked me to follow up with UCLA Department of Nuclear Medicine to confirm they received it. Gladly.

I called their scheduling office this afternoon to do just that but, unfortunately, my referral wasn’t in the system yet. I checked the time on the email I received, and it was only about two hours before I called UCLA, so that kind of makes sense. She said that it can take 24 to 48 hours to get the referral into the system.

The scheduler said that they’d review the referral, place the order for the 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET scan, and then call to schedule it. Right now, they’re scheduling in late October unless there’s a cancellation that I might be able to take advantage of.

On the one hand, I’m perfectly fine taking the ignorance-is-bliss mode of not rushing to this (considering my long PSA doubling time); but on the other, I want to get this going and find out what the next step will be. Right now, the primary thing on my mind is planning my next vacation.

I’ll call again on Friday to see if my referral landed in the system, and we’ll go from there.

That’s the latest in this odyssey.

Be well!

Day 3,939 – UCLA Referral Update 2

On By DanIn imaging, Prostate Cancer4 Comments

Just a quick update to yesterday’s post…

I called the UCLA scheduling office and explained the situation to the scheduler, and she thought that it was odd that the referral form wasn’t sent to my urologist for the referral. In any case, it took a whopping 5 minutes and 54 seconds—including navigating the phone menu tree, waiting for “the next available operator,” and the discussion—to hopefully break the logjam.

I called the doctor’s office and emailed him to let him know that he should be on the lookout for the faxed referral form. We’ll see what happens next—and when.

Be well!

Day 3,938 – UCLA Referral Update

On By DanIn imaging, Prostate CancerLeave a comment

I grew a little impatient with my team at the San Diego VA Medical Center not providing any information about the referral for the PSMA PET scan at UCLA since our consult on 3 August, so I sent them an email at the end of the week asking for an update.

This morning, the doctor that I had for the consult—the one who thought this was a good idea and who seemed eager to get it scheduled—reported that UCLA has yet to send him the form that he needs to do the referral. He didn’t exactly say when it was that he asked, but he did say that he would follow up with them tomorrow.

He gave me their fax number, so I, too, will give UCLA’s Department of Nuclear Medicine a call tomorrow to see what needs to be done to get them off the dime and to send the referral form.

That’s about it for now. More to come, I’m sure.

On an unrelated note, my bonkers incontinence issues have calmed considerably, but not quite back to where I can go without pads yet. Not sure what that was all about.

Be well!

Watch: Current Status of PSMA Diagnostics

On By DanIn imaging, Prostate Cancer3 Comments

Here’s a good overview of PSMA diagnostics by Dr. Calais, one of the UCLA doctors involved with getting 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET approved by the FDA. It’s a bit on the technical side, but it does show the strengths and limitations of the imaging technique.