Blood Test Results

Blood test results back and all seems well. The only abnormality was the PSA score which above normal but not unusual for someone of my age. The doctor who reviewed the results has ordered a second test a month from now, something I think he's obliged to do in such a situation. I'll probably submit to it just to keep family off my back but that will be the end of it.

To his credit, the doctor downplayed the significance of a high PSA score in terms of indicating anything sinister. I watched a video by Pamela Popper, the titled Why PSA Testing is a Bad Idea and the takeaway was that "PSA is not a marker for cancer, and the risk of being harmed as a result of having the test is 30 times higher than the chance that a man will benefit."

Clearly the PSA test is yet another of those screening tests that generate huge profits for the medical mafia but do more harm than good. If the results of my second blood test were similarly as high as my first, I would be referred to a urologist who would subject me to a biopsy. This procedure is painful enough but as I've learned recently this is an ideal way to spread cancer cells around the body whereas as before they were totally encapsulated in the prostate gland.

Needless to say I won't be going down that path but many will because they still have trust in their doctors. Sadly, this trust is usually misplaced and given the seemingly limitless funding behind the promotion of these tests, this is hardly surprising. COVID did shatter the trust of some however, and hopefully their disillusionment will lead to a ripple effect throughout society. A massive reset of the medical "profession" is long overdue.

Ibuprofen

Today I ventured out and brought some ibuprofen to alleviate the pain in my aching shoulder and other areas. Of the ten tablets on the card, I'm taking three of the 400mg tablets daily. So far I've taken three and the relief is significant. However, the effect wears off after a few hours. What I'm hoping is that after three days, the inflammatory response that my body is generating will subside.

That probably will not happen but in the meantime, I'll enjoy some respite from the discomfort. However, I can't take ibuprofen forever so I'll need to get to the bottom of why my body is turning on itself. On the positive side, I've been forcing myself to walk more and as a result I don't feel as debilitated as I did earlier.

A trip to Medan is planned in early June which will provide me with the opportunity for some psychic healing, focused mainly on treating my thymoma, but perhaps assisting with my chronic inflammation as well. Perhaps the two are related so I asked Google's Gemini the following question and its response suggests that there may well be a link:

Is there any research available that links thymomas or thymic cysts to excessive inflammatory responses int the body?

The research on a direct link between thymomas or thymic cysts and excessive inflammatory responses in the body is limited and not entirely conclusive. Here's a breakdown of what we know:

Thymus Gland and Inflammation:

The thymus gland plays a crucial role in the immune system, particularly in T-cell development. T-cells are white blood cells that help fight infections.

In some cases, thymus dysfunction can lead to autoimmune diseases, where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. This suggests a potential link between the thymus and inflammation. 

Thymomas and Thymic Cysts:

Thymomas are tumors that grow in the thymus gland. They can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Thymic cysts are fluid-filled sacs that develop in the thymus. They are usually benign. 

Current Research:

Studies haven't established a definitive link between thymomas or thymic cysts themselves and causing widespread, excessive inflammation throughout the body.

However, there are some associations to consider:

Paraneoplastic Syndromes: In rare cases, thymomas can be associated with paraneoplastic syndromes. These are groups of symptoms caused by substances released by the tumor that can affect various organs and sometimes trigger inflammatory responses. 

Thymitis: Thymitis is an inflammation of the thymus gland itself. This can occur in association with thymomas or independently. While thymitis can cause localized inflammation in the chest area, it doesn't necessarily translate to widespread body-wide inflammation. 

Further Exploration:

More research is needed to fully understand the potential connection between thymomas/cysts and systemic (body-wide) inflammation.

Some studies suggest that thymomas might be linked to specific inflammatory markers, but the clinical significance and cause-and-effect relationship aren't fully established.If you're concerned about excessive inflammation:

It's important to consult a doctor to determine the underlying cause. They can perform tests and rule out other conditions that might be causing the inflammation. 

Overall:

While a definitive link between thymomas/cysts and widespread inflammation is lacking, there are potential associations worth exploring further. If you have a thymoma or thymic cyst and are experiencing excessive inflammation, discussing it with your doctor is crucial for proper diagnosis and management.

Thymoma or Thymic Cyst

 I was reading a medical journal article this evening and here is its introduction:

The normal thymus evolves over the course of a lifetime, with involution and gradual fatty replacement beginning around puberty. The thymus originates from 3 embryonic germ-cell layers and thus has the potential to transform along a number of neoplastic cell lines. On computed tomography (CT), the normal thymus appears as a triangular-shaped structure in the anterior mediastinum (see Figure 1). Variations in the morphology of the normal thymus gland, along with its association with a diverse range of pathologic processes, can make the thymus an imaging enigma and diagnostic challenge for clinicians.

Figure 1: source 

An abnormal appearance of the thymus can be attributable to either diffuse enlargement of the gland or a discrete mass. Benign thymic hyperplasia and lymphoma can both cause diffuse enlargement of the thymus. Many lesions—including thymoma, thymic carcinoma, and thymic carcinoids—as well as benign lesions—such as thymolipomas and cysts—can present with a focal thymic mass. This is often an incidental finding in an asymptomatic patient undergoing imaging for unrelated reasons. Clinical presentation can play a role in the evaluation of patients with thymic masses. One study found that more than 75% of asymptomatic patients with mediastinal masses had benign lesions, whereas almost two-thirds of symptomatic patients with mediastinal masses had malignant lesions. It has been suggested that expectant management can be considered for observation of asymptomatic patients with diffuse thymic enlargement. For symptomatic patients, biopsy or, at times, resection may be appropriate.

At present, CT remains the imaging modality of choice for the evaluation of mediastinal masses. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET) are useful adjuncts. While there is overlap in the features of many thymic lesions on imaging, some lesions have a characteristic appearance on CT. Thymolipoma, an uncommon benign thymic neoplasm, typically manifests on CT as a large anterior mediastinal mass containing fat intermingled with areas of soft-tissue attenuation, which may conform to the shape of other mediastinal structures. On CT, idiopathic multilocular thymic cyst, an acquired benign thymic lesion, cannot be reliably distinguished from the cystic components of malignant thymic lesions, including thymomas, Hodgkin lymphoma, and mediastinal germ-cell tumors. The appearances of thymomas on imaging can vary according to their staging and histologic subtype; lobulated contours, calcifications, and heterogeneous attenuation are associated with more-advanced, rather than early stage, thymoma.

Figure 2: source

The increasing use of CT has led to more-frequent identification of incidental lesions in the anterior mediastinum, and with recent advances in minimally invasive surgical techniques, an increasing number of thymic lesions are referred for surgical evaluation. Consequently, some patients may undergo invasive procedures for ultimately benign disease. If the benignity of a thymic lesion could be determined on imaging with a reasonable level of confidence, then the need for invasive procedures may potentially be obviated for a number of cases. The purpose of this study is to identify imaging features that help distinguish benign thymic lesions from early stage malignant thymic neoplasms.

From this study, we learn that "14% of patients with thymic cysts also had hepatic cysts" and:

A thymic cyst is a benign mediastinal disease which has been reported to be the second most common type of primary mediastinal cyst. Thymic cysts are rare, and the majority are believed to be congenital in origin. Approximately 60% of patients with a thymic cyst were asymptomatic, and the most common symptoms were cough, dyspnea, and chest pain, according to the literature (1,4). However, there were no specific symptoms for thymic cysts. 

Given that an ultrasound revealed that I had one or more cysts on my liver back in 2009, then the possibility increases that I might have a thymic cyst rather than a thymoma. It might be self limiting and not cause any severe problems. Up to this point, I've just assumed that what I had was a thymoma but that may not be the case. As the study says, it's often not possible, using CT, to determine the exact nature of an abnormality in the anterior mediastinum. Surgery may be carried out when it is not necessary. 

What struck me, when looking at the diagram in Figure 1 and similar depictions, is that there's not a lot of room in there and this means trouble when neoplasms or cysts develop. Lately I've been feeling quite tired during the day and fatigue is one of the symptoms of thymoma. For the moment, let's wait and see if my condition worsens or not.