Today’s Sunday newspapers in New Hampshire are all running headlines about the fact that yesterday Mitt Romney won their first-in-the nation Republican Presidential Straw Poll. Romney is by all accounts an extraordinary man with an accomplishment filled résumé . He boasts an impressive business and political pedigree as well as true conservative credentials. He is noteworthy and newsworthy; a truly remarkable man deserving of all the front-section reportage that will continue during the coming week. But somewhere in the back pages of the Laconia Citizen newspaper this week will be a very short story of a man some would call ordinary and unremarkable. The Laconia Citizen will run the obituary of Ron King who passed away yesterday and that obituary will read like those of everyone in that town who passed before him without fame or notoriety. It will be unremarkable in its content and tone. But, it shouldn’t be.
I first met Ron King and his wife Sue almost 7 years ago when their son Josh King married my daughter Cristina Andrews. Josh and Cristina had each been married previously and each of them brought a child from their prior marriage into the new marriage. Josh brought his daughter (Ron’s granddaughter) Maddison and Cristina brought her daughter (my granddaughter) Emma. It didn’t take long to see that Ron and Sue King welcomed Emma into their family and their hearts in exactly the same manner that my family and I welcomed Maddison into ours. To Ron King, Emma was simply one more granddaughter to love- - -precisely how I felt about Maddison. And then about 2 years later Josh and Cristina gave birth to Keegan King- - -a grandson who shared a bit of Ron’s blood and mine too.
At Keegan’s baptism Ron and I joked good naturedly about what a handsome little guy our grandson was with each of us claiming to be the source of his good looks. At one point during the day when Ron and I were just standing next to each other and quietly watching Emma and Maddi fawn over Keegan with big-sister delight Ron elbowed me, pointed at the three of them and said, “We did alright didn’t we Hal. . ." "Yes, Ron” I responded, “We did great. . .”
Ron King, a man of staunch Catholic faith, passed away yesterday. He had been shoveling snow off the roof of his house- - -a house he had built in a town he had lived in most of his 67 years, not far from the company he worked for his entire career. He went in the house- -the home in which he and Sue raised their two sons- - and told his one and only wife of 41 years, he was tired and went downstairs to rest. He passed while asleep in his chair.
By the current measure in today’s celebrity obsessed society Ron King, a rock solid husband, father and grandfather would not be considered “remarkable”. But given the frailties and failings of the people we look up to perhaps we need to give some serious thought to a new definition of remarkable- - -one that includes men like Ron King.
I don’t know how much more time on this earth God has allocated to me but, in the future I will remind my grandson Keegan that he was lucky enough to have had two grandfathers who loved him. It’s the least I can do for Ron. It’s the same thing I know he’d do for me.
God keep you and protect you Ron.
(c) The Sage of Tampa 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Becoming Andy Rooney
I’m becoming Andy Rooney. Rooney, of CBS’ “60 Minutes” program is TV’s best known and surliest curmudgeon. He’s 92 years old and just about everything annoys him or ticks him off. He opines on everything from human behaviors to food, pets, teens, politics, money, movies, TV, music and- - -sex. And none of it pleases him. If you don’t know Andy Rooney you surely know someone like him. But just in case you don’t, let me, The Sage, be your Andy Rooney for the next few minutes as I try to emulate him in telling you about three things that really, really, REALLY tick me off. All three involve human behavior especially the behavior of Gen-Xers.
I’m nowhere near Andy Rooney’s age but like him I have a full head of completely gray hair. Some say it makes me look distinguished and rugged. But to Gen-Xers, obviously, it makes me look stupid, helpless, and technologically challenged. Nowhere is that more evident than when I go into a big box technology store such as Best Buy or Comp USA and start looking at computers and peripherals. Within 15 seconds a “twenty-something” nerd reeking of acne medication and having all the sartorial style of a none-too-effective panhandler approaches me and says something in the nature of, “You do know that’s a COMPUTER, right?” Then adds, “Are you really looking for a COMPUUUUUTER (drawing it out for emphasis) today, sir, really?” I would tell him that I was working with COMPUUUUUTERS long before his father knew that “hard disk” wasn’t a term to be giggled over in the boys bathroom in the sixth grade, but it wouldn’t do any good. I know he’d just look at me and say, “Huh, what? Whadya mean?” Then I’d just say something ruder still, he’d be even more clueless and I’d walk out in a huff. That’s why I now order ALL technology online from one of their competitors. Online stores never see my hair and don’t care how old I am. All they care about is how much I spend, the shipping option I choose and that my credit card is valid.
Andy Rooney also complains a lot about doctors. Most seniors do because the things that afflict seniors don’t afflict young doctors so their familiarity with those afflictions is vicarious at best. But my gripe with doctors is different than Andy’s. Every time my primary care physician refers me to a specialist the following scenario takes place: Doctor enters exam room 40 minutes late and says, “ Hi Hal, I’m DOCTOR Smith." That rude greeting is followed by me wasting the next ten minutes furthering his education by explaining: “Look pal, I don’t know what they taught you at home or in med school but I am either Hal and you are Bob or you are DOCTOR Smith and I am MISTER Andrews. . .I don’t give a fig which of those two you choose but if you insist on calling me Hal and referring to yourself as DOCTOR Smith you will find yourself having that stethoscope you’re wearing around your neck plugged into something other than your ears!” Most of them have studied enough anatomy to get my point and we move on, politely, from there.
There is however one situation I never hear Andy Rooney gripe about- - -the parking lots at suburban strip centers- - -the kind with a major grocery store along with a pizza parlor, nail studio, sandwich shop, liquor store, Chinese take-out, dry cleaner and tanning salon. There are two of those within 2 miles of my house each patronized by Gen-Xers driving BMWs, Mercedes, Volvos and yes, Hummers too. All of them educated, well-off, young, good looking, fit and able people who for some strange reason believe that because they live in the Tampa zip code with the highest per household income and the highest level of education. . .the rules do not apply to them. And so instead of parking in one of the thousand or so parking spaces the rest of us use they park in the highly visible yellow delineated “Fire Lane” in front of the video store, liquor store or take-out place initiating their “flashers” as a signal that YOU, you unprivileged dope in a Toyota, should just go on around them and their $80,000 import. And I used to do that honking my horn and flipping “half a peace sign” at them on my way. But it just wasn’t very satisfying because it didn’t get their attention. So now, I park my car and walk up to their vehicle and motion for them to lower their window while I pretend to be dialing my cell phone. When the driver puts the window down I put my index finger up and say, “Hang on a sec, I’m calling a tow truck.” The driver always asks why and I say, “I saw you parked in a “No Parking” zone with your emergency flashers on and knew you must be having car trouble so, I decided to be a good Samaritan and call a tow truck for you. . .should be here momentarily.” If the driver looks particularly oafish I ask, “Will the literacy lessons take long?” He or she usually replies, “Listen wise guy I can read” and I ask if that “includes the big yellow letters over which you are parked- - -you know the ones that say ‘No Parking Fire Lane’?” These two methods seem particularly effective and so far only one guy has gotten out of the car and threatened me with bodily harm.
OK, so I may not be in Andy Rooney’s league yet when it comes to being a curmudgeon but I’m working on it and by the time I’m 92 I hope to have it down pat.
© The Sage of Tampa 2011
I’m nowhere near Andy Rooney’s age but like him I have a full head of completely gray hair. Some say it makes me look distinguished and rugged. But to Gen-Xers, obviously, it makes me look stupid, helpless, and technologically challenged. Nowhere is that more evident than when I go into a big box technology store such as Best Buy or Comp USA and start looking at computers and peripherals. Within 15 seconds a “twenty-something” nerd reeking of acne medication and having all the sartorial style of a none-too-effective panhandler approaches me and says something in the nature of, “You do know that’s a COMPUTER, right?” Then adds, “Are you really looking for a COMPUUUUUTER (drawing it out for emphasis) today, sir, really?” I would tell him that I was working with COMPUUUUUTERS long before his father knew that “hard disk” wasn’t a term to be giggled over in the boys bathroom in the sixth grade, but it wouldn’t do any good. I know he’d just look at me and say, “Huh, what? Whadya mean?” Then I’d just say something ruder still, he’d be even more clueless and I’d walk out in a huff. That’s why I now order ALL technology online from one of their competitors. Online stores never see my hair and don’t care how old I am. All they care about is how much I spend, the shipping option I choose and that my credit card is valid.
Andy Rooney also complains a lot about doctors. Most seniors do because the things that afflict seniors don’t afflict young doctors so their familiarity with those afflictions is vicarious at best. But my gripe with doctors is different than Andy’s. Every time my primary care physician refers me to a specialist the following scenario takes place: Doctor enters exam room 40 minutes late and says, “ Hi Hal, I’m DOCTOR Smith." That rude greeting is followed by me wasting the next ten minutes furthering his education by explaining: “Look pal, I don’t know what they taught you at home or in med school but I am either Hal and you are Bob or you are DOCTOR Smith and I am MISTER Andrews. . .I don’t give a fig which of those two you choose but if you insist on calling me Hal and referring to yourself as DOCTOR Smith you will find yourself having that stethoscope you’re wearing around your neck plugged into something other than your ears!” Most of them have studied enough anatomy to get my point and we move on, politely, from there.
There is however one situation I never hear Andy Rooney gripe about- - -the parking lots at suburban strip centers- - -the kind with a major grocery store along with a pizza parlor, nail studio, sandwich shop, liquor store, Chinese take-out, dry cleaner and tanning salon. There are two of those within 2 miles of my house each patronized by Gen-Xers driving BMWs, Mercedes, Volvos and yes, Hummers too. All of them educated, well-off, young, good looking, fit and able people who for some strange reason believe that because they live in the Tampa zip code with the highest per household income and the highest level of education. . .the rules do not apply to them. And so instead of parking in one of the thousand or so parking spaces the rest of us use they park in the highly visible yellow delineated “Fire Lane” in front of the video store, liquor store or take-out place initiating their “flashers” as a signal that YOU, you unprivileged dope in a Toyota, should just go on around them and their $80,000 import. And I used to do that honking my horn and flipping “half a peace sign” at them on my way. But it just wasn’t very satisfying because it didn’t get their attention. So now, I park my car and walk up to their vehicle and motion for them to lower their window while I pretend to be dialing my cell phone. When the driver puts the window down I put my index finger up and say, “Hang on a sec, I’m calling a tow truck.” The driver always asks why and I say, “I saw you parked in a “No Parking” zone with your emergency flashers on and knew you must be having car trouble so, I decided to be a good Samaritan and call a tow truck for you. . .should be here momentarily.” If the driver looks particularly oafish I ask, “Will the literacy lessons take long?” He or she usually replies, “Listen wise guy I can read” and I ask if that “includes the big yellow letters over which you are parked- - -you know the ones that say ‘No Parking Fire Lane’?” These two methods seem particularly effective and so far only one guy has gotten out of the car and threatened me with bodily harm.
OK, so I may not be in Andy Rooney’s league yet when it comes to being a curmudgeon but I’m working on it and by the time I’m 92 I hope to have it down pat.
© The Sage of Tampa 2011
Sunday, January 9, 2011
All Conservatives Have to Do Is Surrender.
Sunday January 9, 2011
As one might have predicted the political opportunists among us- -especially those on the far left- -have already made use of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabriella Giffords and the death of US District Judge John Roll in addition to 5 more people including a 9 year old girl, to scream about “divisive politics” and blame such divisiveness solely on the backs of talk radio “hate spewers” like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and on Fox News as well. As a result, we can expect a political hew and cry this week to “gag” conservative talk radio and brand all conservatives as gun-toting, homophobic, hateful, bigots.
By late-week there will be endless recitations by liberal media outlets recalling each contentious thing said in the past 3 years by every talk radio host about Barrack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and any elected official with a “D” after their name indicating their party affiliation. Regurgitated will be the definition of hate speech as being only those things said by conservatives about liberals and their friends. Forgotten will be the ugly and threatening rants spoken over the preceding 8 years by the Hollywood elite, limousine liberals, smug liberal media folks like Keith Olbermann, Al Francken, Janeane Garafolo, Alan Colmes, Leslie Marshall, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and dozens more about George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin and virtually every high profile adherent of Judeo-Christian values. Journalists from the traditional media outlets will offer knowing comments linking the tenets of the “tea party” to racism, bigotry and paranoia. Paranoid will be used as the main descriptor of Jared Laughner thus his paranoia will make him a “tool” of the tea party by the journalistic "logic" of the New York Times, Newsweek Magazine, NBC News, and the Los Angeles Times to name a few.
During this week we will hear the term “divisive” applied to folks like Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and even Mike Huckabee because of their non-liberal views. On every far left website anyone of public note who is not a liberal will be held responsible for the deep divide within our country today. The left's chief target will be Sarah Palin and she will be the focus of the debate over who’s to blame for the events in Tucson last Saturday. But missing from the public discourse on “disunity” will be the names of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and every other ‘race baiter’ and advocate of class warfare. Missing from the citations and quotes will be the comments made by arrogant liberal politicians intent on imposing their will on the public. Divisive actions and comments such as Nancy Pelosi’s infamous statement about the healthcare bill, “We’ll have to pass it to see what’s in it”, will not be anywhere to be seen or spoken of as a catalyst for alienation and angst regarding our elected officials and the federal government.
By week’s end they will be calling for the dismantling of Fox News and Rupert Murdoch’s news empire. They will demand the FCC take Limbaugh and Beck off the air. Boycotts of the Wall Street Journal’s advertisers will be the norm. All because THEIR views incubate hate and divide us as a nation so it will be claimed. But no one will publicly tell George Soros that he can’t donate $23,581,000 to various 527 organizations dedicated to defeating conservative causes or millions more to the Center for American Progress, the Democracy Alliance or MoveOn.org. No one will demand equal time or balance from the Huffington Post or the Daily Kos. No, the burden of unifying America again will fall to conservatives but this time the left will demand it take the form of conservatives abandoning their principles and subordinating their rights to the will of liberals and progressives who will not be asked to tone down their actions or their rhetoric. Yes by the end of this coming week it will be apparent- -if you listen only to the traditional and liberal media- -that until conservatives capitulate and wave the white flag of surrender to liberal ideals and social economics people will continue to be targeted by certified whackos like Jared Laughner. Surrender? Really? Not as long as I’m alive.
As one might have predicted the political opportunists among us- -especially those on the far left- -have already made use of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabriella Giffords and the death of US District Judge John Roll in addition to 5 more people including a 9 year old girl, to scream about “divisive politics” and blame such divisiveness solely on the backs of talk radio “hate spewers” like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage and on Fox News as well. As a result, we can expect a political hew and cry this week to “gag” conservative talk radio and brand all conservatives as gun-toting, homophobic, hateful, bigots.
By late-week there will be endless recitations by liberal media outlets recalling each contentious thing said in the past 3 years by every talk radio host about Barrack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and any elected official with a “D” after their name indicating their party affiliation. Regurgitated will be the definition of hate speech as being only those things said by conservatives about liberals and their friends. Forgotten will be the ugly and threatening rants spoken over the preceding 8 years by the Hollywood elite, limousine liberals, smug liberal media folks like Keith Olbermann, Al Francken, Janeane Garafolo, Alan Colmes, Leslie Marshall, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and dozens more about George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Sarah Palin and virtually every high profile adherent of Judeo-Christian values. Journalists from the traditional media outlets will offer knowing comments linking the tenets of the “tea party” to racism, bigotry and paranoia. Paranoid will be used as the main descriptor of Jared Laughner thus his paranoia will make him a “tool” of the tea party by the journalistic "logic" of the New York Times, Newsweek Magazine, NBC News, and the Los Angeles Times to name a few.
During this week we will hear the term “divisive” applied to folks like Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and even Mike Huckabee because of their non-liberal views. On every far left website anyone of public note who is not a liberal will be held responsible for the deep divide within our country today. The left's chief target will be Sarah Palin and she will be the focus of the debate over who’s to blame for the events in Tucson last Saturday. But missing from the public discourse on “disunity” will be the names of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and every other ‘race baiter’ and advocate of class warfare. Missing from the citations and quotes will be the comments made by arrogant liberal politicians intent on imposing their will on the public. Divisive actions and comments such as Nancy Pelosi’s infamous statement about the healthcare bill, “We’ll have to pass it to see what’s in it”, will not be anywhere to be seen or spoken of as a catalyst for alienation and angst regarding our elected officials and the federal government.
By week’s end they will be calling for the dismantling of Fox News and Rupert Murdoch’s news empire. They will demand the FCC take Limbaugh and Beck off the air. Boycotts of the Wall Street Journal’s advertisers will be the norm. All because THEIR views incubate hate and divide us as a nation so it will be claimed. But no one will publicly tell George Soros that he can’t donate $23,581,000 to various 527 organizations dedicated to defeating conservative causes or millions more to the Center for American Progress, the Democracy Alliance or MoveOn.org. No one will demand equal time or balance from the Huffington Post or the Daily Kos. No, the burden of unifying America again will fall to conservatives but this time the left will demand it take the form of conservatives abandoning their principles and subordinating their rights to the will of liberals and progressives who will not be asked to tone down their actions or their rhetoric. Yes by the end of this coming week it will be apparent- -if you listen only to the traditional and liberal media- -that until conservatives capitulate and wave the white flag of surrender to liberal ideals and social economics people will continue to be targeted by certified whackos like Jared Laughner. Surrender? Really? Not as long as I’m alive.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Winning the Battle With Prostate Cancer: A very personal story, Part IV
The Last Post of a Four Part Blog
The 10 month span from that shocking diagnosis through tough decisions, debilitating treatment with angst filled recovery and finally to relieving remission has been, I can honestly say, the most interesting ten month span of my life. It has been an ordeal, albeit a far less severe ordeal than others who may have been diagnosed at a later stage and some who were diagnosed too late to prevail. Yet for me and a few of those closest to me, this was an ordeal from which a lot could be learned. And the lessons learned were many. I share some of them with you now in the honest hope that if you or someone you love is diagnosed with prostate cancer somewhere in my recorded experience is just one (or perhaps more) comment, some action taken, some decision made or some observation which will help you or a loved one get through this challenge more easily and quickly and with the same good results I’ve had.
1. Get a PSA Test: If you are over 40 years of age make sure you get your level of Prostate Specific Antigen tested once a year. It’s a simple blood test requiring only one tube to be drawn. It’s over and done in about 3 minutes and is completely painless. If your PSA level is under 1.0 ppn (parts per nanogram) there’s nothing to worry about. If it’s approaching 2.0 ppn you might want to talk with your doctor about all the reasons that can happen. If it’s climbing beyond 2.0 and headed to 3.0 don’t ignore it!! When it comes to prostate cancer and your PSA level the old adage holds true: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
2. Don’t Delay a Diagnosis: Like any disease, the earlier prostate cancer is detected and diagnosed the greater your options for treatment and the better the success rate.
3. Don’t Be Fooled by Unorthodox Diagnostic Claims: If you listen to sports talk radio or political talk radio during the day you can’t help but notice the radio ads and claims for “no needle diagnosis” and diagnosis by imaging methods such as CT Scan, MRI and even “ultra-sound”. The fact is, the only sure way to know whether cancer is lurking in your prostate is to get tissue samples from the gland and have a certified lab look at the cells under a microscope. Cancerous cells don’t look anything like healthy cells and cannot be mistaken for anything other than what they are. . .ugly and misshapen markers of disease. And the only way to get those tissue samples is through the standard needle biopsy. Yes, it’s painful, nasty and incredibly undignified but the needle biopsy is the ONLY sure diagnostic tool- - -the ONLY one. So, man up, suck it up and get it done. The sooner you are diagnosed the better. Treat it like a matter of life and death because- - - it is. Did you get that, brother? Did I make it plain enough for you? I sure hope so.
4. Research Your Treatment Options Carefully: The earlier stage at which your cancer is found the more treatment options you have. Cancers found at more advanced stages require more radical and limited forms of treatment. The more radical the treatment the longer and more difficult the recovery and the path to remission. Information is the key to selecting the right treatment option. Yes, your doctors will give you reams of information to read but, that information is likely to reflect their own treatment biases. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, after all these folks are highly trained and highly skilled professionals worthy of your trust. But because you are making a life altering decision you want to back up your trust in your doctors with your own ability to verify the information you have. The Internet makes it easy to do your own in research and in Part II of this 4 part blog I’ve given you four good places to start. Don’t ignore this. Doing your own research will give you greater confidence in selecting your treatment and the more confident you are going into that treatment the easier your recovery and path to remission will be.
5. Get Fit and Stay Fit: Yes, I’m repeating this again: the healthier you are going into your selected treatment plan the healthier you will be during the recovery period and on your path to remission. Even if your cancer is discovered at an advanced stage and the time you have between diagnosis and starting treatment is only a matter of days rather than weeks or months, start working on an exercise and fitness plan incorporating any and all exercise your medical team will permit then stick to it. The discipline will pay off. You will feel like you have some control over your recovery and that you are giving your body the means to heal itself . . . because you are. Aerobic and cardio enhancing exercise will force more oxygen to your healthy cells and tissues which in turn will negate a lot of the side effects of your treatment and speed up your body’s ability to recover.
6. Expect the Unexpected: All prostate cancer treatment is based on one of two processes; surgery or radiation or both. Some treatments such as radical removal followed by high intensity radiation are harder on your body than others. But every treatment option without exception will cause side effects- - -some anticipated, some not. Your body will do strange things, things you’ve never experienced before and some of it won’t be “polite”. But these things are most often temporary and eventually you will regain control of them. The need for surgical correction is rare. Learn to expect the unexpected from your genito-urinary system and intestinal tract. And yes, sexual dysfunction is also the norm during recovery. But this too can be easier to deal with if you have an understanding partner who will help you keep that part of your system functioning through the recovery process.
7. Listen to Your Doctors Carefully: This should be obvious but doctors are humans too. They have different personalities and different styles (bedside manners). They all deliver their ideas, comments, information and messages differently. Ask your doctors to be specific about what they want you to do or not do and more importantly, why they want you to do it (or refrain from doing something). Unclear communication between you and your doctor will slow down your recovery. Yes, your doctor has a responsibility to tell you the things you need to know but you have a responsibility to listen and act.
8. Don’t Overlook the Power of the Mind: Techniques like self-hypnosis and focused imagery can harness the energy of your mind and body to help you heal. Consider adding a licensed holistic practitioner to your medical team if you can. If you cannot do that then consider the technique I described in Part III of the blog. It’s easy and effective.
9. Don’t Discount the Power of Prayer: Even the most rabid of atheists when pressed will admit a belief in some sort of force in the universe . . . something to explain the unexplainable. Religion teaches us that force is God and instructs us on how to make use of His power through prayer and meditation. Your religious friends, as mine did, will offer to put you on their ‘prayer lists’. Let them do that. You will feel it and you will know it. They do it because they love you and that love has the power to heal.
10. Don’t Be Embarrassed to Lean on Others: This disease and its treatment WILL wreak havoc on you mentally as well as physically. On many days it will sap you of your energy and stamina. It will challenge your sense of self-worth and your notion of your masculinity. No one told me this and I didn’t handle it very well at all. But now you know it. And if you make certain that your family and friends know what you are going through and that, while you recover, you won’t be the “Mr. Reliable” they have always known you will get through the ordeal more easily. The people who love you will want to know and they will want to help. Let them do so. Be honest with them about what is happening to you. Most will understand. Only the selfish few will not.
So that’s it, dear readers. The thing men don’t like to talk about, even though we know that, like women, we should talk about it. We should talk to our friends and our sons- - -and our daughters, too. We should proclaim we are survivors. We should have races for the cure. We should be asking for more research funding. We should be wearing lapel pins. We should have a “Prostate Cancer Awareness Month”. . . .but wait, we did. It was proclaimed by President Obama, for the first time ever, to be the month of September 2010. A Presidential Proclamation was issued and yet I didn’t know about it because I saw nothing on the Internet or TV news programs. I read nothing in the newspapers, and Moffitt Cancer Center- -where I’m being treated- -sent me nothing about it. If I had not seen, by chance, a brief segment about it on the Geraldo show one night, I would never have known.
Such is the way we treat the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in this country. And we men, through our silence, allow it to happen. But, hopefully, this four part blog will, in some small way, help to get other men- - -and the people who love them- - - doing all those "shoulds".
The 10 month span from that shocking diagnosis through tough decisions, debilitating treatment with angst filled recovery and finally to relieving remission has been, I can honestly say, the most interesting ten month span of my life. It has been an ordeal, albeit a far less severe ordeal than others who may have been diagnosed at a later stage and some who were diagnosed too late to prevail. Yet for me and a few of those closest to me, this was an ordeal from which a lot could be learned. And the lessons learned were many. I share some of them with you now in the honest hope that if you or someone you love is diagnosed with prostate cancer somewhere in my recorded experience is just one (or perhaps more) comment, some action taken, some decision made or some observation which will help you or a loved one get through this challenge more easily and quickly and with the same good results I’ve had.
1. Get a PSA Test: If you are over 40 years of age make sure you get your level of Prostate Specific Antigen tested once a year. It’s a simple blood test requiring only one tube to be drawn. It’s over and done in about 3 minutes and is completely painless. If your PSA level is under 1.0 ppn (parts per nanogram) there’s nothing to worry about. If it’s approaching 2.0 ppn you might want to talk with your doctor about all the reasons that can happen. If it’s climbing beyond 2.0 and headed to 3.0 don’t ignore it!! When it comes to prostate cancer and your PSA level the old adage holds true: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
2. Don’t Delay a Diagnosis: Like any disease, the earlier prostate cancer is detected and diagnosed the greater your options for treatment and the better the success rate.
3. Don’t Be Fooled by Unorthodox Diagnostic Claims: If you listen to sports talk radio or political talk radio during the day you can’t help but notice the radio ads and claims for “no needle diagnosis” and diagnosis by imaging methods such as CT Scan, MRI and even “ultra-sound”. The fact is, the only sure way to know whether cancer is lurking in your prostate is to get tissue samples from the gland and have a certified lab look at the cells under a microscope. Cancerous cells don’t look anything like healthy cells and cannot be mistaken for anything other than what they are. . .ugly and misshapen markers of disease. And the only way to get those tissue samples is through the standard needle biopsy. Yes, it’s painful, nasty and incredibly undignified but the needle biopsy is the ONLY sure diagnostic tool- - -the ONLY one. So, man up, suck it up and get it done. The sooner you are diagnosed the better. Treat it like a matter of life and death because- - - it is. Did you get that, brother? Did I make it plain enough for you? I sure hope so.
4. Research Your Treatment Options Carefully: The earlier stage at which your cancer is found the more treatment options you have. Cancers found at more advanced stages require more radical and limited forms of treatment. The more radical the treatment the longer and more difficult the recovery and the path to remission. Information is the key to selecting the right treatment option. Yes, your doctors will give you reams of information to read but, that information is likely to reflect their own treatment biases. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, after all these folks are highly trained and highly skilled professionals worthy of your trust. But because you are making a life altering decision you want to back up your trust in your doctors with your own ability to verify the information you have. The Internet makes it easy to do your own in research and in Part II of this 4 part blog I’ve given you four good places to start. Don’t ignore this. Doing your own research will give you greater confidence in selecting your treatment and the more confident you are going into that treatment the easier your recovery and path to remission will be.
5. Get Fit and Stay Fit: Yes, I’m repeating this again: the healthier you are going into your selected treatment plan the healthier you will be during the recovery period and on your path to remission. Even if your cancer is discovered at an advanced stage and the time you have between diagnosis and starting treatment is only a matter of days rather than weeks or months, start working on an exercise and fitness plan incorporating any and all exercise your medical team will permit then stick to it. The discipline will pay off. You will feel like you have some control over your recovery and that you are giving your body the means to heal itself . . . because you are. Aerobic and cardio enhancing exercise will force more oxygen to your healthy cells and tissues which in turn will negate a lot of the side effects of your treatment and speed up your body’s ability to recover.
6. Expect the Unexpected: All prostate cancer treatment is based on one of two processes; surgery or radiation or both. Some treatments such as radical removal followed by high intensity radiation are harder on your body than others. But every treatment option without exception will cause side effects- - -some anticipated, some not. Your body will do strange things, things you’ve never experienced before and some of it won’t be “polite”. But these things are most often temporary and eventually you will regain control of them. The need for surgical correction is rare. Learn to expect the unexpected from your genito-urinary system and intestinal tract. And yes, sexual dysfunction is also the norm during recovery. But this too can be easier to deal with if you have an understanding partner who will help you keep that part of your system functioning through the recovery process.
7. Listen to Your Doctors Carefully: This should be obvious but doctors are humans too. They have different personalities and different styles (bedside manners). They all deliver their ideas, comments, information and messages differently. Ask your doctors to be specific about what they want you to do or not do and more importantly, why they want you to do it (or refrain from doing something). Unclear communication between you and your doctor will slow down your recovery. Yes, your doctor has a responsibility to tell you the things you need to know but you have a responsibility to listen and act.
8. Don’t Overlook the Power of the Mind: Techniques like self-hypnosis and focused imagery can harness the energy of your mind and body to help you heal. Consider adding a licensed holistic practitioner to your medical team if you can. If you cannot do that then consider the technique I described in Part III of the blog. It’s easy and effective.
9. Don’t Discount the Power of Prayer: Even the most rabid of atheists when pressed will admit a belief in some sort of force in the universe . . . something to explain the unexplainable. Religion teaches us that force is God and instructs us on how to make use of His power through prayer and meditation. Your religious friends, as mine did, will offer to put you on their ‘prayer lists’. Let them do that. You will feel it and you will know it. They do it because they love you and that love has the power to heal.
10. Don’t Be Embarrassed to Lean on Others: This disease and its treatment WILL wreak havoc on you mentally as well as physically. On many days it will sap you of your energy and stamina. It will challenge your sense of self-worth and your notion of your masculinity. No one told me this and I didn’t handle it very well at all. But now you know it. And if you make certain that your family and friends know what you are going through and that, while you recover, you won’t be the “Mr. Reliable” they have always known you will get through the ordeal more easily. The people who love you will want to know and they will want to help. Let them do so. Be honest with them about what is happening to you. Most will understand. Only the selfish few will not.
So that’s it, dear readers. The thing men don’t like to talk about, even though we know that, like women, we should talk about it. We should talk to our friends and our sons- - -and our daughters, too. We should proclaim we are survivors. We should have races for the cure. We should be asking for more research funding. We should be wearing lapel pins. We should have a “Prostate Cancer Awareness Month”. . . .but wait, we did. It was proclaimed by President Obama, for the first time ever, to be the month of September 2010. A Presidential Proclamation was issued and yet I didn’t know about it because I saw nothing on the Internet or TV news programs. I read nothing in the newspapers, and Moffitt Cancer Center- -where I’m being treated- -sent me nothing about it. If I had not seen, by chance, a brief segment about it on the Geraldo show one night, I would never have known.
Such is the way we treat the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men in this country. And we men, through our silence, allow it to happen. But, hopefully, this four part blog will, in some small way, help to get other men- - -and the people who love them- - - doing all those "shoulds".
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Winning the Battle With Prostate Cancer: a very personal story, Part III
Friday May 28, 2010 was the scariest day of my life. And even though I had done the research and was satisfied that I had made the right choice for me and the quality of life I wanted to lead there was still a lot I didn't know about the radioactive seed implants- - -a lot the literature just didn't speak to, at least not in detail. The docs at Moffitt Cancer Center, a urologic surgeon, a radiation oncologist and, of course, an anesthesiologist had each spoken to me as I laid on the gurney in the pre-surgery prep area. They confirmed what I already knew: that they would use long, very fine needles to insert 53 radioactive titanium seeds in strings of 5 or 6 each through my Perineum and into my prostate gland in a pattern devised to be close to the cancerous areas in order to kill off those cells while leaving healthy tissue and nerve bundles untouched. And while this procedure is far less invasive and physically less risky than a radical removal of the entire gland, it is not fool proof. If not done properly it can fail to kill off the cancer cells, create extreme bladder and bowel problems and damage the nerve bundles attached to the prostate- - -the nerve bundles critical to male sexual function. These issues are of deep concern to men. No man wants to be put to sleep full of hopeful expectations for a better life free of disease only to wake up and find out that he might spend the rest of his life wearing adult diapers and the last moment of intimacy he shared with someone might have been his last ever. As I said, it was a very scary day.
And so, with those thoughts in mind and a waiting syringe full of Propofol, otherwise known as "milk of amnesia" and the anesthetic that killed Michael Jackson, I was wheeled into the operating room. Five hours later I was awake, discharged and on my way home to rest and work my "plan for recovery and remission." After all, I had done countless hours of reading and was certain I knew what to expect. I was wrong.
The first part of my plan was tied to my notion that "the healthier I was going into this the healthier I would be coming out of it" so, after resting on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and with the approval of my doctors, Tuesday morning I was back in the gym on a very limited exercise regimen- - -some low level cardio and light upper body weights. No lower body weights and no core exercises. I was back! I still had the big red "S" on my chest, by gosh. I would get through this recovery with ease I told myself. And, again, I was wrong.
What all the research and all the pre-surgery consultations with the doctors failed to do was to prepare me for the extent of the effects on areas of my body near the prostate gland. It also failed to prepare me for something called "cancer fatigue" and how that would change my lifestyle and my mood on a day-to-day basis.
Body functions we take for granted and do reflexively suddenly became difficult and required concentration. Those simple functions were also painful initially. Spasms as strong as leg cramps attacked my bladder and knocked me to the floor in agony at least twice a day on most days in the first several weeks. Sitting in a chair was not a restful thing after 15 minutes or so. And then there was the incredible lack of stamina and energy.
As I said before I've always been an active guy. I took pride in maintaining my home, my lawn and my pool and doing repair projects myself. Now all of a sudden I had to hire someone to do all these things for me. I had no energy. No reserves. By 12:30 or 1:00 PM each day I was completely fatigued. Finished. Spent. And I was also really angry that I could no longer see the red "S" on my chest and had no idea where my blue tights and red cape had gone. Superman was not only no longer super he had also turned into an angry, snarly jerk who wasn't always very nice to be around if you were part of my family or one of my closest friends on the days when the physical realities and the fatigue converged to blacken my mood. Unfortunately, during the first 90 days or so those times were more the rule rather than the exception. But, fortunately, in addition to having always been active I've always been stubborn and determined. So I kept getting up early 5 days a week and going to the gym, very gradually increasing my exercise regimen. Slowly my stamina started to return. And thanks to the physical exercise and part 2 of my plan, the cancer cells stopped growing and started dying.
Part 2 of my "plan for recovery and remission" involved something I had read about but never tried- - -the use of mental imagery to focus the body's own energy. Each night as I lay in bed, all was quiet and I was alone with my own thoughts, I imagined that I was summoning up energy from other relaxed parts of my body- -legs, arms, toes, fingers- -and focusing that energy like a hot laser beam on my prostate. In my mind's eye I could see that beam of energy killing off the cancer cells and the dead cells flying out of my body. I repeated the process each night and again each morning as I awoke and everything was quiet and still.
Laugh if you want. Even sneer if you'd like but, all I know is that by doing those two things along with listening to my doctors carefully and accepting the prayers of my friends, within 90 days my PSA level was down to 0.78 ppn and 90 days after that I was in remission with no current evidence of disease.
But this isn't quite the end of this story. Like all such stories there are lessons to be learned and in the next post I'll share some of those with you.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Winning The Battle With Prostate Cancer: a very personal story, part II
Part II
After getting over the shock of the diagnosis, as I wrote about in the previous blog, it was time to map out a battle plan.
Because my prostate cancer- -a slow growing cancer- - was diagnosed as being in an early stage, Stage T1C, I knew I had time to fully research my treatment options. So, I sat down at the computer did the requisite Google search for "prostate cancer treatments" and came up with a mind boggling array of entries, well over 10 million! Rethinking the search and changing it to "best prostate cancer treatment centers in the US" reduced the results to about 2 million entries- -still too much to wade through. So, I started with the first place everyone in the US thinks of when you think of first-rate health care, The Mayo Clinic. And to be sure, they had a wealth of information readily available on the web for free. But not satisfied with relying on only one source for information- -no matter how outstanding a reputation they may have- -I called my doctor and asked for some other sources. He suggested the Cleveland Clinic and Tampa's own Moffitt Cancer Center.
I had already known Moffitt's reputation as a cancer treatment center and through a friend had been referred to the chief of urological surgery there. And while I was quite certain that whatever treatment option I selected I would have done at Moffitt I wanted to be completely satisfied that I was selecting the right treatment for ME and the way I wanted to lead MY life. In order to do that I needed information, lots of information. And that information needed to be current, clear, understandable and statistically definitive. I didn't want it to be full of weasel words and terms such as; may, might, in some men, in some cases, no one can say, there is some anecdotal evidence, and so on. So without boring you with stats on the number of hours I spent sitting at this computer doing research let me tell you the 4 places I found to have the greatest wealth of information about prostate cancer and its treatment.
4. The Cleveland Clinic- in terms of general health care in the US, these folks are second only to The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Here's where you start with them: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/prostate_cancer/hic_prostate_cancer_basics.aspx
3. The Mayo Clinic- everyone knows the Mayo Clinic. For their info set on prostate cancer start here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/prostate-cancer/
2. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center- this famed NYC hospital has probably treated more VIPs than any clinic in the US other than the Mayo Clinic. For their take on prostate cancer start here: http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/2525.cfm
1. Johns-Hopkins University- This Baltimore, MD medical center is the first choice of our nation's political leaders and foreign leaders as well. You can start here: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/types_cancer/prostate_cancer.html
Again, since the point of writing this is to help men navigate their way through information in order to make a better decision, let me tell you bluntly that, in my opinion and based on countless hours of research, Johns-Hopkins has the greatest wealth of comprehensive, clear, concise, understandable and straight forward information about prostate cancer treatment available- -period. Their "health alerts", bulletins, "special reports" and white papers are complete, current, candid and most importantly, they are unambiguous and totally devoid of weasel words and terms. One of the best decisions I made in my battle with prostate cancer was to immediately download their report "Choosing the Right Treatment for Your Prostate Cancer." You can get that report here: http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/special_reports/prostate/special_report/main_landing.html
The decision to download this report and other reports published by Johns-Hopkins led me to make choices that helped me overcome this disease in just six short months instead of the 18 to 24 months I had been given to expect. Let me tell you about one other decision- -a very important decision- -that also contributed greatly to such a positive outcome. A simple and logical decision, really.
I've always been a pretty active guy and at the time of my diagnosis I was going to the gym and working out 3 days a week. My work outs were complete- - -lower body, upper body and core - - -and my aerobic health was reasonable but, I knew I could be healthier and it seemed logical to me that no matter what treatment option I chose and when I had it done, the healthier I was going into this battle then the healthier I would be coming out of it. So within a week of my diagnosis I stepped my gym workouts up from 3 days a week to 5 and increased them in both intensity and duration losing about 25 pounds and gaining in aerobic, therefore cellular, health in the process. I cannot over-emphasize how important this turned out to be.
Then after digesting all the information I had gotten from Hopkins and satisfying myself about issues like:
. Treatment risks
. Success ratios
. Duration of treatment
. Appropriateness of treatment for early stage versus late stage cancer
. Radical removal versus other options
. Loss of bodily functions
. Loss of intimacy
. Quality of life after treatment
I discussed my options with my doctors, other men who had won the battle and with certain members of my family. I asked for their opinions and got them.
My doctors were somewhat predictable. I could do nothing- -the watch and wait approach- - and reasonably expect to live another 12 to 15 years or so but with a very poor quality of life in the last 3 to 5 years. I could opt for intensive external beam radiation and expect complete remission but run the rather high risk of long-term incontinence, poor bowel function and a permanent impairment of sexual function. I could also choose radical removal and because of an early diagnosis I would be almost 100% certain of complete remission but still face the same body function issues or . . . I could opt for a less invasive procedure, radioactive implants.
The men I talked to were about equally divided. Approximately half of them opted for either radical removal or intensive external beam radiation because they wanted the cancer out of their bodies as quickly and expediently as possible- -all the other consequences didn't matter to them. Of the other half, about 50% opted for radiation implants and the remainder chose to "watch and wait". Much to my surprise my family felt that whatever option got the cancer out of my body and put my recovery chances as close to 100% as possible was the best option. The rest didn't matter to them. Keeping me around for as long as possible was their main goal and they were completely clear about their feelings.
But in the end it was my choice and mine alone. I DID NOT want to wind up wearing Depends nor making 6 to 8 trips to the bathroom during the day and 3 or 4 more at night. I DID want to preserve my options for intimacy and I DID NOT want the disease and it's treatment to dictate to me on a long-term basis in what activities I could- -or could not- -take an active part. So, radioactive implants became my choice and the procedure was scheduled for May 28, 2010. . . the scariest day of my life. Why? Well, I guess that is next week's blog.
After getting over the shock of the diagnosis, as I wrote about in the previous blog, it was time to map out a battle plan.
Because my prostate cancer- -a slow growing cancer- - was diagnosed as being in an early stage, Stage T1C, I knew I had time to fully research my treatment options. So, I sat down at the computer did the requisite Google search for "prostate cancer treatments" and came up with a mind boggling array of entries, well over 10 million! Rethinking the search and changing it to "best prostate cancer treatment centers in the US" reduced the results to about 2 million entries- -still too much to wade through. So, I started with the first place everyone in the US thinks of when you think of first-rate health care, The Mayo Clinic. And to be sure, they had a wealth of information readily available on the web for free. But not satisfied with relying on only one source for information- -no matter how outstanding a reputation they may have- -I called my doctor and asked for some other sources. He suggested the Cleveland Clinic and Tampa's own Moffitt Cancer Center.
I had already known Moffitt's reputation as a cancer treatment center and through a friend had been referred to the chief of urological surgery there. And while I was quite certain that whatever treatment option I selected I would have done at Moffitt I wanted to be completely satisfied that I was selecting the right treatment for ME and the way I wanted to lead MY life. In order to do that I needed information, lots of information. And that information needed to be current, clear, understandable and statistically definitive. I didn't want it to be full of weasel words and terms such as; may, might, in some men, in some cases, no one can say, there is some anecdotal evidence, and so on. So without boring you with stats on the number of hours I spent sitting at this computer doing research let me tell you the 4 places I found to have the greatest wealth of information about prostate cancer and its treatment.
4. The Cleveland Clinic- in terms of general health care in the US, these folks are second only to The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Here's where you start with them: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/prostate_cancer/hic_prostate_cancer_basics.aspx
3. The Mayo Clinic- everyone knows the Mayo Clinic. For their info set on prostate cancer start here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/prostate-cancer/
2. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center- this famed NYC hospital has probably treated more VIPs than any clinic in the US other than the Mayo Clinic. For their take on prostate cancer start here: http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/2525.cfm
1. Johns-Hopkins University- This Baltimore, MD medical center is the first choice of our nation's political leaders and foreign leaders as well. You can start here: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/types_cancer/prostate_cancer.html
Again, since the point of writing this is to help men navigate their way through information in order to make a better decision, let me tell you bluntly that, in my opinion and based on countless hours of research, Johns-Hopkins has the greatest wealth of comprehensive, clear, concise, understandable and straight forward information about prostate cancer treatment available- -period. Their "health alerts", bulletins, "special reports" and white papers are complete, current, candid and most importantly, they are unambiguous and totally devoid of weasel words and terms. One of the best decisions I made in my battle with prostate cancer was to immediately download their report "Choosing the Right Treatment for Your Prostate Cancer." You can get that report here: http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/special_reports/prostate/special_report/main_landing.html
The decision to download this report and other reports published by Johns-Hopkins led me to make choices that helped me overcome this disease in just six short months instead of the 18 to 24 months I had been given to expect. Let me tell you about one other decision- -a very important decision- -that also contributed greatly to such a positive outcome. A simple and logical decision, really.
I've always been a pretty active guy and at the time of my diagnosis I was going to the gym and working out 3 days a week. My work outs were complete- - -lower body, upper body and core - - -and my aerobic health was reasonable but, I knew I could be healthier and it seemed logical to me that no matter what treatment option I chose and when I had it done, the healthier I was going into this battle then the healthier I would be coming out of it. So within a week of my diagnosis I stepped my gym workouts up from 3 days a week to 5 and increased them in both intensity and duration losing about 25 pounds and gaining in aerobic, therefore cellular, health in the process. I cannot over-emphasize how important this turned out to be.
Then after digesting all the information I had gotten from Hopkins and satisfying myself about issues like:
. Treatment risks
. Success ratios
. Duration of treatment
. Appropriateness of treatment for early stage versus late stage cancer
. Radical removal versus other options
. Loss of bodily functions
. Loss of intimacy
. Quality of life after treatment
I discussed my options with my doctors, other men who had won the battle and with certain members of my family. I asked for their opinions and got them.
My doctors were somewhat predictable. I could do nothing- -the watch and wait approach- - and reasonably expect to live another 12 to 15 years or so but with a very poor quality of life in the last 3 to 5 years. I could opt for intensive external beam radiation and expect complete remission but run the rather high risk of long-term incontinence, poor bowel function and a permanent impairment of sexual function. I could also choose radical removal and because of an early diagnosis I would be almost 100% certain of complete remission but still face the same body function issues or . . . I could opt for a less invasive procedure, radioactive implants.
The men I talked to were about equally divided. Approximately half of them opted for either radical removal or intensive external beam radiation because they wanted the cancer out of their bodies as quickly and expediently as possible- -all the other consequences didn't matter to them. Of the other half, about 50% opted for radiation implants and the remainder chose to "watch and wait". Much to my surprise my family felt that whatever option got the cancer out of my body and put my recovery chances as close to 100% as possible was the best option. The rest didn't matter to them. Keeping me around for as long as possible was their main goal and they were completely clear about their feelings.
But in the end it was my choice and mine alone. I DID NOT want to wind up wearing Depends nor making 6 to 8 trips to the bathroom during the day and 3 or 4 more at night. I DID want to preserve my options for intimacy and I DID NOT want the disease and it's treatment to dictate to me on a long-term basis in what activities I could- -or could not- -take an active part. So, radioactive implants became my choice and the procedure was scheduled for May 28, 2010. . . the scariest day of my life. Why? Well, I guess that is next week's blog.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Winning the Battle With Prostate Cancer: a very personal story in four parts.
Through FaceBook messages, e-mail and phone calls from many of you I've been asked, "Hey, where is The Sage of Tampa? We haven't heard much from him over the past several months." I'm flattered by that and glad to know that for a few of you the voice of The Sage was appreciated and missed. So, where has it been? Well, honestly, I have a pretty good excuse for where The Sage has been for the last 10 months.
Battling prostate cancer- -a battle I am winning- - left me with precious little reserve energy to deal with anything other than my own immediate needs, especially since I was determined to keep the burden of coping with this disease off the backs of my family and friends and on my own back instead. I just didn't have the time or the energy to be prostate cancer's meanest adversary and the voice of The Sage too. Now I do.
Within the past 10 months there have been three very memorable days; one shocking day, one very frightening day and one highly rewarding day. The shocking day was February 24, 2010 the day my doctor confirmed the lab tests and confronted me with the diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. The frightening day was May 28, 2010 the day 53 radio-active seeds were surgically implanted in my body and began bombarding the cancer cells with radiation on a 24X7 basis- -a process for which all my research and the best information the doctors at Moffitt Cancer Center could provide me- - had left me inadequately prepared for the impact on me physically and mentally. The highly rewarding day was Monday, December 6, 2010 when after just six short months from implantation the docs at Moffitt Cancer Center officially declared me to be "in full remission".
Of course, being "in full remission" is not the same as being "cured". That pronouncement will come when I have been cancer free for 5 years. But being in remission with "no current evidence of disease" is the first major milestone in that journey and it's one I'm happy and lucky to reach.
Some may ask, "why tell this highly personal story?" I’m telling it in the hopes that it will spur more than one man over the age of 40 to listen carefully to his doctor or cause more than one woman to push her stubborn mate to get an annual PSA test. I also share this story because when I first started researching my treatment options last February I was amazed at the lack of non-clinical, first person information available to me. So, I made the decision that when, NOT if, I prevailed against the disease I would put the information out there for others in hopes of helping them understand what happens AFTER the diagnosis and how they can take a proactive approach to winning the battle with prostate cancer. So that's where this story begins, with the diagnosis.
The long run up to that diagnosis began with the usual annual DREs (Digital Rectal Exams) - - -a procedure that leaves men over 40 very wary of the sound of rubber gloves being snapped into place behind them- - - and later, continued on with 15 cautious months of monitoring a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level that steadily climbed from 1.8 ppn (parts per nanogram) to 8.4 ppn.
Why is the PSA level (determined through a simple blood test) so important? Because any level over 2.0 ppn raises red flags. It tells your doctor that something is going on. And a level beyond 4.0 ppn sets off alarms and sirens alerting your doctor that more information is needed and some action needs to be taken. But this test is known to have flaws and there have been many instances of false positives. Men with levels well under 2.0 have died from in situ prostate cancer and men with levels approaching 20.0 ppn or higher have been found to be cancer free. The only sure way to find out if it’s prostate cancer rather than some other prostate malady is the dreaded “needle biopsy”.
The needle biopsy, although done in the doctors office with a local anesthetic, is a highly uncomfortable and very undignified procedure that most men would like to believe doesn’t exist and very few will discuss. It is also a procedure women liken in terms of discomfort and lack of dignity to having a breast biopsy once a mammogram identifies a suspicious area. In fact, the two procedures are nowhere close in comparison.
For women, when a mammogram turns up a suspicious lump or nodule they too, are often subjected to a needle biopsy to confirm the presence (or absence) of cancer cells. And while moderately painful (as my wife has told me) it usually involves only one needle stick which, thanks to the mammogram images of a comparatively easily x-rayed breast, can be quickly guided to the suspicious area. But, because the prostate is small- -about the size of a large walnut- -and located deep inside the lower abdominal cavity, prostate cancer cells cannot be “seen” by x-ray, CT Scan or MRI processes. Thus, there is no way to locate a “suspicious” area much less any imagery to be used to guide a needle probe to a specific spot. Enter the “biopsy gun”. Literally.
The biopsy gun is a hand-held device with a spring-loaded, slender needle. It is inserted into the rectum and, along with the use of trans-rectal ultra sound to locate and image the prostate, the gun’s needle is propelled through the rectal wall into the gland. This is repeated anywhere from 6 to 18 times (12 in my case) making sure that core samples are taken from all quadrants of both hemispheres of the gland.
No matter what the doctors tell you- - -no matter how much literature they give you to read prior to the procedure- - - nothing can adequately prepare you to deal with the sound of that needle being snapped through the rectal wall and into the prostate; the incredible discomfort of the gun being in there, the pain of the repeated needle pokes and, certainly not, the terrible indignity of the ordeal. But, the process is a must if one is to correctly diagnose the disease, select a treatment protocol and, hopefully, save a life. And for heaven's sake don't be fooled by claims of being accurately diagnosed by x-ray or ultra-sound. In the end, the needle biopsy is the ONLY effective method of determining the presence of cancer cells and to what stage the disease has progressed. The earlier it is found the better, of course, thus the needle biopsy though nasty is worth enduring. So when faced with it, the only choice is to man-up and shut-up.
Battling prostate cancer- -a battle I am winning- - left me with precious little reserve energy to deal with anything other than my own immediate needs, especially since I was determined to keep the burden of coping with this disease off the backs of my family and friends and on my own back instead. I just didn't have the time or the energy to be prostate cancer's meanest adversary and the voice of The Sage too. Now I do.
Within the past 10 months there have been three very memorable days; one shocking day, one very frightening day and one highly rewarding day. The shocking day was February 24, 2010 the day my doctor confirmed the lab tests and confronted me with the diagnosis of Prostate Cancer. The frightening day was May 28, 2010 the day 53 radio-active seeds were surgically implanted in my body and began bombarding the cancer cells with radiation on a 24X7 basis- -a process for which all my research and the best information the doctors at Moffitt Cancer Center could provide me- - had left me inadequately prepared for the impact on me physically and mentally. The highly rewarding day was Monday, December 6, 2010 when after just six short months from implantation the docs at Moffitt Cancer Center officially declared me to be "in full remission".
Of course, being "in full remission" is not the same as being "cured". That pronouncement will come when I have been cancer free for 5 years. But being in remission with "no current evidence of disease" is the first major milestone in that journey and it's one I'm happy and lucky to reach.
Some may ask, "why tell this highly personal story?" I’m telling it in the hopes that it will spur more than one man over the age of 40 to listen carefully to his doctor or cause more than one woman to push her stubborn mate to get an annual PSA test. I also share this story because when I first started researching my treatment options last February I was amazed at the lack of non-clinical, first person information available to me. So, I made the decision that when, NOT if, I prevailed against the disease I would put the information out there for others in hopes of helping them understand what happens AFTER the diagnosis and how they can take a proactive approach to winning the battle with prostate cancer. So that's where this story begins, with the diagnosis.
The long run up to that diagnosis began with the usual annual DREs (Digital Rectal Exams) - - -a procedure that leaves men over 40 very wary of the sound of rubber gloves being snapped into place behind them- - - and later, continued on with 15 cautious months of monitoring a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level that steadily climbed from 1.8 ppn (parts per nanogram) to 8.4 ppn.
Why is the PSA level (determined through a simple blood test) so important? Because any level over 2.0 ppn raises red flags. It tells your doctor that something is going on. And a level beyond 4.0 ppn sets off alarms and sirens alerting your doctor that more information is needed and some action needs to be taken. But this test is known to have flaws and there have been many instances of false positives. Men with levels well under 2.0 have died from in situ prostate cancer and men with levels approaching 20.0 ppn or higher have been found to be cancer free. The only sure way to find out if it’s prostate cancer rather than some other prostate malady is the dreaded “needle biopsy”.
The needle biopsy, although done in the doctors office with a local anesthetic, is a highly uncomfortable and very undignified procedure that most men would like to believe doesn’t exist and very few will discuss. It is also a procedure women liken in terms of discomfort and lack of dignity to having a breast biopsy once a mammogram identifies a suspicious area. In fact, the two procedures are nowhere close in comparison.
For women, when a mammogram turns up a suspicious lump or nodule they too, are often subjected to a needle biopsy to confirm the presence (or absence) of cancer cells. And while moderately painful (as my wife has told me) it usually involves only one needle stick which, thanks to the mammogram images of a comparatively easily x-rayed breast, can be quickly guided to the suspicious area. But, because the prostate is small- -about the size of a large walnut- -and located deep inside the lower abdominal cavity, prostate cancer cells cannot be “seen” by x-ray, CT Scan or MRI processes. Thus, there is no way to locate a “suspicious” area much less any imagery to be used to guide a needle probe to a specific spot. Enter the “biopsy gun”. Literally.
The biopsy gun is a hand-held device with a spring-loaded, slender needle. It is inserted into the rectum and, along with the use of trans-rectal ultra sound to locate and image the prostate, the gun’s needle is propelled through the rectal wall into the gland. This is repeated anywhere from 6 to 18 times (12 in my case) making sure that core samples are taken from all quadrants of both hemispheres of the gland.
No matter what the doctors tell you- - -no matter how much literature they give you to read prior to the procedure- - - nothing can adequately prepare you to deal with the sound of that needle being snapped through the rectal wall and into the prostate; the incredible discomfort of the gun being in there, the pain of the repeated needle pokes and, certainly not, the terrible indignity of the ordeal. But, the process is a must if one is to correctly diagnose the disease, select a treatment protocol and, hopefully, save a life. And for heaven's sake don't be fooled by claims of being accurately diagnosed by x-ray or ultra-sound. In the end, the needle biopsy is the ONLY effective method of determining the presence of cancer cells and to what stage the disease has progressed. The earlier it is found the better, of course, thus the needle biopsy though nasty is worth enduring. So when faced with it, the only choice is to man-up and shut-up.
Once the biopsy confirms the presence of cancer and its severity the patient and his doctors select a treatment method that can range from external beam radiation to internal radioactive implants or, in the most advanced cases, to radical surgical removal. Chemo-therapy is NOT a viable option for this form of cancer- - -yet.
Because my cancer was at its earliest stage- - - stage T1C- - - I had the luxury of time after that awful diagnosis to fully research my treatment options and make an informed choice. In the next blog post, I'll share alot of that information with you and show you the best sources I found for getting that information on your own. I’ll also share with you some important decisions I made while doing that research, why I made them and how they can save your life as they have mine.
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