Category: Prostate Cancer

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

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September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and even thought there’s been a lot in the news lately about changes in screening and treatment options, it’s still critical that men educate themselves about prostate cancer.

I had no clue that I would be introducing “cancer” into my vocabulary nearly four years ago, but I did.

It happened after a digital rectal exam during a routine physical that I had put off for a couple of years.  That day changed my life and was the beginning of this journey.

Please take time in September to talk to the men in your lives about this important issue, and ask them to learn a little more about it.

Month 45 – Living Life

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Wow.  I was so busy living life that I forgot to post earlier today!

That, perhaps, is the best indicator of how things are going a little more than 3.5 years out from the surgery.  Sure, I still have little hiccups along the way (occasional stress incontinence and some sexual function issues), but life is good.

So I’ll try to do better next month and be a bit more punctual in my posting.

Month 44 – LARP at 42 Months

On By DanIn Incontinence, Prostate Cancer, Side EffectsLeave a comment

On July 4th, I was three and a half years out from my surgery, so I added a new page:

Life After Radical Prostatectomy – 42 Months Later

It’s pretty much a reflection of my new normal, so please check it out.

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Interestingly, about a week ago, I had three consecutive nights where I was running to the bathroom to pee about 4-5 times each night.  I’m not sure what was up with that, but it made for some cranky, sleep-deprived days afterwards.  I wasn’t drinking any more than I normally do, so it wasn’t as though there was extra fluids to process.  Odd.  Oh well.  Back to sleeping through the night.

Life After Radical Prostatectomy: 42 Months Later

On By DanIn Life After Prostatectomy, Prostate CancerLeave a comment

So it’s been three and a half years since my radical prostatectomy.  How am I doing?

Continue reading “Life After Radical Prostatectomy: 42 Months Later” →

Month 43 – June Prostate Cancer Fundraising Activities

On By DanIn Prostate CancerLeave a comment

It’s been a pretty normal month since my last update.  That’s good.  That means there is life after a radical prostatectomy.

But as far as this month’s blog update is concerned, I got nuthin’.

There are, however, a couple of major fundraising activities going on in June to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation and its research.  And because those activities are ongoing or are about to happen, I’m going to publish this post a few days earlier than normal.

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The first is the PCF Home Run Challenge, where you donate either a lump sum or a specified amount for each home run hit in 98 MLB baseball games between June 9th and June 15th, Father’s Day.

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Once again, the Safeway Foundation, part of the Safeway grocery store operation, is supporting prostate cancer awareness during the month of June.  Give what you can if you shop at Safeway or Vons.

Month 42 – PSA Results

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It’s funny.

I didn’t even think much of getting my blood drawn for my six month PSA test on 30 April.  Just went in, got stuck, and went on my merry way.  No biggie.

Or so I thought.

Afterwards, I was checking my online health record twice a day looking for the results.  Hurry up and wait.  I guess modern technology has all made us wanting instant gratification, and when we don’t get it, we get upset.

Once a cancer patient, there’s always that little cloud of “What if?” hanging over your head.  I don’t get nearly as worked up about waiting for the results as I did for my first post-surgery six month check, but it’s still there.

So the results?  Still undetectable!  🙂

I actually have my appointment with my urologist on Tuesday to officially go over the results.  I’m sure we’ll talk about incontinence and sexual function, too.  [Edit 5/16/14: The urologist doesn’t want to see me for 8 months instead of the usual 6 months.  Next PSA: January 2015.]

Oh.  And Happy Mother’s Day to moms everywhere–living and departed.

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Note the new contact form to make it easier to shoot me an email if you have any questions about my experiences.

 

Month 41 – Biological Update

On By DanIn Incontinence, Prostate Cancer, Sexual Function, Side EffectsLeave a comment

We’re going to jump right in with this post…

BIOLOGY AHEAD
 
My niece and her three and a half-year old daughter came to visit for their spring break, and we were able to get out and do a lot of fun things together. By the second day, my niece was chiding me about how many times I was going to the bathroom, and that got me to thinking, “Am I going more than usual?” Or was it just her perspective.

In retrospect, I probably was running to the bathroom a tad more frequently. Mainly because we were on the go, outside in cool air a good chunk of the time, and I never knew where the next bathroom might be, so I took advantage of using the ones nearby. (And, no, I’m not talking every 20 minutes. It was every couple of hours.)

As I explained to my niece, it’s more that I have the urge or sensation that I need to go, than I actually do. When I get to the bathroom, not much comes out. Fortunately, the urges aren’t the, “Oh my God, I need to find a bathroom in the next 30 seconds or I’m going to pee in my pants,” kind of urges. But they’re there and they’re telling my brain it’s time to go when my bladder really could last a bit longer. That can be frustrating.

And on the sexual function front, I’ve been quite pleased there. I’ve had much better erections (near 100%) in the last month–all without chemical assistance. Not bad for having only one nerve bundle. As I’ve said before, be patient; let nature do its thing.

So that’s it for this month. Quick and simple.

Late update: I’d encourage those recently diagnosed to read a comment left by another reader, J.R., on the “Life After Radical Prostatectomy – 36 Months Later” page.  It’s an interesting perspective, and I tend to agree with him.  Losing sexual function is more difficult to adjust to than many people, including myself, thought it would be.

Month 40 – State of the Science

On By DanIn Prostate Cancer, Research1 Comment

So I’ve been hopping on the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s website a bit more recently, just to keep myself abreast of advances in research and what’s happening in the world of treatment options.

Each year, they host a Scientific Retreat with doctors, scientists, and researchers from around the world, and they discuss what’s currently happening in prostate cancer research.  Here’s a link to the 2013 meeting’s events and topics:

State of the Science Report

It provides a summary of what was presented and discussed in each session, much of it in medical mumbo-jumbo over my head, but there was one session’s summary that caught my eye on pages 85-87:

Session 13: Measure Twice, Cut Once—What is the Proper Role for Surgery in Prostate Cancer 2013?

Obviously, having had a radical prostatectomy, it’s an interesting read for me (not that I can change anything at this point).

I have to admit that there are days where I’m not so sure that I would make the same treatment decision if newly diagnosed today, given the recent advancements in the forty months since my diagnosis.

Don’t get me wrong.  My quality of life, post-prostatectomy, is quite high.  My stress incontinence issues are a minor nuisance, and my sexual function issues would be a bigger factor if I were in a relationship, but I’m not.  I guess I’d be happier if I were 100% in both departments.

So I often weigh those nuisances against the larger picture.  With each six month PSA check-up that comes back “undetectable,” I have peace of mind knowing that the cancer is no longer inside me.

The question becomes one of trading one set of concerns for another.

If I opted for some other treatment option and was 100% continent and had 100% sexual function, I’d be happy in both those departments, but then would I be trading that happiness for worrying every day that the cancer cells left inside me (even though they’ve been treated with chemo, radiation, hormones, or something else), are one day going to go crazy and ultimately do me in?  I don’t know.

It’s a tough call, and a very personal choice.

Again, I made my decision and am living with its consequences.  But the key word is living.

Month 39 – Encouraging News on Ability to Determine Aggressive Prostate Cancer

On By DanIn Incontinence, Prostate Cancer, Research, Side EffectsLeave a comment

For those who have been regular readers of this blog, I hope you like the new layout.  Things were getting a little too cluttered, so I added a new column just for the blog’s administrative links (left column) and kept all the prostate cancer-specific links in the right column.  It should make it a tad easier to navigate.

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Well, I’m past the head cold that I had and back to normal activity without pads.  I will have to admit, though, that even after the worst of it passed, I seemed to be a little more leak-prone for some reason.  But that’s calmed down, too, thankfully.

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There’s encouraging news about having a better ability to determine whether prostate cancer is the aggressive type that can kill you, or the less aggressive type that can be observed under active surveillance.  You can read about that in the previous post (re-blogged from the Prostate Cancer Foundation site).

This is important.  It will help avoid over-treatment of prostate cancer, subjecting men to some of the side-effects of a treatment regimen that they may not have needed in the first place.  Of course, men will still have to overcome the thought of living with cancer inside them, always wondering if and when it may spread into something much more difficult to deal with.