Welcome


Welcome.

When I wrote that banner above, I was just days into this adventure. I'm a pretty analytical guy, and the simple act of writing every day helped me wrap my head around the fact that I had just introduced the word "cancer" into my vocabulary, and it helped me rationalize my treatment options. It also helped keep friends and family informed on my status.

Those daily updates tapered off to weekly updates and eventually to monthly updates (which I continue to do on the 11th of every month, the anniversary date of being told I have cancer).

I've kept this blog going because I remember how helpful it was for me to hear first-hand experiences of other prostate cancer patients. I wanted to return the favor by sharing my own journey in order to educate others and increase prostate cancer awareness.

But I wanted it to be a truthful sharing of details, so you will quickly see that I didn't sugar-coat much of anything. That means that you'll find some pretty graphic descriptions of the male anatomy and biological functions in this blog.

Finally, if you're reading this as a fellow prostate cancer patient, please understand that I am not a medical professional, and you should not construe any of the content of this blog as medical advice. Each case is unique, so please solicit the advice of your own medical team.

I wish you all the best as you go through your own journey.

-- Dan

Friday, November 19, 2010

Day 9 - Normalcy?

Wow.  A pretty normal day today.   Although when I awoke at 5:00 AM (much better than 3:00 AM the night before!), the first thing that popped into my head was related to…  You guessed it.  Oh well.  I guess that’s the new norm for a while.
I sent an e-mail to one of our company’s VP’s this morning.  He had been through this about 4 years ago, and I offered to take him out to lunch if he’d be willing to share his experience with me so that I could be better educated and make a more informed decision about my treatment options.  I had met the guy a couple of times in the past but it’s not like I hang out with him, so I was a bit apprehensive about approaching him.  Within 10 minutes of the e-mail going out, he called me.
We spoke for nearly 30 minutes, and it was good to get his insight on both the surgeon and hospital selection process, and on the operation and its side effects.  (I’ll spare the details for now.)
So the next step is to really do some homework on surgeons and hospital facilities.  I hear a spreadsheet calling my name…
I also spent a bit of the day going through all that I pushed off the radar screen in the last few days, trying to get myself back on track and organized to hit the ground running next week, both personally and professionally.
So I think this weekend has some relaxation and some research in store for it…  The sooner I get the treatment lined up, the sooner all of this will be in the rear view mirror.  (And, no that doesn’t mean I’m rushing the decision.   It means I know how long it will take to do my analysis!!)

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