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

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Month 13 - Lucky Number?

So I'm sitting in San Diego International Airport hammering this out as I wait for my flight back to Indiana.  Bah-humbug! 

I had this week of vacation scheduled for nearly two months, but no real destination planned.  At the last minute, I was able to get some tickets and decided to head back to the land of never-ending sunshine.

*     *     *

I read an interesting article this week that talked about a new program to increase prostate cancer screening and awareness among men by training barbers to talk about the topic while giving haircuts.  That's an interesting approach and, if it gets a couple of guys to get checked out, then all the better.

BIOLOGY AHEAD


The last month has been good for me physically.  The stress incontinence doesn't seem to be as bad when I sneeze of cough, although when I feel a sneeze or cough coming on, I do my best to tighten those pelvic floor muscles in advance, and that seems to help.  I also seem to do better at controlling things while sitting; when standing or walking, it becomes more difficult and I'm likely to leak a little more.

As far as sexual function is concerned, I can feel things wanting to come back to life without chemical assistance (Cialis), but there's still a long way to go. 

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