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

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Day 55 - Surgery Day

I left the hospital at 11:15 PM.  Surgery was delayed for several hours due to an emergency.  Dan was scheduled for surgery at 12:30 PM, but they did not take him until 3 PM.  I was given a pager and started the long wait. Waiting is not one of my stong points.

At 3:50 PM I was given an update that they started the robotic operation.  At 5:30 PM an update came in from the Doctor that "it was in the bag"....meaning that they removed the prostate???  After that, I didn't get anymore updates until 8 PM when the Dr. came out himself to talk to me. He said it went as planned, but took all of 4 hours.  He was a very nice Doctor.... even asked me if I had dinner.

By 9:30 PM, I was still waiting. Actually, by now, I was the ONLY person in the waiting room. I decided to pick up a phone on the reception desk (all workers were now gone) and behold, a voice at the other end said "recovery".  I told them that I was Dan's sister and was still waiting. They told me to come back.  I made my way through a few double doors and then I spotted my brother.  Well, he sort of looked like my brother. They had to invert the table when operating, so his face was now swollen. He was awake, asking for a rib eye steak and water. He reminded all of us every 15 seconds or so that he had not eaten for over 50 hours now! He also told us "cancer sucks!" The nurses were great and Dan kept up his humor..even though he was clearly in a lot of pain.  He reminded me of our Dad...always joking around. It was another hour before he got up to his room. His nurse in the room gave him the morphine pump and told him to use it!!!  I left him there at 11:15 PM and drove back to his house. I'll return in the mid morning. He is expected to come home tomorrow afternoon.  I expect Dan will continue his blog this evening.

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