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

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Week 17 - On Track

Hello again, everyone!

It's been a pretty good week.  Work has been hectic and I think I'm finally settled back into the routine, as "routine" as things are these days.

On Sunday, I made a trip to Chicago and back to attend the visitation for my brother-in-law's mother; she passed away on Thursday after 88 years on this Earth.

Both my sister and brother-in-law instructed me not to make the 4-hour drive because the weather Saturday night was crappy--rain, freezing rain, and snow.  Oh.  And because I wasn't "normal." :-)  I guess they meant that I haven't fully recovered from the surgery.

I told them I'd check the weather in the morning, and if it looked good, I'd come up anyway.  I wanted to be there to support them (and to prove that I am "normal").  Everyone was surprised to see me and told me how well I looked (I need to buy them glasses).  I guess people think that I should look differently as a cancer patient.  Maybe it's that stereotypical image of the patient who's gone through chemo or raditation that gets lodged in people's minds.  I don't know.  Regardless, they were all glad to see that I was doing well and up and about.

I did stop for a good ol' Chicago Italian beef sandwich on the way out of town.  Mmmm-mmmm.  No one around here makes a sandwich like that!

So it made for a long day--4 hours up, 3 hours there, and 4 hours back--but I'm glad I did it.  It was a good test to prove that I can travel some again.  It wasn't without its differences though.  Before the surgery, I'd typically just make one "pit stop" at a rest area, but on both trips I had to make three.  No biggy.

*     *     *

BIOLOGY REFERENCES AHEAD

From the incontence perspective, it was a week where I don't feel as though I made much progress.  In fact, on Saturday, it seemed like a setback.

I was just working in my home office on some things for work, and it seemed that no matter what I did, I sprung a leak.  Blinked an eye.  Leaked.  Reached for a pen.  Leaked.  Stood up.  Leaked.  Hair fell out of my balding head.  Leaked.  I was quite annoyed at the situation and even a bit worried about what would happen on the trip to Chicago the next day.

Nothing.  Nothing happened.  I had one of my driest days in a while on the trip up and back.  Go figure.  Monday was fine.  Tuesday was fine during the day, but Tuesday night, I was doing chores around the house and it was Saturday all over again.

*     *     *

One of the reasons I'm posting this later than I planned was that I had my follow-up appointment with the surgeon late this afternoon.

We reviewed my case and he says that I'm on track and nothing seems out of the ordinary:
  • The 2-4 trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night are typical for the first 6 months.
  • The increased leakage late in the day is normal as the body is fatigued.
  • There will be good days/weeks and worse days/weeks.
All-in-all, he was pleased with my progress and reminded me that the infection really did a number on my system, slowing the normal recovery process.  We've scheduled the 6 month PSA test for 4 August and another follow-up for 11 August to get those results.  Hope for another undetectable reading.

*     *     *

POTENTIAL PURCHASING REFERENCE AHEAD

Okay.  Another reason that this is a later than usual posting is, after the doctor's appointment, I stopped by my favorite car dealer to take a spin in a car that they've got on the lot that I've had my eye on for a while now. 

Rather than have me take it for a normal test drive, the salesman let me take it home overnight.  I told him that I have to stick around the house tomorrow for a delivery, and that I may not be able to make it back by their 6 PM closing time tomorrow night.  "That's okay.  Just bring it back Saturday morning," he said. Pretty nice of them.  (One of the reasons it's my favorite car dealer.)

It's a pretty sweet ride, but I'm not sure I'm going to make the leap on that particular car.  (It's a different model than my current car, and I wanted to check it out because I really haven't had any experience in that model.)  We'll see.

And, no, this isn't a true impulse buy--I've been thinking about this well before the surgery.  Of course, that assumes that I go forward with either model.  When it comes to something like this, I'm never impulsive!  I think I annoyed the crap out of the salesman who sold me my car 6 years ago for nearly 18 months.  :-(

So that's it for this update.


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