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

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

4 Years Since Diagnosis

It's been four years since sitting in my urologist's office and hearing those life-changing words: "You have cancer."

It's been quite the journey, and this blog has helped me get through it.  Sometimes, I think that I should stop blogging and close that chapter of my life, but that chapter will never be closed.  I don't obsess about having had cancer, but I don't shy away from the topic either.  Increasing education and awareness is important, and I'm on a quixotic mission to do just that, one reader at a time.

*     *     *

Google's Blogger was a great way for me as a blogging newbie to get started, but I feel that my time on Blogger is coming to a close.  My creative juices have been flowing, and I've wanted to come up with a cleaner, fresher, more contemporary blog, so I've decided to move my blog to Wordpress:


Hopefully, you'll like the new look and continue to follow my journey there.  I'll probably run both blogs in parallel during a few month transition period before I stop posting here.
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Saturday, October 11, 2014

Month 47 - DNA Blood Test Might Identify Status of Prostate Cancer

So Prostate Cancer Awareness Month has come and gone, and hopefully more than a few men got smarter about prostate cancer or, even better, got screened by their doctors.

Here's an interesting development in the research that may help better define the effectiveness of treatment options:

DNA Blood Test Might Identify Status of Prostate Cancer - Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF)

As far as my own situation is concerned, I'm just living life with my new normal.  Really, there haven't been any changes for better or worse, so not much to report.
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Thursday, September 11, 2014

Month 46 - Views on Cancer Awareness

Okay.  Buckle up.  I'm climbing on my annual cancer awareness soap box.

Seeing pink on the the Chula Vista Fire Department's Facebook page today made me see red.

I want to see powder blue.  Especially in September.


Why CVFD would post this during National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month is a bit perplexing.  (Actually, not really.  They just want to get a jump start on fundraising with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.)

One in seven of those male firefighters will face prostate cancer, and they apparently choose not to acknowledge it; they choose not to spread awareness; and they choose not to fight something that can directly impact themselves.

Why?

I'm not a marketing guru by any stretch of the imagination, but the Susan G. Komen Foundation certainly has turned its cause into an empire through effective and ubiquitous marketing.  Everywhere you turn, there's a freakin' pink something-or-other reminding you of the scourge of breast cancer and the need to cure it.  Hell, watch an NFL game next month and you'll see 300-pound linebackers wearing pink shoes.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not downplaying breast cancer at all, nor am I condemning the Susan G. Komen Foundation's success.  In fact, just the opposite.  Prostate cancer awareness teams have to take a page from the Foundation's marketing playbook.  But it may be more than a marketing issue.

Is there a stigma associated with prostate cancer that prevents people--men--from talking about it?

If so, how do we eradicate the stigma so that we can eradicate the disease?  How do we get men to realize that it's not only okay to talk about prostate health, but we should go out of our way to talk about it.  There's nothing embarrassing about it.

Do we show them stories like this reporting the death from prostate cancer of San Diego's Bishop Cirilo Flores, who was diagnosed in April and died in September?

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/sep/06/diocese-bishop-flores-death-catholic/

It's not all doom and gloom.  The Prostate Cancer Foundation and others like the Safeway Foundation have been more visible with their efforts to increase awareness, even since I was diagnosed almost four years ago.  That's good.  But we need more.  Much more.

And this little blog with its almost 15,000 clicks isn't going to change the world of prostate cancer awareness by itself.  (Although I will keep tilting at that windmill...)

Time to climb down off my soap box.  Thanks for letting me vent.


Manhood for Good

Finally, lest you think I'm bashing our firefighters, especially today, I'm not.  I have a tremendous amount of respect for what our first responders do, day in, and day out.

Remembering 9/11


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