diagnosis

I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004, as I said before. But before that, I'd like to give you a little background. My father was also diagnosed with prostate cancer, later in his life. He went to the doctor for checkups for years, but they never tested him until he was already sick. When he consulted with his surgeon, he was told that he could have a few choices with his treatment. Surgery, to remove the gland, or radiation therapy, or radioactive seed implants, which are about the size of a grain of uncooked rice, that are implanted surgically into the prostate gland, to burn the prostate up, and kill the cancer. He was told by his doctor that no matter what he did, he only had five years. Or, he could do nothing, and he would still have five years. The biggest mistake my dad made, was that he believed his doctor. He was told he had five years, and that is how long he lived, even though he elected to have surgery. Now I love my dad with all my heart, and at the time, I didn't know any better, or I would have told him that the doctors don't know everything, even though sometimes they think they do. It's not up to the doctors to tell anyone how long they have to live, they don't know, they are human, just like the rest of us. They can make a good estimate, based on historical data, and probabilities, and maybe even a good percentage of the time, they turn out to be right. But it's not up to them to tell anyone they will only live a certain amount of time, only God can do that. I miss my dad every day, and would love to have a conversation with him now. I know my wife and kids feel the same way about me. Do you see why I say that you can never give up hope? Without hope, and faith, the struggle is too hard to bear. You can't do it by yourself. I began having PSA tests annually in the early 1990's. This type of cancer has a strong probability of being passed down through generations.And in 2004, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Now I want to mention here, that I became a Christian in 1986. Before then, I had no hope. I had no idea what real, abiding faith meant. It was all too confusing for me. I believed it was just foolishness, and wouldn't help anyone. But then, I reached a point in my life where I hit the bottom. Circumstances in my life were such that I was out of control, and had no hope of getting it back. One day I fell to my knees and cried out to God, "If You are real, please show me. I know I have sinned, and I'm lost, and if I die, I'll go to hell.I don't want to go there. I believe Jesus died for my sins, and rose again so that I could live forever. Please save me, God". And He did. The most incredible feeling of peace came over me, and I knew I was saved. I wasn't in church, I was in my home. It was a meeting just between me and God, no one else was there. You can have this same peace and assurance if you want it, all you need to do is ask for it by praying a simple prayer, similar to the one I told you about a minute ago. You don't have to hit rock bottom, or be in a jail cell, or a hospital bed, you just have to realize that we as humans have no right to stand before God on our own merits, because our best efforts will fall short. God's standard is perfection, and we have all fallen short. Romans 5:12 tells us this. Then Romans 6:23 tells us that even though we have fallen short, we can be forgiven, and have eternal life, by believing Christ made that sacrifice for you, and turning away from your sin, and walking in His way. I hope you will see your need for this relationship that God offers you, whether you are sick or not, because living a good life won't help you, or giving all your money away, or even sacrificing for others. You have to come to God through Christ alone.

But we still have to go through this life. We have to deal with ups and downs. Bad things are going to come our way, as well as good things, whether we are Christian or not. God doesn't insulate us from the hard things in life, but He does go through them with us, if we belong to Him. So when I received my diagnosis, I was terrified at first. I didn't know what to expect, and a thousand questions went through my mind. But then God's peace settled in on my spirit, and I knew that no matter what happened, He would never leave me alone. I spoke to the surgeons about treatment options, and they wanted me to have a biopsy of the prostate gland. This was so they could determine the likelihood of the disease being confined to the prostate, or if it had broken through the outer wall and spread elsewhere. The exam revealed that the cancer was confined to the prostate itself, so after discussing my options with a team of doctors, I opted for the radioactive seed implants. They did an absolutely top-notch job of placing the seeds, and I got coverage of the entire gland with the radiation. The problem for me, was that too much time had passed while waiting for my procedure, and some cancer cells had escaped the prostate, and infected some nearby lymph nodes. My PSA count kept going up slowly, and in the end, I went through 3 more biopsies. I will continue again on another post, but the story is far from over. Again, thanks for visiting, and I hope something here will help you, or someone you know.