treatment

Hello again! When I last left off, I posted that I had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and that I had undergone a biopsy of the prostate gland, which showed the presence of cancer. There were several other factors involved in my diagnosis. They look at the results of a blood test called a PSA, which measures the level of a certain protein in the blood, giving them a clue that the disease is present. Also a factor is something called a Gleason score, which measures how advanced the disease might be. This is information that I am over-simplifying, for the sake of space. There is more information on this at wikipedia, under Gleason score. There are also several good books available on prostate cancer, through Amazon, or Barnes and Noble. Definitely one of the most nerve-racking trials a person goes through is wading through all the information available on cancer, and at first, you are in a state of shock and disbelief about your diagnosis. I totally understand this, but it's not impossible to get through, and if I may make a suggestion, I don't know how much you need to understand all the technical information, at first anyway. Understand that at first, you are in a panic state, so it is only natural to try and gather every bit of information possible, to give yourself the most in-depth level of understanding possible about your situation. Here is something I would like to give you. Don't be afraid to get a second opinion. It is good to educate yourself about the disease, and I think you should. But you don't need to try to understand it all at once. Talk to your doctor, don't be afraid to ask questions. There are no stupid questions, if it is on your heart and mind, ask it, the doctor works for you. You really need a good urologist. If your doctor recommends one, go see him or her. Also make an appointment to see a surgeon. Discuss all your concerns. Write them down before you go so you don't forget anything. If there is even a slight nagging in the back of your mind about the doctor's skill level, see someone else. When I was choosing my specialist, I went to a hospital that my insurance company worked with, and saw the chief of radiology to discuss treatment of seed implants, since I had already been advised that this was the best option for me. I promise you I am not making this next part up. This doctor was new in his position, and he was very pleased to spend most of my appointment trying to impress me with the book he had just written, on radiology, not on prostate cancer. I asked him point blank, "Have you ever done the seed implants, and how many have you done"? His reply was, "Yes, I did one , I think about five years ago, I'm sure I could do it again, I think I remember how it feels, when I have the seeds placed". The next radiologist I went to said that I was looking for someone who had done up in the thousands of these procedures, and was concerned about his patient, not how many books he had written. True story. Of course I went to the second doctor, at a different hospital, which meant a three month wait. But I had a slow-growing cancer, so I felt comfortable with the wait. Unfortunately, I believe it was during this time that the cancer broke through the outer wall of the prostate. My point is, that you have every right to be completely comfortable with your surgeon. Also, there are so many new treatment options available now, that weren't available when I was diagnosed, that I believe the seed implants are just about obsolete. The new standard is the robotic arm surgery, and I have several friends who have undergone this option, with wonderful success. I underwent the robotic arm surgery myself, to remove five infected lymph nodes in the pelvic region, but that treatment also failed for me. It is just about impossible to detect cancer on a small enough scale to know if it's moving around inside your body after a treatment such as surgery. There is always a possibility of recurrence. This is why you must have follow-up visits the rest of your life. Think about it this way. Imagine the prostate, or the lymph nodes as being a part of a hornets nest, and the doctor is trying to reach inside to get one bee, without disturbing the rest. It'd be pretty hard to not make the rest stir up a little bit, huh? This is why I believe I had so much trouble. Four biopsies to the prosate, one to the lymph nodes, a lymph node surgery, and no cancer cells moved anywhere else?  I have my doubts about that. If I had it to do over, I believe I would have questioned the need for the other three biopsies. To sum things up, there are just a few things I want you to take away from this post. First, educate yourself at a rate that you can fully absorb all the information you have on your disease. You won't understand it all in one day. Take a little time to let things sink in.It will help you later from being confused about the facts. I so happen to have a sharp wife who understands completely what I take for granted. This is a huge help. Second, I have a saying that I repeat to people all the time....half of the doctors in America graduated in the bottom half of their class....think about that for a minute. They can't all be at the top of the heap. Doctors have different skill levels and abilities just like everyone else. Be choosy. They all have diploma's, so, interview them...like I said before, they work for you. It is important for you to have confidence in your provider. Third, don't be afraid to ask questions, and make them explain more that once if you need to. This is everyday for them, but it's a major deal for you. I hope that this has been helpful to someone, remember, your doctor and surgeon are very important people in your life, choose the right one, and then go forward with them. Hopefully, you will be looking back at cancer as a bump in the road, that God helped you navigate through. Blessings, Mike