Prostate Cancer SUCKS

 I know this is a quick post as they have been coming monthly, but something I recently read triggered my mind to thinking again.  Dangerous idea, I know! When a man is presented with a Prostate Cancer diagnosis, we become self-centered and most times completely absorbed and self-centered mentally.  We turn inside ourselves and think we are the only ones suffering.  The recent reading, I referenced completely turned that on its head. Let's just consider our prostate cancer...  Who else is affected by this?  In particular, it is a spouse or significant other in your life.  They are the ones that you have shared the diagnosis, asked for assistance in deciding about treatment, and stood beside you as you emptied your catheter bag.  They are also the ones that sat in the waiting room while you have your treatment.  In my case, she sat in the car in the parking garage waiting for a phone call from the surgeon because nobody was allowed in the ...

 I may have said this in the past, but I am a very personal person.  I have only shared my diagnosis with my immediate family and a literal handful of friends.  Not many know and those that do know seem to have empathy for a cancer diagnosis.  I am not sure if it is real or not.  The real tell of a person is how they talk about a cancer diagnosis when they are not aware of your situation.  I feel that is what the true person really is. Case in point...this weekend while sitting with some friends who know and others that do not know, the conversation came up about the sequel to Top Gun.  The chatter was mostly about how good the movie was and the characters that appeared in the movie from the original.  I know some actors chose to not appear and others did.  The talk came to Val Kilmer.  I did know he did not look well but did not know why.  He is not one that I follow, so I thought nothing of it.  During this conversation, I le...

I just watched a presentation about men who regret their choice for prostate cancer treatments.  If you have had a brush with this PIA diagnosis, you know the options, so I will not explain and further.  I also do not want to provide your individual choice of treatment. I was able to find information about the study conducted -  Regret and Prostate Cancer Treatment Choices .  This presentation and the abstract above made a distinction that was news to me.  There is a disconnect between the expected outcome and the real outcomes of the chosen treatment. I am sure I am like most guys... those stats/odds don't apply to me; I can beat those odds and be the lucky ones that fully recover.  Reality is there is no real telltale sign that you will or won't fully recover.  This entire process touches parts of the body that we have never really thought about before.  The nervous system just works until it doesn't.  That is when you learn that nerve...