My Journey Begins, Cancer and Medicare, Maybe this will help some others one day

[alarmguy]

Best of luck to you in your journey to become cancer free.

My mother just had breast tumors removed yesterday and we're waiting for biopsy results to come back on her lymph nodes. I haven't been this emotionally stable in recent memory. One minute I'm laughing the next I'm in tears. Just been doing a lot of praying and trying to stay positive. The Good news is they caught it early.

Best wishes to your mom.

My wife had breast cancer now, maybe now 15 ago, she is still cancer free. Hers is yet ANOTHER STORY OF BEING PROACTIVE much like my prostate cancer.

Ready? She thought she felt a lump back then and went through radiology for it. The radiologist, did see it but she has these some types of fibrous things too. ANY WAY HE TOLD HER HE DIDNT THINK IT WAS ANYTHING. However if she wants to down the road or decides she would like a biopsy they would schedule it. Since he told her he didn't think it was anything she left and didn't do anything about it.
However, she wouldn't stop thinking about it and called her doctor within a week and TOLD her she wants a biopsy.

Well, turned it was breast cancer and (I forgot the original terminology) but still contained and just about to "break out" and spread OR just started to spread. Still caught early, radiation and at first 5 years of hormone therapy, turned into 10 years of hormone therapy due to lastest information that the extra 5 years is a big help.
Anyway, that was about 15 years ago, still cancer free.

 

[alarmguy]

Update March 16th -

Last week THREE of FIVE radiation treatments were cancelled on me. VERY UPSETTING to me and the other patients and the doctors.
The machine was being repaired the first two days of last week that I missed those two days, then got treatment for two days, then on Friday the machine broke again.

Very frustrating! Called the doctor, he called me back, he agrees. Supposedly it should be up and running Monday. Just crazy...
It insists it will not affect my treatment and if he thought so he would send me to the main center. I hope he is right.

 

[alarmguy]

Update - March 21st
Machine was working on Monday, after techs were working on it all weekend, new parts in crates in the hall, crates the size of a truck transmission. Tuesday got the call, broken again. They offered and I elected to drive one hour into Wilmington and get treated in Wilmington as I did not want to miss anymore treatments.

It was a brutal visit trying to time having a full bladder and drinking water for treatment but one that I am glad I made, as I got to meet with my primary and excellent radiation oncologist. He spent quite a bit of time with me. Great doctor, no rush, in fact he asked so many questions and REALLY listens to your replies. So much so and he was there talking to me so long, after a while he jumped up on the counter of the room to sit and chat.
My wife came with me for the drive and glad she did, now into the 5th week you do get tired, was unsure about the ride home and once again, we had some fantastic dinner while there. About halfway home got really tired and she drove the rest of the way.
It's an EASY trip, really just one road all the way.

So anyway, this week of the 21st. One day in Wilmington and the rest at my local treatment center. Not to scare anyone but around the 2 week mark of almost 6 weeks of treatments the radiation does start to wear you down and create all kinds of havoc. IT all depends on the person as far as side effects. Me? Im tired almost from the time I wake up now, some brain fog, feel lazy. I sleep great only to be waking up every just over 1 hour all night long to go to the bathroom. Irritated bladder I guess and it can be brutal.
After weeks of this, I can actually now feel the radiation hitting my nerves down there and I know by the time I get home it will be brutal for hours after. My Dr offered a break this weekend for a 3 days weekend but I decided to "plow right through" and finish the treatments on time.

After today I will have 26 treatments done and only 2 more to go next Monday and Tuesday. I am then done with radiation for the rest of my life. Im dreading the afternoon treatment today because I know what will follow later on and tonight. My doctor tells me once I am done with radiation I can expect to go back to 90% of my baseline as the weeks go on to a month or two. Sounds good to me! I will still be on the drug for many more months but that is a cake walk compared to the radiation.
I will also be cancer free. My PSA should go down to .1 with a slight bump to .2 after drug therapy stops and a return to .1 according to my Dr.

Next is the
Double edge sword, if the cancer ever returned, radiation is no longer an option as I will have my "lifetime exposure" I am counting on that will be more than a decade away if it does and if so the current drug trials taking place and other technologies will have it figured out by then. As it is right now, I have received the latest state of the art Prostate PSMA Pet Scans showing no cancer spread. Yet I am still classified as Stage 3 so they are hitting it with everything radiation and drug.

AS far as Medicare. (the purpose of this long post) I just checked my Medicare portal. For the month of February Medicare and my Medigap plan N are paying $46,000 actual payment for Feb treatments alone. Imaging, radiation, doctors, out patient use etc.

This does NOT include my daily pill that I take specific for Prostate cancer. That is covered by my drug Plan D they are paying (actual payment) the cost is $100 per pill that I take once a day. Over $3000 a month for 6 months. My cost will be under or at $2000 out of pocket limit. For some reason I am only paying $90 a month and my insurance $3300. I think my health network is giving me a discount somehow.

With that said, where we live even though a populated place on the NC coast. There just arent enough doctors and facilities nearby, but they are building them, just not fast enough. I suspect that is a lot of the country in growing areas.

 

[alarmguy]

Update = Finished 6 weeks of radiation on Tuesday 3-25
The last 4 weeks had a pretty big effect on me in addition to the prostate drug I was taking I grew increasingly tired every day and pushed myself for get stuff done around the house.

The side effects on me were pretty strong. frequent trips to the bathroom, some stinging etc. They have stuff to help but most nights I woke up every hour to hour and a half.

Doctor tells me in about 7 days the effects should start to wear off. I will still be on the prostate cancer drug until sometime in July possibly mid August. I'll admit yesterday was an emotional experience. I gave the entire team there and the ladies at the reception entrance a heartfelt card and chocolates. They were a WONDERFUL group. It's weird that I will never see them again after getting to know them. I received my lifetime dose of radiation and can never get it again.

When I returned home, my wife had a balloon and card for me, hugged me and man enough to admit I cried. I think when faced with your own morbidity it smacks you in the face. (we are all different, this is me)

After radiation there isnt much recourse if the cancer ever returns. Im hoping if it ever does 10 or 15 years down the road they will have perfected a treatment. Many are already being tried and in trials.

Right now, when I am done in July with the drug my doctor says there will be no cancer in me. However it is the PSA test that will be nail biting to confirm. I am told in 3 months or so my PSA should be undetectable or under .1 (point 1) He did say it is possible there is a bounce after the drug therapy to .2 (point 2) but will fall back to under .1 (point 1)
Forever now, my PSA will be watched, if it starts climbing that means cancer is most likely returning someplace inside of me. I do think my outlook is excellent. We really caught it early. Maybe could have been more early except for my urologist at the time didnt think a biopsy was necessary. 6 months later I insisted on it.

Im looking forward to the internal irritation to stop and hopefully be able to sleep a couple hours at a time without going to the bathroom. Dont be affaid of radiation or any treatment to address cancer ASAP. For me, 6 weeks is a tiny blip in time and 6 months on a drug is too.

All done ^^^ ...........................................Gave this to the team on the last day

 

[JeffKeryk]

Congrats on your milestone @alarmguy. Keep punchin' bro...

 

[Sedin26]

Congrats on your milestone @alarmguy. Keep punchin' bro...

Congrats @alarmguy ! I’ve been avidly following your journey and am glad it seems to be going well.

 

[alarmguy]

@JeffKeryk @Sedin26

Thank you both, my hope is and I kind of know, knowledge and thoughts posted in here will help others to ask questions from their doctors. Thought provoking in order for them to make informed decisions WITH THIER DOCTOR.
I did a lot of research before meeting my first team of 3 specialists at Duke. They actually acknowledged me understanding terms and asking the questions I had by my reading and research before meeting with them.

 

[JTK]

I am glad to hear you are on the up & up @alarmguy !

My FIL had similar procedures done 4-5yrs back. He's 81 and still kicking.

He struggled with the timing of the water drinking to maintain a full bladder and then sometimes there were delays where he had to hold it (and sometimes not ). That was the roughest part for him.

 

[alarmguy]

I am glad to hear you are on the up & up @alarmguy !

My FIL had similar procedures done 4-5yrs back. He's 81 and still kicking.

He struggled with the timing of the water drinking to maintain a full bladder and then sometimes there were delays where he had to hold it (and sometimes not ). That was the roughest part for him.

OH MY GOD. STRUGGLE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT> !!
Drinking 30 ounces of water on the way there, trying to time it, the first week I was afraid of peeing on the table. Then I learned how to time it better and also use the bathroom once (or twice) there to go just a little bit to relieve the pressure. It was BRUTAL and one of the worst parts of the treatment on some days. Your system already inflamed by the radiation. Gosh you are so right.

Most times they took me as soon as I walk in the door but still, even then, sometimes I have to go a little bit before being brought back to the table or I would not have made it.
The girls gave me two stickers over time to be the best at having a full bladder. Some times they took other guys of the table to drink more water.

The key was, where I went. The staff was REALLY great. As weird as this sounds I miss seeing them but I do NOT miss the treatments.
I THINK now day two after the last two treatments Mon and Tues. Things are starting to cool down inside me as I also didnt have treatments on the weekend. Typically 3 or 4 days into any week treatment it was really rough on me. Not everyone I suppose is the same. I still woke up every hour or so all last night but the sting is mostly gone and that is without taking over the counter AZO which goes a long way to helping the sting when it happens. I can tell I wont need it anymore.

Im glad your FIL is still doing well. It's a brutal cancer and I HATE the way the media treats it like it is anything but brutal. It causes some men not to take it serious, thinking they will die of something else first. (I know of someone and I also know of another who may not make it into his 60s) Almost 40,000 men die each year in the USA from this but if caught early you can expect to live a long time. Be proactive, dont be afraid of biopsies and also if given the chance the newest PSMA PET SCANS are truly cutting edge.

Take it a day at a time, one year out of your life to deal with it is worth it to live many more years. No guarantees but the chance if you do blows away what can happen if you dont.

 

[JTK]

...It's a brutal cancer and I HATE the way the media treats it like it is anything but brutal. It causes some men not to take it serious, thinking they will die of something else first. (I know of someone and I also know of another who may not make it into his 60s) Almost 40,000 men die each year in the USA from this but if caught early you can expect to live a long time. Be proactive, dont be afraid of biopsies and also if given the chance the newest PSMA PET SCANS are truly cutting edge.

I hear that. My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 69-70. Came on quick despite his regular check ups and PSA tests and he was a healthy, active retired guy. His metastasized quickly and bone cancer eventually did him in. He made it to 77, but those last years were terrible for him and us. He had really great medical coverage and Roswell Park Cancer Institute were happy to throw everything at him as it was covered. It was awful. I miss him every day. He's been gone since 2009.

 

[alarmguy]

I hear that. My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer at 69-70. Came on quick despite his regular check ups and PSA tests and he was a healthy, active retired guy. His metastasized quickly and bone cancer eventually did him in. He made it to 77, but those last years were terrible for him and us. He had really great medical coverage and Roswell Park Cancer Institute were happy to throw everything at him as it was covered. It was awful. I miss him every day. He's been gone since 2009.

Im 68 and since the 4th grade never had a health issue in my life except for an ablation 2 years back to cure some PVCs which I thought was a big deal at the time. Now I learned how simple that was compared to this.
What you describe is what I understand. Bone cancer is even more brutal and painful.

As I posted in my very long posts my PSA was always off the wall and 7 years later and 4 biopsies cancer was found. Early though, only 2 of 12 cores came back with cancer. Will keep my fingers crossed because of a high PSA that ultimately hit 23 I was labeled Grade 3A the best of the 3s but means unfavorable outcome. They still do not know why my PSA was so high except to assume there was cancer elsewhere.
But the newest latest greatest PSMA PET SCAN shows no spread and still fully encapsulated. SO I expect a 100% recovery and my doctor does too. Much relief will be as time goes on and PSA tests show no PSA in my system. Because there is still that statistic of the PSA 23.

Thanks for your post, a co-worker of my wife husband seems to be on the track of what your dad was, however he is much younger. Very sad.

 

[Cropduster172]

Im 68 and since the 4th grade never had a health issue in my life except for an ablation 2 years back to cure some PVCs which I thought was a big deal at the time. Now I learned how simple that was compared to this.
What you describe is what I understand. Bone cancer is even more brutal and painful.

As I posted in my very long posts my PSA was always off the wall and 7 years later and 4 biopsies cancer was found. Early though, only 2 of 12 cores came back with cancer. Will keep my fingers crossed because of a high PSA that ultimately hit 23 I was labeled Grade 3A the best of the 3s but means unfavorable outcome. They still do not know why my PSA was so high except to assume there was cancer elsewhere.
But the newest latest greatest PSMA PET SCAN shows no spread and still fully encapsulated. SO I expect a 100% recovery and my doctor does too. Much relief will be as time goes on and PSA tests show no PSA in my system. Because there is still that statistic of the PSA 23.

Thanks for your post, a co-worker of my wife husband seems to be on the track of what your dad was, however he is much younger. Very sad.

Yeah. I had a PSA jump more than .4 points last April. My primary care doctor said go to a urologist which I did. He prompted scheduled a biopsy. I think it was 1of 11 cores that came back positive. He than ordered a whole body bone scan...that revealed I had arthritis in my knees and feet. I could have told him that.
Didn't like the urologist. He was not open about possible treatments and ever advancing technology. He was all about robotic removal..which of course is what he did.
Switched doctors to one of the top urologists at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. He ordered an
MRI which I had in mid July last year.
The result:

IMPRESSION:

1. PI-RADSv2 Category 2 - Low (clinically significant cancer is unlikely to be present).
2. No extracapsular tumor, seminal vesicle invasion, pelvic lymphadenopathy, or pelvic osseous metastatic disease.

Urologist says it's the Active Surveillance route for me.
Get my PSA and other routine blood work for doctors appointment next week. Urologist automatically gets results. Will likely schedule another biopsy in May.
Urologist stated "it will not effect my longevity".
So my understanding is it's an extremely slow growing issue that currently is too small to treat directly or with medication.

 

[alarmguy]

Yeah. I had a PSA jump more than .4 points last April. My primary care doctor said go to a urologist which I did. He prompted scheduled a biopsy. I think it was 1of 11 cores that came back positive. He than ordered a whole body bone scan...that revealed I had arthritis in my knees and feet. I could have told him that.
Didn't like the urologist. He was not open about possible treatments and ever advancing technology. He was all about robotic removal..which of course is what he did.
Switched doctors to one of the top urologists at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. He ordered an
MRI which I had in mid July last year.
The result:

IMPRESSION:

1. PI-RADSv2 Category 2 - Low (clinically significant cancer is unlikely to be present).
2. No extracapsular tumor, seminal vesicle invasion, pelvic lymphadenopathy, or pelvic osseous metastatic disease.

Urologist says it's the Active Surveillance route for me.
Get my PSA and other routine blood work for doctors appointment next week. Urologist automatically gets results. Will likely schedule another biopsy in May.
Urologist stated "it will not effect my longevity".
So my understanding is it's an extremely slow growing issue that currently is too small to treat directly or with medication.

Im confused but I think it is a typo. Oops, no, you are correct I am reading it wrong. I thought you had it robotically removed.

I was on the fence with removal. I was concerned about (1) incontinence with surgery, (2)sex too. At the same time, with current technology I was told if those were my concerns then radiation was the way to go. The odds of those two side effects are much lower.
Down the road though, there are risks with radiation. Even although rare, other cancers from the radiation. (this is why this prostate cancer sucks) I was told by all three specialists at Duke that the outcome from either one as far as living was the same.

The problem with radiation is once you do it, down the road if an issue removal is difficult to near impossible for most surgeons and you cant get radiation again.

However the decision was made for me, even though I was strongly moving towards radiation (my wife agreed but stayed out of it until I started voicing my thoughts and the 3 doctors as well) Once the surgeon saw my abdomen he was like, wow what happened to you?
I have heavy scarring from a burst appendix when I was in the 4th grade, I was septic and those were the dark ages back then in the 1960s. They couldnt sew me up and had to keep me open for a month, fighting infections, they did not know if I was going to live for the first few weeks. Anyway, once the surgeon saw it, he was like, wow, this might make the decision even more easy for me. No doctor is going to do robotic on you. The scarring will be to great, they need to create a couple holes and that is where some would be. AS far as they know my intestines could be glued to my abdomen.

He said if I really wanted to do it, he would do it using a scalpel in my pubic area as long as I acknowledge that there will be a 20% chance of failure once he cuts me open and would have to sew me up without proceeding.

SO the decision was made. I was concerned about the mentioned 1&2 above, then hearing the doctor voice his doubts if surgery would even be successful on me sealed the deal for radiation which even though I had an open mind to both as I learned, for me. Radiation was the one.

I was caught off guard the effects of radiation treatment was having on me but I am all through it now and the more I think about it, I did not experience any bleeding or nasty other stuff that you may read about. Just needing to run to the bathroom a lot due to the interior irritation taking place. But the 6 weeks blew by quickly and to be honest I was getting to the point on not being able to take it much longer. Now through it? Im tickled pink and feeling good mentally (considering) The real test and any apprehension will be the follow up PSAs in a few months should basically read zero which even with surgery you will have PSA follow ups.

Honestly in my mind I feel with the radiation that is more possible than if I had surgery and radiation does get some surrounding tissue. Surgery could leave some tissue behind. It s touch call I THINK for surgeons not to remove too much surrounding tissue and also preserve as much nerves as they can. I was told over and over, there is no right or wrong what you choose. Your doctors might feel different, it all depends on what they know about you, (such as me and my scars)


I know I am repeating much of what I posted. To you, since you may have to go through it one day maybe it will provoke to ask questions from doctors as to your best for you choice. Dont take any of my post as anything but to ask questions from qualified doctors.

Good luck.

 

[Cropduster172]

Im confused but I think it is a typo. Oops, no, you are correct I am reading it wrong. I thought you had it robotically removed.

I was on the fence with removal. I was concerned about (1) incontinence with surgery, (2)sex too. At the same time, with current technology I was told if those were my concerns then radiation was the way to go. The odds of those two side effects are much lower.
Down the road though, there are risks with radiation. Even although rare, other cancers from the radiation. (this is why this prostate cancer sucks) I was told by all three specialists at Duke that the outcome from either one as far as living was the same.

The problem with radiation is once you do it, down the road if an issue removal is difficult to near impossible for most surgeons and you cant get radiation again.

However the decision was made for me, even though I was strongly moving towards radiation (my wife agreed but stayed out of it until I started voicing my thoughts and the 3 doctors as well) Once the surgeon saw my abdomen he was like, wow what happened to you?
I have heavy scarring from a burst appendix when I was in the 4th grade, I was septic and those were the dark ages back then in the 1960s. They couldnt sew me up and had to keep me open for a month, fighting infections, they did not know if I was going to live for the first few weeks. Anyway, once the surgeon saw it, he was like, wow, this might make the decision even more easy for me. No doctor is going to do robotic on you. The scarring will be to great, they need to create a couple holes and that is where some would be. AS far as they know my intestines could be glued to my abdomen.

He said if I really wanted to do it, he would do it using a scalpel in my pubic area as long as I acknowledge that there will be a 20% chance of failure once he cuts me open and would have to sew me up without proceeding.

SO the decision was made. I was concerned about the mentioned 1&2 above, then hearing the doctor voice his doubts if surgery would even be successful on me sealed the deal for radiation which even though I had an open mind to both as I learned, for me. Radiation was the one.

I was caught off guard the effects of radiation treatment was having on me but I am all through it now and the more I think about it, I did not experience any bleeding or nasty other stuff that you may read about. Just needing to run to the bathroom a lot due to the interior irritation taking place. But the 6 weeks blew by quickly and to be honest I was getting to the point on not being able to take it much longer. Now through it? Im tickled pink and feeling good mentally (considering) The real test and any apprehension will be the follow up PSAs in a few months should basically read zero which even with surgery you will have PSA follow ups.

Honestly in my mind I feel with the radiation that is more possible than if I had surgery and radiation does get some surrounding tissue. Surgery could leave some tissue behind. It s touch call I THINK for surgeons not to remove too much surrounding tissue and also preserve as much nerves as they can. I was told over and over, there is no right or wrong what you choose. Your doctors might feel different, it all depends on what they know about you, (such as me and my scars)


I know I am repeating much of what I posted. To you, since you may have to go through it one day maybe it will provoke to ask questions from doctors as to your best for you choice. Dont take any of my post as anything but to ask questions from qualified doctors.

Good luck.

The MRI conclusion is where I am now.
"PI-RADSv2 Category 2 - Low (clinically significant cancer is unlikely to be present)."
So it's the Active Surveillance which is basically wait and see. PSA tests 1-2/year. Biopsy one/year and maybe an MRI. I'm ok with that.

 

[alarmguy]

The MRI conclusion is where I am now.
"PI-RADSv2 Category 2 - Low (clinically significant cancer is unlikely to be present)."
So it's the Active Surveillance which is basically wait and see. PSA tests 1-2/year. Biopsy one/year and maybe an MRI. I'm ok with that.

In addition to the MRI if I remember correctly, you said the first doctor did a scan

I’ll assume that that was the latest PSMA pet scan.
If so, that was pretty good of that doctor to do it. The PSMA pet scan is the new gold standard in the hunt for PSA cancer inside of you.
The MRI has its own usefulness in a different way.

I am curious do you know what your latest PSA was?

 

[Cropduster172]

In addition to the MRI if I remember correctly, you said the first doctor did a scan

I’ll assume that that was the latest PSMA pet scan.
If so, that was pretty good of that doctor to do it. The PSMA pet scan is the new gold standard in the hunt for PSA cancer inside of you.
The MRI has its own usefulness in a different way.

I am curious do you know what your latest PSA was?

No. It was a full body bone scan. I'm not sure how necessary it was. But it was negative for any spread of cancer to bones.

 

[alarmguy]

No. It was a full body bone scan. I'm not sure how necessary it was. But it was negative for any spread of cancer to bones.

Actually there is nothing wrong with that at least as described when I went up to Duke Cancer clinic it is one method along with MRI.
Being I had access to the PSMA Scan I think that diminished the need for one. IF my recollection is correct.
Yeah that is good news nothing found. Just google Prostate cancer in the bones and you will see how a negative result is a good thing.

 

[Cropduster172]

Actually there is nothing wrong with that at least as described when I went up to Duke Cancer clinic it is one method along with MRI.
Being I had access to the PSMA Scan I think that diminished the need for one. IF my recollection is correct.
Yeah that is good news nothing found. Just google Prostate cancer in the bones and you will see how a negative result is a good thing.

Just know you've done a great service to many men by chronicling your experience here. Is it just me that noticed prostate cancer awareness is light years behind the hype and awareness that breast cancer gets? Make no mistake about it, there's politics behind that.
I might disagree with you about the quality of LG refrigerators, but you did a group of folks you don't even know here a solid. Thank you.
Keep the faith.

 

[alarmguy]

Just know you've done a great service to many men by chronicling your experience here. Is it just me that noticed prostate cancer awareness is light years behind the hype and awareness that breast cancer gets? Make no mistake about it, there's politics behind that.
I might disagree with you about the quality of LG refrigerators, but you did a group of folks you don't even know here a solid. Thank you.
Keep the faith.

Thank you very much appreciate this comment.
As we know in any forum, it’s how one reads words that you imagine what the other person is like.

I really truly try to help people, actually my whole life, but this was life-changing for me and it drove me crazy as you describe there just isn’t much information paid to it.

All we are told as men is there’s a good chance you might die of something else before prostate cancer.
I hate that statement with a passion. Almost 40,000 men died of prostate cancer last year.
The only reason many men will die of something else is they are diagnosed late in life.

The media doesn’t talk about the living, who’s quality of life might be changed forever, or the pain and everlasting cancer if it gets into your bones and or spreads to other places in your body.
To me personally, it really is a tricky, tricky cancer.
For those reading this, however there is one positive. It can be life-changing at the same time. It is controllable however sometimes that control gets lost overtime as the cancer devises other ways to survive if it’s not eradicated completely.
(True story, my wife, and I know someone in that situation right now and much younger than me)

The biggest issue with this cancer is it affects major systems in your body, which could lead to a quality of life issue for the rest of your life, even people in their 40s.
It’s really something that they just can’t cut out the whole thing even when you have it removed there’s no knowing if left over cells behind.

Radiation for me was my most viable option as here described but the way I understand it is also a good chance. If there was any cells outside the prostate radiation would probably get it.
Yeah, even then if something comes back, you can’t have radiation twice and at that point removal by surgery as of right now is nearly impossible.

But what really sucks it affects major bodily functions and there’s no guarantee even though it’s improved that you won’t be one of those statistics.

Yes, as far as the refrigerators, let’s just leave that behind. I actually enjoy talking to you about this.
We all know not everybody agrees on everything, but unless you know the person in real life, you really don’t know or sense their attitude.

I’ll admit right now after six weeks of radiation which ended five days ago. It has really been horrible getting up every hour of the night feeling like you have to go to the bathroom.
I’m told in just a matter of days I should start to feel things are changing for the better but it takes time. Another specialist says will be back to 90% normal, but I still have months left of the.Orgovyx drug, honestly that’s a cakewalk comparatively speaking.

OK, time to eat dinner and I appreciate your comment very much

 

[Cropduster172]

Thank you very much appreciate this comment.
As we know in any forum, it’s how one reads words that you imagine what the other person is like.

I really truly try to help people, actually my whole life, but this was life-changing for me and it drove me crazy as you describe there just isn’t much information paid to it.

All we are told as men is there’s a good chance you might die of something else before prostate cancer.
I hate that statement with a passion. Almost 40,000 men died of prostate cancer last year.
The only reason many men will die of something else is they are diagnosed late in life.

The media doesn’t talk about the living, who’s quality of life might be changed forever, or the pain and everlasting cancer if it gets into your bones and or spreads to other places in your body.
To me personally, it really is a tricky, tricky cancer.
For those reading this, however there is one positive. It can be life-changing at the same time. It is controllable however sometimes that control gets lost overtime as the cancer devises other ways to survive if it’s not eradicated completely.
(True story, my wife, and I know someone in that situation right now and much younger than me)

The biggest issue with this cancer is it affects major systems in your body, which could lead to a quality of life issue for the rest of your life, even people in their 40s.
It’s really something that they just can’t cut out the whole thing even when you have it removed there’s no knowing if left over cells behind.

Radiation for me was my most viable option as here described but the way I understand it is also a good chance. If there was any cells outside the prostate radiation would probably get it.
Yeah, even then if something comes back, you can’t have radiation twice and at that point removal by surgery as of right now is nearly impossible.

But what really sucks it affects major bodily functions and there’s no guarantee even though it’s improved that you won’t be one of those statistics.

Yes, as far as the refrigerators, let’s just leave that behind. I actually enjoy talking to you about this.
We all know not everybody agrees on everything, but unless you know the person in real life, you really don’t know or sense their attitude.

I’ll admit right now after six weeks of radiation which ended five days ago. It has really been horrible getting up every hour of the night feeling like you have to go to the bathroom.
I’m told in just a matter of days I should start to feel things are changing for the better but it takes time. Another specialist says will be back to 90% normal, but I still have months left of the.Orgovyx drug, honestly that’s a cakewalk comparatively speaking.

OK, time to eat dinner and I appreciate your comment very much

Be well.