When I first
started thinking about retiring from my full-time job I thought I made sure
that everything was in place so that Linda and I would have enough to carry us
through. I calculated my social security, Linda’s disability and what I could
earn doing my part-time jobs. I compared those against what our monthly bills
would be and figured we wouldn’t have to touch my 401K from work unless there
was a very large emergency. Well, as much as I hate to bring up bad news, that
emergency may well have arisen.
The other
day on Facebook I posted that I was having some testing done and asked for good
thoughts for a good outcome. Those weren’t the first tests I’ve undergone recently.
Let me back up a month or so to catch you all up.
I was having
what would politely be called “Plumbing Problems”. I scheduled and appointment
with my personal doctor. He prescribed a PSA test and I went home. His office
called and informed me that the PSA level was elevated. I already had an
appointment to go and visit with my urologist; a yearly visit to follow up on a
surgery I had done years ago.
While visiting
with the urologist’s assistant about the “problems” she said that I needed to
leave a urine sample and blood sample. A few days later she called and let me
know that there was blood present in the urine and that my PSA level was up
even higher! So, they scheduled an inspection of my bladder and a biopsy of my
prostate be done. I had those completed and waited for the results.
The bladder
inspection showed some minor problems, but nothing serious. The biopsy came
back confirming my worst fears; prostate cancer!!!
So, the
urologist’s office scheduled a CT scan and bone scan; those were the tests that
I mentioned on Facebook. This past Wednesday I again went to the urologist’s
office; this time to speak to the doctor himself.
Now; settle
down!! The results aren’t as bad as they could have been. The biopsies showed that
the cancer is only aggressive between a 7 and 8, on a scale of 6-10. The bone scan
showed that the cancer hadn’t spread to the bones!! He offered me some choices
as to how to proceed. I could take my pick from 2 different ways to put the
cancer on hold, so to speak. I immediately disregarded those as I told him “I
want to be cured, not just put off the inevitable”. He told me “You have the
right attitude about this, and you are rare in doing that”. He also said that
as young as I am and since I’m in good health, curing is the correct option.
Evidently quite a lot of people either are in denial or are just plain dumb!!!
I may be old, fat and bald, but I ain’t STUPID!!!!
The other 2
choices were to get the cancer cured, and those 2 are the main reason for this
blog. My choices are to either have the prostate surgically removed or undergo
a series of 43 radiation treatments (5 days a week for 9 weeks).
The possible
side-effects of the surgery option truly scare me!! Those of you who really
know me know that I don’t scare easily, but the possibility of those have
really shaken me!! There may be some minor side-effects of the radiation
therapy, but they are just that; minor, and will be gone once the treatments
are over.
I am turning
to you to ask a favor. I want to hear from those of you who have experienced either
the radiation treatments or prostate removal in the past couple of years so
that I can use those experiences to gauge which option to take. I want direct
experiences please, and only first-hand. Also, it’s important that the
experience be in the past couple of years as I am told that many, MANY advances
have been made in the radiation therapy lately.
I appreciate
any and all help that you can give me in reaching my decision.
Thank you!
