Maybe I should just stop posting. After finding out this morning that the Dr's office in New Orleans was closed for Good Friday, my local oncologist called the insider number and spoke with Dr. Boudreaux at the office. Dr Boudreaux recommended getting down to LA on Monday, 4/9 so off we go!
Found relatively decent airfare, given the two days notice and have RT flights for both Stephanie and I, departing Monday morning and returning on the 28th (hoped return date). Flights are just $500/pp which struck me as quite cheap, all things considered... Have a hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn which has a special rate with the hospital and have reserved a rental car.
One significant downturn lately is that the obstruction does not seem to have completely opened back up. This means that I am, once again, not going to be eating and will be getting all of my nutrition by IV. I did talk to the nurse and I may be able to go home tomorrow with the IV food in tow and spend at least some time at home before we take off on our trip. As long as I can avoid the NG tube, I will be much happier!
So, Monday at about 5:00, I will pop into the ER and will be admitted in short order and will be able to start making some progress towards hacking back some of this cancer. What is my ideal schedule now? Whatever gets me home the soonest.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Plans change
Every time I think I know what the path forward is, it always seems to change.
The last 1.5 months or so, I have been having continued vomiting, alternating with a loss of appetite which was followed by diarrhea. The symptoms seemed to reflect my original diagnosis 10 years ago of a bowel obstruction but, when I had written my last blog entry, the symptoms had disappeared for about 1.5 weeks. Well, that all changed again on Monday, 4/2.
Once again, I got severe stomach cramps and knew I had the same symptoms again so my wife took me to the ER to see if we could uncover the cause. After a short (1hr) wait in the waiting room, we got back to talk to the doctor. He also suspected a small bowel obstruction and gave me 800cc's of a contrast to drink an hour before another CT scan.
Normal CT scans also include IV contrast but my right kidney's function is somewhat diminished so we avoided the IV contrast and went with a standard oral contrast. In spite of the lack of IV contrast, a very bloated small intestine seen right before the point where I had a mass of mescenteric tumors. This was the classic indication of a partial small bowel blockage.
What I had 10 years ago was a complete blockage while this is a partial blockage. Think of your garden hose that has been bent around a corner with a small kink in the line. As long as the pressure is low, the water still flows. As you increase the pressure, the kink becomes more pronounced until it finally shuts down any passage of water and this is what was happening to me.
So, the nurse inserts a Nasogastric (NG) tube up my nose and down into my stomach to begin sucking out as much as is possible on the front side of the blockage. Immediately, almost 600cc of the contrast that I had swallowed came up and I the pressure began to be reduced on the obstruction. I was then transferred to Penrose St. Francis where most of my doctors work.
NG tubes are no fun. They hurt going in and, once they are in, they continue to hurt both your nose and the back of your throat. It made it difficult to talk, sneeze, cough, or even dry swallow. They give you a cloraceptic type spray to try to numb some of the throat but it does not do much at all.
Finally, on 4/4, I began to pass some gas which is an indication that the bowels are beginning to free up and I got the hateful NG tube removed. On 4/5, I got my first clear liquids for lunch, followed by full liquids for dinner. Hopefully I get released on 4/6 to go home.
Our plans are quite involved at this point but still up in the air. On 4/9 (the office is closed on Good Friday), I will be contacting the leading carcinoid surgical group in the country who operate just outside of New Orleans. In a perfect world, I would check into their offices on 4/16 and then will have surgery sometime that week. These docs are the absolute best when it comes to carcinoid as it is almost all they do.
They have all the latest goodies such as radio guided surgery (using radiation to identify the tumors while I am open), have all the latest diagnostic tools, and know exactly how carcinoid behaves. Other than the week after my first diagnosis, this will be the first time that my knowledge of this cancer will be exceeded by the surgeons that will be operating on me.
I imagine I will end up spending about 2-3 weeks in New Orleans and my wife is already looking forward to the beignets that she will be consuming. I have never had one but my love of donuts will certainly transfer!
Once we return home, there will be the surgery+6weeks of recovery until I return to work. Hopefully I will have significant reduction in my total tumor volume and we can then return to waiting for the PRRT treatment which is just undergoing approval in the United States.
Any suggestions of things to do in New Orleans are appreciated although I don't think we want to go to the Sean Payton hall of shame...
The last 1.5 months or so, I have been having continued vomiting, alternating with a loss of appetite which was followed by diarrhea. The symptoms seemed to reflect my original diagnosis 10 years ago of a bowel obstruction but, when I had written my last blog entry, the symptoms had disappeared for about 1.5 weeks. Well, that all changed again on Monday, 4/2.
Once again, I got severe stomach cramps and knew I had the same symptoms again so my wife took me to the ER to see if we could uncover the cause. After a short (1hr) wait in the waiting room, we got back to talk to the doctor. He also suspected a small bowel obstruction and gave me 800cc's of a contrast to drink an hour before another CT scan.
Normal CT scans also include IV contrast but my right kidney's function is somewhat diminished so we avoided the IV contrast and went with a standard oral contrast. In spite of the lack of IV contrast, a very bloated small intestine seen right before the point where I had a mass of mescenteric tumors. This was the classic indication of a partial small bowel blockage.
What I had 10 years ago was a complete blockage while this is a partial blockage. Think of your garden hose that has been bent around a corner with a small kink in the line. As long as the pressure is low, the water still flows. As you increase the pressure, the kink becomes more pronounced until it finally shuts down any passage of water and this is what was happening to me.
So, the nurse inserts a Nasogastric (NG) tube up my nose and down into my stomach to begin sucking out as much as is possible on the front side of the blockage. Immediately, almost 600cc of the contrast that I had swallowed came up and I the pressure began to be reduced on the obstruction. I was then transferred to Penrose St. Francis where most of my doctors work.
NG tubes are no fun. They hurt going in and, once they are in, they continue to hurt both your nose and the back of your throat. It made it difficult to talk, sneeze, cough, or even dry swallow. They give you a cloraceptic type spray to try to numb some of the throat but it does not do much at all.
Finally, on 4/4, I began to pass some gas which is an indication that the bowels are beginning to free up and I got the hateful NG tube removed. On 4/5, I got my first clear liquids for lunch, followed by full liquids for dinner. Hopefully I get released on 4/6 to go home.
Our plans are quite involved at this point but still up in the air. On 4/9 (the office is closed on Good Friday), I will be contacting the leading carcinoid surgical group in the country who operate just outside of New Orleans. In a perfect world, I would check into their offices on 4/16 and then will have surgery sometime that week. These docs are the absolute best when it comes to carcinoid as it is almost all they do.
They have all the latest goodies such as radio guided surgery (using radiation to identify the tumors while I am open), have all the latest diagnostic tools, and know exactly how carcinoid behaves. Other than the week after my first diagnosis, this will be the first time that my knowledge of this cancer will be exceeded by the surgeons that will be operating on me.
I imagine I will end up spending about 2-3 weeks in New Orleans and my wife is already looking forward to the beignets that she will be consuming. I have never had one but my love of donuts will certainly transfer!
Once we return home, there will be the surgery+6weeks of recovery until I return to work. Hopefully I will have significant reduction in my total tumor volume and we can then return to waiting for the PRRT treatment which is just undergoing approval in the United States.
Any suggestions of things to do in New Orleans are appreciated although I don't think we want to go to the Sean Payton hall of shame...
Monday, March 26, 2012
The obvious answer doesn't always work
Man, has it really been that long since I updated this? Sounds like it is time to give everyone a quick status update.
I have consulted with a local Gastroenterologist to see if we could find out what was causing the diarrhea that I have been experiencing. Carcinoid cancer often causes us noids to have diarrhea due to the influence of the metastases that are in the liver and I have long thought that this is why I spend so much time in the bathroom. Well, increased dosages of sandostatin have not controlled the symptoms so we have started looking for alternate explanations.
My GI doc proposed that I may have small bowel overgrowth of bacteria. Your intestines have immense numbers of bacteria to aid in digestion (bacteria actually outnumber the number of 'human' cells in your body) but most of these bacteria are located in your large intestine. For some folks who have had small bowel surgery, the number of bacteria in your small bowel gets seriously out of whack and lead to dumping into your large intestine and, thus, diarrhea.
So, we started on some antibiotics to kill off all the bacteria in the bowel and then went to regrow the large intestine flora with some probiotics. Just as I finished the antibiotics about 5 weeks ago, I started to get very sick. I had trouble keeping food down and had what appeared to be the symptoms of a small bowel obstruction.
After a couple of weeks of this, missing some work, some skiing including the 2011-2012 ski patrol skills test, I am finally back to 'normal' (minus 10 pounds or so). This means I am back to 'normal' diarrhea but at least I am able to eat normally and have stabilized my weight loss.
Moving forward from this, we still need to find out what is going on since the simple answer was not the solution to the bowel problem. I will be doing a 48hour stool collection (yes, it is as fun as it sounds) and the GI doc will be analyzing the output for volume, fat levels, electrolyte levels and other details to see if we can find the reason for the diarrhea.
I had my twice yearly CT scan about on 3/23 and got mostly the same results on it that I have gotten for some time. Masses in the liver, messentary, and pelvis are continuing to demonstrate their slow growth and the small (3mm) lesion in the lung has been stable for some time. The one new development is that there appears to be a mass around the right ureter that is starting to impinge on flow from the right kidney to the bladder. I have not talked to the Dr. about this but my limited research on the web says that this can be addressed non surgically to some extent by insertion of a stent. If nothing else, it is not an urgent condition at this point.
Other than that, life is good. 10 pounds less will make the Deer Creek Challenge a bit more doable. Ski season has sucked this year with Copper Mountain snowfall about 80 inches behind normal and 40 inches behind the worst I have on record for the last 7 years. After the awesomeness that was last years snowfall, I shouldn't complain but I will anyway.
The Run For Hope is currently scheduled for August 4 and we will be there in force once again with as many people in Team Ron as possible. My wife is also planning a benefit dinner mid summer this year with the proceeds going to fund carcinoid research. I would love to see many of you at one or the other event!
I have consulted with a local Gastroenterologist to see if we could find out what was causing the diarrhea that I have been experiencing. Carcinoid cancer often causes us noids to have diarrhea due to the influence of the metastases that are in the liver and I have long thought that this is why I spend so much time in the bathroom. Well, increased dosages of sandostatin have not controlled the symptoms so we have started looking for alternate explanations.
My GI doc proposed that I may have small bowel overgrowth of bacteria. Your intestines have immense numbers of bacteria to aid in digestion (bacteria actually outnumber the number of 'human' cells in your body) but most of these bacteria are located in your large intestine. For some folks who have had small bowel surgery, the number of bacteria in your small bowel gets seriously out of whack and lead to dumping into your large intestine and, thus, diarrhea.
So, we started on some antibiotics to kill off all the bacteria in the bowel and then went to regrow the large intestine flora with some probiotics. Just as I finished the antibiotics about 5 weeks ago, I started to get very sick. I had trouble keeping food down and had what appeared to be the symptoms of a small bowel obstruction.
After a couple of weeks of this, missing some work, some skiing including the 2011-2012 ski patrol skills test, I am finally back to 'normal' (minus 10 pounds or so). This means I am back to 'normal' diarrhea but at least I am able to eat normally and have stabilized my weight loss.
Moving forward from this, we still need to find out what is going on since the simple answer was not the solution to the bowel problem. I will be doing a 48hour stool collection (yes, it is as fun as it sounds) and the GI doc will be analyzing the output for volume, fat levels, electrolyte levels and other details to see if we can find the reason for the diarrhea.
I had my twice yearly CT scan about on 3/23 and got mostly the same results on it that I have gotten for some time. Masses in the liver, messentary, and pelvis are continuing to demonstrate their slow growth and the small (3mm) lesion in the lung has been stable for some time. The one new development is that there appears to be a mass around the right ureter that is starting to impinge on flow from the right kidney to the bladder. I have not talked to the Dr. about this but my limited research on the web says that this can be addressed non surgically to some extent by insertion of a stent. If nothing else, it is not an urgent condition at this point.
Other than that, life is good. 10 pounds less will make the Deer Creek Challenge a bit more doable. Ski season has sucked this year with Copper Mountain snowfall about 80 inches behind normal and 40 inches behind the worst I have on record for the last 7 years. After the awesomeness that was last years snowfall, I shouldn't complain but I will anyway.
The Run For Hope is currently scheduled for August 4 and we will be there in force once again with as many people in Team Ron as possible. My wife is also planning a benefit dinner mid summer this year with the proceeds going to fund carcinoid research. I would love to see many of you at one or the other event!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Current Roadmap
Happy 2012 everyone! Stephanie and I started off the year with a
flight to Des Moines Iowa and then a short 2hr drive to Iowa City to see
Dr. O'Dorisio at the University of Iowa. I have been seeing Dr. Odo
for about 6 years now as he is one of the leading experts in carcinoid
cancer and sees hundreds of carcinoid patients a year as compared to the
two that my doctor in Colorado Springs sees. Obviously, seeing more
patients gives a doctor a leg up on diagnosis and treatment as he has
significantly more experience.
We met this year to discuss what the path forward is going to look like. 4 months ago, Dr. Odo said that when we met, it would be with an intent to treat since one of my blood markers had increased 4 fold over the past 9 months. At the hospital, I had a repeat of the ultrasound scan I had a year ago and my tumor burden in the liver has increased from less than 10% to 10% which is a small increase.
I wanted to explore the options available and see what the best choice was at this point in time. Obviously, the tumors are not taking over any of the major organs of my body but that is not the only thing that needs to be addressed with the disease.
The worst part of my disease from a day to day point of view is the carcinoid syndrome which manifests itself in two ways for me. The first, less annoying manifestation is flushing where my head and upper body will turn red and I will feel heat in my face. This often appears after periods of exceptional exertion and is a bit annoying but not too inconvenient.
If you see me at work, I generally flush about 90 seconds after hiking the stairs from the basement to the 2nd floor (4 flights of stairs). At hockey, I generally flush towards the end of a rest on the bench after a shift on the ice when I am skating out rather than playing goal. When playing goal, I frequently flush just a little while after defensive breakdown in our own zone.
The second manifestation is diarrhea. This is inconvenient and is certainly more annoying. I generally have to plan where I am and where the bathrooms are going to be just in case the syndrome creates a critical situation. We have tried increasing the dosage of sandostatin that I receive to see if that can help reduce the diarrhea but it has not been successful. Dr. Odo has given me a prescription for another medication (Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup) that we will try and I will also make an appointment with a gastrointestinal doctor too see if there may be a non carcinoid reason for the diarrhea.
If neither of these attempts are successful we may attempt a treatment of SirSpheres to the lobe of the liver with the greatest tumor burden. The hope is that killing some of the tumors will reduce the amount of syndrome that I experience.
What comes after that? Well, there is a treatment that has been successfully applied in Europe for the past 15 years called Peptide Receptor RadioNucleotide Treatment (PPRNT). This treatment (also sometimes shortened to PPRT) is not yet FDA approved in the United States although there is a doctor providing this treatment in Texas for the low, low price of $60,000. Alternatively, the same treatment can be had in Basel Switzerland (and Rotterdam and Bad Berka and...) for about $20,000 including travel and lodging!
What is even better is that Dr. Odo is trying to get this treatment approved in the United States and he has one of the six facilities that should have it. Dr. Odo's hope is that the treatment will be available in the next year although he has been saying this for about three years. PPRNT is another treatment where radiation is tagged to a key that fits a lock in the tumor. This makes me glow for a period of time but the end result is that the treatment can give another 3 years of progression free life.
Of course, there are problems with the treatment in that there is collateral damage from the radiation and the primary casualties are the liver and the kidneys. The treatment can then be repeated as long as there is sufficient kidney and liver function to survive the treatment. The liver will regenerate but the kidneys are another matter. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent injuring the kidneys so we need to be careful not to use too much of this treatment.
Overall, things look relatively positive for me continuing to annoy all of you for years to come!
We met this year to discuss what the path forward is going to look like. 4 months ago, Dr. Odo said that when we met, it would be with an intent to treat since one of my blood markers had increased 4 fold over the past 9 months. At the hospital, I had a repeat of the ultrasound scan I had a year ago and my tumor burden in the liver has increased from less than 10% to 10% which is a small increase.
I wanted to explore the options available and see what the best choice was at this point in time. Obviously, the tumors are not taking over any of the major organs of my body but that is not the only thing that needs to be addressed with the disease.
The worst part of my disease from a day to day point of view is the carcinoid syndrome which manifests itself in two ways for me. The first, less annoying manifestation is flushing where my head and upper body will turn red and I will feel heat in my face. This often appears after periods of exceptional exertion and is a bit annoying but not too inconvenient.
If you see me at work, I generally flush about 90 seconds after hiking the stairs from the basement to the 2nd floor (4 flights of stairs). At hockey, I generally flush towards the end of a rest on the bench after a shift on the ice when I am skating out rather than playing goal. When playing goal, I frequently flush just a little while after defensive breakdown in our own zone.
The second manifestation is diarrhea. This is inconvenient and is certainly more annoying. I generally have to plan where I am and where the bathrooms are going to be just in case the syndrome creates a critical situation. We have tried increasing the dosage of sandostatin that I receive to see if that can help reduce the diarrhea but it has not been successful. Dr. Odo has given me a prescription for another medication (Cyproheptadine Hydrochloride Syrup) that we will try and I will also make an appointment with a gastrointestinal doctor too see if there may be a non carcinoid reason for the diarrhea.
If neither of these attempts are successful we may attempt a treatment of SirSpheres to the lobe of the liver with the greatest tumor burden. The hope is that killing some of the tumors will reduce the amount of syndrome that I experience.
What comes after that? Well, there is a treatment that has been successfully applied in Europe for the past 15 years called Peptide Receptor RadioNucleotide Treatment (PPRNT). This treatment (also sometimes shortened to PPRT) is not yet FDA approved in the United States although there is a doctor providing this treatment in Texas for the low, low price of $60,000. Alternatively, the same treatment can be had in Basel Switzerland (and Rotterdam and Bad Berka and...) for about $20,000 including travel and lodging!
What is even better is that Dr. Odo is trying to get this treatment approved in the United States and he has one of the six facilities that should have it. Dr. Odo's hope is that the treatment will be available in the next year although he has been saying this for about three years. PPRNT is another treatment where radiation is tagged to a key that fits a lock in the tumor. This makes me glow for a period of time but the end result is that the treatment can give another 3 years of progression free life.
Of course, there are problems with the treatment in that there is collateral damage from the radiation and the primary casualties are the liver and the kidneys. The treatment can then be repeated as long as there is sufficient kidney and liver function to survive the treatment. The liver will regenerate but the kidneys are another matter. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent injuring the kidneys so we need to be careful not to use too much of this treatment.
Overall, things look relatively positive for me continuing to annoy all of you for years to come!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
It is time to live deliberately
Another guest post from my friend Doug Banker. Doug and I view cancer diagnosis and post treatment very similarly. Doug was diagnosed with Prostate cancer a few years ago and has been enjoying the life changing experience that is the wakeup call with that message:
Yep, cancer sucks, from the initial diagnosis
through treatment, cancer is definitely a life-changer. It forces us to
deal with some pretty hard realities. It forces us to deal with our
own mortality. But, throughout the process there can be very positive
aspects. One of my favorite quotes is from Henry David Thoreau:
I
went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only
the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to
teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854)
Poor Thoreau, he clearly never made it to Colorado. I adapted the first line to read:
I went to the mountains because I wished to live deliberately…
The
important thing here is that I have no intention of discovering when it
comes time to die that I had not lived. With the help of a few
friends, cancer changed my life for the better. My camera and I have
spent a lot more time in the mountains; on foot; on bike; on skis; on
snowshoes. I’m grateful for the awakening…not for the disease. But, at
this stage, I plan on dying from something else. It may be a different
cancer, but at least it won’t be this one.
I
guess I really am fortunate mine was caught early. I have a young
friend (about 28) named Meghan. She is in the final stages of her
cancer and probably doesn’t have long. It doesn’t seem fair.
Or an old
work acquaintance, Mark, who had brain cancer and lasted two years. It
doesn’t seem fair.
Or a former boss, Carl, who was diagnosed with a
lymphatic cancer and only lasted two weeks. It doesn’t seem fair.
Why
am I going to live when others are not? I feel guilty about that,
especially for Meghan who has so much to live for and should have had so
much time.
Yes, I have been lucky. And, when it comes time for me to die I will NOT discover that I had not lived. Thanks to my friends for that one!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Some Initial Thoughts from a Fellow Cancer Patient
A friend went through his initial cancer diagnosis a few years ago and wanted to post a few words about his journey with cancer:
Hi all. Ron has graciously agreed to allow me to share some thoughts on my experience with cancer. Just so you all know (including you, Ron), that Ron has been my mentor when it comes to dealing with cancer. Even though our cancers are entirely different, he provided me with great advice when I needed it most. I take the opportunity to do the same for others every chance I get and always make sure they know that it was Ron who helped me, and they, in turn, are bound to help others when needed.
Just a little background. Four years ago I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, the number two cancer killer in men (lung cancer is number one). To make a long story short, the discovery, diagnosis, treatment, and rehab took about a year and a half. I consider myself lucky. We caught mine early but only because I was proactive. I always had good physical exams…never any problems. After I retired from the Air Force I neglected getting any kind of physical for the next seven years.
I always had pretty comprehensive flight physicals with never any problems and I became complacent…until an old roommate of mine was diagnosed. I decided I should get checked. Again, everything was normal. As I was leaving the office I said “Hey, how about a PSA test, I’ve never had one”. My doctor was surprised and said “sure, I’ll order you one”. Well, it came back elevated. I was referred to a specialist who immediately wanted to do a biopsy. I thought that was a little premature so sought another opinion. The second specialist said there are other things that can cause increased levels of PSA in the blood, like a low-grade infection. Let’s treat for that and see what happens. Well, the PSA came down. He said to get it checked again in 3 or 4 months.
I did and it was elevated again. Back to the first specialist for the biopsy…not a fun procedure, by the way. Anyway, the biopsy confirmed the cancer. The bottom line here is that even though the PSA test is not perfect, neither is the physical exam. They are just indicators. If I had just gone with the physical exam and not asked for a PSA test, my cancer would still be cooking. So, don’t just go with the convenient answer or the standard exam. Stay on top of your own health especially if you have a family history.
I had a radical prostatectomy on February 22nd, 2008. Pathology showed the margins to be clear which means the cancer did not get outside the gland…very good news. Most men that die from Prostate Cancer do so because it went too long undetected. The recovery was long, I went 4 weeks without working. The rehab went ok…a few issues here and there but, for the most part, everything is fine…actually, some things are even better…but I won’t go into that. In about 14 more months I’ll be declared “cancer free”…a significant milestone for me…I’ll be able to start donating blood again!
I think this is enough for now. If it’s OK with Ron, I’d like to do a couple more posts…more along the lines of what he has done…how cancer changes our lives, how we learn to deal with it, and how we think about the future.
Hi all. Ron has graciously agreed to allow me to share some thoughts on my experience with cancer. Just so you all know (including you, Ron), that Ron has been my mentor when it comes to dealing with cancer. Even though our cancers are entirely different, he provided me with great advice when I needed it most. I take the opportunity to do the same for others every chance I get and always make sure they know that it was Ron who helped me, and they, in turn, are bound to help others when needed.
Just a little background. Four years ago I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, the number two cancer killer in men (lung cancer is number one). To make a long story short, the discovery, diagnosis, treatment, and rehab took about a year and a half. I consider myself lucky. We caught mine early but only because I was proactive. I always had good physical exams…never any problems. After I retired from the Air Force I neglected getting any kind of physical for the next seven years.
I always had pretty comprehensive flight physicals with never any problems and I became complacent…until an old roommate of mine was diagnosed. I decided I should get checked. Again, everything was normal. As I was leaving the office I said “Hey, how about a PSA test, I’ve never had one”. My doctor was surprised and said “sure, I’ll order you one”. Well, it came back elevated. I was referred to a specialist who immediately wanted to do a biopsy. I thought that was a little premature so sought another opinion. The second specialist said there are other things that can cause increased levels of PSA in the blood, like a low-grade infection. Let’s treat for that and see what happens. Well, the PSA came down. He said to get it checked again in 3 or 4 months.
I did and it was elevated again. Back to the first specialist for the biopsy…not a fun procedure, by the way. Anyway, the biopsy confirmed the cancer. The bottom line here is that even though the PSA test is not perfect, neither is the physical exam. They are just indicators. If I had just gone with the physical exam and not asked for a PSA test, my cancer would still be cooking. So, don’t just go with the convenient answer or the standard exam. Stay on top of your own health especially if you have a family history.
I had a radical prostatectomy on February 22nd, 2008. Pathology showed the margins to be clear which means the cancer did not get outside the gland…very good news. Most men that die from Prostate Cancer do so because it went too long undetected. The recovery was long, I went 4 weeks without working. The rehab went ok…a few issues here and there but, for the most part, everything is fine…actually, some things are even better…but I won’t go into that. In about 14 more months I’ll be declared “cancer free”…a significant milestone for me…I’ll be able to start donating blood again!
I think this is enough for now. If it’s OK with Ron, I’d like to do a couple more posts…more along the lines of what he has done…how cancer changes our lives, how we learn to deal with it, and how we think about the future.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
You are dying too
One of the great truths of our lives is that we start dying on the day we are born. This isn't something we like to think about and many of us live our lives as if we are going to live forever. Steve Jobs recently died of a cancer that is very similar to mine and, in the commencement speech he gave in 2005 at Stanford, Steve said that every morning, he would look in the mirror and ask himself this question: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" If the answer to this question was no for too many days in a row, Steve knew he needed to change things.
The intent of this question was not to say that every day has to be something that is on your bucket list but you can't go on living day after day, doing things you would regret if it were your last day. It is getting close to the end of the year and many people work for companies that have use it or lose it leave policies. If you are donating vacation time back to your company you need to really be thinking about what your priorities are throughout the year. It is certainly possible that you do get your greatest joy out of your work but if that is not the case, what are you doing NOT spending time away from work?
There are so many bumper stickers of the type "a bad day fishing is better that a good day at work" where you can replace fishing with hockey, skiing, golfing, or any other recreation. The way I like to think about it is to ask myself the question "In one year, would I look back at today and be glad I went to work or would I look back and be glad I hit that 6" dump of powder at the ski slope?" If the answer to this question too often is regret over going to work and you have the option, make sure you enjoy your life! I enjoy my job most days but there are nowhere near as many days I look back upon with as much fondness as the days I take off with friends or family.
Life is short, often much shorter than we thought it was going to be. In some ways, I am fortunate in that my cancer has made me focus much more on what is truly important in life. Yes, I am dying and it may be my cancer might be that does me in. You are dying as well. Make sure you are living at the same time.
The intent of this question was not to say that every day has to be something that is on your bucket list but you can't go on living day after day, doing things you would regret if it were your last day. It is getting close to the end of the year and many people work for companies that have use it or lose it leave policies. If you are donating vacation time back to your company you need to really be thinking about what your priorities are throughout the year. It is certainly possible that you do get your greatest joy out of your work but if that is not the case, what are you doing NOT spending time away from work?
There are so many bumper stickers of the type "a bad day fishing is better that a good day at work" where you can replace fishing with hockey, skiing, golfing, or any other recreation. The way I like to think about it is to ask myself the question "In one year, would I look back at today and be glad I went to work or would I look back and be glad I hit that 6" dump of powder at the ski slope?" If the answer to this question too often is regret over going to work and you have the option, make sure you enjoy your life! I enjoy my job most days but there are nowhere near as many days I look back upon with as much fondness as the days I take off with friends or family.
Life is short, often much shorter than we thought it was going to be. In some ways, I am fortunate in that my cancer has made me focus much more on what is truly important in life. Yes, I am dying and it may be my cancer might be that does me in. You are dying as well. Make sure you are living at the same time.
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