One year post: My, how life has changed. Thanks Guys!

Today, I got my One Year PSA. Two readings actually: A 0.03 on the Siemens Centaur using direct chemiluminometric, 06-2006 protocol, and a <0.01 on the Roche Cobas 601 electrochemiluminescence ELISA using 04-2010 protocol.

A year ago my surgery was a few days away. I had no idea how life changing this would be. I was in perfect health, kidding with family, confident that I would be dry and hopping between the sheets like the bunnies in our garden.

Sure, I saw the letter from the Uro telling me what to expect but it also said to expect vomiting, brain damage, psoriasis, nose bleeds and death. Oh puhleeze! That nonsense is for the old guys who are out of shape. The ones who smoked, and never exercised. The overweight tubs who can't move anyway. None of that will happen to me. My BMI is right where it should be. I am in perfect health. I can outrun guys half my age. I will breeze through this.
Well, the only things I breeze through now are pee pads.

As I sit here with an almost full soaker twixt my thighs, contemplating whether or not Trimix is worth the effort, I realize I am lucky. My PSA is low. <0.01. The lab report brought tears to my eyes. Not sure why, but I started singing: "I am I, Don Quixote! The Lord of La Mancha!... " Why? Fighting windmills - delusional that PC is gone? Or maybe it was just a reaction to an over-ripe piece of goat cheese I had for late lunch.

I know that I have been enriched by this experience. I learned about cell mutations, cytology, physiology, genetics, drug interactions and an alphabet soup of treatments and protocols. I learned that life is precious and there are truly great men here walking with burdens I cannot fathom.

I'm a technical guy - a physicist/engineer and think I have a reasonable understanding of how the world operates. Who knows, with all the equipment and serendipity flowing in my lab I might come up with a next generation treatment. At the very least I can now cook a hot dog faster than Kobayashi, the Tsunami, can eat them.

Most importantly, the guys I met here have added to my life more than I can say. You know who you are. "I love you, man!" sums it up pretty well. And I say that totally sober!

PCa has made me a better person but I'd be lying if I said I don't miss dry pants and a spontaneous roll in the sack. Don't worry, I will survive!

Jeff

Humor is GFMPH. _{(I hope you clicked the links.)}

Jeff, My friend I agree with you so very much. I am very lucky to be where I am today in the PCa stuff. Sure it would have been better never having to know about all this stuff but looking at the big picture. I have been one of the lucky one in treatment and I have had the chance to become very good friends with you and several other PCa brothers.

I am looking forward to the GFMPH weakend in September.

Thanks for being here on HW.

Cajun Jeff

Glad to hear the recent good news and welcome to the ZERO CLUB. I like the pace of your post and want to tickle your brain "Mr. Scientist". (smiling)



If you follow the link below you will arrive at a page in our newspapers digital archives where an interesting new research effort is chronicled and made available to everyone on the Net.



http://www.news-press.com/section/kanzius



Ya, Ya, Ya I know. You and all of the rest of us now belong to a club we never wanted to join but non the less here we sit struggling to find a NEW NORMAL. My personal wish for us is simple. I hope we find it.



I think our efforts need to be seasoned with a little humor so I find your take on things nice reading and thanks for taking the time to keep us up to date.



Jim

Jeff, congrats on the one year PSA results.

I am right there with you on the timeline. It totally escaped me that while I was traveling with my wife the last few weeks, I passed the one year mark since my diagnosis.

Amazing how much has happened in the last year. I am totally aware of an entirely new vocabulary that never had entered into my speech patterns before. My diagnosis came just 3 days after my wife was admitted into the hospital into what would become a 9 weeks stay. She is referred to as "the miracle" whenever she returns there, for she should have never come back from where she was while in ICU.

Yes and like you I have a new outlook on things and the future. I have experienced the surgery, the IMRT and now the METS. Yet I have been dry since day 1 and that has been a blessing. ED is still an issue, however given my wife's physical condition it is not something that weighs heavily on me. In that I am also blessed.

So it has been a year for me also. I still believe "Every Day is a Bonus", and we are living them to the max.

Most of all my life has been blessed by meeting and coming to know folks like you and the others here at HW. You folks have provided me with much more support than you will ever know. This is a journey that I would have had great difficulty with had it not been for you folks.

And now I see another blessing in the future. Jeff (Corvetteman) has told me that another GFMPH weekend is in the planning for September. My wife and I have planned a trip to the northeast for the fall and would love to start it off with a trip up your way.

Jeff, thanks for being here and thanks for your posts. To this day my wife and I go into uncontrolled laughter remembering your post about the Pad Quick Change Routine.

I salute you in your one year anniversary and wish you many more,

Sonny

Congratulations Jeff,
Always great to hear of another "0", especially one a year out with a pT3 tumor. The attitude you share with so many of our friends here is a huge help to those of us in fairly early recovery.

Here's to many more
Dave in Durango CO

Jeff,

Congrats on your one year report and finishing your one year journey with a great sense of humor and optimistic attitude.

I will pass two years since RP this month. Have a new sense of optimism that I will be dry in five weeks when my aus will be activated. Willie and the "poor boys" have been through a lot from RP to Sling to AUS but they seem to be handling it pretty well even though they are still a bit swollen.

Hopefully you will find a fix faster than I did but knowing there is a fix waiting should give you encouragement.

We are all lucky with where we are and to have the great support of this group.

Cheers to you and all!

 

It will be later this month that I get the "official" post-IGRT PSA - almost one year to the day that the GP sent me off to the urologist the first time.
Didn't find this group of characters until after surgery, so a lot of my experience is learned the very hard way.
The support is great, but the leaking continues. Guess I'll be around a while. Now you've got me looking up for that disco ball -

Please all be advised of the following. The link I sent above is actually a large hyper link with a significant amount of information standing behind it.

In reference to the dopant, I was of the understanding it was gold nanoparticles which would seek and find the cancer.

Quote: News-Press: The treatment has the potential of being a milestone in cancer care because of its noninvasiveness — no needles, no surgery, no radiation — because it targets just the cancer cells and because, it’s believed, the radio waves and gold nanoparticle solution are nontoxic.

The basic link again: http://www.news-press.com/section/kanzius

Do you guys and gals think it advisable to start a new TOPIC?

Jim

Hi Jeff,

Congrats on the PSA!

I haven't been here much for some time, but when I am, I always have a look in at your posts. Love your humour and very much appreciate it. Having a similar background, I always get a good smile and laugh from your technical approach.

I hope you start seeing some really good improvement on the IC front.

Stay well. 

Jeff, You have got my vote for the post of the year award..................Cheers Kev

Jeff
- congrats on the continuing on the zero club status and anniversary date
- sorry to hear no improvement in IC section - glad to see you like disco and musical theatre
- my kegel routines were tuned to ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW "time warp dance"
- maybe a touring company of HW kegel-dancers could help speed up your drying? ...
all the best.
BRONSON

Jeff, you sound it really great spirits this afternoon and with your scores who wouldn't be.

I have spent the better part of the day exploring for campgrounds near you. Lynn and I are definitely planning to stop by in September for the GFMPH celebration. Our plan is to come up and visit Niagra first and then stop by your place on the way to Boston and north to Bar Harbor and points in between.

Looking forward to meeting you in person, especially after my discussions with Corvetteman. Looks like he is planning on the trip as well.

I'll drop you an email in a few days,

Sonny

Jeff, sounds good to me. I was thinking that maybe you wouldn't want me dumping my tanks on you pee gravel area though. Really I was thinking that maybe Lynn might not want to join in on all the "Manly" activities and could just rest up. Also wasn't sure how many of the other spouses would be coming and she doesn't want to put the damper on the guy bonding thing.

You and I will talk and work it all out through email.

Sonny