A Year Tomorrow...

Tomorrow will be a year since I put all my trust in Dr Peter Scardino and had my prostate removed. What a year it's been! From waking up with a catheter and slightly confused in the recovery room of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - and being asked if I have sleep apnia and told I press the button for more pain medication too often - to today when I am well on the way to full recovery, I've learned a lot about prostate cancer, myself and the people around me. I've also made some new friends and found a new purpose (not like the one Steve Martin found in the "The Jerk") for my life.

This past Wednesday I learned that my PSA is still at undetectable levels. Great! I have also been working out for the last two months at a great gym and dropped some of the weight I put on since the surgery. Looking back, it seems my energy level and irritability were higher for at least six months after the surgery. The fact I could not achieve a "workable" erection for that time didn't help! However, the last six months have seen a dramatic change.

About two months ago, my familiy and I moved closer to work to help reduce commuter stress. That move has helped tremendously! My energy levels are higher and I am able to get in the gym three times a week which helps increase my endurance and reduce stress. Eating more healthfully has helped me drop 15 pounds and I am closer to my ideal weight - but still need to lose 10 lbs. I have also found ways to help other men in the wheel house for prostate cancer. The biggest way? Just talk about it and the need for the PSA test!

Through this blog I have become friends some folks with similar challenges and think I've managed to help or at least encourage some. At work, I talk freely to anyone who has questions and have been able to advise men and the families of men in my situation. I've even managed to do some volunteering to help others in the broader population touched by cancer - many with far more devatating complications than I have had to face. Recently, I 've contacted another group "Bat For A Cure" through which I may be able to focus more on helping those candidates for prostate cancer as well as those with the disease.

I write today to let anyone reading this know, that a year out and I am feeling great. That it is essential that men over 45 (or if there is someone in your family who contracted this disease even earlier) be tested with a PSA test and to find out your Gleason scale numbers! Don't let your your doctor say the test doesn't make a difference - it does! If your Gleason scale number is above 2, you should see a Urologist. Please read about the opportunities!

Please write to me if there is anything with whichi can help!