My Prostate Cancer Journey

I am a 63 year old man and have no family history of cancer; so I was one of the people who say, wow that's bad, I'll pray for you. Never imagining I would receive the diagnosis.

Just when I was getting healthy

Before I retired I spent 8 years sitting behind a desk and for the last 3 years of that I was stress eating, gaining weight and generally killing myself. I was a mess, had gained up to 276 pounds and starting to see the effects of that lifestyle. The first year of retirement was amazing. I was gardening, riding my motorcycle and just living life. I was taking back my life and trying to get healthy. Almost exactly a year later I noticed I was passing blood in my urine.

Assuming kidney stones, delaying diagnosis

I have had kidney stones for several years and "assumed" that's what was going on this time. I had since I was 50 had a PSA and digital exam. My PSA was always been 2.0. I had changed doctors a couple years earlier and "assumed" he was having PSA done but I never asked. I called the urologist and mentioned the blood. After the three days I waited for an appointment it stopped.

Since I had a history of stones he "assumed" I had passed a stone and didn't look farther. That was in March and I had a nagging in the back of my mind it was something else. I had my annual checkup in July, so I asked my doctor what my last PSA was. That's when I discovered this would be the third year since it was done last. I requested it done. When I received the results my PSA was 10.2. Panic!! I had a scan and there was a spot. I had the biopsy done and waited for a call.

The dreaded word "malignant"

My wife and I had gone out on a Sunday. She was shopping and I decided to sit in the car listen to music and clean up my email. I see an email with the subject "Test results in your portal " I'm thinking must be good news or they would have called me. Wrong! The first thing I saw when I looked at my results...MALIGNANT. I just about passed out. The rest of the day I kept the news to myself. No need to spoil her day.

When we got home I told her. We cried and hugged and were waiting for the doctors office to open so it could be confirmed. It was and an appointment was made to discuss options. We are a small town so the treatment locally is surgery, chemo and radiation. My urologist directed us to MD Anderson for a second opinion. Appointments were made and I had the first meeting with the surgeon.

We found my Gleason score was 9 and not the 6 I had been told. Bone scan and MRI confirmed it had not spread. After our visit the surgeon commented if I could lose 15 pounds my surgery would be easier and recovery faster. He then wanted me to talk to another doctor about ADT...I didn't have a clue what it was, so I said sure. We went to the next appointment. We discussed the treatment and possible benefits. When talking about the side effects he stated that I would not loose weight but would more than likely gain....GAIN! I was 269 pounds! I took the first two shots and headed home with more questions than I started with.

Controlling what I can control

Thankfully I had a folder full of information. In the ride home I kept going over "You won't lose weight, you will gain." We talked about this and I decided I couldn't control the cancer and what it may do to me but I could control what I put in my mouth and whether or not I got off the couch and moved.

I joined a local gym and discovered I wasn't the only one there who was in the fight or had won their battle. With their support and the support of my wife and family, I have taken control of my life and have lost 41 pounds and I am stronger than at the start. Two weeks ago I started a yoga class!

ADT is not an easy treatment, the loss of any sex drive is so difficult, and the menopause symptoms aggravating. But I have a great support group who help me through the rough days. Next week we have appointments with the surgeon and my hormone oncologist. I will be asking a lot of questions and trying to figure out the next path.

I hope I haven't been to long winded...I guess my message would be take control of your own life and health, have faith, ask questions and if you are not satisfied ask someone else.

Everyone on this journey is in my prayers.
Donald

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