My Personal Support Nurse

Gratitude for my spouse

I feel so blessed to have met my spouse Karen. She decided she wanted to have a nursing career at age 12! At 12 I was deciding if I wanted to play baseball, or hockey today. We met each other at church, the one common denominator we had. Having common beliefs and values has been such a wonderful experience. 45 years of marriage, into our eternal marriage we have 4 children. Three have married and each have 4 children. So we have 12 grandchildren who also love Grandma and Grandpa.

Life as a veteran

I graduated HS at 17 during the Viet Nam War. At that time all eligible young men were required to register for military service. We had 5 choices, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force, or Coast Guard. My dad had served in the South Pacific Navy during WE II. So I enlisted in the USN which promised me an electronics school.
After completing that I went to Treasure Island for Radar Operator school. 3 yrs and two days of active service completed my “Kiddy Cruise”. I am very fortunate to have served in the military because I have access to VA healthcare. Northern California Veterans Medical Center at Mather CA within 15 minutes of our home.

Prostate cancer journey begins

My PC doctor, Sankara requested blood work and that revealed an PSA SCORE of 18.7 which was on an exponential increasing curve. She set up a consult with my Urologist who set up a biopsy. That revealed a Gleason score of 6/7. Then I had to decide whether I wanted a prostatectomy or Brachiotherapy and 25 days of EBRT. I chose the later. What I did not count on (and my Oncologist did not tell me about) was the impact Lupron hormone therapy would have in my life!

Side effects of hormone therapy

How much could a little hormone shot hurt? I got one big 6 month shot. In a couple of days the 328 units of testosterone I had were stripped done to 0! INSTANT MANOPAUSE! What a trip! I felt 15 years older, no strength, fatigue, sweat till my cloths were wet! I could work for two hours and then need a shower and a nap! I had aches and pain all over. Everything was a painful effort. I felt depressed and wondered whether taking the non surgical option was the right choice? The final insult was NO libido and atrophy of my entire urinary system! After two weeks I went through Brachial-therapy. More pain in perineum! I needed a steady drip of morphine, however I did not get pain relief.

Side effects of EBRT

After another two weeks I started External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT). I swear I felt little hot pin pricks in my prostate after the first session. So if they say it doesn’t hurt, you might feel like you have been radiated in the prostate! The EBRT may not hurt, however; the side effects of getting your prostate microwaved does begin to accumulate. The damaged cells are invaded by our bodies repair mechanisms which cause inflammation and swelling. The side effects restrict urine flow and irritate the bladder and rectum. I have found I need three Flowmax pills a day to empty my bladder. I have an urgency to empty my bladder every 60 to 90 minutes - 24/7. I am getting fatigued from lack of sleep.

Trouble with treatment

So back to my faithful spouse! She has been driving me to my daily 20 min sessions. A requirement for EBRT is an empty bowel and full bladder. Planning to meet these seemingly simple tasks is not as simple as it seems. I normally need a trip to the bathroom after breakfast around 09:00. Then I work on my chores get all sweaty and tired. I usually clean up for my 13:30 treatments and 20-30 min trip to Oncology starting at 12:00. Here’s where things get complicated! If I’ve worked up a sweat, my body is heading into the shower dehydrated. Turning on the shower immediately elicits an overwhelming urge to drain my bladder. So what…?

Well I need it start rehydrating, and produce enough urine to have a full bladder by 13:30! That is a more difficult task because they want a full bladder on time for a 20 min session! If they are running late, too bad, just hold it! If the traffic held us up, too bad , suffer and HOLD IT! I could not hold it and had to go to the bathroom or explode! Had to wait till I was full again to get into a session. After this experience I have ordered a box of attends, just in case we get caught in SLOW traffic.

My experience now

When I came into my next session the nurse handed me a clamp to apply! I tried the clamp, not a comfortable experience. Getting up on the table was ok, getting off was not. I clamp came off and bounced along the floor! The nurse said she would get it and gloved up. Now she advised me a little less full bladder would be ok. 2/3 full is my goal, God willing. So 12 sessions left, and my doctor ordered a drug to decrease bladder sensitivity. Not sure how that’s going to help since I need to feel how full I am for EBRT? Also I have to wait to get it since the VA uses USPS.

Hope you enjoy my story and gain some benefit.
WMP