Scheduled for surgery Thursday

I don't blame her a bit for wanting to know....

 

Rick,

One of the things I failed to do before surgery was learn everything under the sun about this disease. Open surgery is still the 'gold standard" and financially, this was my best option. My wife is a nurse at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and quite frankly, they waived the insurance co-pay. They do use the robotic procedure now, but they were not trained last August. Many of the side effects related to the surgery such as incontinence, ED, and also disease re-occurrence is related to the skill and the "artistry" of the surgeon. My surgeon has been in the urology field since graduation from med school in the 60's and is also a prostate cancer survivor. I trust him and that's why I had the open surgery.

The pathology report was initially difficult for me to understand. I studied the web site I gave you and others for quite a while following surgery. As far as success? I'm not sure yet. I had positive margins and have had a slowly rising PSA since the surgery. PSA was 0.05 after surgery to 0.09 six months later. A couple of years ago anything less than 0.1 was considered undetectable. I may be looking at salvage radiation treatments which is not uncommon.

I don't think I'll be driving a truck anytime soon though. I learned in July about the cancer on the friday before I was scheduled for orientation on monday. That may be a blessing in this economy. I lost the job I had (capenter) due to time off for medical appointments and companies are not real keen on hiring when there is a significant medical history, a period of unemployment and 18 months out of a truck. It would have been a lot easier to me to have been employed during the process, something to focus on besides me.

Anyway, I hope you are feeling good and walking. More exercise equals quicker recuperation and healing. Take care Rick.

 

Hey Rick I'm glad to hear that things are going as well as can be expected. I wish you a healthy recovery my friend. I'm also glad to hear that your boss is keeping your back covered. Get well soon

 

That's the kind of loyalty from an employer that made this country great. They are a vanishing breed, and we need more of them

 

Sounds like your Boss and your company are one of the few left. My timing just sucked and I had limited experience. Give your Boss a pat on the back when you get back to work. Those kind are few and far between in todays world.

 

HOORAY!!!!! Awesome news.