More updates - health and work

On March 6th I passed the one year anniversary of my prostate surgery and am still doing well and cancer-free. Back in January, I got tired of my increasingly sedentary lifestyle which my work seemed to encourage. An eleven hour shift controlling access to a secure facility doesn't do much other than develop powerful muscles that allow you to sit for long hours without tiring. I started climbing stairs on my breaks. As of this week I'm climbing 13 stories twice in the  morning and walking back down. I walk down 20 stories twice in the afternoon. I'm not on the shape I want yet, but I'm  getting there.

Also, we had another round of qualifications, and I scored 100% again. Not bad for an old fat man with a revolver.

ECS

Another follow-up; another cancer update

    Last week I had my second post-surgical radical robotic prostatectomy follow-up (every three months for the first year), and I’m still showing a prostate specific antigen (PSA) level of 0.0 so far. This is good news, although my doctor will continue to monitor my progress for the next four and a half years.


    While I was there, the nurse practitioner told me that they’d had a number of men in their late forties/early fifties who had PSA levels in the double digits and were scheduled for biopsies cancel their appointments after the USPSTF issued it’s recommendation against PSA testing. That’s just sad because, odds are, they’ll be back, in worse shape, and with a drastically shortened life span and diminished quality of life.

    Next update on this subject will be in mid-December.

ECS

PS: I would like to thank the scum-sucking, stalking son of a bitch on the Yahoo Message Boards that linked to my blog celebrating my prostate cancer. Although I'm certain it wasn't his intention, he has aided me in my efforts to educate mature men about the second most prevalent cancer that affects them. To him, I can only hope he follows the recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to the letter. -S

Quick cancer follow-up

After six weeks of convalescence from my surgery, I returned to work. My supervisor said he was going to give me a slow and easy post until I got my strength back completely. That lasted from 0700 hours to 0900 hours when he came to my post with another officer to replace me. Then he took me to a much busier, more visible, more active post. And his idea of taking it slow? I only worked fifty-five hours that first week. Since then, I've averaged around fifty-three hours a week with a peak of sixty-three and a half hours. Well, I was bored sitting around the house.

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Okay, I promised an update when I posted this, so here goes. The results of my lab work showed a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 0.0 (undetectable), which is to be expected since I don't have a prostate anymore. This is, boys and girls, a very good thing because it indicates that the cancer was fully encapsulated in my prostate and had not metastasized. So, every three months during this first year, I'll get checked out. It'll be every four months the second year, and then every six months for years three through five. At the end of five years, if nothing pops up in the meantime, I'll be considered cured.
The bad news is that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises against PSA screening. They have all sorts of reasons that don't address the fundamental fact that prostate cancer in younger men (younger than 75 years of age) will likely kill them within 15 years or less of diagnosis if left untreated, and the last few years won't be a picnic. Interestingly, there are no oncologists or urologists on the panel. If my primary care physician followed the task force's recommendation, my rapidly increasing PSA wouldn't have been noted, and I wouldn't have been sent to a urologist for a consultation. Without that consultation and recommendation for a biopsy, my cancer would not have been diagnosed until I couldn't urinate due to a rapidly enlarging prostate (which was already somewhat enlarged) or my bones started hurting because that's where prostate cancer goes. The end result of following this task force's recommendation would have cost me my life.


Guys, this is not for sissies. Get regular check-ups, and, when you get them, insist that you get your PSA levels checked. If they are rising or high already, have your doctor refer you to a urologist for further screening and possibly a biopsy. The PSA test isn't a good way to check for prostate cancer, but it's all we have right now.
 
ECS

Goodbye, Wayman Tisdale

Well, we lost a great native son today when Wayman Tisdale, an Oklahoma schoolboy and college basketball legend, an NBA veteran, a smooth jazz artist, and a remarkably humble, dedicated family man, lost his brave two-year fight with cancer at age 44. Local reaction to his passing was immediate and heartfelt. ESPN provided this look at him as a basketball player, a man, and a musician. Unlike some so-called "stars" in the NBA, Tisdale excelled without falling prey to the temptations contrary to his Christian faith. Wayman Tisdale, in everything he did, from basketball, to music, to his fight with cancer, and to his family, was a man. He'll be sorely missed.

ECS