I'm a lucky guy with a winning ticket !

Hi Men -- Just got word from my Johns Hopkins surgeon the radical retropublic prostectomy (RRP) he performed on Monday this week was a success, as confirmed by a just out pathology report that says the cancer was capsule contained. The proverbial "one and done." I'm doing a little jig around my home office.

Talk about life changing moments!

Next up is to get a MOHs surgical procedure done on my nose by a dermatology doctor/surgeon/pathologist (all three, the same person) to remove a spot of basal cell carcinoma I've had on my nose, untreated, for six months. I tried a natural cure -- didn't work ... I applied the wrong stuff. I'll get that taken care of in coming weeks, after the catheter comes out.

Good health for me involves more than my achieving no prostate cancer. In addition to the skin cancer, I know I've got coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, and a stent in my heart. I passed my cardiologist's stress test last week, which then allowed the prostate surgery to go forward. Maybe it's time for me to get on statin drugs, Lipitor? Something my cardiologist has been recommending for, well, 4 years, which advice I've not taken yet but am now reconsidering. With my cancer apparently gone, time to focus on my other principal health challenge: heart disease. Need to bring my high cholesterol down. But I'll save the skin cancer and heart issues for another day!

One detail I don't know what to do with, and I'll not focus on it this celebration day, is the pathologist who reviewed a Dec. 5th, 2014, Hopkins MRI, wrote the following "Impression" in his report: "IMPRESSION: 1. Large volume, non-organ confined disease with extraprostatic disease
present. Dominant nodule 19 x 7 x 18 mm, in the left mid gland and apex; Score 5. Extracapsular invasion is present on left."

Hmmm, given my cancerous prostate is out and the final pathology report on Monday's RRP concludes the cancer was capsule-contained, I'm not going to try to reconcile those two opposing viewpoints. I'm inclined to go with today's final pathology report based on an actual physical diseased specimen and likely some adjacent sampled actual extracapsule tissue. In my book, that's way more trustworthy raw material than looking at MRI slides and drawing conclusions based on those slides. Which is truer? A photo of food on the menu? Or the food itself? Like the surgery consent form I signed said, medicine is not an exact science, so given contradictory conclusions now and then, hey, no problem!! Everybody is doing the best they can.

This is a wonderful day in my life. I overcame my lifelong cynicism, mistrust of doctors, tendency towards negative thinking, and my admitted bona fides as a control freak, and I made the leap of faith that my esteemed JH surgeon knew what he was talking about. I trusted his recommendation. Surgery or radiation. Now! I'm grateful to him, to Johns Hopkins, to my friends here on the Prostate Cancer Forum on the Healing Well website, and to myself, that I made a major decision when a major decision positively needed making.

Find the best primary physician, surgeon, urologist, medical oncologist, radiation guy or gal you can find, and listen closely to their advice. In the end, you'll have to make the decision alone. To the end my closest friends said don't get the surgery, go exclusively with alternative treatments: diet, herbs, vitamins, acupuncture, aromatherapy, etc. I still believe strongly in alternative treatments. But a palpable hard cancerous tumor in my prostate last week does not in my view lend itself to time-consuming, multi-year natural cures. You have to trust your gut. Make the treatment decision and don't look back. Once I made the decision, that was that. A tremendous burden lifted off my shoulders. Today came the good news I could only have dreamed of. Cancer gone. Ahhh, I've got a winning ticket! I'm humbled and filled with gratitude.

All the best to you, men.

Have a lovely weekend.

Bill Positive
________________________________

70 year old. Prostate biopsy 7-28-14,
diagnosed Prostate Cancer 8-8-14.
Prostate nodule 7/2014, 6 /2014,
4/2014. JH MRI of prostate 12/5/14:
"IMPRESSION:
1. Large volume, non-organ confined disease
with extraprostatic disease present. Dominant
nodule 19 x 7 x 18 mm, in the left mid gland
and apex; Score 5. Extracapsular invasion is
present on left."

PSA history:
1/08 4.6
4/08 6.4
7/08 3.5
12/09 2.5
2/11 4.4
4/12 3.2
4/14 5.4
8/14 5.1
9/3/14 4.9
10/13/14 5.7

CT & bone scan 8/12/2014 negative

1st Pathology Report (8/1/2014) on 7/28/14 biopsy
4 cores Gleason 6 (3+3), 69%, 75%, 100%, 100%
2 cores Gleason 7 (3+4), 66%, 88%

1st Second Opinion Pathology Report (8/26/2014) on 7/28/14 biopsy
6 cores Gleason 6 (3+3), 77%, 77%, 78%, 78%, 95%, 95%

2nd Second Opinion (or 3rd overall) Pathology Report (9/12/2014,
Johns Hopkins, Jonathan Epstein) on 7/28/2014 biopsy.
6 cores Gleason 6 (3+3),
A. prostatic adenocarcinoma, 90%, 80%
B. prostatic adenocarcinoma, 90%, 90% ("perineural invasion identified in this case")
C. prostatic adenocarcinoma, 90%, 90%

Great report, congratulations!!!

Andrew

Hi Pratoman, yes the MRI at JHH was a 3tesla, I guess that's a 3T. I'll see my surgeon next week and will ask about the discrepancy. I figured the final pathology report trumps everything that precedes it, like you say.

Hi Andrew, thanks!

Hi John_TX, you must be susceptible to skin cancers. Too much sun and beach time the cause? In my case, I figure it's because I'm fair and blue-eyed, cannot take the sun, and lived only feet from the Pacific Ocean in Southern California 1970-1979. Definitely overdid being outdoors in the sun. Just never thought about the health (skin) issue. Those years south of L.A. in little beach towns -- Seal Beach, Sunset Beach -- when I was 26-36 years old, I just felt invincible.

Bill Positive

So Bill, are you going to buy a Powerball ticket?

Nice graphic ;-)

Glad you're out and about with a great attitude

Hi Men -- I'm still awaiting seeing the actual final pathology report, apparently it hasn't been released to anyone but my surgeon yet (last Friday, 1/16, re his RRP on me 1/12). I keep checking a patient portal kind of communication set up called MyChart at Johns Hopkins, which is where I think the final pathology report will eventually get posted. Of course I'm thrilled the news from the surgeon last Friday is the surgery was a terrific success and all of my cancer was capsule-contained. And I want to read the report myself.

My big excitement two days ago was discovering my catheter drainage bag was leaking urine. I was thankful I had a backup handy. I replaced the leaking bag and adjacent catheter section of tubing that began about a foot downstream of willy like I've done it a dozen times. No question even a simple fix it job like this tested my nerves and powers of concentration. Once I installed the backup kit, I no longer had a backup so I bought a new backup kit immediately. Something so elementary as a working, non-leaking, drainage bag is significant enough, important enough, to give anyone pause.

Catheter comes out the day after tomorrow. My surgeon said a nurse will take out the catheter, but he'll be there to oversee I guess, and answer my questions -- how much, how soon, before I'm doing any significant walking? The question is more than casual since my part-time business I've put at risk by electing to have the surgery -- my being out recovering 2-4 weeks -- is I have my own professional dog walking/dog-house sitting business. Virtually every client made other arrangements for coverage the day I told them a month ago I was having prostate surgery. Because many people in my area work in an office some distance from home, they havng a reliable professional dog walker is essential. I believe having a weekday mid-day dog walker in place No Matter What is as important to the dog(s)' owner as their utilities; not having electricity or gas or water or phone or a dog walker for even one day is an emergency. But I'm sure that will all work out . . . maybe lose a few clients, or maybe gain a few new clients too. Or perhaps time for me to post some stand up on YouTube, mining my rich medical-tinged experiences of the last six months. Wish me luck !!

Before the surgery, the dog walking job typically had me walking 2-3 hours/day/5 days a week. I believe my real good fitness at age 70 for the successful open RRP last week was in significant part the result of my getting all that exercise. So everything is always perfect, just however life happens to be.

Best,
Bill Positive

re brisk walking for exercise, immediately, Pratoman wrote,
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"As far as walking, my surgeon encourages walking 3 miles a day at a brisk pace as soon as possible after surgery. I am doing 1.75-2.5 miles a day, only did 3 miles once, I find 3 miles difficult, especially in one session. However I started less than a week after surgery, while,the catheter was still in. I just used the leg bag. I think we have to push ourselves to regain confidence. . I think it's one of the best things we can do for ourselves for the quick recovery you and I are seeking"
_______________________

Thanks, Pratoman, for the good encouragement. I've gone easy on myself about walking until now. With my very livelihood, one of them -- dog walking/dog-house sitting -- dependent on my ability to briskly walk one or two pooches for half an hour, starting . . . this Saturday, Jan. 24, would be good . . . I'm upping my game starting immediately. I'll walk briskly for 45-60 minutes, 3X/day, starting today. Not sure what that is in miles, but it's a good start.

Thursday, 1/22 -- catheter out, & lots of walking
Friday, 1/23 -- able to drive again, & lots of walking
Saturday, 1/24 -- my dog walking/sitting biz is open for biz again

I'll send notes to all my dog/dog-house sitting clients as soon as I hit the Submit button re this post.

Thanks for pushing me, Pratoman. It was psychological. Physically, walking two and a half, three, even four miles/day, effective immediately, is a piece of cake for me. I know it. I've been missing the psychological piece -- haven't been pushing myself. I'm done with that.

Thanks again!

Bill Positive