Posted 6/7/2023 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Dear all, I wanted to share my father, who you don´t know, but I shared much about him, lost his PC battle 2 weeks ago. I wrote in this forum when he was diagnosed almost 13yrs ago. I read every word, post, a few books, educated myself, sent his samples to Dr.Bonkhoff, accompanied him to all dr. appointments, and and. I didn´t write much last few yrs as his disease was quite stable. He lasted unbelievably long on first-line HT. Then Corona hit and we delayed the PSA check after which it went quite high....Due to some acute kidney issues my father could not receive chemo, but Zytiga gave him good quality of life.
Why I am writing now? I want to tell you that my father survived 13 years after being diagnosed with 2 bone mets!! 13!! This is possible!! I want to tell you that he never complained or was worried about himself, which is what could have also influenced his well-being for all these years. When he was diagnosed, I was pregnant and panicked. Little did I know that I should prepare myself for a marathon and not a sprint. He basically died "on his feet" - he walked around the house still 4 days and played chess with now my 12yrs old one month before he died. He did have a catheter and he broke his hip 4 yrs ago, so it limited him in many ways but again, he never complained and just continued doing what he could. We were able to give him great care at home and he appreciated.
My father was really a survivor from early on, born in Europe in the middle of WW2, barely staying alive. Despite many challenges, he really stayed himself and was always considerate and helpful, no one helped me more with kids than him. He loved to read and make jokes. He joked with doctors, nurses, no matter what he was going through. When we mention my father, people immediately smile. A huge, stable character of enormous quiet strength.
One more thing, my father died truly of prostate cancer. His heart, internal organs, brain, everything was perfect. The oncologist said, the bone mets weakened him to the point where he didn´t eat and just slept. The burden of the disease was too much. He spoke with my brother 2 days before death in clear sentences. He was 80 but could have lived much longer. Whoever is advocating not testing for PSA and saying "prostate cancer won´t kill you something else will" is wrong and doing injustice to many fine men. I wanted to share this with you, because to me, this forum was God-sent in many of those years. Knowledge is power, I continue to believe in this. Find out what it is, go to the best doctors, and then trust it and live your lives without worry and squeeze each new day to the max. We made so many memories with my father in the past 13 years. It was worth an entire lifetime. You all do have one or a few lifetimes in front of you. Greetings, you are the best and bravest of all, Tatjana