In some ways the PCa journey is like playing a sport (competition, strategy, etc.). But which one?

An odd question perhaps, but maybe one worth a discussion.

After all, an ongoing experience with PCa does have similarities with competing with an opponent in a sport.

At least I think so.

Each has a goal. To win the game, score more points; or, beat the cancer and survive.

Each has strategy. Make the right moves on the playing field, or, have a cancer treatment plan that works.

Each has momentum shifts. Successful surges on the playing field, or, good results coming from a successful treatment of the PCa.

So maybe likening the ongoing experience with PC to on-field play against an athletic competitor does have some value.

But dealing with PCa varies with the individual, both in intensity and situation.

Just like different sports vary in intensity and situation.

Some sports are highly intense, even violent, like football. Others a bit slower-going, more relaxed, like baseball. Some are non-stop action, like basketball, while some are slower and more contemplative, like golf.

And don't those qualities apply to different PCa cases as well?


So, if you were to liken your own PCa experience to one of the common sports, which one would you choose? And why?

If you had RP, maybe you would liken it to football, both involving rough, hard-hitting action. If RT, maybe golf, with RT and golf both involving time periods between treatment and game actions (radiation bursts on the one hand, drives and putts on the other), And maybe Watchful Waiting (minimal action) might be likened to horseshoes.

And BTW, your oncologist is like your team coach, and the lab where you get your tests done is the Referee.

Or maybe it was like one sport early on in treatment, but you would liken it to a different sport now?

Anyway, the sports analogies may serve us as modes of thinking about our PCa journey, in a creative way. Like playing a game, to be won or lost, but we'll know we're winning as our treatment progresses in a positive way, just like a score on a scoreboard.

So even if the PCa team (the "Fighting Oncoforms!") just scored a touchdown (the prostate biopsy was positive), and the score is now 7-0 Oncos, we can still think in terms of rallying the team (the "Fighting Me's") to make a comeback and score (say by means of excellent treatment results), and now it's 7-7. Then we get a good PSA test result, and suddenly it's 14-7! Then another good PSA test, and now it's 21-7!

Or maybe you're a basketball guy, and the Oncos have just made a 12-0 run against your team, the Me's, and you feel a little down. But then you make several three-point plays in a row (good test results), and then get a technical on the Onco team coach (a new drug is very helpful), and you're off and running!

So, different ways of viewing our situation may benefit us, and even keep our spirits up. Maybe thinking about the PCa journey in sports terms is one of those ways.

And maybe that day when the doctor says we have "no evidence of disease," we'll feel like we just won the Super Bowl or the World Series!

Hey, it's one way to look at it!

(Feel free to post below, and say which sport most resembles your PCa experience!)

Diagnosed suddenly, in my 40s, with a PSA that was over 100 & skyrocketing with each subsequent re-test as I had my biopsy and a seemingly endless rounds of diagnostic scans ~~~ my battle began like a "boxer" who was unexpectedly grabbed from a crowd of spectators, tossed a pair of gloves, and told to just start swingin' ... and "fight like h*ll!"

On the very day I was diagnosed, my doctor stated treatments would commence at once ~ and within the hour, I had received an ADT injection.

Things happened VERY quickly from there ... I didn't really have time to mentally reflect or prepare ... as "early, upfront chemotherapy" was approved just at that time, and I was in the first wave of fellows to undergo that new strategy.

I was my doctor's youngest prostate cancer patient, the first to participate in the upfront chemotherapy plan, his first patient to start ZYTIGA, and his first patient to participate in two new genetic tests.

From there, 45 radiation treatments followed ...

It was all a whirlwind ... I was the boxer in the ring, when it all began.

I'm thankful I found this website, in the midst of all that.

Since then, it's different ... my treatments have paid dividends, for which I have humble gratitude. I visit my oncologist every five weeks, I visit the lab every ten weeks, and I remain on ZYTIGA (Abiraterone Acetate) ...

I'm mindful of every reader and contributor here, past and present. I have not forgotten the legacy of the battle brothers we have all lost here, along the way.

We honor them, each day, by continuing to support others here ...

I will never put away my "boxing gloves" ... and, quietly, I steadfastly continue to "fight like h*ll" ...

C-Y-C-L-O-N-E # Iowa State University

At the age of 36 I took up running and completed several marathons. In 2019 while on xtandi I gave up running at the age of 70. After 14 years of prostate cancer and counting, I sometimes feel like I am running another marathon. Just get me to the finish line.
Michael

I agree with Djin… chess is how I view it….lots of pieces to be used to combat this thing….

It’s a good analogy as well because with chess you have to play offense and defense at the same time…sort of like treatments vs. dealing with side effects…

For everyone fighting the fight…keep that cancer King on the run…but protect your King….and who knows…he may eventually be forced in a corner….