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Posted 8/9/2009 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
As my young adult children would say, "These posts are EPIC" tongue

I have enjoyed reading every one!

Thank you to everyone and to Sheldon for starting the topic.

To my moderator pals, I suggest we "bump" this post up periodically to remind us and to help newcomers.

Barry
Posted 8/10/2009 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Sheldon,
I have seen a thread like this one several times here on HW over the nearly three years I have hung around. And everyone of them have been great posts. I did not get good numbers after surgery, But I remain diligent and hopeful. Just before I completed my IMRT in 2007 I was told to get a puppy. We did just that and the unconditional love that they bring was a huge lift for me. Unfortunately, as my tenure with hormone therapy wore on, depression became a real constant. It crept up on me and I didn't know it. On New Years Day 2008, my mother went to emergency with renal failure and was diagnosed in the coming days with terminal cervical cancer. And by the time she died in March, I was a mess.

But hope is a wonderful thing, and through my Faith I prayed for it. By July I was still dealing with depression and decided to take some time to deal with it. I did positive things and laid off anything that would bring bad feelings back. By September I was feeling much better and no longer was experiencing the depression. That has been the case since.

Oh and the puppy principle? On last Saturday, two days ago, we completed our effort to let that great dog we chose have a new friend. We added a new puppy to the family. Her name is Shelby. My wife knew two years ago that a puppy would make me happy and keep me focused on the positive in life. She never had a dog and always had cats, so when we got him it was "not on the bed" and "you clean up after him"...Well he got her too. She fell in love with him and it's not uncommon to see her cleaning up after him, and seeing him sound asleep on the bed. The puppy factor worked on her just as much as it did me. And so it is that we add Shelby to the family. She is an Australian Shepherd/ Golden retriever mix. Her photo is on my blog below. And you can see her in my photo's on my facebook account...

www.facebook.com/tony.crispino

Careful, she is major beautiful and very loving...


Tony

Posted 8/10/2009 9:13 PM (GMT 0)
Sheldon, thank you for a great thread! When first diagnosed, I was in a middle of a large project at work. I chose to share my disease with co-workers and the management, because it was going to effect my job. Best decision I ever made. I had so much support from everyone that it made coping a lot easier. My friends and family also made it a lot easier for me. Just being able to share and get an understanding listener helps tremendously. What I hate to hear is "X had PCa 10 years ago and he is fine" or even worse "Y had a lung cancer and is cured". What do I do? Explain them that cancer is not a single disease? Even PCa is not a single disease. Explain Gleason scores and staging? Androgen dependency? You get the point. But my family, friends and co-workers were very sensitive and never said anything remotely aggravating. I am eternally grateful to them for their help. When I had learned of re-occurrence, my job situation has changed with the company having been acquired and job cuts pending. My friends and family are still there for me, but this site was the biggest treasure chest I discovered. I value the great advice from everyone. I enjoy reading the great posts and spirited discussions. I love the camaraderie and compassion. It is one place that I know I will be understood, that I will get answers to my questions and that I can share my own experiences. Thank you all for that. I don't know if I will stick to this site for ever, but I have no intention of leaving yet. I am looking forward to reading the new posts, meeting new friends, learning of the progress of the old ones. ANd a rare day goes by that I don't check in and I was not disappointed once. God bless HW crowd! Greg B.
Posted 9/6/2009 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
I guess I missed this post the first time around. Good reading. I pretty much keep things to myself with only an occassional post here or on another web site and only if I can add to the conversation.  I have found that few of my friends and even family want to hear about PCa. If asked how I am doing my stock reply is "doing well". That is usually the end of the conversation and really all that anyone wants to hear. As far as coping... it is what it is. As Jack Welch once advised in his five rules..."deal with things as they are not as you wish them to be." So, that is what I do. I am coming up on one year since my radiation treatment. I have some modest anxiety this time about the results of the PSA and follow up with the oncologist this week. I guess I am expecting more this far out.  

Sheldon, I noted that you are spending some time on the Lake of the Woods in Kenora. I worked up there for about two years in the mid nineties. Beautiful setting but tough on a Georgia boy in the winter months.

Best to all,

Don

Posted 9/8/2009 12:50 PM (GMT 0)
We certainly do have different ways of coping with PCa. I took the perspective that it was a time in my life to make some changes. After reading The China Study, The food Revolution, Healthy at 100, Reversing Heart disease, and Eat to Live, we made some significant changes to our diet in the hope that it would keep the PCa at bay until my upcoming surgery. All these books boiled down to a plant based diet which can help many of the late onset ailments we all suffer from.

The first positive result of the dietary changes was a drop in my blood pressure from 132/98 to 110/78 over a period of two months without any changes in the medication I was taking ( a water pill ) for the condition.  Additionally, I lost 10 pounds. Energy levels are greater and I generally feel much better.

I attended my Pre-op this past Wednesday and they took blood for a pre-op PSA which I hope to learn the result of prior to my porcedure on the 29th. I am hoping that it did not increase and perhaps went down a little.

This life changing diet has kept me positively focused on better health and I hope, has had a positive affect in the fight with the PCa during my wait for robotic surgery.

Keep well,

Regards,

Bill

 

Posted 9/8/2009 1:18 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, that's a great attitude to have prior to your primary treatment. The dietary changes and outlook on your health in general will aid your recovery from your upcoming surgery. And it will help you the rest of your life. Something for all of us to learn.

Good luck on your surgery, be glad to hear that you are on the recovery side. Please keep us posted.

David in SC
Posted 9/8/2009 10:28 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks David. I think no matter what the outcome, the dietary changes will hold me in good stead for the future. It did take some adjustment to not eating meat at all, but after a couple of months, I really don't miss it. Just reading the Food Revolution by John Robbins is enough to turn you off of meat and dairy for good. John Robbins is the son of the Robbins in Basken Robbins and Baskin is his uncle. Interesting that he should be a vegetarian and have given up dairy products as well after coming from that family background.

I will let you all know how I get along after the surgery.

Regards,
Keep well,
Bill
Posted 9/8/2009 11:25 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, when I was first out of high school, didn't want to eat any meat for a long time after reading Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle". Took me a while to get over that.
Posted 9/9/2009 12:03 AM (GMT 0)
Lots of good thoughts here. Living life on life's terms, not always easy. I was at a forum where a reverend who is a PCa survivor said for him he asked first why me, then why not me, and then what's next. I don't have it, but I think I just deal with it differently. First I was angry, then depressed, now I think I'm at the point of resignation and trying to stay in the moment and make the most of it. I am very lucky to have great, supportive friends and my dog is a big thing for me too, walking her is my meditation time.

I would caution anyone about telling co-workers or management. I'm glad some are supportive, but they screwed Bill bigtime twice now on his job. Maybe some industries are more heartless, but they let him go the first time three days before his surgery, which he scheduled later in order to be able to qualify for FMLA. Plus they're self-insured. Yes, I'm coming from a very negative, biased point of view, but I think many employers would let a sick person go before let it affect their premiums, etc. Hopefully, I'm wrong and more have a heart, but after seeing how they treated Bill, I will never let on to my employer that I have any medical issue if I can at all avoid it.

Dana

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