The Realy Good Things About 2009 and PCa (Chime In Please)

Been doing a lot of thinking about the new year and what 2009 brought to me.

Yeah, I know it brought me Prostate Cancer, but it brought along some other good things too. That's right, PCa came with a few goodies as well.

I have been telling my son for years as he was growing up that my wife and I would help him buy his first car and help with college if he kept to the caveats we imposed;

No permanent marks (tattoos) on the body he was not born with,
No holes in the body (piercings) he was not born with,
And no recreational drugs in the body.

He kept his part of the bargain and will graduate from college in 2010. He has been taking great delight in teasing me about the fact that I now have 3 tattoos (for the rad treatment), I have some new holes (the SP catheter and da Vinci, okay so they healed) and I have found the hopefully wonderful world of ED drugs. Well at least the insurance companies consider them recreational. They won't pay for them.

Lynn and I have found a renewed and wonderful appreciation for life, our relationship and all we have. We truly live with "Every Day is A Bonus" as a sacred mantra.

I have added to my exercise regiment and program with vigor. The ED Penile Rehab Program is one to be addressed with vim, vigor and gusto. We are not there yet, but the rehab program is bringing some wonderful new toys, joys and ideas into our lives. And since it is only following the doctors orders there is absolutely no guilt to be associated with it.

Lynn's bout with H1N1 (and her cancer)and 7 week visit to ICU this summer, brought her to the wonderful world of retirement at the young age of 53. Yep, I married a child bride and oh sooo grateful for it. Well, she would have been a child if I had married her when I was 21, she would have only been 13.

Her compromised immune system and the respiratory scare have put airplane travel off limits for us. So the good news is that we are now RV shopping. Hope to have one in the next few months and start to do a little traveling. Never could get her to agree to sell the house and live in one, but she did agree that having one would be a great thing for us. Oh the small victories in life are sooo sweet.

I worked hard and paid my taxes throughout my life and "Hey Now", it's going to pay off. I don't hesitate for a second in taking my Social Security at the young age of 62 in August 2010. There is no need to wait another 4 years for a few hundred more. That's four years of traveling and having fun while I can enjoy it.

I served my country in the Navy at the young age of 17-21. Now it appears that my country is going to serve me. My PCa is a presumptive outcome of my year in Viet Nam and exposure to Agent Orange. The VA is soon to begin shipping me a monthly check just short of $3000. How's that for gas and lot rental money for taking some trips around the country? And if we are not traveling that month I can just spend it on life's enjoyment.

Our son did take the idea that we plan to travel and enjoy life a little more, in stride even though it came along with some not so good news for him. I told him that without any guilt at all, his mother and I plan to spend his inheritance. So he needs to put a great plan for the future into place. I think his level of maturity jumped a notch on that one.

PCa brought me to HW and you absolutely wonderful folks. The outpouring of love, support and caring is something that Lynn and I will cherish for the rest of our lives. We would have never found you folks without PCa.

So you see, 2009 and PCa have not been all bad by any means. Can't wait to see what 2010 brings with it.

Here's hoping that each and everyone of you have a fantastic 2010 and that you all experience the wonders and joys that it can bring.

Sonny

P.S. Did I mention the wonderful world of the Penile Rehab Program?

Sonny, for me personally, the year 2009 will not be one I want to remember. The high lights were the short vacation with my wife to Florida in April, I was actually well enough at that time to go and enjoy that week. And of course, always grateful for the 100% love, care, and support from my family. And the great friendships and support here at HW.

The rest of 2009, not much to say. Three corrective surgeries for blockages were no fun. Still on a catheter at almost 14 months from surgery. My recurrance came so fast. The SP cath on day 92. And then the 39 days of hell with my salvage radiation. Spent over half the year on catheters. Not really complaining or venting, just how it is for me.

Still officially unemployed since being laid off at the end of July 2008.

So, I am hoping, really hoping that 2010 will be a much better year. I just want to get better, and put this behind me like a bad dream, except since my dx. back in August of 2008, I still haven't woke up from the nightmare.

Thankful to know you and Lynn, you are good people, and you have a much better attitude at the moment than I do.

David in SC

Hey Sonny,

Don't forget the bigscreen !

I'll bet you can steal an RV right now with $3.00+ gas.

Your post is a reminder to all of us to look beyond whatever our difficulties are.  There are good things to be found in every situation.  It is way too easy to focus on the bad, which only makes things worse.

Happy New Year to you and Lynn.  May we be finding even more good things this time next year !

Goodlife

Sonny and Others:

.

Thank you so much for your inspiring stories. 

It seems like yesterday that I was celebrating the evening of Dec 31 2008.  Little did I know what 2009 would bring.

The PSA test.  The biopsy.  The result PCa with the sinking feeling that life was over.

I found this site early on in my diagnosis.  I don't post that often but I do check in to the site often and am buoyed by the people who mentor here.

I had my surgery on Oct 23 and progress has been reasonable.  But the story has not ended.  In January I go for my first post op PSA.  I can't focus too much on it or my stomach will tie up in knots.

On the good side, PCa taught me to look at my life more closely.  I now spend more time with my family and volunteer helping those in need.

At this point I still view each month as a bonus!

Wishing all of you a happy new year!!

Skeener

2009 was not my best year ever.
However, it was the year I found this site and had gift of learning more about life and meeting some truly great guys. My life is better for it.
Jeff

Steve, that was a great story about your nose, hopefully it won't be red forever, but what a great holiday fixture you made. I needed a good smile. My best to you and your family.

David in SC

Sonny,
2009 brought a lot of anxiety and a lot of lessons. Just like you said so well, it is all bad. You learn to live your life with more passion. Even though we will all die some day, having PCa brings that reality home, as a result, you do more planning, and your change the way you live. I have done more traveling in 2009 since I retired from IBM. I spent 15 days in Australia, one week in Key West, one week in N.Y city and more than a week on the road on a coach with my son and daughter and their kids. We went to west Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. I guess having PCa reminds you not to postpone doing what makes you happy. I'm grateful to the Lord for all his blessing and plan to follow my favorite saying:
Yesterday is only a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision but, today well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Mike is correct, mega BBQ appointments await my friend when he and his lovely wife pass south. Got all the best places scoped out. Perhaps I will be well enough when you come this way, and we can to a covered wagon thing with our tiny Shasta trailer.

You have had quite the year yourself, and you are doing great, don't know where you get all your energy from.

Your friend,

David in BBQ Land