just found out

Dear Aztec1958,   One    Stepping-Stone    At    A   Time  ~   One-Day-At-A-Time   ~ It truly is a feeling of comfort knowing that everyone on this forum knows every stepping stone you’ve been on.    Some of us are right where you are in your journey….. some of us are just heading into surgery, and others are now on the healing/recover stone.   And each of these stones have been made easier because “reaching out” does this!!!   Helping Hands are there reaching right back at you….to make your stones a little less wobbly.   And you will find that in time… each stone propels you forward in a positive track.   You are so right… we've been where you are now~~~   and we can help you.   We can share our knowledge, we can take you on our journeys, we can share why we did what we did,   and when it’s all in front of you…..   You will have the KNOWLEDGE to know what you want to do…   You will have the POWER that it takes to move forward in a positive manner…. You will know that you no longer have to be scared ~ because you are going to have all the tools to help you through this!!!!!                                                     KNOWLEDGE IS POWER... and POWER conquers fear…                                  Remember… YOU MAKE THE DECISIONS… and YOU WILL HAVE OPTIONS…   Now would be a good time to just…. STOP! ~ and take a nice deep breath ! And in our complete belief that if you stopped right now and said out loud… “I have prostate cancer and I will fight this cancer with a POSITIVE...frame of mind and let my KNOWLEDGE grow and in this growth all negative thoughts will be overpowered by my KNOWLEDGE that allows no fear to enter my space.    Once the words are said out loud… they truly are not as scary!!!   Our ultimate goal …..is being detected early, treated, and cured.   Prostate cancer doesn’t have to be fatal.   If it’s caught early enough, it is completely curable.   This is a true statement!!!!!   The support that is shown here within 20 hours of your 1 st post..….is what this forum is all about .   Our hearts expand with pride…. knowing that we are a part of this powerful ~ positive thinking ~ family of friends.   WOW!!!      Getting emotional and letting the tears flow is very calming for the soul.   Let them flow!!!   Just make sure you have some “puff plus”… close at hand.   And yes ~ I needed one while reading your journey and reading the responses that are so heartwarming… from so many of our family of friends.   Partial quote from you: I fluctuate from being optimistic… Aztec ~ being optimistic is the most valuable gift you can give yourself at this time… it will help with every stone that you have to traverse in the path that is leading you to become prostate cancer free.   Partial quote from you: …to knowing for sure I have little time to live.    I find that every day now I'm afraid Aztec ~ we have never been promised tomorrow so don’t take the positive energy that you need to fight this cancer away from today.   This positive energy will help guide you on your way.   Your little girls will feel the positive energy flow and “YOU” will help to get them through this.. too!!!     Excerpt below is from: Click here …>>> Our Journey ~ Sharing is Caring (direct link ~ just click on the title!   Reminder to click on the REFRESH icon once there)   Prostate cancer... is an “US / WE” disease and must be treated as an “US / WE” Journey.   Make this a “team” journey…. Do everything together.   You will need each other and each other’s strength!   Excerpt from a message to Jetguy   Click here…>>> Jetguy's Page... Welcome Friend :) (direct link ~ just click on the title!   Reminder to click on the REFRESH icon once there)   Take your time.... we are already on the path with you!    Each stone you come to ..... will get easier and easier....   and less slippery….   Truly!   Our hands are there to help you.   And once you grab on…. HOLD ON ….  Because we will be skipping you across your stones on your journey ~ you won’t have time to have any bad or negative thoughts.   Take a deep breath .... and know we've been where you are now~~~   and we can help you through this.     Thank you for allowing us to walk with you and to help shore-up those slippery stones.   Let your little ones help you too!!!   Let them give you strength…. Let your wife give you strength… Let us give you strength…   This journey is best traveled with family & friends…… Welcome new friend!!!   In Friendship ~ Lee & Buddy

*Exercise is so important no matter which treatment you choose….     HEALTH BEFORE SURGERY:   Start kegel exercises immediately to strengthen the sphincter muscles.   Start walking and do stairs if possible, and walk some more…!   You know all the other stuff is automatic when it comes to surgery.   Stop smoking, Stop drinking, & Eat healthy.   (direct link ~ just click on the title!   Reminder to click on the REFRESH icon once there)  Kegel Help? Started by KW

Hi Again Aztec

make no mistake about it--REAL MEN really do cry. a tear or two helps to relieve all of the built up tensions, especially when you know that others (i.e., this support group) are with you in your journey with PC and have experienced many of the feelings and emotions that you are now going through. this will all help you to achieve some confidence and peace that things will work out ahead. cheers!

Dave

P.S. Wish we knew your first name!

Hey Aztec,

Well, now you know that we are all here for you. I felt the same when I first posted on this forum. You will find the treatment that you are comfortable with and get on with it. We all do...

And okay on shooting handguns. I shot competition until the girls started kicking my butt!

See ya...

Jim

aztec,

It is natural after having been diagnosed to be overly sensitive to other pains that you have. I had a stomach pain about two to three weeks after being diagnosed but it was just an irriated stomach from the stress and fear that I was dealing with. Once I got on Prilosec it cleared up and I have not had it since. If you are worried about it then go see your primary care doctor. It has been almost 4 months since my surgery and I still get an aching in my perineum every now and then which worries me some but my surgeon said that it was natural to have the aching for a while.

Tamu

this ends the first week of knowing I have PC. It started off with a call from my doctor saying " I have bad news for you" the shock, the fear, anger and thinking my life was now over then came. The meeting with my doctor didlittle to make me feel better and seeing some of the biopsy results from others on this forum makes me feel it will be worse for me than he is letting on. as the days of this week have gone on I've found friends reach out to me and give me support and that there are wonderful people out there who even if they don't know you they give you support. I find that even with all those positve vibes I can't shake the feeling of doom and gloom. What I know is I will never be the same. there are some positives, I don't snap at my girls for small things as much and I will try and savor those happy moments more now since they may rare. If I sound depressed, I am. If I sound like I want to lash out at the world, I do. I hope the next week gets better

Alex

Dear Alex

cHeEr uP, ChEeR uP, Cheer up! The first week is always the real rough one after getting the news. I didn't really find this chat room until after I decided on my treatment. You are far ahead of the curve with a great support group right here soon after getting the news that you didn't want to hear. There is a reason why everything happens in our life and we often have to accept our fate not understanding why we are the chosen few. We not only have to accept our fate, but we have to rise up to meet the challenge no matter how difficult it may seem. In my darkest moments in life (and there have been a few), I always believed that there would be a better day ahead if I just kept my faith and moved ahead toward victory. My positive thinking usually prevailed and a better day eventually came. Keep saying to yourself that you will be victorious and conquer your PC and not let it get the best of you. There are so many men, even at your young age, who have been through the same battle that you are now facing--they came, they saw and they conquered. Be brave and positive in days, weeks and months ahead--you are not alone and you will win the battle! Your earlier stage of PC should give you every reason to believe that you will be a winner! Don't dwell on every statistic that you read in the messages here thinking that you may be worse off. The key now is for you to decide on a treatment and get the best expert doctor you can find, whether it be surgery or some form of radiation. Make sure that you get a 2nd opinion, including your prostate biopsy. Peace be with you!

Dave

good morning to everyone. Please be patiant with me and my spelling as I go through this ordeal. I don't have much to say this morning other than I will try and put my best foot forward and make it a point to just live every day to it's possible fullest.

alex

dawgfan

I would love to know how long a recovery time you had from davinci and what post op challenges you had. My doctor seems very confident that ED won't be a problem for someone my age. Since we are the same age perhaps you can tell me what your experiance has been so far. I may be focusing to much on this part of my life but if I dwell on the chance of having a more serious cancer problem I will go nuts (I may be there already). Thanks for reaching out to help

Alex

Alex, it's OK to get mad, sad, happy, whatever because that is what life is all about. we are here to listen no matter what you have to say. yes, I think it's normal to start thinking about every ache you have and wonder if it's cancer in a different part of your body. I know it's not easy, but try to relax. you already said a great thing - live each day to the fullest. it's also OK to worry about ED because sex is a big part of life and marriage. you will get through this! kat

Hey Alex

i can't seem to stay away from responding to your long thread here. it seems that many on this message board are taking a keen interest in helping you. it's so good to hear that you are more upbeat after talking further with your doctor! stage 2a is still an early stage of PC and the prognosis for your future should be excellent! if your doctor is the one who is going to do the surgery, make sure that you talk to other men who have been patients of his to see how they did after surgery and for a sufficient period after surgery, especially with respect to incontinence and impotence. also, find out how many surgeries he has done annually over a period of years. check out his reputation if you have not already done so (i.e., is he a top rated surgeon)? if you have surgery, would it be robotic? are you considering getting a 2nd opinion from another doctor which is always advisable unless you know you already have one of the top rated doctors. if your doctor is bragging be wary--it should not be his opinion of how good he is. you should also have another independent top rated pathologist read your biopsy slides and give an opinion as to your Gleason score and the degree of cancer found in the samples? every pathologist, in most cases, will have a slightly different evaluation. the 2nd opinion on my biopsy was slightly better than the first. the 3rd opinion i got was a little better than the 2nd! many PC patients send their slides to john hopkins in baltimore for a 2nd opinion (johnathan epstein is considered top rated).

keep another thing in mind. you have just been diagnosed. you don't have to rush into your treatment immediately with your earlier stage of PC. i believe that many try to do it in a range of 2 to 6 months depending on the circumstances. it took me about 5 months, of which 3 months related to getting one of the top doctors to oversee my proton radiation treatment. make sure you have sufficient time to do you own independent research and due diligence; be confident in the treatment you choose, including getting the best doctor you can find. if you have good health insurance, getting the best doctors isn't going to cost you any more. it may take a little longer to schedule your treatment with the top doctors.

Dave

Good morning to everyone

Last night was a very good night. For some reason an old episode of "Friends" made me laugh until tears came out of my eyes and still kept making me laugh long after it was over. Also my daughter trying to be nice to her teacher at school gave away a signed baseball by hall of famer Tony Gwynn. I got a call from the school asking if she was suppose to do this. I said no and then just laughed at how sweet she can be (with my stuff). Life does go on and the best thing to do is live it. I did some sit ups and ran up and down my stair case realizing I was out of shape. I'll continue to work on that over the next few weeks. I got a call from the local chapter of Man to Man to attend the next meeting but I don't think I'll be able to and it's a shame since they will have a surgeon speaking on prostatectomies.

I think this forum has helped me deal with the situation better than I'd hoped it would. Also What this has shown me is how many real friends I have and it's more than I thought. I know this is just one moment in what will be a series of highs and lows but for now I feel pretty good.

Alex