A Surreal Experience

This past July I went in for a physical. I try to see my Doctor every year or so to make sure the body that is getting older is generally working OK. Prior to going in I had a blood test done to take in with me. I always get a copy of the results to review and file away. The test results show different components of the blood, and indicate whether the results fall into a “normal” range. My good cholesterol score was a little low and my PSA result, at 7.6, was higher than the suggested range of 0 to 3.5.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood. I knew that it had something to do with prostate cancer or related problems. My next step was to Google it on the web to see what that score meant. I found a wide range of acceptable numbers, which took the edge off my concern a bit.

A week later I saw my Doctor. I found that I was in good shape, relatively speaking, but he had a concern about the PSA jumping from 1.4 to 7.6 in 16 months. He then did a DRE, digital rectal exam. This is the least favorite, and feared, part of a physical for guys. He felt something abnormally firm in the prostate, and was concerned about the changes and referred me to a urologist. The urologist did an ultrasound test and took some biopsies of the prostate. He said that the odds of it being prostate cancer were 33%, and that I would hear back from him within a week.

The odds. I then launched myself into the world of statistics and odds. Most of this research was internet based. It turns out that we have a 1 in 6 chance of getting prostate cancer. When caught and treated early, prostate cancer has a cure rate of over 90%. Most men who go through treatment have short to long term problems with incontinence and impotence however. Having all this information is good, but also overwhelming and scary. Odds are fine, but what will happen with me?

On August 28th I found out that I had prostate cancer. To distract my self from my concerns, I immersed myself into what treatment options were available. At this point in time, and with males in their 50’s and 60’s, the treatment of choice is to remove the prostate gland, which sits just below the bladder. To do this requires operative procedures that run from the most typical hands-on surgery to a state of the art robotically assisted laparoscopic approach. Once again the choice of what to do came down to the odds of post operative complications. Most procedures get the cancer out.

I chose to go to City of Hope in Los Angeles. It is a world renowned cancer focused hospital that does more robotic surgeries that anyplace west of the Mississippi. The procedure is a highly precise approach, where the surgeon is looking into a 3-D video console and remotely manipulating 5 robotic arms. The machine actually looks like a robot on wheels.

I had my surgery on October 9th, and the surgeons say that they got all the cancer out of me. I am a lucky man. My life now is focused on getting things back to normal, or maybe, and probably, a life with a greater appreciation of the people and life I have.

Anybody that hasn’t had a physical with a blood test is playing Russian roulette with their life. Nobody wants to hear potentially bad news, but it is better than the alternative of dying. Get checked out!

Article Source: http://www.content.onlypunjab.com

Steve Thayer is a California State Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Certified Financial Planner™, and co-owner of www.MyVitalFiles.com, a Home Filing Solutions Company. He has written articles for various publications for 30 years, and besides working in counseling and financial consulting, his goal is to help make life less tedious and more fulfilling for people by developing paperwork filing solutions. You may contact him at www.MyVitalFiles.com and steve@MyVitalFiles.com. © Steve Thayer 2007 All rights Reserved - May not be copied or distributed without the author’s permission

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