Way back in 1975, at the age of 29, I received a discharge from the United States Air Force after serving three years in the reserve and five years on active duty, and as part of the discharge Uncle Sam gives each military member something called a “discharge physical” to ascertain as to if you are in good health or not.
I vividly remember the physician putting on the rubber gloves. I knew what was coming, and as he did his thing he said, “Uh oh,” and I replied, “Uh oh what?”
His comment was that my prostate was enlarged, but a PSA test came back normal. He said to monitor that each time I got a physical when I returned to civilian life.
So it became a habit for me when I went for my yearly physical to ask the attending doctor to do a PSA test along with the regular CBC, even though it was not on their medical agenda for folks under 40 at that time. Everything went along fine, and the PSA count never got above 1 from 1975-2002.
I had numerous medical pros try to tell me that I didn’t need one at my age. I laugh about that now but had I to explain the story time and time again, and then out came the rubber gloves. NOT MY FAVORITE THING.
Everything remained status quo, and I really never thought much about it. Fast forward to 1989, and I met the woman of my dreams, at the ripe old age of 43. We fell in love and got married in 1994. Within a year she gave birth to our daughter who is now going to be 30 shortly.
Life was good and things were going well until 2002/2003 when I started to notice that urination was a lot more frequent than it had been previously and I was having some problems with urgency.
At the next annual physical, I got the PSA results in a week, and it came back at 6. The call did not surprise me, and he set me up with a urologist, who convinced us that we should do a biopsy. Several days later I got a call from his nurse saying of the 13 samples, one came back positive, and he wanted me and the wife to come in and discuss it.
We set up an appointment for the next week. During that week I got on the internet and started reading everything I could about prostate cancer.
At the meeting the doctor explained to us the diagnosis was prostate cancer with a t1c, and he actually said he needed to operate. I already knew from my reading that a t1c was cancer but low grade. I was also aware that a radical prostate surgery meant it was going to change our physical lives, and that I would be hospitalized, catharized, and that financially we were not position for me to be without a paycheck for an extended period of time. This was in October 2002. His reply was,
“If I do not operate immediately, you will not live to see Christmas.”
My wife actually witnessed and was part of this conversation.
During my research I had found a treatment called IMRT (intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy) and asked the urologist about it, and if it was available in our area. He didn’t know anything about it so I asked him to find out. The doctor left the office and then returned about 15 minutes later, telling us that it was available at a hospital about 65 miles east of our home.
I immediately called the facility and made an appointment for the next week. At the appointment, the doctor assured us that because of the low grade it was a good option. After further research, and not wanting to involve our seven year old in any trauma, we chose to start radiation treatment, and I would leave my office at 2 p.m. each day drive to East Stroudsburg University Hospital, Dale Frances Hughes Cancer Center, have treatment 45 miles each way, and be home before the girls got home from work and school, five days a week.
Everything went along fine, and the doctor assured me that all was well. Did not miss anytime from work, and life was proceeding along normally. Unfortunately, three months after treatment I developed radiation proctitis. Now there are preventive measures in place to help avoid this side effect that were not available in 2003. I was the first patient in northeastern Pennsylvania to have IMRT and today it or variations of it is the standard of care.
So many different types of treatment are now available that were not 20 years ago; it takes an education of the patient for them to make the best decision for their lives, family, and way of life. Each and every physician has their specialty, and of course they are going to want to do that procedure, but it may not be the best for the patient.
One most chose carefully, as side effects vary greatly and what is best for one might not be best for someone else. I learned this over the years listening to hundreds of men speak about their experiences.
During this time, I found a prostate cancer survivors support group in our community and got involved. The horror stories that one hears definitely reinforced the thoughts that we made the right decision, and I have moderated and lead this group for the last five years. Unfortunately, covid wiped out the cancer support groups in this area, and as of now we are the only group that has been meeting in person on a regular basis.
community spotlight patient stories prostate cancer
Last modified: October 7, 2024
