My Story

On Monday, November 30, 2001 at 11:55 am, while at work, my life forever changed. That is when the urologist called and said, "I have the results of your biopsy...you have prostate cancer." At that exact moment it felt as if someone had pulled my plug. I was just told I had f***king cancer!... and now I had to meet my wife, Carmen, in five minutes for lunch.

I was only 49 years old...I had a long life ahead of me...how could this happen?

I had NO SYMPTOMS!

Let's step back to July 2001...while chasing the reasons for high blood pressure my doctor decided to do a full blood panel. The results came in that I had a fairly high PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen-a substance produced within the prostate gland) of 18...this high number indicated that there was something abnormal, which led to a visit with the Urologist, DRE and biopsy.

I met my wife for lunch and shared this news. Although we were at one of our favorite restaurants, neither of us could eat. We talked, we cried, I went back to work and so did she. A sense of normalcy seemed important.

Cat Scans, Bone Scans, more Blood Work, Hormonal Therapy all followed as we tried to decide the best possible treatment...and believe me, there are many different opinions about this. Questions, tears, anger and fear all played a big part in this scenario. I finally decided, after much research and soul searching, to have a radical prostatectomy, knowing full well the possible side effects. Post surgical biopsy of the prostate gland indicated that this tumor had been growing for some time (unusual for my age) and had penetrated the capsule wall.

This led to one major issue: "If there are still some marginal cancer cells, where might they set up camp next?" I did not opt for 'watchful' waiting...why wait until it may be too late? So the next, most logical step was a series of radiation treatments...39 to be exact...five times a week for eight weeks.

The first step after all the treatments was to have a hormonal therapy free, post-surgery and radiation free PSA blood test to see how well my choices of treatment worked. I am very happy to say that after six years of annual testing there is no sign of cancer. This is very encouraging news!

During my diagnosis and treatment, I was very outspoken at my workplace, with family and with friends...as silence is one of the biggest obstacles we have in this fight...after all, this is a very delicate subject for men to talk about. Finding a support group was a big help in the beginning...however, for Carmen and me, we felt we had to do something more about awareness and early detection.

This is my story, or better said, it is our story, as Carmen and I will go through this together each and every day...my body, our heart. You can read Carmen's thoughts under 'Carmen's Story'. Here's to your good health!

Early detection is the best thing you can do for yourself to fight this 'Silent Killer'.

My Advice:

Don't rely on just a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam)
Get checked early, especially if there is a family history of prostate cancer
Eat proper foods now to strengthen the prostate and help ward off possible cancer
Get checked yearly
Don't be embarrassed to ask questions about it
ASK WHAT YOUR PSA IS (DO NOT LET THE DOC SAY IT'S WITHIN RANGE) Knowing your PSA level will show if there is any rising patterns during your yearly check-ups.

See you on the Riding for Awareness Road!