Options
The
dreaded phone call came in the afternoon.
“Honey, your doctors on the phone!”
I
was expecting the worst and I got it. “I got the lab report back
from your biopsy and they found cancer on both sides of your
prostate. We need to make an appointment so I can talk to you about
your options.”
We
agreed on a date and time, and after hanging up I told Carol that my
biopsy was positive for cancer. I think we both were in a daze as we
sat on the patio staring at our glasses of wine. “At least we
caught it early!”Carol said.
“Yeah, I
hope so.” I said, thinking of my brother JC and the devastation
prostate cancer wreaked on him.
Carol
accompanied me into the doctor's office and after a short wait he
came in. Very explicitly he explained my options starting with the
most drastic being surgery, a radical prostatectomy. He
explained the nasty side effects of several types of radiation
therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and to my relief, and my
favorite, “active surveillance.”
He explained that in my
case we could wait until my next checkup in 6 months and see how my
PSA level is. Evidently prostate cancer grows slowly and in a lot of
cases in older patients like me,watchful waiting is recommended.
My
PSA level last year was a little over 3, it had raised to 8 at my
latest checkup causing my primary care doctor to recommend the
biopsy.
Since this was the same doctor who treated my brother I asked him
what JC's PSA was when he finally got checked. He looked up the
records on his computer and shook his head, “Your brother's PSA
level when I first saw him was 700!”
So,
anyway I'll be walking around for 6 months with a big “C” for
cancer, hanging over my head, (actually it's hovering around my
crotch.) or maybe a big “P” for Parkinsons stamped on my brain,
or maybe the “P” stands for proststate.
All
I know for sure is that I'm not going down without a fight. (I know,
everyone says that.)
