In November of 2021, I reached the 10th anniversary of my cancer surgery. Most cancers are considered “cured” after five years, but prostate cancer is slow growing and so is only considered cured after ten years. I have now reached that anniversary. This is determined by semi-annual PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) tests. Since only the prostate… Continue reading Ten Years Later
Category: PC Blog
Four Years Later
I have been having my PSA tested every six months and am pleased to say it is completely negative, meaning I have no signs of recurrence of the cancer. Since prostate cancer is slow-growing, it will be another six years before I can officially be pronounced “cured”.
Update
It’s now the day after Christmas. I would say most of my post-operative pain is gone. Next week they said I could resume exercising. Because the weather’s cold it might be a weekend before I try riding my bike, but I’ll probably resume strength training anyway. So I’d say most of my short-term post-operative problems… Continue reading Update
The Pathology Report
After my prostate was surgically removed, they sent it off to the pathology lab for a biopsy. The news was generally good: the “margins were negative” meaning that the edge of the tissue removed did not contain any cancer cells. That means they didn’t leave part of the tumor behind. They also analyzed one of… Continue reading The Pathology Report
Continence – Part 1
WARNING: explicit content. One of the problems with prostate removal is that is, at least at first, makes you incontinent. The day I came home from the hospital I basically dripped all day. I have to wear pads (the same material combination as disposable diapers). But somehow when I went to bed,… Continue reading Continence – Part 1
Awakening
I slowly became conscious. But I was so tired that I immediately drifted off again. I must have done this two or three times before I became fully awake. I immediately thought, where am I? And then I remembered: I was coming out of surgery. I carefully and gently felt my belly. Yes, there were the six round… Continue reading Awakening
The Story So Far
So first of all, “PC” doesn’t mean “personal computer.” I’m not trying to keep this a secret. But neither am I trying to broadcast it to the world. In April I had my annual physical examination. One of the tests I always have is a PSA (prostate specific antigen) test. The results were not high,… Continue reading The Story So Far