Wow! October 6th marks two years since my surgery. Already! Wait what!? I can’t believe it. These past two years have flown by. Here I sit cancer free? No I can’t accept that. Everyone tells me I am. My PSA blood tests tell me I am. My Urologists tell me I am. Since the surgery I’ve worked to ensure I take my blood test every 3 months. My next test will be mid November. To date my PSA remains negligible, but I won’t let myself feel comfortable saying this.
How many times have I sat down to write in my cancer blog about cancer and what I’m dealing with. When the truth is, I’m glad to say, I haven’t had much to write about in regards to my prostate cancer. I feel blessed to say that. I’ve lived my life like I have before. I’ve been focused on work, family and life. It’s been wonderful and all that I could hope for.
Not to say a lot hasn’t happened. Overall it’s been a very crazy year and a half. First I lost my uncle to cancer. My sons’ had moved away for school and have come back and one has left for Orlando to continue again. I went into anaphylaxis shock due to an allergic reaction while running. I was rushed to the ER and ended up fainting and hitting my head while standing and waiting to be checked in. I ended up spending the night at the hospital. My brother in law has moved in with us and is rebuilding his life. My own brother dealt with his own bought with colon cancer and wore a colostomy bag for 6 months and he is currently in remission. My cousin has found out she has breast cancer and is starting chemotherapy. Plus a whole lot more of other life events have happened in between. All in all a lot has happened. All in all none of it had to do with my prostate cancer. Every day I count my lucky stars.
I said life has been the same but that’s not entirely true. The RALP surgery has had it’s side effects. I consistently have pains in my abdomen area. Nothing too alarming but tinges that make you wonder… why is that happening? Is there something I need to be concerned with? They come and they go but they do happen regularly. My Urologist assures me these are normal scaring pains due to the RALP surgery that will continue but will reduce over time.
Also my bladder control is not 100%. I’ve had my moments… when yawning or laughing or stretching sometimes it’s made me go mmpf… I’m focused on doing kegel exercises to ensure this issue stays minimal. Prior to the surgery I knew what was at stake and I’m counting my lucky stars to only have these minor lingering side effects.
So what have I learned from all of this? And what’s changed? I’ve learned to let go a little. I try to squeeze as much out of life as I can. I try to enjoy my relationships more. I cherish my time with friends and family and look forward to those days when I can spend it with them. I’ve tried to live healthier. I still intermittently fast. I try to run regularly and I shy away from sweets when I can. Have I made vast improvements? No, it’s a work in progress and I’m getting better. I also try to stay on top of what’s happening with prostate cancer through the news, reddit and books. Just recently I picked up a new book called “Chosen“. It’s about someone who was diagnosed with prostate cancer with a Gleason score 9/10 at the age of 49 in 2021 and has been cancer free since. I’ll provide an update on my thoughts of the book when I’m done reading.
So what’s next for me? I hope and pray I continue to not have to talk about prostate cancer. I’ve picked up some new hobbies such as orchid gardening. I’m looking to catalog and track my trials and tribulations related there. I’m working to add some fresh content to the site consistently. And if my lucky stars continue to align hopefully I won’t have any interesting updates related to prostate cancer until my three year cancer free anniversary!!!
