Greg
E and Donna live in Missouri-USA. He was 46 when he was diagnosed on January 18,
2010. His initial PSA was 4.1 ng/ml, his Gleason Score was 7 and he was staged
T1c. His choice of treatment was RALP (Robotic Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy).
Here is his story.
After a routine health fair physical with my employer
in mid-November, I received notification that my PSA number was at an elevated
level. I had no reason to be concerned - no family history of PCa, no physical
symptoms of PCa, young age and good health. Just to be sure, I scheduled an appointment
with a urologist, still certain there was no need for concern.
During
my check-up with the urologist a DRE (Digital Rectal Examination) was performed
and I was informed that everything felt normal, however to be safe, a biopsy was
suggested due to my high PSA number. On January 14 2010 the biopsy was performed.
The procedure was a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. To this point I was
still mostly unconcerned about the possibility of anything being wrong. This all
changed on Monday Jan. 18 as I received a call from my urologist's nurse while
I was driving at work. She immediately said that the doctor had some information
to tell me and turned the phone over to him. I was told that out of the 12 samples
taken, 2 were positive for cancer.
He scheduled blood work, CT scans,
and bone scans for the next few days. To say that I was stunned is an understatement.
For the reasons previously stated, I felt there was no way my body could be invaded
with this form of cancer. However, I quickly realized that if I was to overcome
this ailment, I needed to take a proactive approach. After initially informing
the minimum number of people (wife, employer) of my situation, I proceeded to
flood myself with all of the information on PCa that I could.
Besides
this website, which I refer to most of all, there are many helpful sites out their
on this subject. Thank goodness for the internet.
After getting good results
back on my scans, I decided to inform my children and parents of my condition.
Telling my kids, ages 12,16,and 18, was definitely one of the most difficult things
I have had to do in my life. After much research I have decided on having the
Da Vinci Robotic Surgery. I have located a surgeon that is quite experienced in
this procedure and is close to home and takes my insurance.
Surgery is
scheduled for March 24. In the meantime, I am in the process of preparing for
the operation and tying up loose ends at work and home in preparation for the
time off I will require post-op. It's odd, I still am not to concerned about my
situation. I see it as more of an inconvenience as much as anything else. Maybe
this is because of the fact that I am relatively sure that the cancer was caught
at an early stage and that PCa is a very treatable and curable cancer. Maybe some
day this attitude will change, but until then, life goes on as much as normal
as possible.
Greg's e-mail address is: nhobart2@yahoo.com
