Being Aware of Prostate Cancer!

Every month I am aware of my prostate cancer, along with another two and a half million American men and millions more worldwide. There are many little hints to help us remember—scars, side effects of treatments, pills and injections, blood draws, scans, and endless medical appointments.

September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (2014) and has been designated and proclaimed as a month to focus awareness, gain knowledge, and increase funding for research. A cure is still the goal and my personal preference.

Statistics can tell us a lot and help us understand the scope of prostate cancer. The median age for prostate cancer diagnosis is 66. So you’d think it is an old man’s disease. It is certainly more common in older men but many younger men are diagnosed and there are even several hundred young boys with prostate cancer (I was surprised, too).

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in the U.S. with breast cancer in women a close second. But the most deadly cancer continues to be lung cancer, as it has been for decades.

Prostate cancer survival rates have increased greatly in the last 40 years. Thanks to research and the development of new and better treatments The five year survival rate after diagnosis was 66% in 1975, 88% in 1990, and is more than 99% today. I say Woo Hoo to that. I am sure that more than 99% of me has survived since my diagnosis in 2003.

Statistics don’t tell us everything. Statistics are averages, percentages, and points on a graph used to show information for a large number of people. Statistics can’t tell you what will happen to you. Any individual could be diagnosed at 35 or 95 or, most likely, not at all. If you are diagnosed and have incurable prostate cancer, you could have a very aggressive and deadly type, or a slow growing type that will never become a factor in your health. Remember, we are individuals‑‑not statistics.

Bottom Line

1 See your doctor, ask questions, listen, and mutually make a plan that works for you—it may take a few tries.

2 Talk to your friends and suggest they see their doctor. Early diagnosis really is the key to long term survival.

3 Participate in clinical trials if given the chance.

4 Donate a few bucks to prostate cancer research—it won’t kill you and just might help save somebody else.

axman

A Secondary Benefit of Having Cancer

OK, there really aren't ANY benefits from cancer , but…

After a couple of years battling prostate cancer I decided to write a book about it. I enjoyed the writing and illustrations/cartoons (Real Men Get Prostate Cancer Too) and I think it was therapeutic – it kept me busy and positive. Of course it would have been nice if it sold a few thousand more copies. Oh well.

Now I’m writing another cancer book (about clinical trials) – with a partner this time. Tom is my oncologist and a well known cancer researcher. There is even a publisher who appears to be interested in it. Go figure!

I’ve been working on it - on and off – for more than a year. But now we’re looking at coming up with a finished manuscript in just a few months.

This is both exciting and a little frightening. There is a lot yet to do and so little time… My first book was self-published so I didn’t actually have to satisfy anybody but me. This time around there’s a co-author and an all-powerful publisher. I won’t have the same control but still all of the same responsibility – to myself, my co-author, and the publisher. Guess I’ll have to learn to live with the stress. Of course, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't enjoy it.

axman

A Morbid Curiosity with the Latest Cancer Research

…as if it made any difference

I subscribe to several email and Blog programs that send daily updates on all sorts of cancer research – and I read them all. Then there are the medical journal reports, Cancer Center articles, and anecdotal information. Reading all this stuff probably doesn’t make me even a little bit healthier. Even if there is a miracle cure in there someplace I’d probably get hopelessly confused by the medical gobbledygook.

All the headlines accentuate the positive: Mice with Prostate Cancer Treated with XTZ666 Live 27% Longer than Control Group, or New Chemo Cocktail Shows Promise, or Exploitation Drugs Ltd to Unveil Revolutionary Prostate Drug! As good as these headlines sound there isn’t any real information in there.

If I had not read any of those articles or studies nothing in my life would be much different – except for knowing a lot more about cancer ridden mice. I wonder if someone notifies the next-of-kin mouse.

So should we all read everything we can find – fact or fiction – about our particular disease? Will it help? Nobody knows.

I will likely continue my obsessive search for cancer information – I guess it’s in my nature. You, on the other hand, may be emotionally healthier than I am and able to resist the urge.

axman

Go to a Prostate Cancer Conference, Old Man

I recently attended a large prostate cancer conference at OHSU in Portland, Oregon. There were about 100 people in attendance – mostly old men with prostate cancer (like me) and their significant others (like my wife). The day-long affair consisted of short presentations by doctors from a variety of prostate cancer backgrounds – surgery, radiation, research, nutrition, and new treatments. There was a lot to learn.

The good parts:
· There was a lot of information and handouts and slides
· Some presenters were articulate, clever, supportive, and even inspiring
· Everyone was allowed to ask questions in an informal atmosphere
· There was more than adequate coffee, snacks, and lunch
· Rest rooms were large and nearby – a very good perk

The other parts:
· Some presentations were techno-babble heavy and hard to follow – Doc Talk was abundant
· There was little about “What might help us guys with prostate cancer right now”
· Much of the focus was five or ten years down the road – we don’t all have ten years…

Bottom Line:
It was worthwhile and I’ll go again next year. You can check out a complete video of the proceedings by going to: http://www.ohsucancer.com/index.asp?fuseaction=prostate.conference.
Check it out – you might learn something. You can fast forward through the parts you’re not interested in.
axman