Monday, August 21, 2006
I have prostate cancer. I found this out last Friday, two days before my 18th wedding anniversary, so our celebration has been unusually somber. But I figured that I'd start this journal of my experience with the disease. I do not know if others will get any benefit from this blog -- it's mostly intended to be therapy for me, so that I don't keep rehashing stuff in my head. I also hope to complie a list of information resources here. I do not know yet what form that will take, but I hope that it becomes easy-to-use.
My current status is this: I have a 1.2 cm tumor in the left apex, with a Gleason score of 7. My urologist has discussed three treatment options: surgery, beam radiation, and seed radiation. I am scheduled to meet tomorrow with a radiological oncologist to discuss the radiation-based treatment options. I hope to make a decision about this sometime this week.
This will likely be a very different journal from the one about my trips to Australia. That's a journal that I expect many people involved in the college community to read, including students and their parents. So, I keep it as G-rated as possible, leaving out things like my camcorder capture of the kegel exercises of a Tasmanian devil.
In this journal, I fully expect to write honestly and candidly about what's happening to me. If you're uncomfortable at detailed discussions about biological stuff, if you're offended at discussions about sexuality, or if you snicker at words like "anus" or "semen," then you probably should not read this journal.
My current status is this: I have a 1.2 cm tumor in the left apex, with a Gleason score of 7. My urologist has discussed three treatment options: surgery, beam radiation, and seed radiation. I am scheduled to meet tomorrow with a radiological oncologist to discuss the radiation-based treatment options. I hope to make a decision about this sometime this week.
This will likely be a very different journal from the one about my trips to Australia. That's a journal that I expect many people involved in the college community to read, including students and their parents. So, I keep it as G-rated as possible, leaving out things like my camcorder capture of the kegel exercises of a Tasmanian devil.
In this journal, I fully expect to write honestly and candidly about what's happening to me. If you're uncomfortable at detailed discussions about biological stuff, if you're offended at discussions about sexuality, or if you snicker at words like "anus" or "semen," then you probably should not read this journal.
