Saturday, December 28, 2013

Pre-op on Jan. 3rd

Next step in the process is the Pre-op appointment on January 3rd @ 3:30pm. I'm going to have lunch with my buddy Jaime Zabala, really looking forward to catching up. In a blink of an eye after the Pre-op and I'll be in surgery. Nervous? Not yet. I have two surgeons who will be in the operating room, maybe 3 if I need some repair work on the pelvic bone. Still in Wisconsin with mom and dad spending some quality time. Bad news came this morning, my moms brother, my uncle Erv passed away last night in his sleep. He was having some heart problems but it still sucks. It's good to be with mom to comfort her. It was a balmy 37 degrees today, Monday's high temp will be 2 degrees. Until next time, be well.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Surprise Mom, I'm here!!!

If you ever get the chance to surprise your parents, do it! I planned a trip to come visit my mom knowing I would be arriving after her hip replacement surgery and in need of some help....physical and moral. So as I was about 10 minutes from her front door, I called and she picked up so we chatted about how she was doing, what the weather was like, etc. I kept the conversation going until I was walking in my parents house and hung up when I walked around the corner to see my mom. The tear duct floodgates did open....she was so surprised it was priceless. Here for 5 days and hope to create more lasting memories.

Friday, December 20, 2013

One full day at Duke Cancer Center

Today got an early start, I had an appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Andrew Peterson. What a great guy and awesome bedside manners. He thoroughly explained the surgery to me and the possible 'audible' that might be necessary if he finds further radiation damage. So we got the blood work done today as well as an X-ray of my pelvic area and also a lovely MRI of my pelvic area. Why? Because when we met in clinic, he applied pressure to my pelvic bone and it caused a high amount of pain. This led him to believe that he radiation may have damaged my pelvic bone. (And you thought this was going be easy...me neither). Arrive at 9:30am, depart at 5:15pm....with. 2:45 drive on each side. Let me pause here for a moment and remember Tom Stueber. Tom passed last night after a tough battle with Esophageal cancer. We've been helping their family as best we can and I ask that you keep the family in you prayers. Ohs, and my mom successfully made it through hip replacement surgery this morning, not bad for a 77 yr old. I'll have more to say about my surgery on the next post....stay tuned. Happy Holidays to you all.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Jimmy V Classic

ESPN is running the Jimmy V Classic which is a series of basket ball games to help raise awareness around Cancer Research which is first class!!!, 100% of the funds donated goes to Cancer Research and it has awesome backing by many athletes. The interview that touched me the most was the interview with Digger Phelps, former coach of the Notre Dame basketball team. He's faced Prostate Cancer and Bladder cancer and has battled them both valiantly. It's with looking to You Tube for the videos....heroes who won't let cancer get the best of them...just like me! A donation to the Jimmy V Foundation is a good thing. Thx

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Next step, major surgery

Well, the radiation cystitis has cooked my bladder to the point where I have the capacity of less than a cup of coffee. So that means Choice 1 - live with it and find a bathroom every 30-60 minutes. Choice 2 - major surgery called Continent Urinary Diversion # 2 is my choice, after the recovery, my quality of life will be much better than it is today. Just another hurdle and mentally I'm ready. My local surgeon has my surgery date at March 14th which is too far out. The surgeon at Duke thinks he can get me in January 9th. In fact, he called my local surgeon who he's known for years to urge him to move up my date. Hopefully I'll hear from my local surgeon this week.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Well, it didn't work

Last post I was talking about having a suprapubic catheter put in....well they couldn't do it. Why? My bladder is too small. We know it was shot but I didn't realize the radiation damage had shrunk my bladder. A normal bladder can hold 300ML...think about the volume of a can of soda. My bladder can't even hold a half cup of coffee...small cup. Which is why I have to go so often. Now we just wait until they can schedule me for the big surgery. Yesterday was a setback I wasn't ready for so I was pretty bummed out. Just need to bounce back

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Yet again another minor surgery

So on Friday I'll be undergoing what's called a 'suprapubic catheter insertion'. It's a fancy name for inserting a catheter via my "just below the belt" area which will help to improve quality of life. Quick procedure, maybe 40 minute surgery, outpatient and home by noon. Ah yes, the battle continues and I've had my share of 'minor procedures'...four so far since July with # 5 coming Friday. You know, if cancer were taking on someone with a weak attitude, this shit might get them down but my cancer doesn't realize it's facing my attitude and fight so bottom line, it's screwed. Yeah, screw Prostate Cancer. Until next time. Be well!