kickinPC

last day in the land down under

2012-02-09T16:31:00.003-05:00

it's friday morning, 8:30 in Melbourne, AU and it's been awesome!

the people in Australia are incredibly kind, accommodating and a get on real well with everyone.

Wish I had a couple of extra days to explore now that I kind of know the area and some people I could hang with.

Definitely will be coming back even though it's a long way.

cheers!

I know, it's been a while....

2012-02-06T03:37:00.002-05:00

sorry about that, had to get some things in order.
Left Convio after 8 years, it was a great run and time for a new chapter.

Right now, I'm down in Melbourne, Australia at 'Induction' with Aconex.
I've worked for a few fortune 200 companies and some start-ups and Aconex, by far, has the best onboarding experience for new employees.

First class company, people are down to earth...it's awesome.

I promise not to be a stranger.

hope all is well in your world

later

the best numbers are 0.0

2011-12-09T14:35:00.002-05:00

Once again my PSA came back at 0.0, the cancer remains in remission.

Woo Hoo!

What an awesome Holiday gift.
Thanks Dr. Reza, I owe you much gratitude.

Instead of going back 3 months from now, we're pushing it out to 4 months.
Massive smiles all around.

Until next time.

It's good to be boring...

2011-12-06T11:39:00.003-05:00

I had a follow up visit with my Oncologist today and instead of meeting with Dr. Reza, he had me meet with his PA. Due to the fact that my PSA has been 0.0 for over 1 year, I'm now considered 'boring'.

It's great to be boring :)

PSA results coming in a couple of day

my son

2011-11-13T12:42:00.003-05:00

So at my b-day party last night, after opening a few presents, I thanked everyone for their support during the past 2.5 yrs and my battle with cancer.

Then my son steps up and gives me a pin and tells the group he bought the survivor pin for me and pins with the word 'hope' for Kathy, Rachel and of course Bradley. His idea, his money.

What a great kid. I love him immensely and I'm so very proud of him.

Life if Good :)

Turned 50 today

2011-11-12T15:17:00.004-05:00

What a great day! A flock of pink flamingos showed up in my front yard today wishing me a happy 'bird-day'...courtesy of my lovely bride.

50 and with my cancer in remission, life is good!

Make it a great day

Bob

welcome to Movember

2011-11-01T16:05:00.002-04:00

It's Mustache season again as the 2011 Movember Campaign kicks off.
Starting today in 14 countries around the world, men like me will grow a 'Mo' (slang for moustache)and raise awareness and $ during the month of Movember.

you can find my Mo page at
http://mobro.co/kickinpc

do your part during this month by
1. getting your PSA checked
2. make a donation on my Mo Bro page
3. create your own page a become a Mo Bro or Mo Sista

It's growing season!

later

Done with hormone treatment!

2011-10-15T20:02:00.004-04:00

After 24 months of taking Lupron and Casodex as part of Hormone Therapy, I'm done!

FYI, hormone therapy is designed to cut off the food source of aggressive high risk prostate cancer, testosterone.
So over the past 2 yrs I've tolerated weight gain (20 lbs), hot flashes, mood swings.....yeah, almost turned me into a woman ;)

Big deal, great trade-off to kick cancer's ass and putting it into remission.

Huge thx to my Dr's and the support of my family.

Until next time, be well.

Bob

Steve Jobs dies at 56

2011-10-05T19:55:00.002-04:00

Pancreatic cancer....fkin cancer.

please sign the petition

2011-09-23T13:02:00.003-04:00

I could use your support and so could every other man battling prostate cancer. In October, I bet you see football players wearing pink in honor of breast cancer awareness, which is great.Let's do something for men and prostate cancer awareness.You're just a few clicks away from signing a petition to 'light the white house blue'thanks

good time in Little Rock

2011-09-21T21:08:00.001-04:00

i just returned from a trip to Little Rock for a visit to the Arkansas Food Bank. What a memorable trip.The Arkansas Food Bank has recently moved into a new, state of the art building that will help them almost double the amount of help to needed families in 33 counties. check out their website awesome team there who is passionate about being the best Food Bank in the nation and they have what it take to do so.In my line of work, it's awesome when I can meet with an organization that "get's it" and it poised for success and this is one of them.Please consider supporting this org if your heart moves you to do so.Great trip to Little Rock, I'll be backBe well!Bob

almost 2 years in hormone therapy

2011-09-14T15:44:00.002-04:00

It's been almost 2 full years of being on the hormone therapy and I just had my most recent visit with my Oncologist yesterday.As a refresher, I was on both Lupron and Casodex and we stopped the Lupron in December but continued the Casodex.My Oncologist told me to take my daily Casodex for 30 more days and then i could quit! Woo Hoo!!!Next on the agenda for me is to focus on 3 things1. work on my cardio2. work on strength training (lift weights like Arnold used to)3. stretching exercisesduring the past 2 years while on the medication I've lost muscle mass and bone density and now need to get back in shape.I'm on a mission to drop 20 lbs by my 50th birthday.now just watch me goBe well and continue to spread the word since it's Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

2011-09-08T11:01:00.001-04:00

So why aren't the NFL players wearing Light Blue? (the color for PCa)You can bet they'll wear pink during October.I don't get it...1 in 6 men will get PCa and yet they don't try to help raise awareness. I need to call the commish.Spread the word and wear light blue this month, I will.Later

I'm one proud father

2011-08-23T20:44:00.003-04:00

today my son went next door and mowed the lawn for our neighbor. they are dear friends and Eric, is only 3 weeks removed from a triple bypass. He dodged a bullet and he's making an amazing recovery.

So Eric can't lift more than 10lbs and he asked Bradley to cut his lawn and told him he would pay him $20. Now keep in mind, Bradley just turned 13 so $20 would be great.

But Bradley told mr. Eric today..."no, I don't need the $20, I'm a Boy Scout and we're supposed to do a good turn daily. I want to do this for you"

As it turns out, I've been Eric's walking buddy, helping him get back in shape and when he told me this, I was almost moved to tears, I was THAT proud of my son.

What a great kid and 1st Class move.

oh, I forgot to mention one point....Bradley just advanced another level, he IS a 1st Class rank Scout.

weight gain...

2011-08-12T10:29:00.003-04:00

man, I'm frustrated.
Stupid medicine I'm taking, almost every one has 'weight gain' as a possible side effect.

I'll make a public declaration - I AM going to lose weight, starting today.
29 lbs over the next 90 days.

wish me luck

100+, very hot

2011-07-27T14:21:00.002-04:00

Like much of the nation, we're a little steamy in Charlotte. I couldn't resist this post title given my last post title :)

We'll enjoy the summer while it's here, before you know it they will be talking about No'easter storms or some early snowfall.

Stay cool, enjoy a cold beverage with a friend.

Be well

0.0, Very cool

2011-07-20T21:39:00.002-04:00

The last PSA was 0.0... So the aggressive prostate cancer is technically in remission. WooHoo!!!!,
Great news

So here's what I ask of all of you following my blog.
Go find a loved one, a father, brother, cousin, uncle, boyfriend, stubborn husband :)
Co-worker....you get the drift....RAISE AWARENESS People!!!!

1 of 6 men will get Prostate Cancer.

Please help me raise awareness

Thank U

vacation mode

2011-07-07T16:02:00.001-04:00

the family took a long weekend over the 4th....I should have taken the entire week off.
having trouble getting back in the swing of things

kickinPC

2011-06-16T13:17:00.003-04:00

Went in for my quarterly appointment with my Oncologist on Tuesday of this week.
Blood test, PSA, conversation with Dr. Reza...all went went.

today, phone call from Alison, Dr. Reza's nurse.

PSA = 0.0

Yeah baby....KickinPC!!! The words "cancer is in remission" are music to my ears

Now tell a friend, raise awareness, let's go find a cure

US Open Golf this weekend

2011-06-15T15:46:00.002-04:00

How can you not root for Phil Mickelson? The guy has finished 2nd a record 5 times and given that the tourney ends on father's day, he's a big family man, so I'll be pulling for him to get past 2nd and to add this major to his resume.

The US Open, our national championship, most likely the toughest major of the four from a course setup standpoint, is going to be wide open this year where 1 of 60-70 guys could win.

It all starts Thursday.

Enjoy!

good news

2011-06-14T08:23:00.002-04:00

last week I went in for a check up (so I could go to Summer camp for Scouts) and they took a PSA.
It came back "less than .01"

Woo Hoo!

I'm off to see my Oncologist today for my quarterly check up....should be a good visit.

KickinPC - Kicking Prostate Cancer.....all the way to curb, down the street and out of the neighborhood.

Do your part, tell a friend about my battle and go get your PSA checked if you're over 40, you'll be glad you did

getting nervous

2011-06-07T10:03:00.003-04:00

My last Lupron shot was in December....in meeting with my Oncologist, Dr. Reza, he opted to not give me a shot in March. At the time, I was riding a winning streak of 5 straight quarterly PSA scores of "less than 0.01" which means the Hormone Ablation was working.

Cancer is in remission.

Next week, 6/14 I go back in for my first PSA since being off Lupron. I'm still taking Casodex which is the second hormone ablation drug we used to beat the cancer into remission.

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about how the test will turn out. I remember my friend Rana telling me that for years she felt nervousness when going in for regular tests....and they all turned out fine as she's a 10+ yr Breast Cancer survivor.

I'm sure everything will be fine.

more later

day by day, feeling more normal

2011-05-25T19:25:00.002-04:00

It's been 5 months since my last shot of Lupron and I can start to feel my body getting back to 'normal' or should I say pre-hormrone treatment (my wife would argue I was ever normal :))

Next visit to the oncologist is June 14 for the all important PSA check. I'm feeling good about it.

On a side note, if you're like me, your heart just aches for the folks in Joplin, MO and the other communities devastated by the devastating tornadoes. I need to find a way to best help my fellow man/woman/child, even though I don't know them....some day I may need help too.
Think about what you can do

Make every day great!

Tubby Smith has prostate cancer

2011-05-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

Tubby Smith, coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=ap-minnesota-smith

59 years old....this follows Steve Lavin, 46, coach of St. Johns University who at this time is contemplating his treatment.

Waaaaay too many people but it's great that it's not hidden in a closet. Digger Phelps, former BB coach of Notre Dame and now with ESPN has made a strong effort to raise awareness. So has one of his colleagues Erin Andrews. They joined forces in the 'On The Line' campaign, check it out...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/On-The-Line-Campaign/130119993722251

Cabo was great

2011-05-11T19:21:00.000-04:00

awesome weather, great resort (Capella Pedregal) and good friends

I played golf at Cabo Del Sol, one of the top courses in the world...a Jack Nicklaus design.
played like shit...too many blow up holes which is easy to do if you try to play this course after only playing 27 total holes.

I also had an opportunity to raise awareness about PC while on the trip...the tats are a great conversation starter.

no go forth and live life to it's fullest.

energy is picking up

2011-05-04T07:10:00.002-04:00

It's been 4 months since my last Lupron shot and it's weaning out of my system. That means more energy, less hot flashes and getting back to 'normal'. Feeling good.

I'm typing this from 34K' in the air...with my bride on our way to Cabo. Inner Circle trip and it should be awesome. fun in the sun.

Keep talking to your friends, fathers, brothers, coworkers about Prostate Cancer, we need to keep raising awareness and maybe we'll be able to get the NFL to wear light blue like they do pink.

now go out and Make it a Great Day!

one item on the bucket list done

2011-04-18T16:20:00.002-04:00

If you have a chance to either do a Ride experience or drive experience....do so with Richard Petty.
What a hoot, 146 mph, I'm the driver, no one else in the car.
very cool

http://evans4nc.smugmug.com/Other/Kings-Experience-2011/16654354_4w255b#1255517193_NzhLwHC

kickinPC....one day at a time. :)

Steve Lavin has PCa

2011-04-08T14:47:00.002-04:00

Steve Lavin, coach of the St. John's University mens basketball team has PCa.

he discovered it in September and will get treatment now that the season is over.
Steve is 46 years old, 21 years younger than the diagnosis age....

What shocks me is that he had his PSA checked which helped him identify he has cancer.
Why mention this? Medical students are now being taught at many universities that they should discourage men from getting their PSA done. WHAT?!?!

It's crazy, doesn't make any sense

nope, it's a major victory

2011-03-24T15:30:00.003-04:00

I can't tell you how my energy level and attitude is sky high since monday.
Getting the news that we're stopping the Lupron injections after 18 months....and then hearing the latest PSA test was 0.0 it has me pumped!

Really pumped...I'm kicking cancer's ass, it's in remission and I want to thank my oncologist, Dr. Reza Nazemzadeh and his nurse Allison for GREAT care.

this is good....really good.

And I need to continue my messaging, raising awareness so that other men realize 1 in 6 will get PC and 1 in 2 men will get any type of cancer. Man up, get your PSA checked.

minor victory?

2011-03-21T12:02:00.004-04:00

I met with my oncologist this morning for my quarterly PSA check and check up.
We agreed to stop one of my hormone therapy drugs, Lupron but I will continue with Casodex.

there isn't a ton of evidence that staying on both drugs for 1 yr versus 2 yrs is beneficial.
So I'm stopping at 18 months but while I didn't get my infusion today of Lupron, the side effects will most likely linger for another 6 months or so.

Feels like a minor victory and mentally I feel like this is a good decision.

enjoying the NCAA tourney? my bracket is a mess...

Why I'm guilty?

2011-03-18T08:04:00.005-04:00

in the previous post I talked about my plumbing issues and the good news is things are going well after my RotoRooter surgery.

As I started this journey with PC, I promised myself I would be open, raise awareness, talk about PC as most men don't talk about issues "down their". Well, I'm guilty of not talking about my problems for a year so I'm back on the soapbox again.

Check out this new org, www.bluecure.org.
http://www.facebook.com/BeatProstateCancer?sk=info
I met Gabe last year at the Summit to End Prostate Cancer in DC....he's really getting the word out. Great job Gabe! We need to hook up so that I can get some tips on getting speaking engagements....I've got a big mouth. :)

March Madness is under way, what a great time of year.

until next time

Guilty as charged your honor....

2011-02-23T21:05:00.002-05:00

Man, I've got to be the worst blogger in the world. Geez.

A lot has happened since my last post including:

- Serious 'plumbing issues' that I let go on waaay too long, actually more than 15 months
- which prompted a follow up visit to Duke CC
- A failed Cystoscopy on 2/15 at Duke Cancer Center (yes, research Cystoscopy)
- A GB Packer Super Bowl win!
- A successful Cystoscopy and dilation today, 2/23.

My Prostate Cancer surgery was 8/09 and about 8-10% of patients get what's called a 'Stricture'
Homework assignment - research Stricture as it relates to the Bladder Neck and Urethra.

I'll be back tomorrow for more

oh...and as to why I'm 'Guilty'? I'll get to that...

way to go Packers!

2011-01-25T16:48:00.002-05:00

How about those Green Bay Packers! Woo Hoo, America's team is in the Super Bowl.

my daughter said..."now that the Packers are in the Super Bowl, you better bring your big spoon"
cute, but the truth. It's the big show.

My wife is beside herself, just giddy.

rumors are false

2011-01-11T17:39:00.002-05:00

the rumors of my disappearance are false....I've just been procrastinating far too long on the latest post. Hope you all had great holidays, I did, they were relaxing, quite, awesome time with family.
Hell, we even got 4" of snow in NC on 12/26.

My last Oncologist visit was late December, latest PSA was 0.01 so the hormone therapy is working as planned. I have 18 months under my belt with 6 more months to go. Originally the Dr and I talked about being on hormone therapy for 2 years and we're sticking to it.

My Dr. did say that after the 2 years is done, the Lupron and Casodex will linger in my body for 6-9 months afterwards which means the side effects will continue. Speaking of, since my last shot on 12/20, the freakin hot flashes are at a new level, more dramatic than ever. It sucks, but it beats hearing "your cancer has spread"....so I'll continue to carry my towel, sweat, freeze, sweat, freeze :)

So until next time....which I promise won't be too long...be well and Go PACKERS!!!

what an idiot

2010-12-10T12:04:00.001-05:00

I can't even spell Parte correctly. duh

Mo Gala Patre

2010-12-03T19:49:00.002-05:00

Well, Movember is done from a 'Mo' standpoint but raising money still goes until 12/9 so I'm still trying to finish in the top 100 individuals in the USA and also our Convio Mo team in the top 100 as well. Thank you all who have supported my efforts to raise awareness and $ to support finding new and better testing methods and ultimately a cure.

I have to tell you the Gala Parte was AWESOME....freakin hilarious. You'll have to check out the pictures because there were some GREAT outfits/costumes including my fellow Convio Mo Bro Derrell Wright, he rocks. Heck the whole team rocked and I feel honored to be their team captain.

typing this at 33k feet in the air on my way back to Charlotte, it was a good trip.
just think, in the USA, over $6M was raised and 1/2 will go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation for research while the rest goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation for support, education of men's health. very cool

Movember, who would have thought that in a short 7 years this organization would raise over $70M and direct $ to prostate cancer research and coordinate pulling together researchers from around the globe to work collaboratively to find a cure. Adam Garone, the founder of Movember and Global CEO.....well done Adam and thank you.

Movember - no, it's not a joke

2010-11-04T09:21:00.002-04:00

Movember - it's a campaign to increase awareness around men's health and raising $ for prostate cancer research. 'Mo' is slang in Australia for Mustache.
It started in Australia 6 years ago and is now in 7+ countries. He is a link to my page, take a look.
http://us.movember.com/mospace/457931/

This is very important to me because it's probably the single largest fundraiser around prostate cancer research. Last year there were over 250K paraticipants raising over $42M. I'm the leader of my company team and driven to be one of the top 10 teams in the USA. But I need your help.

October is Pink and Komen is everywhere (which is great)....I need your help in elevating the awareness of Prostate Cancer. every 19 minutes a man dies from PC. Before I die, we need to find a cure. 1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer (1 in 8 women will get breast cancer) so if you could at the very least, make a $6 donation, or $19 donation....every nickel counts.

Thank you for your support

Convio Summit and my friends

2010-10-29T06:21:00.003-04:00

I just returned from the 5th annual Convio Summit and WOW, what a crowd. Over 1,100 people attended including some of my buddies, Karen Poirier from Carnegie Museums, Kelley Stewart from American Cancer Society, Miranda Zink from A Kid Again, Cherie Porter from American Cancer....there were many more, heck it was like one big reunion.

One of the more important things that happen for me was the opportunity to put an idea in the ear of Cherie from American Cancer about getting more BLUE exposure and increased awareness about Prostate Cancer. Maybe some joint program with the NFL like they have with Pink for Breast Cancer, that would be great.

The Summit has sparked an energy in me to really make a push for more PC awareness, maybe it was just the vibe from all of the different nonprofits who are so passionate about their own causes and it's rubbed off. That's a good thing.

look for another post about Movember....I need your help in this fun campaign.

later

Pink and Blue

2010-10-09T11:39:00.003-04:00

By now you all have seen a wave of Pink thanks to Nancy Brinker and Susan G. Komen. It's amazing how much and where you see pink....on product wrappers in the grocery store, billboards, at sporting events, literally everywhere. That's awesome because it raises awareness and funding for research to find a cure for breast cancer.

My dream is to create a Blue wave equal in size to what we see in pink and the sooner the better.
We all know 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer and yet the awareness that 1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer is way too low. I intend to change that....and I'll need help, hopefully your help. How?

Start by telling a friend, brother, dad, coworker...let them know you know someone with prostate cancer and early detection via testing is needed. Urge them to get their PSA checked if they're 40 or older...urge them to 'tell a friend' and this wave will get 'viral' in terms of spreading the word.

Help by telling a friend. Every 19 minutes a man dies from prostate cancer and we can reduce this via early detection and testing.

Thanks for the help

back pain, good news, part 2

2010-09-24T10:00:00.004-04:00

okay, the back pain isn't being caused by the spread of cancer, the bone scan was completely clean which is AWESOME. So my Oncologist put me on some steroids and my GP ordered a MRI.

MRI results from yesterday reveal a herniated disc that is pinching some nerves. Next step is appointment with back specialist. Don't ask me how I got this, I have no idea but what I do know is it hurts like hell.

Speaking of the steroids, most of you know that the hormone therapy drugs I'm on now cause me some hot flashes...well, it seems the steroids are accentuating the hot flashes. In the last 2 days I've sweat so much due to a hot flash that I need to change my shirt...soaking wet, dripping, not fun.

It's a bitch this getting old thing but looking on the bright side, the sun is shining and my feet hit the floor this morning so my life is good.

back pain, good news

2010-09-21T18:54:00.003-04:00

Over the past 3 weeks I've had a sharp pain in the center of my back, between the shoulder blades and often the pain shoots down my left arm. Knowing I had an appointment this week with my Oncologist I just waited and when I saw him monday, he chewed me out.

He wants to know when something like this comes up but it's not my nature to complain at general aches and pains. But given that Prostate Cancer likes to go to the bone, Dr. Reza was concerned. Today we did a bone scan and good news, it was negative....and my PSA from monday was
The pain in my back? A result from kids? the wife? (hope she doesn't follow the blog)...most likely it's just a pinched nerve. It certainly will hurt my golf game....oh yeah, I never had a golf game. Cool, I'll blame the bad golf of the back pain.

Be well

The Summit to End Prostate Cancer (part 2)

2010-09-18T20:38:00.002-04:00

The Summit was awesome. On Thursday I was on Capitol Hill and met in the offices of my 2 NC Senators, Burr and Hagan and with my Representative Sue Myrick. Unfortunately it was crazy busy with Congress back in session and they had a vote so my 3 representatives weren't available.

Of the 3 meetings (with staffers), the Sue Myrick office meeting was by far the best. Sarah Hale took the time to really understand why we were there and what we were asking for by way of increased awareness, support for the resolution to make September Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (kind of a no-brainer) and increased funding. We were able to educate Sarah on what our priorities are and I believe it really struck a cord with her.

It was an educational experience and one that I'm going to want to repeat...I have to in order to help get more $ and research behind finding a cure for PC and at the very least getting Early Detection testing as a norm just like mammograms are today.

Now it's important for me to keep the energy and drum beat going here locally in Charlotte to spread the word and maybe run a fundraiser golf outing or two.

Be well

The Summit to End Prostate Cancer

2010-09-15T21:36:00.003-04:00

What a great experience!
I'm attending The Summit to End Prostate cancer here in our Nation's capital and it's being put on by Zero Cancer and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Tuesday night there was a reception where Sen. John Kerry & Nancy Pelosi stopped by to show their support. Also, I had the chance to meet Michael Milken, chairman from Prostate Cancer Foundation as well as Rosey Grier and many others.

Today we had a full day of sessions where medical experts, researchers, legislators presented on a variety of topics. Two sessions that were electric were (a) Movember, the founder, Adam Garone spoke about the event history and roadmap (what a great story) and (b) Rep. Elijah Cummings from MD on PC awareness on Capitol Hill. Rep. Cummings was awesome! Inspirational!

We heard about the advances in drugs such as Provenge and MDV3100 among others and the promise for better drugs in the near future.

needless to say I'm jazzed because tomorrow I will sit in the offices of 3 NC legislators (Burr, Hagen and Myrick) and will share my story and help raise their awareness for more funding for PC research.

I have to say, this has so far been a special experience as I've met other Prostate Cancer survivors, heard their stories and have been moved by what is possible ahead of us. Every 19 minutes a man dies from Prostate Cancer...we need to do more for early detection to dramatically drop this number.

With greater awareness, Prostate Cancer research can make significant advances.

More soon

quick poll, your participation needed

2010-09-13T07:38:00.002-04:00

Okay, it's September 13th....and I need you to click on the 'comment' button to help me conduct a little survey (sorry, no survey-monkey)

How many of you know September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month? Let me know.

I intentionally let it go until today to see how much press PC is getting and it's almost nothing, nada, zip. In about 2 weeks, all you'll hear is 'Pink and how Oct is Breast Cancer awareness month' which is great...but it's time we raise the level of awareness for PC.

Help me do so by telling a friend, brother, father, coworker, someone you know that 1 in 6 men will get PC which are greater odds than a women getting BC. Encourage anyone over 40 to get a simple PSA blood test, they'll be glad they did.

Again, please take part in mu survey by clicking on the 'comment' button and say 'yes, I knew' or 'no, I didn't'. Thanks

more soon,

Bob

PSA

2010-09-07T15:14:00.003-04:00

good news, the PSA test done by Duke Cancer Center came in at < 0.1.....the medication is still doing it's job.

more soon about the Summit to end Prostate Cancer on the Hill with ZERO Cancer

one year check up with the surgeon

2010-08-27T08:29:00.004-04:00

This week I went in for a one year follow up to the surgery to visit with my surgeon up at Duke.
All went just fine and he's very happy with the effectiveness of the hormone therapy and the very low PSA. He wanted to take his own PSA so we'll see what that comes back as but I don't anticipate anything other than good news.

I happened to be wearing my 'cancer warrior' shirt and he liked it so I showed him my tattoo and what a hoot, he first asked "is that a real tatoo?" Heck yeah, so he called almost everyone in the department over to take a look at it and in fact, he wanted a picture of it to include in a presentation he was making at a symposium. done deal, I sent him the picture.

Hard to believe it's been over a year since going under the knife and 18 months since this whole ordeal started, time flies when you're having fun I guess.

on the medical front, I'm going to check into MDV3100, a drug in the clinical trial phase that my Dr. has mentioned, wondering if I can take part in the clinical trial.

now it's back to fighting the weight gain

later

One year anniversary

2010-08-03T15:34:00.002-04:00

One year ago today I had my surgery, the radical prostatectomy at Duke. Man does time fly.
Some days it seems like the surgery was so long ago and other days it feels like it was a month ago.

Since then, I've been on a mission to raise awareness and have checked out almost all of the drugs currently in the clinical trial pipeline that are targeting Prostate Cancer.

Another thing that I've done since finding out I have cancer is I've paid more attention to the obits in the paper....yeah, yeah, I know...but you would be amazed at how many people succumb to cancer.

Cancer sucks

I go back to see my surgeon in 3 weeks, the one year checkup, we'll see what he has to say and if I'm 'normal' in terms of recovery.

that's it for today, later.

Prostate Cancers, 'Cell of Origin'

2010-07-31T09:34:00.002-04:00

Folks, some exciting news from the medical research community.....read on (even if you fall asleep reading technical articles :))

from Livescience.com:

For researchers, a key to studying any cancer is finding its "cell of origin." Now scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles say they've found just that -- a specific type of cell that gives rise to prostate cancer.

For years doctors worked under the assumption that prostate cancer arose from cells called luminal cells, which line the inside of the prostate's tiny ducts and secrete the prostate gland's fluid.

But by using a new method to grow human tissue in mice, researchers have found a new origin of prostate cancer - a type of cell called basal cells, which support the luminal cells and regenerate prostate tissue.

Cancer experts say the discovery may lead to better treatments in the future.

"Just because something looks like a luminal cell, doesn't mean it's a luminal cell," said Owen Witte, of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and lead author of the study published today in the journal Science.

The finding was surprising, because cells in most prostate tumors look similar to luminal cells.

"The basal cells, we've almost always ignored, and it turns out it may be causing cancer," said Dr. Anthony Smith, chairman of the public media committee for the American Urological Association, who was not involved in the study.

Using a new mouse-human model for research

Witte had noticed basal cells were giving rise to tumors in his previous research with mice, so he and his colleagues decided to test the idea in human cells.

The researchers embedded two samples of human prostate tissue into mice -- one sample of the prostate's luminal cells, and the other of prostate basal cells.

Both sets of cells were genetically altered to induce cancer. But, as the human cells lived inside the mice, researchers saw that only the basal cells turned into tumors with luminal-like appearances. The luminal cells did not turn into tumors at all.

Until now, cancer researchers say they were limited to implanting small tumors in mice and studying how they continue to grow. But observing this transformation - from healthy cells into tumors - could help doctors fight many types of cancers at their earliest stages.

"What it will help us do is to pin down the sequence of steps that take you from normal cells to cancer. That's a very different type of model. That is what I think is so significant," said Smith, who is also professor and chief of the division of urology at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

If doctors know the steps that lead to the development of cancer, then "you can intervene at the earliest point," Smith told LiveScience.

Fighting severe prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in the United States after lung cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, 217,730 new cases will be diagnosed and 32,050 men are expected to die from the disease in 2010. Yet for the majority of men who are diagnosed, prostate cancer will be well managed.

"If you look at men with the most common form of prostate cancer, which is treated locally or with surgery, the five-year survival is 100 percent," said Mark Rubin, professor in pathology and laboratory medicine at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, who was not involved in the current study.

However, while many men survive, the minority of men who have severe prostate cancer have few treatment options. "Important, but yet-to-be-proven" results like Witte's may one day help doctors develop new treatments, Rubin said.

"We're not really trying to find more local cancers or early cancers, but we are trying to figure out why some men get aggressive cancers, and those are the men who are dying from the disease," Rubin said. "This is very convincing data, and very exciting results."

Rubin and Smith pointed out the findings are still preliminary.

****This is the kind of news that gets me excited and is the single reason we need to increase spending on research.

Be well everyone

Bob

speaking of the egg....

2010-07-24T05:31:00.003-04:00

Gosh, I forgot to finish my thought in the last post (old age my friends)

yesterday my son Bradley wanted to see if it was hot enough to fry and egg so he took a couple outside in the middle of the afternoon, broke one on the road and one on tin foil to see if it was hot enough.

Digressing just a little bit, Bradley is into the show 'Myth Busters' big time, so this was his experiment to see if the phrase 'it's hot enough to fry an egg on the road' is true or a myth.

Unfortunately when he tried the sun went and stayed behind some clouds. He ruled the experiment suspended until today when we expect nothing but hot sun come the middle of the afternoon.

stay tuned...

hot enough to fry an egg on asphalt?

2010-07-24T05:11:00.005-04:00

Boy I'm not sure about you but it's been brutally hot here in Charlotte. Yesterday was 94 with a heat index of 102 and today they are calling for a high of 99.

The good thing about this, is that everyone is sweating and so when I do, it brings on comments like "hot isn't it" or "man it's humid" which just make me smile a bit.

As many of you know my current treatment, hormone therapy, has the side effect of hot flashes.
So this time of year I just kind of blend in :). But come winter, I'll be the only guy in the neighborhood who can take a walk in 40 degree weather in shorts and a t-shirt and still sweat.

Coming up this fall, the organization ZERO - The Project to End Prostate Cancer, is putting on a celebrity golf tournament in Myrtle Beach called 'Know Your Score' and it will feature some celebs including Emmy Award winning essayist Jim Huber, Ken Griffy Sr. and many others, to help raise awareness of Prostate Cancer and the importance of getting your PSA checked.

I'm hoping to take part in the event and heck, I should have one in Charlotte.

Know your Score

keeping the PSA low

2010-07-02T21:41:00.002-04:00

Great news again, third quarter in a row my PSA reading that came in this week was "less than .01" which is awesome. The Hormone therapy treatment basically has my cancer in remission for now but I have to remember, it's not killing the cancer, just keeping it from growing and spreading.

Yeah, that's great news.

My Oncologist, 3 months ago said "I can't look you in the eye and say that keeping you on HT for more than one year will do you any good."

In my visit last week he was enthusiastic about keeping me on HT for 2 years....without hesitation.
Makes sense, the last thing I want is the cancer to grow and spread so outside of the minor side effects, this HT is just what I need.

In the meantime, I'm anticipating new drugs to hit the market such as Abiraterone or MDV3100 which are both in clinical trials that look pretty promising. The MDV3100 is supposed to be a much better HT drug than the two I'm receiving, Lupron and Casodex.

all in all, "Life is Good" (thanks Jake)

Enjoy the Independence Day Weekend.

Holy High Blood Pressure!

2010-06-22T14:35:00.003-04:00

Well, today was the quarterly check in with my Oncologist, oh happy day.

the usual blood test/PSA results should come back tomorrow or Thursday. What was interesting today was not the beginning of the appointment where they take vitals and my BP came in at 142/88, a little high but nothing alarming. It was the second part of the appointment where I got the shot of Lupron where things got interesting.

Not sure why but they decided to take my blood pressure again and just for context, I was now in what they call the 'infusion room'. So when i entered, there must have been 10-12 people sitting in recliners and hooked up to their chemotherapy treatments. I'm not afraid to admit that the anxiety goes up a bit thinking about what may or may not lie ahead for me.

So they take the first reading and it's 172/104....yeah, a bit high.
Second reading 167/102....making progress but the nurse was still kind of wigged out.
Third reading 168/104. This time she talked to my Oncologist and he said "go ahead with the Lupron shot, he's must be a little nervous".

The only thing that changed from 3 months ago was that last time Doc said he wasn't sure keeping me on hormone therapy more than 1 year would do me any good.....today he said he definitely wants to try to keep me on for 2 years. It sucks. Muscle atrophy, fatigue, hot flashes...all the side effects that aren't fun. BUT, if it keep the cancer in check, I'll put up with it.

PSA update coming soon.

Be Well

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T09:21:00.002-04:00

Here's a Happy Father's Day wish for all you dads out there, enjoy and make today great !

I personally have a lot to be thankful for with an awesome spouse, great kids and good health.
Enjoy one of the best Father's day traditions by watching the US Open Golf Championship.
Savor the incredible scenery of the Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach Golf Course.

One day I'm going to play it:)

Be well

Bob

Father's Day, an opportunity to raise awareness

2010-06-14T13:30:00.003-04:00

we're less than a week away from Father's Day and I can't think of a better time to raise awareness about prostate cancer. It's time to get the 'light blue' as prevalent as 'pink'.

I encourage you to tell a friend that 1 in 6 men will get prostate cancer and if someone you know is 40 or older, encourage them to get a simple PSA test done.

This year is particularly exciting due to the FDA approving a new drug, Provenge for late stage prostate cancer. more about Provenge

April 29, 2010 -- The FDA today approved Provenge, Dendreon Corp.'s individualized "vaccine" for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

The action comes more than three years after an FDA advisory panel recommended approval, declaring the immune therapy safe and effective. But FDA concerns over efficacy led the FDA to delay a decision until more data became available.

Provenge doesn't cure prostate cancer or prevent it from getting worse over time. But it does extend survival -- by months for most patients, by years for some.

Provenge isn't your everyday vaccine. It's an immune therapy created by harvesting immune cells from a patient, genetically engineering them to fight prostate cancer, and then infusing them back into the patient.

For me what's exciting is this will give new energy to finding a cure for Prostate Cancer, hopefully in my lifetime.

Spread the word this Father's Day.

Be well

New design....tell me what you think

2010-06-14T13:29:00.002-04:00

I had the opportunity to jazz up the look of the blog (no guarantees the content will get any jazzier :))

let me know what you think.

Gabapentin

2010-05-25T21:48:00.002-04:00

Hey all, it's been a while, busy I guess just like the rest of you. One of my last posts centered around the side effects of my hormone treatments of which the hot flashes is included. (not the most frustrating, the freakin weight gain is, ugh!)

So I talked the Dr. and he suggested I increase the amount of Gabapentin that I take and that along with the flax oil should do the trick. Well, unfortunately no....which at this time of the year (warmer weather) isn't such a big deal, I can blame the hot flash/sweating on the weather. It only gets uncomfortable during sales meetings with clients.

But in the end, it gives me a reason to talk about it and help raise awareness so in the end, it's worth it.

quick post tonight, hope you're all doing great.

I promise I'll be back in touch soon.

Be well, I will :)

ZERO, The Project to End Prostate Cancer

2010-05-04T11:35:00.004-04:00

I had the good fortune to meet the folks at ZERO yesterday in Washington, DC and what a great group. Kevin Johnson, Senior VP of Public Policy....experienced with 10+ years on 'the hill' and I'll be joining Kevin in September for the Summit to End PC. Check it out.
http://2010zerosummit.eventbrite.com/?ref=ecount

Skip Lockwood, CEO, Jamie Bearse, COO....both passionate for the cause and in one area, their Dash for Dads race series is growing and will ultimately become the marquee event nationally focused on Prostate Cancer. Find a location near you and take part
http://www.zerocancer.org/site/PageNavigator/GI_Active_Events

Join the fight, raise awareness, get tested, know your score

Warrior shirt pays off

2010-04-30T10:08:00.002-04:00

Yesterday my travels had me on flight from DFW to Charlotte and i was wearing my 'Warrior' shirt with the big blue ribbon signifying prostate cancer and the gentleman sitting next to me asked about it. We then proceeded to have a conversation about my battle with, and the facts around .
It turns out his father had PC as well.

During the trip, Paul, disappeared for a bit and then came back to his seat and it turns out he was traveling with 5 other co-workers and he brought up PC to them. Bingo...

now 6 more men are aware of prostate cancer, very cool.

one by one, pass it on.

Make it a great day

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

2010-04-18T19:33:00.002-04:00

Wow, turn down the thermostat....no wait, now turn it up.
Heck, my body can't make up it's mind. One byproduct of the medication I'm on are the hot flashes. Yes men, I'm slowly being turned into a woman in mid-menopaus.

I''m the only guy on the block who can take a walk or run when it's 45 degrees outside and still wear short sleeved shirts and shorts :). With all of the sweating I'm doing, the washer and dryer are getting worked overtime, hah!

I had the good fortune of hearing from someone who's father was diagnosed with PC and he had surgery last week. My new contact, Leslie was seeking someone who could help them through the experience and I'm flattered and happy to help. Prostate Cancer patients unite!!!

On saturday I had a stranger ask me about my cancer and we had a very frank, open discussion. The guy was 29 and mentioned his great grandpa had PC and his grandpa just had surgery and he said he has some symptoms. Bingo, my opportunity to raise awareness...I told him to go get the simple PSA blood test done and I'd be surprised if he didn't. One down, 150 Million men to go...raising awareness is the mission.

Great, great weekend, the weather was wonderful, I had a day with Bradley at a Boy Scout camp, (he's bridging from cub scouts to boy scouts in 2 weeks) and it was great.
My daughter who is in the chamber choir of the Charlotte Children's Choir had a 'private performance' on saturday and it was awesome. Especially seeing Rachel interact with adults, she's growing up and quite mature, I'm so proud.

Well, my health is hanging in there, aside from the recent heavy hot flashes, the weight gain has me bumming a bit, way too much around the belly but even with being active it doesn't seem to go away. Maybe it's time to run a marathon :)

that's it for now, be well everyone.

Bob

breaking the silence

2010-04-11T20:30:00.003-04:00

Gosh it's been a while since the last post, time for an update.

Well, spring break vacation took the family to Austin, TX and San Antonio. The first two days the family went to the zoo, did a ride on 'the ducks' among other things while in Austin. I was gladly at a sales meeting ;>

We then headed south to San Antonio but first had to stop at The Salt Lick...my god it's the best Texas bar-b-que you can find. Hands down. Beef brisket, ribs, slaw, beans, sausage....hell my mouth is watering typing this. If you've never been, you must go.

San Antonio, what a great city....Riverwalk, a slice of heaven. What a great downtown area and of course it had to include The Alamo. I have to say, I've heard about SA for a long time and kick myself for not going sooner. did you know SA is the 7th largest city in America?
we also saw the Natural Bridge Caverns, 180' below the earth, amazing. something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

on the health front, while I've been active, I haven't stepped up to the Dr's request to run and lift weights. tomorrow is a new beginning.

The weather has been great here in Charlotte, pollen season so everything is yellow and the Kleenex supply is running out. Welcome to spring.

more soon,

All the best, Bob

the latest PSA

2010-03-26T18:16:00.003-04:00

I met with the oncologist tuesday of this week and it was the usual. Get weighed, get blood taken, talk to the Dr.. about how I'm feeling and once every 3 months I get a shot of Lupron, one of two medications in the fight against cancer.

The nurse called me yesterday to tell me the PSA was "less than 0.01"
great news, the medication is still working.

Strict orders from the DR. start running and lifting weights. It's time to ward off muscle atrophy and to get back in shape. We'll do this for 6 months and watch the results.

My Dr. said there is another drug in trial for Prostate Cancer and a study done in Canada which had some promising results.

it's been 13 months, time flies when you're having fun.

Like the saying goes.... 'Life is short, play hard.'

Make it a great weekend.

The real deal

2010-03-23T08:58:00.003-04:00

one year ago today, Kathy and I sat down with Dr. Kris Gaston my urologist here in Charlotte and over a 55 minute period he laid it out on the line. "You have the real deal" meaning the aggressive, high risk prostate cancer...not the 'normal prostate cancer'.

He had us read 2 books from 2 leading PC Dr's....Peter Scardino and John Walsh and after absorbing just over 1,000 pages in one week, Dr. Gaston said "most of what you read doesn't apply to you unfortunately. We're going to have to throw everything under the kitchen sink at this, surgery, radiation, chemo, hormone therapy, everything."

Well 3 out of 4 so far and fortunately no chemo yet. If you hear I need chemo, that's not good news.
But I won't go there.

Today I have my quarterly visit with my Oncologist, PSA test and the ever exciting Lupron shot in the derriere.

Speaking of the derriere....how are your NCAA brackets shaping up? What a great year in the tourney....since my chances of winning the pool are slim, I'm pulling for Northern Iowa and Cornell to make it to the final 4. Go underdogs.

I still can't believe it's been a year since getting the cancer news.

later

One Year ago today I was told......

2010-03-16T07:33:00.003-04:00

"your biopsy results are positive, you have prostate cancer. Your Gleason score is a 9 out of 10 which is not good."

It was a Monday morning that life changed a year ago. While I was feeling a ton of anxiety because of the high PSA tests, hearing these words, the confirmation was a wake up call to say the least.

My attitude immediately switched to one of...."Okay, what's next, how do we beat this sh_t."
The battle begins and for me, it starts mentally. I'm naturally a 'glass is half full' kind of guy and here is where I really need it because I'm the 'marker' that my family will follow...if I'm upbeat, they will be positive, if I'm down and out, they will get scared, especially the kids.

More tests to come but in my mind, I'm ready for the challenge.

The Journey begins...

Abiraterone, Zero Cancer

2010-03-09T20:45:00.002-05:00

Another drug in the pipeline, abiraterone, is showing encouraging results in men who have exhausted standard treatment options. This is for patients who exhibit evidence of metastatic cancer so it's a late stage efforts. It's drugs like this that we're hoping for to combat prostate cancer.

Zero Cancer....go to www.zerocancer.org and check it out. I had an awesome conversation with the CEO, Skip Lockwood yesterday and I'm committed to play a very active role in helping raise awareness about PC. What is Zero? you'll have to visit the site to find out.

1 out of 6 men will get prostate cancer....if you're a male 40 or over, get your PSA check.

The bottom line is this, getting tested is nothing more than getting a blood test. Even if you have no symptoms, men should get checked at the age of 40 (according to my Urologist, Judd Moul, chief of urology at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center)

Be safe and for no other reason than for peace of mind.

that's it, my rant for the day.

Oh, hey, 72 degrees today in Charlotte...it's about time.

later :)

provenge

2010-03-01T20:41:00.002-05:00

kind of sounds like the drug from the Harrison Ford movie Fugitive (it was actually Provasic or something like that).

well, this drug, Provenge is real and could get FDA approval as early as May 1, 2010.
The Seattle-based biotech company, Dendreon, is focused on targeting and eradicating cancer. This is a revolutionary new way to fight cancer. The key is that DNDN's scientists are on the forefront of introducing a new class of therapy known as active cellular immunotherapies ("ACIs"). This approach uses live human cells to trick the patient's own immune system into fighting cancer.

very cool...drug advances are going to be my hope going forward so focus on research is high on my priority list. Research funds won't come until overall awareness happens. so next time you see me, ask me for a blue 'prostate cancer awareness' wristband. Maybe I should call Lance to get him to promote greater awareness of prostate cancer. Now where did I put his cell number.....

Later :)

One year ago today

2010-02-25T20:06:00.005-05:00

One year ago, at about 7:15PM, I was in DC and I received the phone call from the Dr. with the first PSA results. She said

your PSA is 40.6 which is very high and given the fact your brother had prostate cancer, we're going to assume you have cancer until proven differently"

And there it began, the whirlwind of Dr visits, tests, waiting for results, more tests, more waiting, highs, lows, good news, bad news.....being poked, prodded and had so many Dr visits I felt like I was on the payroll.

By the time March 30th came along, I had read 2 books (over 1,000 pages), visited hundreds of websites and became more educated about prostate cancer than I ever wanted to.

oh yeah, it's been an interesting 12 month journey and I'm lucky to have had more support than I ever dreamed about. Thanks to everyone.

Here's to a smoother year,

cheers

follow up with the surgeon

2010-02-21T19:46:00.004-05:00

I had a follow up appointment last week with Dr. Moul and what was nice was he patiently sat with me and spent some time. Usually he's so frantically busy that I don't get any more than 5 minutes of his time.

this time was different, we talked about my progress on hormone therapy and discussed some drugs that are either in late clinical trials or about to be approved by the FDA (that's the hope anyway).

I told him about the fact that I record every Dr. appointment where discussions take place letting me listen to them later or to have Kathy listen if she wasn't there. I told him that almost everything we heard from our very first Dr. meeting with Dr. Gaston here in Charlotte has come true. Then I asked the important question....

Will you ever be able to say I'm "cancer free"?
Well, his hesitation and somewhat stumbling response gave me my answer, most likely no.
Oh well, the glass is still half full and as I've said all along, I'm 'kickinPC' whether it likes it or not. I have too much yet to do.

Oh, btw, the weather finally turned for the better, low 60's today and yesterday so I was finally able to get out and swing a golf club. Awesome feeling I must admit :)

Make it a great week

okay, enough is enough...

2010-02-13T09:40:00.003-05:00

I moved to Charlotte to live in a warmer climate...yeah right. This is been the coldest winter so far and last night 3 inches of snow fell.

Crazy

But it could be worse, just ask DC area folks.

Louis Gossett Jr.

2010-02-12T16:30:00.002-05:00

Another famous person with PC....one in six men will get prostate cancer.
Help raise awareness, tell a friend, brother, father, neighbor, ask them to take a simple blood test.
Men should get their PSA checked at the age of 40.

The last post I was 'ready for spring'...hell, the whole country is given the snow storms. It's snowing right now in Atlanta and yesterday Dallas got 12+ inches and it even snowed in Mobile, AL.
MOBILE!...look at the map, yeah, it's waaaay south. Global warming my ass....tell that to my utility company before they send me my bill.

What a great Super Bowl, congrats to New Orleans, if any city needed that, it was them.
Next year Detroit needs to win it.

later

Okay, ready for spring....

2010-02-06T15:41:00.003-05:00

Lots of topics today:
Holy man, I thought moving to NC would get me some relatively nice weather, not lately.
Cold is the word, about 12-15 degrees below normal. I'm ready for spring
Oh and rain too, I'm almost finished with the Ark....so much for the drought we had, lake levels are full. I guess rain is much better than the 2+ feet of snow the VA, DC, MD area is getting, sorry folks but you can have it.

Pinewood Derby next week: Bradley and I are building his car for the annual Derby with the cub scouts, every scout looks forward to this. Last year he did well, hopefully better this year.

Ready or not, March Madness is not too far away...can't wait. In the meantime, some great games taking place. # 8 Georgetown just beat # 2 Villanova....that'll make some folks happy.

Health: feeling alright, frustrated with my increase in weight and lack of energy due to the medication but what can you do other than do the best I can. I need to get back in the swing of daily walks. Spread the word, 1 in 6 men get prostate cancer, help raise awareness.

Be well everyone

Where have I been?

2010-01-29T21:05:00.003-05:00

busy, sorry about the lag in posts, it's been a good busy.

So last post was about Haiti and for me, it's a very sobering event and to see the ten's of thousands of deaths. This, to a country that had horrific struggles before the earthquake. hopefully you found it in your heart to help.

I find myself griping here and there about my side effects and what little I can do and they I read an article about Ken Green. Most of you may not know him but he was a professional golfer who usually wore bold green clothing and shoes, hmmm wonder why?

He was featured in an article in Sports Illustrated for saving his dog, you see he lives in FL and has a small canal running through his backyard and he heard a rustling and saw his german shepard in the grips of an alligator. Ken jumped in the canal and beat the gator until his dog was let go, unbelievable.

fast forward to 8 months ago where Ken, his brother, brother's girlfriend and Ken's dog were traveling in the RV with his brother driving and they had a fatal accident. Ken lost his brother, brother's girlfriend and his dog. Ken had one leg amputated at the knee.

just this week, I read that they found Ken Green's 21 year old son dead.

When you think you're having a tough day....think of Ken Green. For me, I'm a lucky guy to be sitting here with some measly side effect.

count your blessings.

I promise next post will be up-beat.

Do your part for Haiti

2010-01-15T14:25:00.001-05:00

As you know, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti and the destruction is widespread.
Unfortunately as time rolls on, the spotlight will move someplace else but the need will go on for years.

My wife did a mission in Haiti back in the mid 80's and it moved her then and Haiti has been in her heart ever since.

Do your part, help out.

Dennis Hopper

2010-01-13T19:37:00.002-05:00

I just picked up this article....

The famous legendary actor, Dennis Hopper, is losing his battle against prostate cancer. He has been fighting this cancer since 2002, and only in October of 2009 has the general public known about his disease. When diagnosed in 2002, Hopper did undergo treatment at the University of Southern California but kept the cancer story away from the media until this past October.

Just recently, the doctors have informed him that the disease has now spread to his bones and have told Hopper that it is incurable. Hopper is now 73 years old.

Hopper has just finished filmng for the US tv show Crash, and is now saying goodbye to his family and friends after being told the devastating news. Hopper had been telling his friends that he had an intuition that he was losing his battle even before this latest statement by his doctors.

The actor is also famous for starring in movies such as Blue Velvet, Apocalypse Now and Easy Rider. He remains married to his fifth wife, 42-year-old Victoria Duffy

, and they have a six-year-old daughter.

There are about 190,000 prostate cancer cases per year and 30,000 will die from this annually. It is the most common cancer occurring in men.

My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.....my curiosity is running wild. What type of treatment did he undertake in 2002 when he was first diagnosed? What has he done since?

Cancer sucks, we need to find a cure.

51-45

2010-01-11T08:41:00.002-05:00

Did you watch the Packer-Cardinal game last night? If you didn't, go find the highlights because you missed one of the best football games ever played. It was a defensive struggle all the way.....
yeah right.

The Packers came into the game with the #2 defense in the league and after the first quarter you would have thought it was the 2nd worst. It was a seesaw game and you should have seen my wife. OMG, I thought she was going to have a heart attack, lots of screaming going on, fun to watch.

On the health front, still on the hormone therapy and while it's doing it's job by dropping the PSA, I'm experiencing side effects that suck. Weight gain...already almost 20 lbs and it's hard as hell to control. The cravings are all day and I can't seem to get enough. Cookies, chips, snacks, whatever, I've worn a path from my office to the pantry and fridge. did i mention that it sucks?

Oh well, could be worse, it always could be worse, yes, the glass is half full.

14 degrees this morning in Charlotte, get me Al Gore's phone number, he needs to hear how cold it is all over the country.

Hope you're doing great...check in again, I'll have another post soon.

Later

17 in Charlotte?

2010-01-03T11:28:00.003-05:00

welcome to Charlotte in 2010, it was 17 degrees this morning going up to a high of 34.
holy man, it feels like I'm back in Wisconsin. 17 degrees....exactly why I moved south.

2010 - what kind of year will it be?
I believe it's up to you really. Actions you put into motion will create an outcome. You need to decide what desired outcome you want and align your actions to match your goals.

If you want to lose say 10 lbs, one action you should avoid is the drive through at the fast food joint.
If you want to improve your relationship with your significant other, you might not want to lay around on the couch, watch sports all weekend and holler "hey, bring me some chips and a beer"
If you want to be more successful at work, surfing fun websites half the day and cutting out early just won't help.

In early I heard "you have cancer and maybe a 20-25% chance of a cure"...and so I had a choice. My decision was to align my actions and attitude that cancer won't get me down or defeat me.
The glass is half full folks, that's the lens I use, hope you do to.

Here's to a rockin 2010 and that you all create the happiness, success and relationships you desire. Go Make it a Great Day!

Happy New Year

2009-12-30T20:49:00.002-05:00

Well, to say the least it's been an interesting 2009. Early March I find out 'aggressive, high risk' prostate cancer is attacking my body. So after radiation and then surgery, we find out my PSA is still high showing evidence the cancer has spread.

the good news is scans showed up negative so wherever it is, it's hiding.
so hormone therapy is working, the last PSA was "less than 0.01". awesome.

So I exit 2009 very thankful for overwhelming support from family friends, coworkers, neighbors....it's a blessing knowing so many people care. Thank you all for the help, thoughts and prayers.

Let's go into 2010 optimistic that medical science will develop a cure for prostate cancer. I believe we're not too far away. In fact, this week a study came out....read on.

U.S. Cancer researchers have discovered an antibody called “F77″, which, when injected into mice, will bond with prostate cancer tissue and “initiate direct cell death” in it, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. In initial trials with mice “F77″ bonded with tissue where prostate cancer was the primary cancer in almost all cases (97 per cent) and in tissue cores where the cancer had metastasized around 85 per cent of the time.” Those are astounding rates, with a high percentage of success even attacking advanced stage cancer cells, while causing no harm to normal tissue or tumor tissues in other parts of the body at all.

Sign me up for the trial!

Well, another decade done (holy smokes time flies)
Here's to a great 2010!

Be safe and make today great.

the best Xmas present ever

2009-12-24T12:42:00.002-05:00

I just got off the phone with the nurse and she had my results from my PSA test yesterday.
talk about fast!

she said and I quote "the report says the PSA is 'less than o.o1' which is as close to zero as it gets"

Awesome news and it means the treatments are working.
While 2009 started with the 'you have cancer' news....it's ending on a very positive note.

Here's to a great 2010!

All the best.

Health update

2009-12-24T08:47:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, yesterday was another visit to the oncologist for another PSA blood test and a shot of Lupron. Not the kind of 'shot' I prefer but it's doing it's job. In my younger days the shot would come in a short little glass but hell I'm too old for that now.

Good conversation with Dr. Reza, he's pleased with how the treatments are going and so are we. Tolerating the side effects is easier than getting fitted for a new suit and a pine box. Hold the flower arrangements for a while, this old dog is planning on being around a while.

Funny thing at the Dr. yesterday...being in sales the last week or two of each quarter and for the year are a little stressful as we chase down deals to get them closed. One deal in particular this year meant a lot to me which was a new deal with the PGA Tour. My rep who was working it needed this deal to put him well over 200% for Q4 but more importantly achieve 'Inner Circle' which is something you don't want to miss. So while I was at the office we were waiting for the contract to get signed and faxed.

The nurse took my blood pressure....it was 160 over 108...pretty damn high and she was surprised. Then I told her about the deal, sales, etc and it all made sense :)

We got the deal, my team member reached Inner Circle and my bp is much lower.

Here's wishing you all a very happy holidays season. I'll most likely be back before we close out 2009.

Make it a great day

Are you ready?

2009-12-22T21:16:00.003-05:00

Man, the holidays are here and this might be the worst year for me in terms of getting things done. Not enough lights on the house, a little behind on gifts...seems like every year I'm scrambling.

How about you? Some last minute shopping? To lower frustration, shop online and choose FedEx, avoid the malls.

Okay, speaking of online, tis the season to get yourself a tax deduction and donate to your favorite nonprofit organization. Yes, only 9 days left help your tax situation and more importantly, help those in need. If you don't have a favorite charity, let me know, I know of some awesome orgs that are doing great things.

So are you ready for 2010? Wasn't it just not too long ago we were celebrating 2000. Hell, the world was going to come to an end if everyone wasn't Y2K compliant. Hilarious.

2009 has been an interesting year for yours truly and hopefully a great one for you.

more tomorrow.

Where did the year go?

2009-12-14T17:13:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it's Dec 14th already? Better get all your shopping done soon or old St. Nick will bring you a lump of coal.

On the health front, still feeling good all things considered...could manage to lose a few lbs but I'm going to wait until January 1, it will be fun until then :).

Still having more hot flashes than I expected and will be discussing with the Dr. next week when I see him again. Hopefully there is a way to reduce the frequency.

It's an exciting time of year, Holiday season, Hockey season in full swing, NFL is down to the last 3 weeks of the regular season, then the playoffs, NCAA basketball is rolling...fun everywhere you turn. Go Packers!

Lastly, do yourself a favor and go find your local children's choir. I'm guessing they'll have a holiday concert you can attend. My two kids are in the Charlotte Children's Choir and it's special to see a group of kids from all walks of life come together for a great performance. Go find the kids concert and attend, you'll be glad you did.

Later

Thanksgiving - a little late

2009-12-06T19:39:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a relaxing a fun Thanksgiving, it's a great time to reflect on how fortunate we are and i know personally, I have a lot to be thankful for. A great spouse, two great kids, dog, cat, great job, great friends and health. Yes, my health.

A lot of people might wonder why I feel my health is something to be thankful for when I have cancer but I believe I have cancer for a reason. A good friend of mine just celebrated 9 years cancer free after battling breast cancer. She told me I would exit my cancer battle a different person and she' right. I'm much more vocal about prostate cancer awareness after learning through my process that 1 out of 6 men will get PC. Worse yet is the lack of research going on, especially for the 'high-risk', aggressive kind that I have.

I just participated in a month long event that promoted the awareness of PC and also served as a fundraiser with the proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation among others. Check out my 'Movember' page. http://us.movember.com/mospace/your-donation-page

Oh, one last thing, if you ever get the chance to watch a space shuttle land, go for it. The family spent thanksgiving in Cocoa Beach, FL and we had the great experience of watching the Atlantis Shuttle land. very cool.....next is to watch a launch.

Make it a great week peeps :)

how low can you go, second try :))

2009-11-29T16:38:00.004-05:00

the PSA results are in....drum roll please.....and the results are 0.03!

Woo Hoo, the treatments are doing exactly what we want them to do, stop the cancer cells in their tracks. It's great news and gives me a ton of positive energy.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support.

another post soon, recapping our thanksgiving vacation.

later

how low can you go

2009-11-29T16:38:00.001-05:00

Another PSA

2009-11-24T19:15:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, hope this post finds you well and getting reading for a big Thanksgiving Feast.
YUM! Holy man, I can't personally wait because my appetite is insatiable right now. Can anyone point me to the nearest Weight Watchers meeting?

today, another visit with the Medical Oncologist and another blood test. Dr. Reza fully expects the number to drop again from 0.94 to an even lower number. We'll find out tomorrow or monday and I'll let you all know the results.

We did talk about side effects and unfortunately there are a few. I already mentioned the appetite and the weight thing but we mainly talked about the hot flashes. Man, do I have a full appreciation for what women go through, amen sisters, you have my full respect. Holy shit, the HF's have been full on lately, especially at night which makes it particularly difficult to sleep. One minute you wake up in a full sweat, sheets are soaking, then next you're freezing. With all the tossing and turning, shedding covers then diving under them for warmth, I'm getting about 3 hours of total rest each night. not good

so, I'm trying some Flaxseed Oil to hopefully tone down the HF's. We'll see.

Okay my friends, go have yourselves an AWESOME Thanksgiving, me and the fam are heading down to cocoa beach/cape canaveral which should be very cool. Oh, wish us luck on the weather, if it's good, the space shuttle will land in FL on friday and we hope to watch.

All the best

Stephanie Spielman

2009-11-20T07:57:00.003-05:00

unfortunately this post is a sad one, I just learned that Stephanie Spielman died yesterday at the young age of 42 after a 12 year battle with breast cancer. Having lived in Columbus, OH for 12 years, it was during that time she was diagnosed and waged her battle publicly, she was an inspiration. Stephanie was the wife of Chris Spielman, former Buckeye, Detroit Lion and current announcer on ESPN.

You can read more at this link.

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/20/0_SPIELMAN_--_paper_story.ART_ART_11-20-09_A1_JGFO3TQ.html?sid=101

another post coming soon

A salute to all Veterans

2009-11-11T08:14:00.002-05:00

Here is a salute to all Veterans who have served our country and protected our freedom. I am grateful to live in this great country where our freedom is envied by others.

I ask that you reach out to 3 or more veterans and thank them for their dedication, commitment and sacrifices they have made so that the 300M+ people in the USA can go to sleep each night knowing we are protected, guarded by our troops.

Also find your own way to honor the fallen heros, those who have perished defending our freedom, may their families be blessed with peace.

I wonder why Veterans Day isn't celebrated more often? Why just once per year? Why not 4 times, once per quarter. If our freedom is so important to us and the sacrifices our veterans make is so great, why not honor them more often.

When I travel, there is always someone on my flight who is in uniform either coming home or heading out to serve and protect. I make it a point to thank them for their commitment and service, we all should.

That's it for today, reach out to the Veterans you know and thank them.

later,

more side effects

2009-11-10T14:42:00.003-05:00

hi everyone, it's been a little more than 3 months since my surgery but seems a lot longer than that to be honest. Did I mention some of the side effects of the hormone treatments? They are kicking in....the latest, weight gain.

Exiting the hospital I was 192 lbs, high for me and then within a month that included a daily dose of walking, I was down to 175 lbs, a much more comfortable 'fighting weight'.

Now that I've been on the hormone treatments, it's starting to climb again, up to 182. The cravings seem to last all day and I'm never satisfied. The thought of a diet has crossed my mind but I actually am already on one...a see-food diet, I see food and eat it! (yeah, lame humor). It's tough, I've never been known to shy away from food and over the years it's been a pretty easy to lose 5-10, even up to 15 lbs in pretty short order. Not any more.

Guess I need to get focused.

Switching gears....the kids had a concert last weekend and it was awesome. For those of you who don't know, Rachel and Bradley are in the Charlotte Children's Choir and love it. It's amazing how well the kids come together, learn the new songs, some of which are sung partly in swahili or hebrew and they nail the performance. I'm incredibly proud of them.

Gotta go and I promise to post more often.

and the new PSA is......

2009-10-28T20:39:00.002-04:00

...exactly what we had hoped for, a big drop. The PSA is now 0.94....woo hoo!
As a reminder, it was 8.35 a month ago which was considered high by all standards, especially when you consider my entire pelvic area received radiation and the prostate is long gone from surgery.

so the hormone treatments are working as we wanted and I'll go in again in a month for another PSA and then probably every 3 months after that for checkups. The only downside so far have been some minor side effects but nothing that can't be dealt with.

My HT (short for hormone treatments) are Lupron shots and daily Casodex pills and they suppress testosterone, which is the fuel for prostate cancer.

When your testosterone is being throttled, there are bound to be side effects. So, with the help of Lupron and Casodex, looks like I'll be spending some time aboard the Good Ship Menopause with all the physical baggage that entails. It’s a trip that most men don’t expect to take.

The side effect that surprised me most were the hot flashes — not that I got them, I was expecting that, but by how intense they were. I've been having them more frequently and it's obvious when I do....I'm flush and sweat profusely. Not too fun when it's during a meeting which fortunately hasn't been too often.

Given the choice between hot flashes or having cancer ravage my body...it's a no brainer.
So for those of you I work with, have fun with me about this...it's about all I can do at this point.

Again, as I've said all along, THANK YOU to you all for your support.

All the best

new PSA coming

2009-10-22T19:23:00.004-04:00

Hey I know, I know, my blogging is getting slow, sorry about that but I warned you I'm a rookie at this.

So today, another Dr. visit and I have to tell you it's kind of funny. You check in and they say 'how are you doing?'. Then the nurse calls you in and says "good to see you again". It's good manners, real polite but sometimes I want to respond by laughing and saying.. "It's good to see you too, I just wish it was not in this office and more like the grocery store".

Are you kidding me! my goal is to not stop in every month to get poked, prodded, pricked with a needle and then asked, how are you doing?. Ah, sorry for the rant but i find it kind of ironic.

Okay, more blood drawn today and I'll get the PSA results tomorrow (hopefully, you know, another 'do the test, then wait'). Dr Reza is pretty confident the PSA level will go down by a good margin so we'll see, as a reminder it last was 8.35.

I most likely won't blog again until Sunday, my son Bradley and I are camping with the Cub Scouts this weekend, being a Webelo this is our third year. Forecast is a little iffy, 50% chance of rain friday afternoon through saturday evening. Last year we got soaked so hoping we get the 50% of un-rain.

hope you had a great week, make it a great weekend!

Bob

Health update

2009-10-15T21:30:00.002-04:00

okay, newest update on the health front....so to recap a little history:

- Feb 28, first PSA = 40.6
- Mar 6, second PSA = 58
- Mar 16, biopsy - confirmed, prostate cancer
- Radiation from 5/19-6/30, total of 30 treatments
- surgery, Aug 3rd
- miles walked since surgery = 156
- post surgery PSA (hoping for .1 or .2) = 7.9 (high)
- started hormone treatment on 9/30
- next PSA taken, 10/22

so, I've started 'stage 3' of my treatments and it's proactive so we can starve the cancer cells that appear to still be in my body. The hormone treatment should drop the PSA dramatically so we're anxious for the results coming next friday.

the beat-down continues

I promise, I'll have more regular posts.

Later

Whoa! I've been quiet....

2009-10-14T20:10:00.003-04:00

Sorry about that, just pretty busy.

last weekend we had a chance to visit great friends in Columbus, OH and it was a perfect weekend. 60's and sunny...pretty rare for Columbus really but timed great. My buddy Kevin and I went to the Ohio State-Wisconsin game which was great. We started with a non-traditional tailgate which included fresh fried lake Erie perch...freakin awesome!

The game was pretty interesting and OSU was happy their defense and special teams showed up, otherwise they would have been beat. final score, OSU 31, Wisconsin, 13.

then we spend part of sunday 'Geocaching'. I hadn't heard of this but you have to check it out. They have a great iPhone app that makes it great. It's basically a high-tech scavenger hnt but anyone can 'place' an item and post it to the web for others to find. You can search for 'Caches' close to you and some can be relocated and the web tracks where they have 'traveled'. check it out, it's fun. www.geaocaching.com

On the health front, feeling very good. I go in for another PSA test next week thursday and will have an update on friday as to whether the hormone treatments are working.

That's it for now, sorry about the delay in posts, I'll check in again soon.

Be well.

Pints for Prostates

2009-10-01T14:48:00.002-04:00

I attended a fundraising event last light that was a ton of fun. 'Pints for Prostates' are events held across America, usually organized by a local advocate and it's in conjunction with an organization called UsTOO International. You can find them and more information about these events at www.ustoo.org/pints. check it out.

So last night's event was held at a newer micro brewery here in Charlotte, the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery. There was live music, brats, a brewery tour and of course pints :)

There were about 75 people there and it was fun, most of all, events like this help raise awareness that 1 in 6 men get prostate cancer. All proceeds help fund education, research and patient support.

The odds of a man getting prostate cancer are greater than the odds of a woman getting breast cancer yet there isn't enough awareness or research being done to find a cure.

I'll keep raising some 'pints for prostates', maybe you could too.

See you next post

Great news

2009-09-30T21:22:00.002-04:00

Not one to beat around the bush, the scans are clean....Woo Hoo!
We met with my medical oncologist today and both the bone and CT scans were clean, no cancer showing up, which is awesome news. Not sure why the PSA is showing up so high and it could be a false positive or due to the fact there is still some cancer lingering.

So, to take a proactive approach, I've started hormone treatments and then we'll check my PSA every month. Dr. expects it to drop from 8.35 down to "almost nothing" in the first month.
We're going to take away the food source of the cancer.

Understandably, we're jazzed.

To top it off, on the business side we finished our 3rd quarter with a bang and I'm incredibly proud of my team. When the dust settles, it looks like we'll finish around 171% against quota, the team was rockin.

But, as those of you know, in the sales game, you get about 8 hours to celebrate (and most of those you're sleeping) and then it's back to chasing another quarterly quota. Fun stuff.

another post coming tomorrow, I attended a fundraising event tonight and will share more later.

See ya

more tests...

2009-09-22T19:23:00.004-04:00

We met with a Medical Oncologist today, Dr. Reza, sticking with our step by step approach. Good guy, communicated well and our homework/reading has paid off by way of having a good understanding of what is discussed.

So, the next step is to repeat the CT Scans of the pelvis and torso areas and also the bone scan.
Both will be done in the next 3 days. Dr. Reza is concerned by the high PSA post operation so he wants to get after the 'micro cells' that have spread. After the results of the scans are done, Dr. Reza will 're-stage' my cancer. We have no evidence that I have metastatic cancer so with the tests we'll be looking to see if the cancer has spread to the bones or other lymph nodes.

Starting next week I will start hormone therapy which most likely will last 2-3 years.
Once the treatments start, I will go back each month for a PSA check and what surprised me is the Dr. expects the PSA to drop immediately, first month, he would want it below 1 after the first month. Again, to refresh, my PSA, pre-surgery was 58 which is off the charts. My PSA post surgery was 7.9 which is considered high.

By taking away the food source of the cancer (shutting off the testosterone), the goal is to stop the growth and spreading. Hormone therapy won't kill the cancer, just stop the growth.

Dr. Reza wants to be aggressive with the hormone treatment and I agree.
They took blood today, another PSA, results will be in tomorrow.

more news tomorrow.

Next step in treatment

2009-09-21T15:48:00.002-04:00

First we did radiation, then surgery, stupid cancer is still sticking around so it's on to the next attack.

We'll learn more of the details after tomorrow/Tuesday, Sept 22 when we meet with the medical oncologist to discuss hormone therapy and possibly chemo.

One thing I'll want to do is get another bone scan done, maybe another CT scan to try and determine if this has spread to the bone and/or other lymph nodes. My surgeon speculates that it's quite possible other lymph nodes are carrying cancer and in a previous conversation with the medical oncologist from Duke, he indicated my original CT scan showed slight enlargement of 'aortic lymph nodes'.

More news later.

Happy 80th Birthday Mr. Palmer

2009-09-10T09:39:00.002-04:00

If you don't already know, today is the 80th birthday of Arnold Palmer, the King, the working mans golfer. For over 50 years he has graced the golfing world with his 'go for broke' style of play and his down to earth honesty and genuine personality.

Arnie as he's affectionately known is also a prostate cancer survivor.

Mr. Palmer, Happy 80th Birthday and here's to many, many more.

Surprise, Surprise

2009-09-08T18:30:00.002-04:00

Well, at the beginning of this journey I told myself "don't get too high, don't get too low", just stay positive. It couldn't have been better advice.

I had blood drawn last week to establish my new baseline PSA and expected a negligible number like 0.5 or 1.1.....something really low. Hey, let's face it, the prostate is gone, what the hell could produce 'PSA = prostate specific antigen' if it's gone, right?

Well, my PSA came back at 7.9 which is high and it means that the joy in mudville is gone, at least temporarily. Scoring high on a test in school is good, scoring high on a PSA test, not good.

There is no way to tell at this point if some prostate cancer cells may have/had escaped the pelvic area. So unfortunately this isn't going to be perfect.....so now what?

The team of Dr's are recommending starting hormone therapy immediately to try to starve out any cancer cells within the body. Cool, I get to meet another Dr.! (actually, the only Dr. I want to see after all this is done is Dr. Pepper)

I haven't talked to the Dr's yet, just corresponding with the nurse withing the clinical trial group so I'll probably have another update soon.

Later

New PSA

2009-09-06T19:43:00.002-04:00

Well, Monday Sept. 7th will be 5 weeks since surgery so last week I had blood drawn for my new PSA baseline. Given that they've taken taken out the prostate and everything resembling cancer, my PSA should show up as almost 0 or 0.1, something low.

Then, I will go ever 3 months for a PSA test to watch to see if the level stays the same or starts increasing. We don't want it to increase because if it does, that means there are cancer cells within the body they couldn't find or remove. But we won't go there.

Labor day weekend, very grateful to be working for a great organization and have the ability to make an impact not only within the org but more importantly with our nonprofit clients. Very rewarding.

Last night we went to a 50th birthday party for a great guy in our neighborhood and what a blast. He hired an incredible band that included, one of the best saxophone players I've heard accompanied by bass player, drums, keyboard and bongo drums. You had to hold yourself back if you didn't want to dance because the music just captured your inner groove. They were loud and awesome.

So with the extra day off, I guess I'll get some more yard work done.

BTW, feeling great, thanks to all for the positive thoughts and prayers.

Now go have some fun!

Sept is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

2009-09-03T06:35:00.003-04:00

yes, Prostate Cancer has it's own month on the calendar to raise awareness. And it's a good thing too because prospect cancer effects 1 in every 6 men and I still think the understanding is terribly low. I myself didn't understand as much as I should have given the fact that 2 years ago my younger brother was diagnosed with PC and had surgery.

One big reason the awareness isn't where it should be is because guys don't like to talk about some of the side effects of treatment. Why? Because the side effects of treatment of the disease strikes at the very heart of our clichéd, John Wayne image of the American male. Impotence and incontinence, fatigue, etc just don’t sell pickup trucks and the King of Beers, hoss. These symptoms are not some mere midlife crisis — more like a change-of-life crisis —. They shake the very pillars of what we talk about when we talk about being a man.

So that's why you, yes you, should reach out to as many men in your life who are 40 years or older and strongly encourage them to go get a simple blood test. The old thought was only men over 50 but in my discussions with doctors, they tend to lean towards the age of 40 for when men should get their PSA checked....especially if there is some family history.

Help raise awareness, reach out to a loved one.

Make it a great day!

D-Day, the pathology report

2009-08-18T18:46:00.002-04:00

Today I had the follow up appointment from surgery to get the staples and catheter out and to review the pathology report with the Dr and determine next steps.

first, staples and other came out fine, that was the easy part.
In the conversation with the surgeon, he's 99% sure he got 99% of the cancer out. Only one lymph node was positive and the belief is that there may be microcells contained within the pelvic cavity.

So, what next. Well, my surgeon works collaboratively with radiation oncologists and medical oncologists and my case will be discussed at the next 'tumor panel' meeting. The initial thoughts are maybe some radiation and hormone treatments. I'll know more in a couple of weeks which way the thinking is going.

4 weeks from today I'll get my PSA test taken to establish a new baseline and then it will be checked every 3 months afterwards for the first year.

Fighting cancer takes a lot out of you...I'm exhausted...but maybe that's just from the long day of travel back and forth.

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support, it's very much appreciated.

Oh, I can't sign off without asking two questions (feel free to post a comment/response)

1. Did Tiger Woods choke this past weekend?
2. Is Brett Favre nuts?

later