what an idiot

I can't even spell Parte correctly. duh

Mo Gala Patre

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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'

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....

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?

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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......

"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

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

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

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

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...

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.

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....

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?

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

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

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

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?

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!