Originally I was not going to post
this. But Jill pointed out that we started our web page years ago to
help people learn from what we were doing to prep for cruising. Then
we kept it up to let people see how our cruising was going and point
out some of the things that we found just plain wrong in what we
heard before we departed. So.... the basic underlying idea was to
help others.
So here goes.......
Many years ago we decided to take the
retirement road for cruising. That is, we did not go cruising knowing
that we would have to return and go back to work. We valued the open
ended cruising.
It was working for us very well until
our family tragedy brought us home. We also knew that our health
would become an issue at some time.
We kept our health insurance from my
company when we retired. Every so often during a visit to our son's
house, or back to the USA, we would go in for check-ups. We were
always doing better than average. We did worry about breast cancer.
You would need to live on another planet to not have heard about the
pink ribbon. As far as we knew, that might be the biggest risk to us.
After all, we do not over drink or smoke, and the swimming sure seems
to be keeping us in shape. So, we felt fairly secure.
During a physical we had last February,
we had blood samples taken as normal. A few months back I got a note
from our doctor that they wanted to do another blood test on me
(Greg). So, a couple of months ago I stopped in and had the sample
taken. We were then called in for a consultation. It seems my PSA
level was high and had gone up since Feb. From that appointment, I
found out that I needed to have a biopsy of my prostrate taken. They
took 12 samples. About a week later I got the results. I have
prostrate cancer. SCARED THE BEJUSUS out of me, and Jill!! It has
taken many, many hours of research for us to become informed
regarding this particular cancer. And then which of the many options
available for treatment should we choose- where, when, and who.
Now on to the helping part....
The bad
What we found out is that for men, this
can be likened to breast cancer for women in terms of percentages. I
was AMAZED at the number of men who have, and will have this! More
than 1 in every 6. We found that most men have it, but it never is
found until after death from some other cause.
We found:
What are the key statistics about prostate
cancer?
Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer is the most common
cancer in American men. The latest American Cancer Society
estimates for prostate cancer in the United States are for 2010:
- About 217,730 new cases of
prostate cancer will be diagnosed
- About 32,050 men will die of prostate cancer
About 1 man in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during
his lifetime. More than 2 million men in the United States who have
been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive
today.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in
American men, behind only lung cancer. About 1 man in 35 will die
of prostate cancer.
Last Medical Review: 11/22/2010 Last Revised: 11/22/2010 Found HERE
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I have to tell you, this is definitely
going to put a crimp in our near term cruising plans.
The good
FIRST, if you are a guy reading this,
GO GET A PSA TEST.
For me, they found it early. Mine is
not far advanced. We found that Prostate cancer is slow growing, so
surgery is not a rush job.
If we had not gone cruising they would
have found it earlier, BUT I would NOT trade a minute of our
cruising. For me, and every man is different, they think they will
get it all and I will be cured. Many things will change for me, but I
expect to get back to cruising in some manner, at some point!
So the take-away from this is, if you
are a guy, if you are 40 or above, go get a PSA test. Then get another at least once a year!
I expect to have my surgery early 2011.
We will let you know how things go.
THANKS for reading this. If you are, we
consider you a friend, and, did I say: “If you are a guy reading
this, GO GET A PSA TEST.”
