I’ve struggled with sharing this for quite a while now but feel sharing it may be cathartic for me. I feel like I’ve been hiding it from most of my friends so here goes…
In May of 2019, Yim and I went to the Doctor for our annual physical and some blood work. About 3 weeks later, I got a phone call asking me to come back. I was told that my PSA was elevated and that meant there was a good chance I had prostate cancer. The word scared me. A tear came to my eye as I went home and told Yim. It’s a word that none of us ever want to hear.
A visit to the Urologist was followed by a second PSA test, which was further elevated and a biopsy was scheduled. The biopsy came back positive in late June. The cancer was in roughly 30% of one side of my prostate but was completely contained, meaning it had not breached the walls of the prostate. The Gleason score was under 7. This was followed by more blood tests, an MRI, a Cat Scan and Bone Scan, all of which came back in mid-July negative for any spreading. This was good news. The cancer was contained. But I had research and work to do.
I was then provided a booklet on options. Many options. Ultra-Sound Treatments. Radiation Treatments. Manual Surgery Treatments. Robotic Laparoscopy Treatments. Possibly even simply wait and see. I bought a book titled How Not to Die (from Prostate Cancer) by Dr. Micheal Greger. He talked about shifting to a plant based diet and how that can help as prostate cancer feeds off red meat and testosterone. I liked what I read and Yim and I sat down and watched the Game Changers and Forks Over Knives, two documentaries on eating a plant based diet and how it can affect your health.
My family Doctors suggested I lose 10 – 20 pounds if possible as being fit provided additional benefits during the surgical process. We started eating a plant based diet and I began going to the gym 5 days a week. I started walking 5 – 7 kilometres daily and began to lose some weight.
I joined a Prostate Forum online and asked dozens of questions. I read about all of the options. I met with a Urologist who scheduled me for Manual Surgery but what I had decided upon was the Robotic Surgery for a variety of reasons but mostly, I liked the concept of the robotic arms being more precise and the invasiveness of the surgery being less, which translated into a faster recuperation period.
In November, I met with Dr. Anthony Finelli at the Toronto General Hospital and made my decision then and there after meeting him. He had performed the Robotic Surgery over 1,300 times. I liked him. I felt confident about my decision. At that point, I was placed on a hormone replacement regimen and began increasing the distance I was running every week by a half kilometre. By my Pre-Op on January 7, 2020, I had lost 15 pounds. I wanted to lose 30 pounds. My PSA level had dropped by almost 60%. It was at least under control until the surgery which was scheduled for March 3.
On March 1, Yim and I started to prepare for my surgery. I had lost 30 pounds and was feeling pretty good about myself.
On March 3, surrounded by Yim and family members and friends, I was led away for surgery.
A few hours later, as I gained consciousness and reopened my eyes, I was lucky enough that as I lifted my head to orient myself, the very first person I saw was Yim being led into the room to see me. She approached the bed and I said, ‘I am sooo happy to see you’.
Today, five full weeks later, I have had my stitches and catheter removed and I am walking quite well again and healing. I am feeling stronger daily.
I have lots of life to live…
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