Post RP and SRT journey - oh joy

It is natural to have these feelings, Hew, as a PCa survivor.  However, it could be any number of benign natural causes.  It could be as simple as a blocked skin perspiration pore, or it could be inverse psoriasis, which I am currently battling.

If it will make you feel better, go consult with your primary care physician.

Hi Captain Wuss,

This is prostate cancer, not the invasion of the bodysnatchers!
It kind of creeps along with a rising PSA a long time before you find a metastase.
Christmas Eve next Tuesday, time to crack on with things, aaargh
So splice the mainbrace, pour yourself a rum, steady in the ranks there, etc!

Happy Christmas And A Healthy New Year!!!!,

Georges

everyday I kick my self for not having sirgery done ..I think about it over and over ..every time I urinate because I can’t empty my bladder  rverytime I have a bowel movement because it’s never normal now ..every night when I take flomax ..I hate that  crap .the capsule smells disgusting I can’t imagine what’s it’s doing to me ..PSA bounce ..my PSA is at 2   15 months after treatment .only 2 .in February it will be 18 months ..I hope it’s down to below 1 ..if not they may do another MRI or biopsy to see what’s up..great ..I also have a muscle disease distal spinal muscular atrophy a form of MD ..it came on around 42 years old .NO calf muscles at all ....I also have a hernia starting up andcarpal tunnel in my left wrist real bad ..right one as well ..I feel like I should be taken out to pasture and shot ..it really sucks ..all I can think of is if I ever need HT it will. Do me in ..I have a physical job and at the end of the day I’m wiped ..I can barely get off the couch ..I just wish I could get more than 6 hours of aleeep a night but I can’t ..I wake up and atart thinking and worrying ..it sucks I just can’t help it ..it’s hereditary from my moms side ..anxiety depresssion ,,sucks bad ..I hope and pray I get undectable sooner than later that will be the only way I can find peace ..GOD BLESS ALL OF US ..I always pray it seems to help 

Yes, I believe that all of us were/are anxious, prior to the next visit to the doctor for a PSA reading.

I know that for me, during the early years of my PCa journey, I'd start to become anxious up to a month or so, prior to the visit.  At first, I was not even aware that I was becoming anxious, but the folks close to me were aware.  I'd get questions like, "Are you feeling OK today?", or "You seem distracted today.", or "Geez, you seem irritated about something today.".  And, after some reflection upon these comments, I would realize that the upcoming doctor visit was in fact the source of my anxiety.  The point here is that your anxiety does not only impact you, but it also impacts the folks around you, and not in a positive way.

Over time, as I finally fully and totally accepted the fact that I had PCa, my anxiety prior to each periodic doctor visit subsided for the most part.  Sure, I still do get a little bit anxious prior to the doctor visit, the fear of the unknown new PSA number, but only a small fraction of what it was in the early days.  And, I make a very concerted effort not to let any of my small anxiety spill over onto the folks around me, as it is simply not fair to them.

I believe that a major part of the solution to anxiety prior to the doctor visit, and to the whole PCa journey as well, is to totally and fully accept the fact that PCa has crossed your path in life.  It does not matter how or why it happened, and the lack of acceptance does not change any of the future outcomes associated with PCa journey.  Accept the fact that PCa has crossed your path in life, and move forward in life, day by day, making the most of each day.  Yes, it is not an easy acceptance, and some PCa patients may never reach that point, but it is very much required, and the sooner the better, for both your personal state of mind and the relationships with the folks around you.

In my opinion, life is like an extended game of cards.  You are dealt many hands of cards during the card game of game, and you have absolutely no control over the cards that you are dealt in each hand.  What you do have control of, however, is how you play those cards that you are dealt.  Play the cards that you are dealt in each hand in the card game of life to the best of your ability, and then you have done the best that you can do for yourself, and equally important, for the folks around you.

Cushions,

I would rather have sponge cushions down there before stepping off the cliff. Let's play safe. I wonder about the PSA result and above all if you finally got that job you wanted so much. They want IT specialists down here in the Algarve. You may need now a newer passport to cross the Chunnel but you are always welcome for whatever reason. I hope that Boris has not stepped off the cliff by leaving the EU.

Best,

VG

Hi there,

That is slow, I go in during the morning and I have the result for most things like PSA, etc in my personal results account online in the evening.
I have the results before the doctors, sometimes it is only me that has the results because the dafties lose them.
Testosterone takes a week because they accumulate the samples and run that one once a week.
I have a strange attitude towards Brexit I feel that my country has left me, passport runs out in 2025, I think I will be French before that!

Best wishes,

Georges

Hi Vasco,

I am not going to change nationality, just add one to the one I have already.
This will make things easier for me in terms of continuing residence as I will avoid the need to have a residence card, etc.
I am an IT specialist as well and although my French is not bad I have accepted the fact that it is not good enough to work in an office.
It is possible that I could do other work but I am now 57 and my health has suffered as a result of the treatment.
Before February 2018 I had a lot more bounce and energy than I have now. For instance I have been a keen gardener for many years and I thought maybe I could start a gardening business but I no longer have the ability to do a full days manual work, I get cold quickly so I cannot stay outside for long periods of time.
It is possible that I may recover more but that may be offset by aging as well.
I have not done too badly considering, I have got over the incontinence completely, I hope that more of my sexuality will return, etc, but at the end of the day I have to accept that I have lost some things.

Best wishes,

Georges