One week away . . .

with one last scheduled round of tests, and a pre-surgical visit with my surgeon today. Next Wednesday is surgery day.

How do I feel about all of this?  I'll be honest, it still feels surreal. For now, I'm pretty calm and relaxed about the whole thing. I've been through surgery before, and I know that there's really nothing to worry about.  But in the back of my mind, this is different. There's no doubt about it - this is to save my life.

Yes, the cancer was found "early" and that all the news (MRIs and bone scan) has been good so far. I consider myself quite blessed by all of this. But the fact remains that my cancer has been around for a while and that the capsule surrounding the prostate has been breached, and the cells have begun to spread.

Does that knowledge weigh heavily on my mind? Heck, yes!  I'd be lying if I wasn't concerned that every "odd" feeling or sensation I've felt in the last six weeks didn't give me pause as to what it may have been. Are the headaches and low fever I've been having in the last eight weeks or so somehow related to my cancer?

With all that said, and please don't get me wrong, I really am staying positive through all of this. But I am also aware in the knowledge that this surgery isn't going to bring this all to an immediate end. There will more than likely be a number of months of follow-up treatment by radiation and/or chemotherapy, and that my full recovery is a year or more away.

I said it in my first posting and I'll say it again. You "guys" out there need to get to your doctor at least once a year for a check-up.  And, if you're in your mid-forties, don't wait to talk to your physician about having a PSA test done along with your normal blood work. In most cases this test isn't done until you turn 50. At the age of 47 and a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test result of 62.7, my cancer has been around for at least 5 years if not longer. I'm lucky that it was caught when it was . . .  earlier would have been better.