I met with oncologist, Dr. Kampel, and we discussed my case and my recovery to date. He said that from what he saw of my test results and the post-surgical pathology report, he agreed with my surgeon that things went very well. The discussion then turned to the future expectations and future treatments.
As pleased as he was with everything, there are some concerns - things that I was pretty much aware of already. Most likely there are micro-sized cancer cells that still remain in my system, as well as the possibilty of a small piece of the tumor having flaked off during surgery and the removal of the tumor. (in my head right now I hear Ahhhnold saying "it's not a tumah" from "Kindergarden Cop"). The concern here is that those cells may eventually find another home elsewhere and overtime begin to grow again. The cycle of radiation treatment looks to be in my future after all . . . bummer.
Recently, a friend of ours that lost her mother to cancer (breast cancer that cells eventually settled into the brain) mentioned something that the doctors had said . . "You don't usually hear about women dying directly due to breast cancer. It's usually that the cancer has reappeared elsewhere long after surgery." This is pretty much what Dr. Kampel said about prostate cancer to me during our appointment. So on to the next step . . .
March 12th & 22nd I'll be spending the better part of my day(s) at MSKCC going through a new series of MRIs, CT and bone scans to see if there are any signs of 'squatter' cancer cells. Then on April 6th, I have appointments with all four of my doctors at MSKCC, Oncologist & Radiation Oncologist, surgeon and urologist - individually of course - and discuss how I'm doing and what's coming next and what I need to do before and during my radiation.
As odd as it sounds, I find cancer brings people together. I have an old friend and colleague back in Massachusetts who was treated for breast cancer about three years ago and recently found that there is a golf ball sized tumor at the base of her skull. Another gentleman who I met through my support group that just had his prostate cancer surgery on Feb 26th and is now home after a very successful surgery (also done by Dr. Guillonneau).
On the news of cancer support causes, progress is being made on a Pints for Prostates fundraising/awareness event in Connecticut. Tickets will soon be available to order online, with location and time details coming soon once I've got final details ironed out to pass along. Just be sure to keep Saturday, June 19th open on your calendar.
Cheers!
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