I actually FORGOT!!!!

For the first time in four years, I neglected to remember that yesterday, August 28th, marked the 4th anniversary of my cancer diagnosis at age 47.  I believe it's the first time I had forgotten about that day without some sort of blog entry or Facebook posting.

I suppose it means I've finally moved on - to a point anyway.


I was re-reading a recent email from one of my peer-to-peer counseling patients ( I offer counseling to recently diagnosed patients through Imerman Angels in Chicago), and was reviewing the staging of his diagnosis. In order to refresh my memory on the staging classifications I was doing a little research and was a bit surprised at what I found.

What I found today was quite surprising.

In my own case, once the biopsy was completed and the pathology report came back, my cancer was stated as being stage 3Tb. At that time I read a number of descriptions regarding the staging to better understand what it meant, but I guess I only looked at the specific staging information and not anything else.

What I found today - by way of staging info on the ACS web site - is that I was actually early stage 4 by virtue of all the positive results of the surrounding tissue, seminal vesicles and localized lymph node and tissue involvement.

I have to say it certainly gave me pause, and I realized just how fortunate I am to still be alive some four years later.

September is Prostate Cancer month.  Men do yourselves - and more importantly your familes - a favor and get yourself to your primary doctor or urologist and ask them to have a PSA blood test done.

I've already lost two decades long friends to this cancer, and I certainly don't want to have any more experience this in their lives.


Prostate Cancer is no joke.   Get yourself tested.