Five Years Cancer Free

On December 16, 2005 I went to Fresno Community Hospital to have my cancerous prostate removed. This week, five years later, my PSA test came back with a score of .000001, indicating no recurrence of the malignancy. As my surgeon Dr. Marty Prah said, "We can now consider you cured."

By the end of this year it is estimated that 217,730 American men will have been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and that 32,050 will have died from it. You can find these statistics and a wealth of information on the subject at the Prostate Cancer Site of the National Cancer Institute, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The key to survival is early detection. I owe mine to my primary care physician, Dr. John Coffey here in Visalia. It's really important for men of 50 and over to get annual physicals. This is for a number of reasons, including cholesterol, blood pressure and heart function in addition to prostate health. He felt a bump on my prostate, which a biopsy determined to be prostate cancer. I had not been experiencing any of the usual symptoms such as difficulty urinating or having to urinate frequently or several times a night. My PSA blood test was not yet elevated.

Dr. Prah is one of the local pioneers of laproscopic prostate surgery. Fresno Community was the first hospital in the area to have a "Da Vinci Machine" that allows the surgeon to make the necessary incisions precisely by remote control. Instead of a long vertical scar down my abdomen as is customary in traditional surgery, I have five tiny marks a couple of inches below the belly button. I stayed overnight one night in the hospital afterward and was able to walk around a bit in a week. In two weeks I was out walking the neighborhood for exercise. The recovery time is about half that of traditional surgery.

At first the follow up appointments were quarterly but now they are down to yearly. The process helped make me more health conscious in general. I have improved my diet, lost some weight and am on a regular program of running, walking, weights and calisthenics. I feel better than I have in years.

So for all the men approaching 50, play it smart and start getting those checkups. Don't let fear or indifference put you in jeopardy, especially if you have people depending on you. You'll be glad you did.