OT: Prostate Cancer

[10spro]

Thanks for sharing your status Divot and continuos good health.

[XXXIV]

Thanks for sharing your status Divot and continuos good health.

Yes. Thanks for sharing Divot. A lot of valuable insight.

Wish you all the best....Happy 30th anniversary and gratz on your daughters wedding.

[Macca00]

Thanks for the update Tim! Wishing you all the best and congrats on the upcoming wedding anniversary!

[pk500]

Tim:

Thanks for the update on your health. Very, very heartening news -- made my morning! Continued progress toward a complete recovery, man.

Let me know if you're interested in any Paleo/primal options for weight loss. I'm happy to help!

Take care, dude.

[grtwhtsk]

Tim, thank you for sharing your news....good to hear. Continued wishes for you buddy. Take care.

[MizzouRah]

Thanks for sharing, seems like you are doing ok and I'm very happy for that. Thoughts and prayers for you.

[MERACE]

Tim,

Very good news!

As I've told you before, I'll keep you in my prayers for a full recovery.


-MERACE

[Brando70]

Glad to hear you are making great progress, Tim, and thanks for taking the time to educate us as well.

[DivotMaker]

All,

Thank you for the kind thoughts and prayers. You have no idea how humbled I am by your show of support.

Best Regards,

Tim

[DivotMaker]

Thought I would share an update since my last post 2+ years ago.

The chemotherapy I was taking has been determined to no longer being effective. The chemo I am on is not your traditional "chemo" that makes your bones feel like they are on fire, lose your hair and throw up persistently. I have been on a hormone therapy called Lupron. For men who are youngish (59 now, 56 when this all started) and PSA is not over 20, this is the road that is usually prescribed. I have been on this product for 3 years and the first year and a half I responded remarkably well. First year I only had 3 injections. Doesn't seem like much until you get the bill....$9,400.00 per injection (3 month dosage). Last year I required 5 shots. This year I have had one every month until this last month. The dosage and frequency is directed by the PSA. I have been keeping my PSA around undetectable and .2 until this year. Now I can't seem to get it below .5 and this last test was 1.8 which is still okay, but not when the goal is <.2. Another complication for me is I have metastatic prostate cancer which means I have had a tumor leave the prostate and show up on my spine. Good news is that tumor is undetectable in bone scans now. Bad news is I will be on some sort of hormone therapy for the rest of my life until they can find a cure.

Wednesday I will be going in for surgery to remove the prostate and as many lymph nodes as they feel they need to give me clear margins. The procedure is called ROBOTIC ASSISTED PROSTATECTOMY, RETROPUBIC RADICAL, INCLUDING NERVE SPARING and ROBOTIC ASSISTED PELVIC LYMPHADENECTOMY. It is a 4 hour procedure typically and I will spare you guys the gory details, but suffice to say I will miss work for a minimum of 30 days, the longest of my career by far. I will have a catheter for 2 weeks. There are colleagues of mine who have had this done and they tell me it takes a year to get back to some sort of normalcy. For 3 years I have been dreading this procedure, but now I no longer have a choice if I want to survive.

Why am I telling you guys this? Simply so you will stay on top of your PSA and prostate health. If you live long enough and you are male, you have a 90% chance of being affected by this. I don't want ANY of you to go through what I have been through the past 3 years.

Take Care,

Tim

[Teal]

You're the MAN, Tim. Love your candor and your can-do, too. Mega prayers and vibes your way, bud. Send this crap back to hell from whence it came.

[Diablo25]

Stay strong dude. Hope it all goes as well as it can!

[10spro]

Thanks for sharing again. Wishing you a quick recovery and may the surgery be the one that sets you free forever.

[MizzouRah]

I turn 46 in 4 days and will definitely have mine checked this year. I will continue to pray for you and hope your recovery is a speedy one and all goes well for you!

[Jackdog]

Your candor is greatly appreciated Tim. Best of luck with the surgery and recovery!

[dbdynsty25]

Good luck man. Sounds like it's going to be a long road but we're all pulling for you here.

[Pete1210]

Prayers and hope that the procedure goes well and leads to a cure.

[pk500]

Tim:

Your honesty and willingness to tell your story in such vivid detail inspire me to keep better tabs on my prostate health. I suffered from recurring bouts of prostatitis -- a cupcake compared to your ailment -- that required regular antibiotics during the 2000s.

A massive overhaul of my diet and the addition of some supplements have kept me infection-free for the last five years, for which I'm grateful. But I must do a better job at regular PSA screenings and other prostate health. Your post and story remind me of that. Thank you.

Continue your strong fight. I'll pray for you, man!

[J_Cauthen]

Tim, you're a fighter and a man of faith... you will come through this! The procedure you're describing sounds grueling and a bit risky, but it also sounds like the best course of action to take. Stay strong through this Tim, and know that I and others in this brotherhood of sports gamers are praying for you.

A catheter for 2 weeks!? That will be a long two weeks, but you'll be looking back over your shoulder at that experience before you know it! Thanks for sharing your experience with us; I'm sure it will help get some folks to be proactive about their prostate health!

[DivotMaker]

I gotta say I am humbled at the kind comments and well wishes.....thank you!

I will post again after the procedure and share with you guys what it is like as soon as I can.

[DivotMaker]

Yesterday's surgery successful. They feel good about getting clear margins without needing any of the lymph nodes. Procedure lasted 4 hours. I have 4 puncture incisions and one 2 inch incision where thy removed the prostate gland. All in my abdomen area and no stitches, all surgical glue.

Last night was pretty restful and minimal pain. Finally got up this morning and that is where I felt the pain and soreness. Walked around the floor with no issues. Hoping to go home this evening. Also a strange sensation with this catheter and having to carry a leg bag and keeping it clean. Bed bag at night. I'll be anxious to get this thing out in 2 weeks.

While I am doing better than I expected so far, I have a long recovery in front of me. Can't pick anything over 10 pounds up for 6 weeks which includes my brand new granddaughter. A full year to 18 months the get back to normalcy is the norm. I truly hope as many of you as possible avoid things like this and avoid prostate cancer and other related issues.

And have your prostate examined at least yearly and get a PSA reading twice yearly to start building a trend line. And stay away from Low-T organizations. They are a scam and incredibly dangerous for men over 30.

I am so very am grateful for the friendships in this community and for a positive outcome so far! God Bless each and every one of you!

[pk500]

Take that road to recovery step by step, Tim. Sounds like a very promising start. We're all here for you, big man!

[grtwhtsk]

Praying for a quick recovery!

[DivotMaker]

Take that road to recovery step by step, Tim. Sounds like a very promising start. We're all here for you, big man!

Thanks PK and everyone.

I'm 4 days out from surgery and let me tell you.....it feels like I got run over by a Mack truck. Friday was brutal as the rest of the anesthesia and good narcotics wore off from the hospital.

Yesterday and today is a little better. Glad I have 30 more days off as this is going to take some time. I forgot about how recovery feels since I had an ruptured appendix and emergency appendectomy about 10 years ago. Took me about 3 months to get back to normal after that procedure.

Staying on top of the pain meds as well. Having this catheter in is something altogether different. Can't wait to get this thing out in about 10 days.

Trust me, you guys don't want any of this....it is really bad when I don't even feel up to playing a Golf game......

Take Care,

Tim

[MERACE]

Tim,

My office partner had the same procedure you had about 4 months ago.

He's recovering very well and is even starting to jog and swim again.

I'll be praying and believing for your swift and complete recovery.


-MERACE