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Tag Archives: PSA
Prostate Cancer Update
Well, here it is seven months since my prostate was removed. The malformed cells inside the gland were apparently caught in time to disallow their entrance into the lower abdomen….and this is really good news! To prove this, the medical community has decided a blood test to check for Prostate Specific Antigens (PSA) returning small or really small numbers….or in my case super small non-existent unmeasurable numbers….will show the cancer did not spread and was fully removed when they ripped the little walnut-sized organ out of my gut. Since those numbers were ZERO POINT ZERO, they say all is well with me. Which is awesome if your name is Dave!
And this marks the third test with really great results, and they tell me this is most likely because we have successfully removed cancer from my body. Me? I like to think I’ve kicked cancers ass and it won’t be back anytime soon.
Thank you to all of you who have wished me luck and sent kind thoughts my way. You have made a positive difference in my life and I appreciate the well wishes!
HowzitGoin’ David?
First, I have a couple of anniversaries to note:
September 12, 2011 – Two Month Anniversary of my first bicycle ride (7/12) after a nine month medical leave
September 20, 2011 – Four Month Anniversary of the day my prostate was removed
And then, this is how things are going on the bike:
My comfort in the saddle is finally getting manageable and the amount of energy I have post-ride is a lot better than before. I can do longer rides without too much struggle and the 9 mile morning/evening commute is getting a little faster all the time. I can take the pain of a hard effort better this week than last, and the recovery time seems to be a little shorter too. All of that is really good news!
On the flip side; Man is it depressing how much fitness I still don’t have! If a glass of water is my level of fitness, and FULL is where I was nine months previous to July 12th; I was EMPTY. Up 16 pounds, soft jello-like muscles, and no cardio to speak of, I was just empty. Nothing to offer but a new reality to endure.
Currently, the fitness glass is either half-full or half-empty, depending how you see things, and filling slowly. I have lost 6 pounds and the cardio is on its way back. The soft jello-muscles are slowly transitioning their way into the hard-working pistons they were – way back in October, 2010. And, as an added plus, my resting heart rate is down around 58 bpm. Good news!
“Think of what you want most, then become it”. June is when I began thinking.
When Doc said I could begin walking, I walked. If you read this bLog while I was recovering you know I walked several times and each time was better than the time before. I remember the first time I couldn’t get down to the end of the street without having to turn around and practically RUNNING back home to get in to the bathroom! A week or two later, I was down the street and around the corner for a 3 mile walk. After that a 7 mile jaunt. When you dedicate your life to a thing, nothing is terribly difficult!
After the first post-surgery PSA blood test I was told I could ride, so I rode. And it hurted me….but I hung in there anyway. And I rode every day for as long as I could handle the pain. I think the first ride was about 12 miles. After my neck muscles allowed it, I was back on the bike for a little longer ride of 18 miles. After my butt stopped feeling like I had left the saddle inside it, I was out again for more. I don’t recall the progression now, but suffice it to say I rode EVERY chance I got. And while I was not working, it was so easy!
After one month of riding as often as I could, on August 15th, I was back to work. After three months off (two of which were all about healing, the final about getting strong), I was back on the job. Which is when the bike commute began anew.
To refresh your memory, the bicycle commute takes me along the top of a really flat and paved levee for 3 miles before dropping on to our local river-hugging bike trail. Fully paved, lined, and marked for runners/walkers/bicycles there are no cars or motorized vehicles of any kind on any part of this ride, and that goes for another 4 miles. Then, I pick up another levee on the other side of the river that winds over to the downtown area where I integrate on to an actual road for a half mile and find myself at work with 9 miles logged. It is a nice ride of 30 minutes and it doesn’t hurt all day like it did one month ago….which is really good news because I turn around and go back the same way after work, and do this every workday! I make the commute as difficult as I can handle by keeping constant pressure on the pedals, and about half-way thru going into Time Trial mode for a dose of true effort. The commute is anything but mundane and it helps make me strong again.
Work is the thing I do between rides.
Health Stuff
Just yesterday I went to Vampire House where they drew blood from my arm again. PSA test and hoping for zeroes. Results next week….wish me luck!
And OK boys and girls, this is the serious part. If you don’t want to know the details about what happens when a doctor removes a man’s prostate, read no further.
Seriously….if you don’t want to know, stop reading.
I’ll wait.
{insert music here. Use the theme from “Jeapordy”}
OK, if everyone is gone who should be/wants to be gone, and the rest of you are interested in the embarrassing details, here you go:
Peeing. This WAS a problem. And I did not think it would ever get back to normal. They did the surgery and left a catheter in to allow the urethra to heal. They cut and reattach this pipe during surgery. After ten days they removed the catheter and I was certain I would never control my pee again. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to…wow, there’s a thought. Or maybe I would be in that awkward 10% of folks who never get that control back. Wear diapers? Ugh, THERE’S a lifetime of embarrassment! What a bummer it is to even THINK like that! Fortunately I did not need to harbor those thoughts as it became less and less of a problem to control starting/stopping and when/where for the next session in front of the porcelin. Today I have about 99% of that control back and have little concern knowing it will completely heal the way it should. I’ll put a check in the box marked “Success” for that problem.
Erection. Nope. None to report. It is easy (and disappointing) to report this as the one malady I currently endure. This was/is a concern they prepare you for and they also seem to think it will work itself out over the first year or so. I guess the nerves – even though they were spared during surgery – take time to heal. I guess. Fantastically, my wife is very supportive and has no concern either way. And really truly, me too. I mean, I don’t NEED an erection, but it is still weird I don’t get them anymore. After a lifetime of success, failure is the new reality. So I’ll put a check in the box for “Hopeful”. Not a complete failure yet. They say it needs more time. And apparently, thanks to the surgery, I’ve got that. Thanks doc!
Hello World!
I’m back.
Yes, my existence is all about a lot of things, but riding and getting healthy and making my legs take me places instead of sitting around thinking about stuff is what I am now focused on. The medical emergency of my recent past, is in my recent past. It has been locked up until it can be of use at a later time. Maybe I’ll be able to use the memory as an incentive to do something new and/or impossible. Or maybe I’ll help someone get their PSA blood test done so they don’t have to go through what I did. Hmm, have you checked YOUR PSA? If you haven’t, do it. It could save your life! Anyway, my rides have always helped me deal with what’s going on. Stuff like projects, life changing news, family situations, work….all sorts of stuff gets ironed out on these rides. And I have got to say, I have missed the rides!
Since you are here for a visit, you most likely know I am a bicycling fanatic and charting a fresh hundred miles a week is fairly average for me. Commuting to work, riding with friends, and challenging myself can really add up. If you didn’t know this before, now you do.
And this week, different than the past 36 weeks, I logged a couple of rides. Tuesday, July 12th, the ride was an up-and-back to Beal’s Point at Folsom Lake. This is a ride of 40 miles and has little tiny hills to climb when you get close to the Lake. Today, July 14th, the journey was a round trip from my house to downtown Sacramento. The ride is pancake-flat and winds on for just about 40 miles as well. Saturday, the plan is to get another 20 miles making the total mileage for the week a nice round hunskie (100).
And just in case anyone is reading this and wondering how David feels after today’s ride, it is like this; OUCH. The legs complained the entire way home. I told them to SHUT UP (just like Jens Voigt does, but he’s a pro and his legs probably listen). The lower back was guilty of noises too, and the neck is just about able to look up at the ceiling again. But you know what was giving out the most nonsense? My butt. Man-o-man, from the time I got on the bike to the time I called it done….that thing was hurtin’ for certain! Which is really unusual. Back about 9 months ago, when I last rode, I could sit on a 2×4 for 100 miles without too much complaining. But that was then…..
It amazes me how the body gets used to doing something physically demanding. I used to build fences and decks, and a trellis every now and again. In the heat of Summer it was nothing to begin a job at 7:30 a.m. and pound away until dinner. Yes, I was seriously hot at the end of a day and yes, I was tired and a little sore too. But it was never too much for my body and I was ready for more the next day. Amazing.
And riding a bicycle is like that too. Your arms get used to holding you up for hours on end, your neck takes care of all the bobble-headed things your skull goes through – including holding up a helmet all day. Your legs go hard when they must, and your lungs burn and your heart beats so hard it feels as if it could come out of your chest! And so on and so on.
Well, today’s ride today was almost too much and I could have easily quit at mile 30. There are a couple of shortcuts a rider can take which will easily cut 10 miles off this ride. Anytime I am riding late and need to make up time I take it, so it’s not like it’s some confusing route or something. But quitting just ain’t my bag and I really need these miles. And some of these so-called base miles best be a challenge if I am going to ride the way I want to!
Which is what today’s ride was all about: the challenge. And I did it. And I liked it!
Seriously; I’m back. Hello out there!
PS I’m not bald anymore, I still have really short hair, but I’m not bald. It’s not that I didn’t like the look, it just takes too much time! To those of you who shave your head, I tip my hat to you…..you look mahvelous!
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