Prostatic Adenocarcinoma

And the beat goes on.  I was up until 2am researching…well sort of.  Basically I was reading and getting more and more anxious about the decisions I need to make.  However, I did finally make a request of my urologist to refer me to an oncologist at the Duke Cancer Center to at least get more information on alternatives other than surgery (that was at 1:30am).   Not that I’ve made a decision to pursue another option, but I do want to make sure I have explored all information I can get before the decision is made.  Of course, I’m sure I won’t hear anything from my urologist until the first of the week with regard to this, and even then it will probably be days, if not a couple of weeks before I could get in to see the oncologist.  Even so, it’s forward progress, at least in my mind.

At my appointment last Thursday, we went ahead and made a 3 month appointment for another PSA, DRE and possible ultrasound (automatically in the “active surveillance” mode), so any information I can ascertain prior to that would be a plus.  That isn’t to say that between now and then I won’t make the decision to go ahead and have the surgery, which is a real possibility.  I’ve talked to family and friends about the information I got from my urologist and the prevailing opinion is that I go ahead and have the surgery.  The thought of the surgery isn’t pleasant, however it’s not the actual surgery that has me hesitating, it’s the after effects of the surgery that give me pause.  Am I rambling?  I think I am.

Anywho, I am going to be in a holding pattern until I hear back from my urologist or Duke.  Maybe I’ll get lucky and this will be done quickly (because we all know I am a really lucky person….please note the tone of extreme sarcasm in that).  I’m scared, I’m anxious, I’m nervous, I’m spending way too much time in my own head!

Thank you for the outpouring of notes of concern, optimism, prayers and support.  It means so much and is very helpful knowing so many people are “in my corner”.

Peace-

Jeff

10:37am P.S. - and just like that, after maybe "overstepping" what is proper protocol, I will be hearing from a patient coordinator at Duke the first of the week.  Sometimes it pays to know someone there who is an awesome, awesome doctor and person!  Thank you Yousuf.