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Hal's Cancer Story
My diagnosis: I was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a bad PSA test and a subsequent biopsy in July of 2018. The news came the same week I was retiring from Ford after working there for 33 years as an engineer. There is no good time for a cancer diagnosis, but to be hit with that kinda thing the same week of retirement, when you're supposed to happy to finally have your freedom and everyone is wishing you well, I felt like a liar smiling and telling everyone how much I was looking forward to being retired. It really sucked, but I dealt with it, because I had to. So it goes in life.
My story: I had no family history and no worries
about prostate cancer, because my PSA was low and I didn t have
any of the normal symptoms. (My prostate worked!) But my
doctor thought she felt a bump with her finger. Initially I did see
a urologist and got an ultrasound, but he wasn t overly concerned
and with the highly prevalent news of debilitating effects of false positive treatments, I decided against getting a biopsy at that time. That turned out to be a mistake for me.
When I did agreed to get the invasive, uncomfortable, and somewhat risky
biopsy procedure, it was too late. My PSA suddenly shot up from
under 4 (3.8) to over 50 and I soon found out that not only did I have
prostate cancer, it had spread to my hip. One common treatment for prostate
cancer is antiandrogen therapy (which is similar to chemical castration).
I know all of that stuff now because I ve been
going through the gauntlet of treatments,
including anti-androgens, chemotherapy and
radiation. All cancer sucks, but
prostate cancer is both humiliating and
potentially deadly. Lucky for me, my body responded incredibly well to the treatment, so my chances are good - much better than others who don't respond as well and eventually have castration-resistant metastatic cancer. At least I was spared that (at least so far). OK
that s all. Take care, be well, live long, and good luck always. -Hal
August 2020 update: After my radiation treatment I continued on hormone therapy for over a year, and after about 20 months of that (as of about 3 months ago), my doctors agreed to allow me to discontinue that and see if I truly am in remission. So far things are going well, and I have no signs of any recurring cancer in me, and I am actually returning to "normal" to a large degree with my physical being as I was before the treatments, which is a bit of a miracle, but I'll take it! So, I am hoping (and keeping my fingers crossed) that my cancer was actually cured! Time will tell, but so far, so good!