Hi All
Just to say a quick hello and let you all know a quick snapshot of my PC journey. I have avoided the past but now feel I can both receive and provide support in this community to hopefully relieve our anxieties together.
Despite living with Prostate Cancer, now advanced, I am an active and relatively happy manwho has run half marathons every year for the past 17 years until 2020 lockdown, including a Dublin Marathon. I have been fortunate enough to have lived a relatively good life with Prostate Cancer. I hope this message alone will help many of you in this community. I recently retired after 40 years in IT, leaving as a successful Programme Manager.
I am 62 years old and was diagnosed with aggressive (Gleason Score 9) PC at the age of 49 in 2011. Following , immediate, laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy to remove my Prostate in 2011, I thought that would be happy days for me.
That was not to be as my PSA kept increasing moderately for 8 months post Surgery - clearly some invisible PC cells had escaped my Prostate!. I was then offered the only other curative treatment of 20 session of radiotherapy to blast the area, once occupied by my Prostate, in the hope to catch and destroy any escaped disease.
No such luck, as my PSA kept rising very slowly and stubbornly over the next 2 years. So my PC was now non-curable and "Advanced". So the oncologists offered me intermittent Hormone Therapy Injections over the years with 3 monthly PSA blood tests to monitor the progress of the escaped disease.
Since 2019, 8 years after original surgery and radiotherapy I have been on continuous HT injections, every 12 weeks to manage the illness. And finally in June 2022, medical scans have shown that my cancer has metastasised and spread a little. So lucky me, I have even more HT on top of the injections in the for of Enzalutamide.
But life goes on and I am still living it to the best of my ability.
Feels great to have finally put this down in writing and hope it helps you all in some way
Have a great evening
P
Good Morning Prad
A warm welcome to our little group. It's really inspiring when someone arrives with a "success" story and is willing to share how they arrived there. It's fantastic to read how you have gone from diagnosis in 2011 to 2023.
I wish you many more years of good health - stay with us and feel free to join in any conversations and offer advice gleaned from your 12 year journey down the Prostate Cancer route.
Many thanks for your post and best wishes - Brian.
Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm
Strength, Courage, Faith, Hope, Defiance, VICTORY.
I am a Macmillan volunteer.
Thank you Robt. Love your great attitude
Hello Prad
Thank you and what an inspiring post, considering what you have gone/are going through.- I wish you well and hope things continue to improve.
I will take this opportunity to remind everyone, however you are feeling and whatever your needs are help is available and is only a free call away - Macmillan Helpline 0808 808 00 00 (8am to 8pm 7 days a week).
Best wishes to you and your family and thanks for posting - Brian.
Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm
Strength, Courage, Faith, Hope, Defiance, VICTORY.
I am a Macmillan volunteer.
