Today marks 12 days post-surgery for me. My big news today is that I had my first post-op appointment and got my pathology report back, which was generally good, but like most things in life, not perfect. First the good. The moderately aggressive cancer I had – a prostatic adenocarcinoma if you just have to know – was relatively small and contained within my prostate. There are several “spread indicators” that get measured and they all came back negative, which is great news. The cancer had not metastasized.
The caveat is that there were some cancerous cells present “at the margin,” meaning that the cancer had reached the edge of my prostate and there’s a possibility, albeit small, that some cancer cells might still be floating around in there. The good news is that the particular type of cells at the margin were the lower-grade pattern 3, as opposed to the more aggressive pattern 4 which was evident elsewhere. That means that while the probability of a reoccurrence is low – statistically less than 5% – it’s possible that I might see it show up again, particularly since I statistically have 20-30 years left (which I guess is better than Hezekiah’s 15). I’d normally think those odds were pretty good, especially if we were talking about the chance of rain this month, were it not for the fact that my urologist gave me the same odds for the original cancer cells growing in the first place when I was diagnosed 2 years ago. And I know how that story ended.
So where does that leave me? Well, monitoring my PSA, which should now be 0, is the scorecard going forward. For a year I’ll do blood tests every 3 months and then every 6 months from then on out. So tracking my anxiety cycle should be pretty straightforward math. I think perhaps the Lord wants me to have a continual reminder that my life is entirely in his hands and to make a point to live ‘dependently.’
Pathology report aside, the doctor was pleased with my recovery so far. From my perspective, even though it’s going rather slowly, I feel like I’m progressing much better than I expected I would be. I’m told it’ll take 4-6 weeks for my body to completely heal from the procedure. As the doctor reminded me, there’s an organ that’s no longer in my body and a lot of stuff has been moved around and reconfigured. Some discomfort is supposed to be par for the course, which I’m still trying to get used to, and every day is a bit of an improvement. I’m supposed to take it really easy as far as physical activity goes, and when it comes to giving myself the best chance of my internal plumbing working the way it’s supposed to, you can bet I’m being a model patient!
To all those who have prayed, brought meals, and sent encouraging notes & emails, I give you a most hearty thank you! You’ve been a real blessing to me. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you, and give you peace.
