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My
Cancer Trek
aka
The Tokyo Roast
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On 11/10/06, at age 59, I found that I had prostate cancer.
As the most common cancer in men, it kills 15% of those who get it.
My case, a most uncommon one, led me to Tokyo.
I hope my story can help others.
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| It is seven weeks since my operation to clear scar tissue out of my urethra. ... |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| It Sucks. For the last two weeks my urine stream has been slowing. By yesterday it was a dribble. ... |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| It’s in and it is good. PSA is 0.1. This is a very good PSA following HIFU and a good indicator that there aren’t a bunch of cancer cells ravaging my body as I write this. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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Today is a fork in the road. I get the results of my first PSA since my operation in March. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Joe put things into perspective. “Think about how much better off you are than when you had a tube running out of your dick and a bag around your leg.” |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I am so thrilled about that I could just pee in my pants. Oh, I did, whoops.
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| It has been 3 days since my catheter has come out and things are going very, very well. Sure there are some problems. I am leaking. Bending, squatting, lifting, and sometimes laughing, create a sudden feeling of wetness that you gotta hope doesn’t show. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| At this point I have to hope for the best and just enjoy not having that tube stuck up in me and that damn bag on my leg. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| This is the part where I grab hard on the sides of the examining table, grit my teeth, and hope it doesn’t take too long. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I could return to the meeting and just watch the reactions as the smell permeated the room. I suppose I could try to find some sort of humor in that. I could picture it as a scene in a movie comedy. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I could be scared, in fact, at times I am. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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Today was an example of how a catheter can create a bad day. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I just need to get my head around this and treat it as a battle that I will fight and win. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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I’m in real trouble. My urethra is basically closed off with dead tissue and it looks like I may have a painful, year long fight to try to correct it. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| He responded by saying that he wasn’t interested in research out of some Eastern European journal. I noted his adding the word "Eastern" and what he was implying by that. HIFU treatment and research is actually carried out mainly in Germany, Japan, Austria, and Great Britian. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Next came the bad news. As he pushed the camera in he had me look at the screen. My urethra lining has some real damage. He said that if we let it heal as is, the scaring tissue would probably close up the urethra completely. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Last night I got up every 30 to 45 minutes. At 5 a.m I dreamed I was peeing again at the toilet. I was peeing all right, but not at the toilet. Disgusted, I got up and went downstairs. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| These men had seen it all. Several had lived through multiple recurrences and multiple interventions. Many have had years of their lives turned upside down. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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I seem to be recovering some functioning. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| The problem has been going on for about four days. I have a weak stream and have to pee frequently. I get up hourly at night. There is some discomfort in the penis when I pee. All this seemed to follow the period when I was having a lot of bleeding. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| This is the 2000 pound gorilla in the room that many are afraid to talk about. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| This is part of the problem of doing a procedure overseas. It is not as easy to get answers to these kinds of questions. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| "Oh my god, is he a eunuch?" My friend Don said that was the frist thought he had years ago when an old friend said he had prostate cancer. This gets to the heart of the biggest, but most difficult to talk about fear that men have when facing prostate cancer treatment. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I think I left the urologists office happier than I have been over anything since the operation. I called MA and headed straight back to King Corona. I felt like a normal human being! |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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I didn’t know about this part. I thought by now it would all be smooth sailing. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| When I don’t take sufficient meds, I can get quite uncomfortable with the pain. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| So now, my "normal life" is changed, and I hope it will be one that is even more rewarding than the one I had before the date of my diagnosis. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| WARNING TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY: Entries from this point on are designed to be helpful to those who are interested in the physical and emotional aspects of recovery. They will deal very openly with the side effects of prostate cancer treatment, like impotency and incontinence. If you are a family member or friend who does not care to know or be involved in such intimate details, then do not read the next few entries. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I you, or somebody you know, may be willing to share your story, please contact me at trwatson@tampabay.rr.com or at 813-361-6200. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Thank you to those of you who followed the BLOG. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| A critical part of our work includes patient stories about their best and worst doctor experiences. We would like to hear yours. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Please take a moment to enjoy some of the pictures we took along the way. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I went to urinate and was shocked to find that my genital area had doubled in size. This size increase was not the type that many men might hope for. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| don't come unless you can use, or are ready to learn to use, chopsticks. We haven't seen a fork and knife since we arrived. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I may have had the largest prostate in the world to be fully treated by ultrasound. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I am writing this entry primarily for those who may have to go through treatment. If you don’t care to know the physical details, you may want to skip this part. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Life is Good! |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| “you’ll have a lot of dead time in the hospital.” |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| It is surreal to be rolling down the hall on a gurney looking up at several of the Japanese staff and not understanding a word being said. It seemed more like a dream, and not a good one, than reality. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Dr. Uchida sat silently for what seemed like a long time. I watched his face. I was afraid that he was going to say that he couldn’t proceed with the operation and that I needed to return home. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| All of a sudden Uchida told us that the operation would be tomorrow, Tuesday, not on Thursday as planned. I was to begin tests immediately. I was no longer relaxed. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Dr. Uchida himself came down to the lobby to meet us. He brought with him the hospital’s head nurse. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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The Japanese home is very different than we are used to in the U.S. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| I have seen most of the mountain ranges in the U.S and Europe but what I saw flying over Alaska was unlike anything I had ever seen. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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And so our little adventure begins. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| This procedure has been used in Europe for 15 years, Japan for 8 years and for lesser amounts of time in other places like Mexico, Canada, Australia, etc. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| We left only being clear of one thing. He simply did not want to treat me. We knew at that point that we had to go elsewhere for treatment. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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| Despite my fears, my pelvic scan and bone scans came back clean. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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It is 3am. In a few hours I will go to the doctor to see if the cancer has spread to the bones. |
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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Scheduling With Moffitt
11/14/06
This got to me. Somehow, the actual scheduling with the cancer center helps to bring it home. It is part of a labeling process. I am a cancer patient.
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| Posted by Terry R Watson at | | | |
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