I have a request....

I'm not really sure how to put this post into words but now that I have the "ok" to do it I will.

My family and I were at my parents house in Jan/Feb and we talked about how this was going to become the "year from hell" as one Queen so nicely put it.

Among a few other things going on in our lives we got some bad news. My Dad had to go to the doctors. It turns out his PSA numbers (prostate specific antigen) were high. This could be because of an infection, or because of cancer. Dad's doctors suggested he do a biopsy. So he did. This was the beginning of a long hard March for our family. There was the waiting and the praying that this would come back as an infection.

When Mom and Dad did go to their follow up appointment last week we got the bad news. My Dad has Prostate Cancer.

I had done some research on my own, and with the help of a friend of mine whose father has had Prostate Cancer, learned that it can be treated by using Radiation, Chemotherapy and by doing surgery.

When my parents came home from the appointment I was told that this type of cancer, because it was so aggressive in Dad, was suggested to be treated by surgery. And that Dad's surgery date is April 1st.... tomorrow.

I'm not 100% sure what else to tell people. Lately it has been something along the lines of

"My Dad has prostate cancer and will be having surgery on Friday. He found out last week and we are praying that this will cure Dad from any other cancer developing"

or

"Dad's PSA levels were high so he went to the specialist and we discovered it was cancer. He has surgery April 1st and we are praying that everything will be fine."

To be honest I'm not sure what or how much people want to know. I can tell you I have learned ALOT about Prostate Cancer, how it is treated, what happens and what the recovery from these types of surgery are like. I can also tell you that it is "weird" talking to guys and telling them to start asking that their PSA levels get tested from now on at their physicals. And how important it is to stay on top of something like this.

Generally when you tell people their responses are

"It's the most curable cancer (and it has a very high rate 90% or better if they have surgery), I'm sure he will be fine"

Or

"I have an Uncle/Dad/Cousin/Brother/ect that has it so I totally understand (which makes sense since 1 in 6 men will have prostate cancer)"

Or

"What is it?"

All those responses are valid and I, personally, love hearing about someone who has it or has been cured from it. It's such a wonderful thing to hear.

I'm writing this post to let you know what is going on. This has been *such* a big thing in our lives right now and it's hard not to share it with family, friends and those people who would support me and my family.

Right now I can tell you Daddy's surgery is April 1st at 11:20am. He has to be at the hospital in the morning. I'm not 100% sure what will happen after that.

From speaking with some friends whose close family members have had this I understand that the first few days he will be in the hospital (for Dad it will be Friday to Monday). Then home with a day nurse coming to check in on him for 2 to 3 weeks (depending on the person and their recovery rate). After that they say that your recovery time is about 8 weeks. A friend told me that her dad was doing alright before 8 weeks but was still slow to get around and in some pain. It does get better.

I am hoping that from this blog post at least 1 thing will happen.

You are a bit more educated about Prostate Cancer
You understand a bit of what is happening with our family and/or
You pray for us tomorrow.

My family (Arnold, Kyler, Quinton and I) are heading down tonight. We will be staying in a hotel to make sure Dad doesn't get sick from any of us. I'll be dropped off in the morning at Mom and Dad's place, visit for a bit and head to the hospital with Dad and Mom. I'll stay there until Dad's out of surgery. My job this weekend, as I see it, aside from visiting with my Daddy, is to be with Mom. It's been hard on all of us right now and I think that both Mom and Dad need as much prayer as possible.

If you could pray about these things that would be wonderful:

*For Dad - for his nerves, his surgery, his recovery process
*For the Doctors - for their hands to be guided and for them to remove all the cancer there
*For Mom - for her nerves, for her time with Dad during the recovery and for her well-being
*For our family - to keep us calm and allow us to take this in stride, esp for Jack who has exams this week, and next, at school
*For our extended Family and Friends - who will be praying for us daily and trying to assist Mom and Dad as much as possible

If you have any questions, ask. If I don't know the answer now I will find out for you, or help you find the answers. If nothing else this will help us be a little more aware of what another kind of cancer is out there.