Home From Yet Another Surgery

The prostatectomy took place on Tuesday, although late in the evening due to an unexpectedly long surgery in the operating room ahead of me. Susan and Catherine were waiting for me in my room when I was wheeled in around 10 p.m. The surgery went better than expected, and although we do not yet have the final pathology report back, my surgeon seems optimistic that we got all the cancer (couched in the appropriate disclaimers we lawyers are trained to recognize). I was discharged yesterday morning and Susan and I promptly went for a short walk around the neighborhood. An activity very reminiscent of last summer's multiple hospitalizations and recoveries. One of our neighbors even asked if I had had a relapse, having noticed my slow deliberate pace. Fortunately that was not the case.

I feel surprisingly good after undergoing this 3 1/2 hour surgery. I walked close to a mile this morning and will take a shorter walk this evening. The walks tire me out but I have learned they are the best recovery mechanism available.

The Light the Night Walk is gearing up well. The response has been tremendous. Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor. I've already rasied over $6,000!!! I am so committed to this because the new drugs are what has saved my life and I know that others will be facing what I faced when I was first diagnosed. Whatever you can do is greatly appreciated.

Oh, and Julia has, in fact, now shaved her head. We have seen pictures....she is still cute. And we get to see her this weekend. She's always been one to push the boundaries so we're not surprised. She makes me smile. My brother Tom thinks it is a great display of self confidence. Yeh, that's one way to look at it. Or another is ......never mind.

I don't know when we'll start the velcade/steroids routine again, but am actually enjoying the clearheadedness I feel after almost 2 weeks without chemo. I'll probably get next week off also, then back to the weekly chemo infusion. Oh well, that's my life. Thanks for all the support through this last surgery. It feels good to have it behind me.

My surgeon just called with the path results: clear at the margins, which means it does not appear the cancer spread beyond the gland that was removed; or the hormone shots I've been getting for the past year caused it to retreat. He'll watch me for a year or so, with PSA (prostate specific antigen) tests of the blood just to make sure.
Love,
Dan