BEST NEWS IN A LONG TIME

Well, this morning Cindy & I hoped to hear the news we wanted to hear. She stayed home from work for a few hours so she could share the news with me.

One week ago, I had my prostatectomy...removal of my prostate due to cancer found in it in July. The gland, once removed, is tested in pathology, to gather more information about the cancer than was discovered in the biopsy samples.

We were told to call today, and we'd hear the pathology findings. When I called the office about 830am, I got the voice mail...so I left my message and number...and hoped they'd call back soon. We got our return call in about 15 minutes. I put the phone on speaker so Cindy & I could both listen to the comments together. We heard what we wanted to hear.

First, the Gleason score remained at 6. The Gleason score evaluates the aggressiveness of the cancer. '10' is very aggressive...'5' is less aggressive. The Gleason score on my biopsy in July was '6'...indicating it was not an overly aggressive tumor...but somewhat aggressive. The Gleason score on the pathology stayed at 6...so it was indeed NOT...overly aggressive.

Second, the tumor was about 5% of the overall mass of the gland...so it wasn't large. That would make you think it was caught in its' early stages.

Third...and most important...the margins of the gland showed no evidence of tumor growth...meaning that the tumor was all 'inside' the prostate...and hadn't started growing 'out' of it...and attacking other areas of the body.

It was about as good of news as we could have hoped. Cindy & I had a good hug...feeling like we'd just won a big battle.

Now it's just going through the healing process...taking the occasional tests when needed...and believing that the tumor is all gone...and will stay gone.

Best news we've received in a long time.


Dan