[En español]
I’ve returned to this blog to make an announcement to family, friends and those who care. Some don’t yet know, others only have sketchy details, but all deserve to better understand my husband’s (TJ’s) condition.
I’ve returned to this blog to make an announcement to family, friends and those who care. Some don’t yet know, others only have sketchy details, but all deserve to better understand my husband’s (TJ’s) condition.
TJ was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
The good news is that it's been caught on time, it's contained to the prostate and that it's treatable. We are also lucky in that we have a little bit of time to educate ourselves and decide on a treatment path.
The not-so-great news is that our insurance, the City of Houston’s Cigna KelseyCare, has made it more difficult for us to understand this illness and learn about all the available options.
The other good news is that TJ has not had any symptoms. Had it not being for good Dr. Sarwar, our Primary Health Care Physician, TJ would not have known he’s walking around with cancer.
Dr. Sarwar is the one who performs our annual physical exams and who told us TJ’s Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA, a marker for prostate cancer marker found in blood samples) had been increasing steadily for the last four years. He said this is a “red flag” and gave TJ a referral to an urologist.
That was in September 2011. The urologist was unable to see him for another month. And it wasn’t until December 23, 2011 when a biopsy was performed.
On January 2, 2012 we received a call from the urologist, who told us the biopsy was positive for cancer. Later that week, we had a meeting with the urologist, who explained he’s an expert on the latest robotic surgery technique for a radical prostatectomy (removal of the prostate gland). He summarily mentioned different treatment options, as is if it were a laundry list and swiftly recommended surgery. When we asked him to better explain our options, he mentioned that MD Anderson would do the same thing, but with a fancy name and charge ten times more.
The only document received from him (or anyone at Kelsey-Seybold) was a single piece of paper, which he turned over to scribble his assistant’s phone number so we could schedule a surgery.
The surgery was scheduled for Monday, February 13. That’s today. But, before you pray for the Lord to bless the surgeon’s hands, let me tell you this: there is no surgery today.
Between that meeting with the urologist and today there’s been a dramatic saga. TJ talked to many friends who have had the same diagnose and who have undergone different treatments. I have not been privy to those conversations, as they have been guy-to-guy talks. We’ve studied many Web sites, seen many videos, and read a book.
We’ve also spent an enormous sum seeking a “second opinion”. That sounded like the smart thing to do, but nobody really knows what it entails until he or she has to seek one.
Finally, we called MD Anderson. It only makes sense because, after all, isn’t that where people come to from all over the world? Isn’t that regarded as one of the best in the world?
Up until this point, “battling cancer” had been about relatively small skirmishes. The first real battle, the one where my Mother’s Sacred Name was taken in vain, was about to begin. It was us versus Kelsey-Seybold.
I’ve written a lot today. I could keep writing, but I’m sure you need to get back to something else.
For now, suffice it to say that TJ decided to cancel, or at least delay the radical prostatectomy that would have taken place today. He’s currently more pursuing something called brachytherapy. More tests to come.
