2002 Soap Box Archives

Prostate Cancer Revisited

The other day I learned that a friend of mine had been diagnosed
with prostate cancer and I called to lend support and encourage him.

He was somewhat scared of course, everybody is when they are told that
they have cancer. It’s one of the scariest words in the English
language.
As many of you know I went through prostate cancer last year and thank
God and the prayers of his people, with the help of a great doctor, I am
thankful to say that I’m completely cured.

I learned a good bit about prostate cancer during the time when I was
being treated and I would like to share some of that with you in hopes
of dispelling some of the fears that some of you may have if you have
been told that you have prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is common in men over fifty and can be detected by a
simple blood test called a P.S.A. Every middle aged man should have his
P.S.A. levels checked at least once a year. It could save your life.
You see if the cancer is contained within the prostate, the prostate can
be removed and it is one hundred percent curable.

If you are unaware of the cancer and it moves outside the prostate you
could be in big trouble.
I would advise anybody who is diagnosed with prostate cancer to get a
second opinion as to which treatment you should have.

There are options and you should be made aware of them all so you can
evaluate which one is best for you.

Make sure that the doctor you choose is the very best one available in
your area, someone who has treated lots of cases and someone you can
have confidence in.

I am not implying by a long shot that prostate surgery is a cake walk.
Far from it. But I must admit that it was not nearly as bad as I had it
pictured.
There was not very much pain.

If you have your prostate removed, they just go in and take it out, they
don’t have to move a lot of internal organs around, which causes major
soreness.

I was only in the hospital for two days and didn’t even open the pain
prescription they sent home with me.

When you wake up from surgery you will have a catheter which you’ll have
to wear for a couple of weeks or so. I know it sounds like a lot of
trouble but it really isn’t. They even have portable models which are
hidden under your clothes and you can go about your daily life without
anybody even knowing about it.

You won’t be able to pick up anything heavy for six weeks or so. This
is because of the danger of a hernia in the groin area.

I can’t stress strongly enough how important it is to have your P.S.A.
levels checked. If your levels rise, your doctor can take a biopsy or
actually several biopsies in the prostate, which is no big deal .

Early detection of prostate cancer means the difference in receiving
treatment and getting on with your life or having the cancer spread to
parts of your body which require much more extensive and complex
treatment.

And most importantly if you are a person of faith it makes all the
difference in the world. The doctor does the treating but God does the
healing.

I had a lot of people praying for me and I just said,”God, I can’t
handle this, I’ve got to turn it over to you.”

I remember going into the operating room in good spirits. My doctor
said, ”Are you ready to get this done?” I replied. "Let’s get it over
with.”
The next thing I remember was partially waking up on a gurney being
rolled to my hospital room and thinking, "It’s all over.”

I know that this is my third time mentioning it but if being redundant
will encourage someone to have there P.S.A. levels checked regularly
then I’ll repeat myself. Get it done.

Pray for our troops.

What do you think?

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels

 

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