Requesting Advice

[stillane]

Hi all.

(Have you figured out yet that when a post starts that way, it's going to be a doozy?)

I have a request to make from all of you. I don't quite know how to put this, and I'm pretty much guaranteed to be incoherent about it, but here goes.


The background info:

Cancer. It's funny that I can type it, because so far I can't say it. I never understood the fear of that word before. No one I knew very well had ever had it, not in the present tense. I knew those who survived and I knew of those who hadn't, but I'd never been around for the diagnostic stage. Intellectually, I got it, and from a biologist's standpoint, I could explain the mechanisms and causes of it, but I never understood the way it can make you freeze up, make you shake so that your teeth rattle, make your chest hurt until you remember to breathe. I could see it, but I couldn't feel it.

I get it now.

I just hung up the phone with my dad. As it turns out, the biopsy that supposedly came back routine and safe and fine wasn't any of those things. My parents couldn't tell me until they'd had some time to deal with it. It seems tonight was the right time. I don't think there is a right time, but I guess this is as good as any.

I have no idea what to do with myself right now. They're saying it'll be okay, that I should stay at school and pay attention to course work and that sort of thing. They're tossing around options and making plans. Apparently, it hasn't spread, and it seems to be in the early stages. I don't know whether I should go home, or wait to hear what the treatment is going to entail, or try to finish out the semester. I just want to know what the odds are. I don't know that I can trust them to tell me.

I don't want to put more pressure on Dad, and I know that dropping it all and coming home now will do that. He'll feel guilty, and I can't add anything on top of all this. I'm also afraid things will go wrong, though, and I'll have wasted time. I have no idea what to do with this.



The important part:

All of this is leading to that favor I mentioned. I need more information on prostate cancer. I've got access to the usual list of treatment options and explanations, but anything you could add would be appreciated. Mostly, it would be good to hear from someone who's been through this, or who knows the ropes. I need to know what I should be listening for, just how scared I should be, what I should be preparing myself for. Anything you can offer would be gratefully accepted.

I'm sorry to bum everyone out, but I really need everyone possible to read this to get the widest information net I can. Thanks for your time and patience.

To those of you who know me well, please bear with me as I space out for the next few days. I'm still too numb to predict how I'll react once it sets in.

Comments

[tenaciousmetoo.livejournal.com]

Quick introduction in case I've never commented here before -- I'm a fan of your writing, and so I added you to my FList and Fic Filter. I hope it's not too forward of me to jump in and add my two cents, but I do know how scary the word "cancer" can be. So, at the risk of offending or making you feel "who is this person?" here's my input.

When I had thyroid cancer a few years ago, I was all over the internet seeking answers to questions about what I could expect, from symptoms to treatment options. There are a number of good technical sites, but the one I found most helpful was actually a support board (Healthboards) where patients and families of patients shared their experiences. There are specific threads for various conditions.

I have to include the caveat that most of these people are NOT physicians or trained medical professionals, but they do have a lot of information to share that can help you research things and answer some questions.

The prostate cancer thread begins here. Hopefully, the folks who post there are as well-informed and helpful as I found in Thyroid World.

If/when your folks share more technical details, you will know more and more about what to expect, but "not having spread" and "caught early" are the things you really want to hear when dealing with abnormal cells. Remind yourself that this is treatable, generally with minor side effects (many of which are personal and your folks may not want to discuss with you), and do your best to continue with your "normal" life without letting fear take over.

Sending support and many healing thoughts your way.

[stillane.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It's not forward at all. I wouldn't mind if you were just stopping by to babble, and certainly not when you've come to offer help. There's absolutely nothing offensive in that.

The Healthboards site has been extremely helpful. It's very much what I was looking for in terms of the human side of the equation. I have biologists and anatomy types around me who can probably explain much of the rest, but the 'been there, done that' factor and commiseration are things that I wasn't sure where to find. I'll definitely be adding that one to the list of places to point my dad to.

One of the scarier parts of all this is that I'm usually the medical source for the family. Typically, they toss out an issue and I go to work figuring out the best approaches, what questions to ask, etc. I know my parents weren't impressed with the doctor who handled all this, and it worries me not to know the quality of the information they were getting. It helps immeasurably to have some knowledge base to work from, and to have a hint about what I should be keeping my ears and eyes open for.

Thank you again, both for the information and the sentiment behind it. It is greatly appreciated.