Hi COD,

I recently went through what you're facing, back on Sept 15, 2010. I did, infact have cancer. My P.S.A. was only a 4.2, but it had gone up up fairly fast over the last two years. My Gleason ended up being a 7 after the biopsy. There is a PSA test that breaks things down more thoroughly than the standard test, and it can tell you whether you're a candidate for a biopsy. The biopsy sounds worse than it is, but it is a bit unpleasant. There's a little tenderness for a day or two after, then it's pretty much only a colorful memory.

I elected to have DaVinci robotic surgery and I'm really pleased with the results. My abdoman was quite tender for about 2 weeks and I had to deal with a catheter for about 2 weeks, too. That was a pain, but better than the alternative. My biopsy after surgery came back, indicating a 2 cm tumor, confined to inside my prostate; nothing had spred to the lympth nodes or surrounding tissue. My PSA after 8 weeks was less than 0.1, which indicated that I am apparently on a good path. The results couldn't be better. I do have 5 1" scars that should heal pretty well. They were glued shut, so no stitch marks.

While all of this was going on, I was in the midst of 2 surgeries for a broken femur with 2 long plates, 12 screws and a chunk of cadaver bone to replace my damaged femur. That's been much harder to deal with. The good news is I should recover from both maladies and I'll be on my bike in a few weeks as we head south in our RV to S. CA and S. AZ. 2010 was a tough year--glad I had great insurance. The bills approached $200K.