CLog (part 6):
The Genetics
It’s 9 years since my first little scrap with the disease, and looking back I can’t help but think that I was lucky.
Two years prior my Dad was taken from us with Prostate Cancer, diagnosed in September 2014, passed in May 2015… I count myself as blessed that I was with him at the end when the nurse looked me in the eye and said “that was his last breath”.
Having never considered the genetics previously, this made me think, Dads illness was relatively short, so I’m assuming his diagnosis was too late, so should I be concerned?!?!
So 2 years on, and I don’t know why, I decided to have a health check. The nurse was checking my weight, blood pressure etc and then started taking bloods and I asked is the PSA check included and its not, “you’ll have to speak to the doc” she said and I did, and eventually he agreed to put me forward, after discussing my Dads story with him, and thank goodness he did.
Long story short, from having 2 blood tests, imploding as per a previous CLog, having a Biopsy which wasn’t overly concerning to the docs and they said I may need to just be monitored for a while, to having an MRI which showed aggressive ‘C’ on the blind side of my Prostate to making the decision to have a Robotic Prostatectomy was around 3 months.
I’m no scientist and these words are mine alone, but this disease can be passed down, unfortunately… I seem to be living proof of that and I’m glad that I did something about it and perhaps yes, I was a tad lucky. So again, know your body, know your family history and don’t ’bury your head’! A double whammy for me was the fact Mum was taken by Cancer of the Oesophagus, she was declining with Dementia, but the Cancer took her from us in the end.
“Giving back and raising awareness to create hope”.
#CancerJourney #CancerAwareness #CancerResearch
‘Mountains for the Mind’ will be my next CLog.
Today’s Track from my years. Another incredible female artist, Gladys Knight with The Way we Were, and it’s all about our memories… thank goodness for memories… we all go through tragedy at some point in our lives, some of the pain does ease with time, but thankfully our memories remain.
