I am honored to present Tina as my very first guest blogger. Tina is a childhood friend of mine, who I reconnected with recently through Facebook, only to find out that we are fellow bloggers.
You can find Tina at Parent Grapevine, where she has written a 10-part series on her personal experience dealing with her husband’s prostate cancer, and more. I encourage you to read her blog, whether you’re a caregiver of a loved one with cancer, or know someone with prostate cancer. Her series opened my eyes and gave me a new appreciation of what the cancer patient and family endure on their way to recovery, and how to better support a friend with cancer.
_______________________________________________________________________
 |
| Tina, her husband and their three beautiful daughters |
When my husband was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer (“PC”) in January of this year, it came as a shock to both of us. He was on the cusp of turning 50 in February, relatively young for such a diagnosis. I had just thrown him the biggest surprise party a few months prior to catch him off guard. He was in peak physical condition. But sometimes cancer is out of your control no matter how healthy you live your life.
For those of you unfamiliar with PC, here are some interesting facts:
1. PC is more aggressive in an African-American person than a Caucasian person, and even less common among Asians than in Caucasians.
2. PC is responsible for more deaths than any other cancer except for lung cancer in men.
3. About 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with PC during his lifetime, but only 1 in 34 will die of it.
4. The risk of developing PC increases after age 50.
5. The majority of PC are diagnosed in men 65 years of age or older.
6. PC is a relatively slow growing cancer. For all stages of the cancer, the average 5-year survival rate is 98% and the 10-year survival rate is 84%. Most people do not die of PC as long as it is diagnosed.
7. PC does not initially produce symptoms, so early detection is key.
8. The risk of diagnosis increases if a family member (father, brother) has been diagnosed with it.
9. A little over 1.8 million men are survivors of PC, including my husband.
When was your husband diagnosed with PC?
He was just on the cusp of turning 50 this past January when he was diagnosed. We don’t know how long he had it before the diagnosis, but for those familiar with the scoring method, he had a Gleason of 6, and more than 50% of his prostate had cancer. He was stage T2a (Click on this link to read more about PC and staging). He could have had it for over a year but we did not know. His PSA was only 1.4, relatively low. That score was not an indicator.
Does PC or any other form of cancer run in his family?
My husband’s father was diagnosed with PC at the age of 65. My father-in-law also had a number of other ailments including his first heart attack at 49 (he’s had three since that time). So my husband and I were always cognizant of this potential mix of high risk and unfortunately, his dad’s worrisome DNA make-up. His father turns 76 this year. We call him the bionic man because he’s had so many ailments but he keeps on ticking. BTW, it does seem that PC runs in families, and if a father has it, the son tends to get it at an earlier age than the father. Perhaps related to this is my husband’s younger brother, who at age two, died of leukemia. So there was definitely a family history of cancer.
What sort of physical health is your husband in today?
My husband has always been in excellent physical health in all the 25 years I’ve known him, and even way before that. When he was in his early twenties, he and three friends biked across the country. They biked from Seattle to Pennsylvania, raising money for the American Cancer Association. He runs, bikes and swims on a regular basis. But that does not always translate to a cancer-free life, unfortunately. However, by following our concerted lifestyle which includes eating right, exercise and regular checkups, it was because of a routine physical exam that his physician detected the PC and it was treated in a timely and effective manner. His physician literally saved his life because he was aware of my husband’s family history and did a thorough exam.
What treatment did he choose to treat his PC?
There are many options these days to treat PC. We chose the one best suited for our lifestyle and age. He chose to have a radical prostatectomy using the daVinci robotics method. That means with the aid of a Hi-Res robotic system, his surgeon completely removed the prostate and the pathology report confirmed that the cancer was fully contained, it did not spread to any other part of his body. He can be considered to be cancer free and aside from regular checkups every 3 months for a few years, we can expect many years ahead of us. His quarterly checkups ensure that his PSA should be zero, otherwise if it is not that is an indicator that the cancer has returned.
How important was eating healthy before and after his diagnosis?
We both feel it was extremely important. Although he was always eating “right” which means lots of salmon, whole grains, lots of fruit and vegetables, you sometimes just can’t get away from genetics. We think that because he was in such great physical shape prior to his diagnosis, his recovery has been rapid compared to other men his age who had the same diagnosis. We met a number of other men also diagnosed with PC around the same age as my husband. We’ve learned that their recovery has been more difficult. They were not in as good physical condition and to us that means they did not exercise or eat healthy. We think that has a lot to do with recovery and an on-going good prognosis.
Have his eating habits changed because of this?
We feel we always ate healthy. Whole grains, little to no red meat, lots of fish, fresh vegetables and fruit. But we have completely removed red meat from our diet. We also amped up the broccoli and green leafy vegetables to our list. And prior to this he did have the occasional glass of wine or bottle of beer, but for whatever reason he does not have a high tolerance for alcohol so that has lessened on its own.
How do you know Jeanette?
I’ve known Jeanette since she was in the second grade. When my family moved from Texas to Maryland, she was the first Asian person I ever knew outside my own family; it did not seem that any Asians were in El Paso. Through the years, we lost touch but reconnected recently through her brother and Facebook. I live in California, but we manage to stay connected! I learned about her healthy living blog because we are both avid bloggers. You can follow me on @parentgrapevine (twitter) and www.parentgrapevine.blogspot.com. I’ve written a 10-part series on my personal experience dealing with my husband’s prostate cancer.
Salmon Livornese
Tina’s family often makes baked or steamed salmon, tomatoes and greens for dinner. I found this recipe on PetitChef.com. Serve with steamed spinach, sprinkled with olive oil and lemon juice.
 |
| Salmon Livornese from Petit Chef |
1 pound salmon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, diced
4 garlic gloves, minced
3 cups canned crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons capers, finely chopped
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and chopped
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven at 400 F degrees. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, capers, olives, lemon zest and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven at 400 F degrees. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, capers, olives, lemon zest and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Spread half of the tomato mixture in a lightly greased baking pan. Place salmon on top of tomato mixture. Squeeze lemon juice over salmon. Spread remaining tomato mixture over salmon. Bake in the oven for 15 to 30 minutes (15 minutes if you have 1/2-thick fillet or 30 minutes if you have 1-inch thick fillet).
Makes 3 to 4 portions.
More Cancer Survivor Stories:
Tina’s husband’s own story, Living Inspite of Cancer: Livestrong Wear Yellow 10-2-10 Day
Toddler Planet, written by Susan Niebur, cancer survivor/astrophysicist/mom of two happy little boys
Other Side of Cancer, written by Greg Johnston, who hopes to benefit others by sharing his experiences as a cancer survivorCancer and Diet:
American Cancer Institute: Lycopene
HealthCastle.com: Lycopene in Tomatoes and Prostate Cancer
American Cancer Institute: Lycopene
HealthCastle.com: Lycopene in Tomatoes and Prostate Cancer
The Importance of Buying Local {Guest Post at Kelapo Coconut – Strawberry Lemonade Fizz}
2011-06-21 20:15:00
18
My father in-law was diagnosed with PC last year, but he is 78 years old and cancer occupied only 5% of his prostate. Nevertheless, this was a shock to the whole family. The prognosis though for his case was good and now he just follows a treatment and doctors are optimistic. I feel so sorry for all the people who face cancer of any type and their families because they suffer as well.
Hi Katerina, so sorry to hear about your father-in-law, but glad to hear his prognosis is good. One of my goals is to help bring awareness and share experiences of what it's like to go through cancer. I think it's important for people to know that there are others out there that are going through the same experiences (not only for people who are diagnosed with cancer, but also family members, as well as members of the community).