Message from Dr. B.

Yesterday afternoon I was was talking to a good friend from the western part of our Great Country. He is good friend like many others I have. During our conversation, I heard a couple of "beeps" on the phone and I thought someone was calling me. There was a call and I am glad I didn't pick-up. It was a message from my Urologist, Dr. B.

Last time Dr. B. called me at home ... he told me I had a monster inside me.

In this message he also talked about the monster, however, there was much more hope in his voice. He was excited. He told me he got the pathology report back and wanted to share the news. He confirmed there was a monster but this time the news was positive.

Key points:

1. My Gleason Score was downgraded to 8 (from 9). The lower the Gleason Score, the better.

2. The "margins" from the removed prostate and associated glands were negative. This means the "extra radical prostectomy" accomplished its primary goal. Remove as much cell material as possible to ensure the entire monster was "evicted from its residence".

3. The monster grew to the edge of the prostate gland but it did not break through the wall of the gland. This is means the monster was more than likely localized to the prostate only.

4. The lymph nodes were examined and they were normal. This means that no cancer (monster) cells were collected in the lymph nodes and is a good indication that the monster was confined to the prostate.

Dr. B.'s final words "Dr. R. and I were extremely happy and I hope you are too."

Yes Dr. B, I am. Thanks to my friend for calling when he did, otherwise I wouldn't have the message to listen to. I had to replay it several times to make sure I was hearing every word correctly. I am going to make a copy of the message so it I can be reminded how fortunate I am.

My next big test will be the blood work (PSA test) at the end of the month. A big fat "goose egg"I score would be perfect. First time I can remember that I want to score a zero on a test! "A" and I see Dr. B. on June 11th.

Everyone ... thanks for Making Contact with the Big Guy. I am grateful.