I feel a little strange posting this great news from my 3 month post-op RP
that I got from my urologist today knowing that there are so many of us
folks out here in this great SIG that aren't so lucky.  I apologize upfront
to them, but I've just got to yell with glee at the top of my lungs to
somebody - and, who better than this community of pc survivors...  PSA =
less than 0.1!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I'M CLEAN... (well, it looks like I don't have
pc, anymore.. lol)

First - I didn't think that I was that worried about it - but, I must have
or I wouldn't feel this great joy and relief...

Second - I've admitted to you folks that I should have tb with this ng
BEFORE my RP, but I just didn't know about you.  Since then, however, I have
taken the advice of Bev, Clarence, Curtis, John, Steve, Leonard, IP, etc.
(thank you all) and read as much as I could about what I went through (and,
what I am or could face) from various books - especially the Dr. Walsh book.
My doc was really impressed today when I was quoting passages from the
"bible" and asking questions that I previously was totally unable to ask.
Especially when I asked,  "Back when we had decided that RP was the right
procedure for me and we were talking about your credentials - you mentioned
that you had been trained by some famous urologist.  Was that Dr. Walsh?"
"Yes,"  he answered with pride on his face.  "At John Hopkins??"  I followed
up.   "YES!!!"  he said with a big smile on his face this time because he
knew I now knew (thanks, again, to you folks) the true value of his
credentials...  And, probably a big part of  why I'm doing so well..

Thirdly - PSA testing a waste of time?  My doc just shook his head in
disgust and said that any journalist that writes those statements has never
seen anybody die of advanced pc cancer.

Finally, Clarence, I apologized right up front to him that now that I knew I
was ?clean? that my mind, of course, was going to shift to my vainly shallow
concerns about ED.  He, patted me on the head and said that this was quite
normal.. (ME??  Normal?? lol)  As, he handed me a big sample bag of ?candy?
from various manufactures,  ?Seeing how I only had to remove part of one
bundle of your nerves - let's find out which of these is going to work.?

?Right on, dude.  Let's get to the testing? ?

Thanks, everybody, for letting me share this great news with you and for
helping me through this whole ordeal - and, for putting up with my
relentless marginal sense of humor?

Paul

 Age: 63
10/04: PSA = 10.4, T1C, Gleason 7 (in a few samples)
11/04: RP ?looks like we got it - sparing one and a half bundles of nerves?
02/05: Good bladder control - no erections (yet) - still sore belly inside
and out - PSA = less than 0.1