Insightful post, Glassman. I for one have received lots of very valuable
information here both before and after treatment. There are also many
interesting and very informed people here on pca, as well as other
topics. It does get down and dirty sometimes. Hopefully when we no
longer post to this ng anymore, it will be because there are no pca
issues to discuss any longer, not because that we were offended in some
way by someone or worse. There will be no more pca, local, advanced, or
otherwise, no anxiety producing psa tests, no erection worries, and this
disease will finally be relegated to the dung heap of medical history
forever. And hopefully sooner rather than later.
Ok, the Prozac is wearing off....so I'll say good night. ;)

The prostateless, but none the less manly,
B.A.

Yes, but do women have difficulty sharing their man's personal issues?
I think its a challenge they can rise to.  For instance, I am about to
tell you that a few days ago Steve had his first orgasm since surgery.
Ain't that goddamn cool?

I saw a thread that fits that description.  However, I filed it in my
brain because it sounded like information I could find useful in the
future.  But she got bashed.  This was 2 years old.

Hi JK.
 The comment about "a home away from home" resonates with me.  I will
always remember the comfort and support that I found here as I began my
journey dealing with the shock of being diagnosed with cancer, and then
the years afterwards dealing with the lousy side effects that appear to
be permanent.
 Thanks to all who offered me friendship and support.  Just wish I
could do more to help those who need it.
David S.  (aka Buttercup's Dad).

P.S.  Buttercup is fine.  Spoiled rotten and too fat, but all in all
she is doing fine.

JK, Great post!!  I've read these posts, received input from so many
members. After posting my own case history, was pleased to see how many
replies were right in line with what my doctors are doing. Thing is, I
get more info here than from the doctors...unless I ask. Getting this
disease is a little like getting married, they don't tell you
everything right off the bat! (Anybody know where that expression came
from?)

Laurel, CONGRATS TO STEVE .....YEA.....MAYBE MINE WON'T BE FAR BEHIND!

Btw, I am down to ONE wrinkle:))

Bob Anthony, I can relate

B.A. <<
I'm still, big, ruff, tuff, don't take no sh*t, and
smart..........sorta.

LOL.....like this NG

God Bless
David

   Good thread. I have spent all too much time reading post after post, for
years, and am not about to stop now. Sometimes the site provides a first
hand report of some issue, side effect,  or other requested information.
Sometimes it provides good and varied opinions. Sometimes it keeps all of us
up to date about some discovery, or new bit of knowledge. After a while you
do view some of the people here as friends and some wierd kind of bond
exists, in your mind anyhow. If nothing else, there are things that we all
can understand about each others situations that most other people cannot
quite fathom. It's not all about numbers and meds and SE's, there's a human
side too. In each other we see spurts of anger, fear, desperation, thirst
for information, denial, joy, the whole nine yards of emotion. I think that
every one of us here also wants to help out the next guy too, when he asks
for input. The only posts that have ever offended me are the occasional
quack/spam posts made by senseless idiots with their cures for everything
under the sun. I have never been offended by an honest post. The saddest
post ever, for me, was when Robert Young left us. The best posts have been
when any number of us have meet with success and are so far cured. If any
one of us does not want to read about the human side of this disease, they
will skim through this and many other posts looking for the numbers and the
facts. That's ok too.
   Thanks for putting a little more of a face with your name. If I remember
right, you once posted very frequently but have backed off a lot this past
year or two.
"  www.sinrodstudios.com

Over the years I've made some close friendships within this group. I cried
more when I lost Berky than I did when my own father died. And some of the
emails between Robert and me were priceless; what a wonderful man the world
lost. Over the years I've wanted to reach through the computer and hug so
many of you, of course JK I'd like to have strangled on more than one
occasion. LOL (That will have the newbies searching old posts!) I've cried
when some of you have seen the PSA go up instead of down, and cheered with
complete joy when all was well. I've discovered that one of you lived down
the road from another good friend. Some of you have sent my granddaughter
rocks as she's a rock hound with an impressive collection. Some of the most
serious conversations have taken place off the group via email and sometimes
by phone. Some of you have pulled me up when I was so scared and knew so
little. One of you has been so straight with me about the most awkward
things but like a big brother just simply told me what I needed to know when
I needed to know it.

Being the lone female in the group for a long time I was and still am privy
to many things not posted. I've also learned that you can't see me blush
when I answer certain questions. Modesty seems to go away when PC strikes.
I've always tried to give a truthful answer, to sometimes what would be
considered inappropriate subject matter for mixed company, when asked. Yet
in many ways I've become just one of the guys. Just another poster on the
group.

My husband is a computer geek and could care less about sitting down at home
to just surf the net. He'll ask me to look up certain things. He was the one
who found this group and said see what you can find out. He knows most of
you via me. I won't say he's never been out here lurking - he just doesn't
post. His attitude about PC is a little strange. He's never worried about
it. He swears he doesn't have to worry as I do all the worrying for him.

He's quiet and very even tempered. He's got a wonderful sense of humor and I
hate his puns because once he starts he doesn't stop - it's so bad! We are
opposites in every sense of the word but just like a magnet it just draws us
closer. Around children we refer to him as the human toy as he become putty
in their little hands but he's also holds two black belts in different
martial arts and even though age and PC has taken its toll on his body he's
probably still quite lethal. He's got an IQ that would floor most people yet
has no time for conventional education. He speaks several languages and
knows more than a dozen computer languages. His ability to cook is limited
to making coffee, frying an egg, smoking a turkey, and grilling a few
hamburgers. The joke around here is that he has to die first or he'll starve
to death! He can fix any appliance but doesn't know how to use any of them.
He's the neat freak and I'm the messy one. (I told him he could help or quit
bitching - so he quit bitching.) He's totally color blind which as been a
source of fun over the years. He was a city boy and I taught him about
nature. He now knows a pied deer when he sees it and can recognize many
birds just by their calls. He's a wonderful artist and enjoys creating
things. He fought in VietNam and is proud of his service to his country. He
can do math in his head that takes me paper, a calculator, and a half hour.
His politics has become almost too far to the right for me and we can get
into some very heated arguments.

As for me I know the difference between a phillips head and a star. I can
pick up a 5/8 socket without looking for the number. I can change the tire
on the car if I had to do it but I wouldn't be happy about it. I'm the
extended table on the table saw and yes, I do know how to use just about
every power tool. I cook, I bake and occasionally I clean the house. LOL I
can sew, crochet, mend and hem. I can change a diaper in seconds and nursed
both my babies when it wasn't in vogue. I can paddle a canoe better then my
husband. (I really have tried to teach him. He's also always been the better
ice skater.) I find enjoyment and relaxation while painting or using my
camera. I love a good cozy who-dunit novel but hate the romance stuff.

We will watch the World Series but never basketball or football. I watch the
skiing and tennis but he doesn't. We will both watch the ice skating and
golf.

We still sleep naked and snuggled in a double bed. After 35 years I still
find him attractive and sexy. I know the smell of his skin and the sound of
his breathing while he sleeps. And when he wraps his arms around me I still
melt. Yes, I'm still madly in love with him.

Was there anything else you wanted to know?
Bev