John

About John

My father was diagnosed on July 3rd, 2015. He had a doctor’s appointment that morning to get and MRI to diagnose the source of some persistent back pain that had been plaguing him for several weeks. I was expecting an update from him, but could tell immediately that something wasn’t right. My dad was crying so hard, but managed to say “its not good, sweetie”. From that day on, my world has completely changed. We found out that my dad’s cancer had originated from his Prostate and had metastasized to his bones. Over the last few years, my father has been in and out of the hospital, endured numerous painful tests, and completed several rounds of chemo and radiation. The cancer has spread to every major bone in his body and the daily pain he endures seems to be unbearable at times. I am thankful to still have my dad here with me, but know that his quality of life has slowly disintegrated. When I think about how a simple test might have prevented all of his pain and suffering, it makes me so frustrated. My father was given a PSA test as part of his yearly physical in May of 2014. The doctor noted that his PSA was slightly elevated, but not out of the normal range. My dad was never made aware that his levels was slightly elevated or made aware that he should have it re-checked in a few months. He went over a year before he had his level checked again and at that point his PSA level was over 200. This cancer is very treatable if it is caught early, unfortunately this was not the case for my dad. This cancer will kill him. I wouldn’t trade the time that I have had with my dad over the last few years. His diagnosis has forced us to talk about things that have been hard and uncomfortable, we have laughed hard and cried harder. This diagnosis has given us the gift of knowing that our time is short, even though we hear that over and over, it doesn’t really sink in until you are faced with a loved one dying before your eyes. My hope is that we can get the word out there to get men to have their PSA levels checked regularly and hopefully prevent unnecessary pain in the future.

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