Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2022 ASKS | FROM PAGE 5 lot of questions – and be your own advocate. Having your PSA done at various points and compared over a period of time is a surefire way of determining whether you have prostate cancer. But a high number doesn’t necessarily mean you have it. You can have a low PSA under 4 and have a very aggressive prostate cancer. And you can have a high PSA and not have prostate cancer. It’s the sharp increase in the short period of time that should be the major concern. Q: How long did it take you to get it under control? A: On Nov. 2 [2021], it was 5.91. On Nov. 8, I had the surgery. On Nov. 12, it was at 1.63. On Dec. 20, my PSA was .03, which is considered undetectable. Q: What were the challenges? A: The uncertainty – the anxiety of not knowing what you’re facing – your heart is in your mouth every time you have a PSA test. There are so many variations of treatment of the disease that it really challenges you to do a lot of research to not only understand the nature of your prostate cancer, but to select the form of treatment that is best suited for your cancer and your particular goals. One of the concerns men have is about incontinence; they worry about leakage. If that becomes your top priority, you communicate that to your doctor. Q: So, what worked for you? A: The best thing I think you can have done is an MRI. That would identify any lesions that are present. But you need to talk to your doctor about things that are important to you. And one of the important messages I can pass on is that you’ve got to be your own advocate and do your own research. That includes information you get from friends and acquaintances from various social circles – people who had it or have it. There are two prominent people in town government who have dealt with this in recent months. You would be absolutely amazed by how many people are dealing with this. If you choose surgery, you want to find a surgeon who has done thousands – not hundreds. And most of these surgeons are in the Boston hospitals. A common question that is asked of urologists who notify patients of a diagnosis: “What would you recommend if you were telling your father, Doctor?” If you have radiation, it’s generally more difficult to have surgery if the cancer comes back. If you have surgery, you can always have radiation. But it’s more difficult to have the surgery after radiation. When it comes to treatment, you have to decide what’s best for your situation; you try to pick the best of many bad choices. Can you imagine going to the hospital and worrying whether you have to wear a diaper for the rest of your life? Q: What is your status now? A: Right now my PSA is undetectable. They took out my lymph nodes, and I didn’t have any cancer in my lymph nodes. Q: Please tell me about the upcoming forum. A: It will be at least an hour. We’ll be social distancing and with face coverings and at least six feet apart – following the COVID protocols. This is for anyone who has questions or concerns about prostate canGARDENS | FROM PAGE 8 to the branches, but this week they are almost completely gone. Non-weeping European larches are also occasionally available in nurseries. There is also a native species of larch which we may see growing wild in parts of New England. While North American larches (Larix laricina) – also known as tamarack or hackmatack – are more common further north, they can grow in the woods around here. Other deciduous conifers which can be occasionally found in nurseries and can be grown in our area include bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) and dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). cer and for anyone who wants to share their experience. We want to point them in the right direction. This is basically an outlet for men who got a diagnosis. We want them to recognize that this is common, and that this is the second leading cause of death behind heart disease. Sharing information can be helpful. Not only for the recipient of the information, but for the giver as well. Q: Why have you decided to go public? A: I was partially inspired by Theresa Whittredge [the late wife of School Committee Chair Tom Whittredge]. She was very public on social media on what she was going through with her cancer. She went out of her way to share her experiences on social media. I messaged her and she messaged me back. She was a warrior and fought the fight. (She died of metastatic breast cancer in November.) And prostate cancer guys consider themselves to be warriors. Q: What do you hope to accomplish by this upcoming forum? A: To help at least one person; have people share their experiences. We’re not going to advise people on what the best treatment is for them, because every situation is different. We hope to increase awareness. The ultimate measure of success will be a year or two from now when somebody tells us that they addressed their prostate cancer because of something we said. We want to create an awareness and make sure men get their PSA tests. A lot of guys don’t go for a checkup. And, all of a sudden, they get a pain in their hip. I want to make it clear that we are not dispensing medical advice. We’re just advocating for screening. Our whole Many birds spend the entire winter here, so there are quite a few visitors to the feeders in January and February. Mourning doves, sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees, juncos, cardinals, blue jays and a couple of woodpecker species are daily visitors. While robins (Turdus migratorius) are often seen in spring and summer looking for worms in the lawn, they don’t seem interested in the feeder. Often considered harbingers of spring, they are the state birds of Connecticut, Wisconsin and Michigan. While some robins do migrate to warmer climates for the winter, some stay all winter. They usually roost in groups where there are wild berries or small fruits that will furnish food until the goal is to get people there on January 19 who can benefit by sharing information and experiences and raising their awareness about prostate cancer. Believe me, if you get this disease, your goal is to die from something else. If you catch it early, it’s treatable. I don’t want to see anybody go through the unnecessary pain and suffering of prostate cancer. For guys who die of prostate cancer, it gets into their bones. They don’t get medical checkups, then one day they get a sore hip or sore back. Q: Anything else that you would like to share with our readers? A: It’s very treatable when it’s detected early. About 2.9 million American men count themselves as prostate cancer survivors. There are a lot of famous people who have been treated for prostate cancer: Colin Powell, Roger Moore – 007, Elton John. Even John Kerry had it when he was running for president. Survivors include actor Robert De Niro, former California Governor Jerry Brown, movie star Ryan O’Neal, pro golfer Arnold Palmer and former Yankees Manager Joe Torre – he was an outspoken advocate about prostate cancer awareness. We want women to be involved in this program. Often the wife winds up becoming the Florence Nightingale and is actively involved in her husband’s treatment, so we feel women should participate. And I can’t stress enough that you’ve got to be your own advocate, to ask questions and do a lot of research. It’s a very treatable disease; it need not be a death sentence; and in many cases it isn’t. But men need to get their PSA tests and checked out regularly. It’s very beatable with early detection. ground thaws out again. On New Year’s Eve I saw one robin in a hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) tree near Route 1, and on one of the coldest recent days, January 4, there were seven robins in another heavily fruiting hawthorn tree in Lynnhurst. Editor’s Note: Laura Eisener is a landscape design consultant who helps homeowners with landscape design, plant selection and placement of trees and shrubs, as well as perennials. She is a member of the Saugus Garden Club and offered to write a series of articles about “what’s blooming in town” shortly after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was inspired after seeing so many people taking up walking.
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