Prostate Cancer Update

So, I have learned a lot.

The scariest part, after you get through the shock of learning you have cancer, is getting the PET scan to tell if the cancer has metastasized, which means if the cancer has spread somewhere else in your body. You get the scan and you wait, not too long, to find out. Managing your mind is the key. Your mind generates thoughts, mostly that cancer has spread throughout your body and you are surely going to die, but there is no evidence that this is true. You breathe, you breathe again, and a higher level of consciousness tells you not to jump to conclusions and to wait for the information to arrive that will define your life going forward. And that you do have to come to terms with dying in some small way.

For me, it is about life and death even though as a witness to someone else in the same situation it would likely feel much different. As a matter of fact, I know what it would feel like because I have had people close to me in the same situation, and mostly I feel like it is not that great for them but surely they will survive some number of years, maybe ten or twenty, maybe as long as they otherwise would have anyway. And that the cancer is not that big a deal, they have come a long way with cancer treatment.

But, what if I die in ten years? What will the quality of life be during those ten years? Having spent my life believing strongly in the principle that spirit controls the mind and mind controls the body, I regain my confidence that my quality of life will be as good as I make it. Feeling a bit more control over the situation I look to what is most important to me, what is most important to me? Do I want to travel the world? Jump from an airplane? Win a poker tournament? Climb a mountain? Not really.

What is most important to me is my family. Securing their financial future and enjoying them to the greatest and fullest extent that I can. I begin to feel proud of my greatest lifetime achievement, loving my family, and providing for them. My greatest joy and accomplishment is family despite my believing I should have done more in business, more in my spiritual life, and more to contribute to my fellow humans.

Regarding my prostate cancer, I have met with doctors in multiple states and facilities and come to the conclusion that this form of cancer is unlikely to kill me and probably curable. I am lucky, as far as cancer goes.

The biggest concern is getting my prostate removed without losing function, becoming incontinent, or having erectile dysfunction. Those are real risks. Because my cancer has spread throughout the prostate, the entire prostate must be destroyed or removed, and there are three ways of doing that - surgery, radiation, and alternative treatments. The alternative treatment that I have decided upon is TULSA Pro which uses high-frequency ultrasound to heat the cells until they are destroyed.

If you believe that cancer is a metabolic dysfunction there are other options, for example by reducing the fuels that feed cancer cells - glucose and glutamine. I believe cancer is a metabolic disease but the methods to reduce glucose and glutamine take more work and have less support, and they are harder to implement. Because my type of cancer comes with a high risk of metastasizing, because I am not willing to take on that level of dedication to diet, and also because my peace of mind will benefit from a quick resolution, I want to get surgery or TULSA Pro. But I do intend to reduce the fuel cancer needs to survive by going on a ketogenic diet. If you are interested in the way cancer uses glucose and glutamine as fuel I highly recommend you read the work of Thomas N. Seyfried.

I have done a pretty good job managing my mental state through all of this. That is due to a lifetime of learning about my mind and becoming more aware. Many times I do not know that this lifetime of effort has benefited me, but cancer has made it clear to me that I am handling things much better because of those efforts. Now I feel the cancer challenge is another of life’s adventures, the same as jumping from an airplane or climbing a mountain, an adventure to show me more of life. It may seem odd that something like cancer could be viewed this way but doesn’t jumping from a plane come with a risk of dying? I could not have this perspective without the awareness, spiritual, and self-improvement work I have done throughout my lifetime.

The purpose of my writing is to share how life experiences can be framed positively or negatively, and how experiences can either change our life to a depressed and suffering state or a state of joy and wonder. It is our choice. We can change how we think and more importantly what we do with the thoughts that arise in our mind. We need awareness and practice to get from one state of mind to the other, and it is worth the effort and work. Perhaps I can help others to grow and learn, to be inspired toward greater awareness. After family, that is my greatest joy and desire.

One last thing, God has always been important to me. I write about God less often than I want because there are so many concepts about God and I do not want to offend anyone. I am afraid of what people will think of me. That has been a shame, and I intend to share more in the future. I love God, despite not knowing what God is or even knowing if God is real. That is ok. As a matter of fact, it shows humility because we are not capable of understanding God, why pretend that we are?