The next phase of the prostate cancer fight is preparing for surgery.  I want to prepare the best possible way for the best possible result, including watching my diet, exercising, doing my kegels, and completing all of the pre-op requirements.

Here are the pre-operative checks to be completed before the surgery in May:

1.  Chest x-ray.  As I understand it, this is a requirement for anesthesia to assure that the lungs are clear.

2.   Full blood and urine work-up.  Looking for unexpected readings that may indicate medical problems that may need to be addressed before surgery.

3.  EKG.  Check to make sure there are no cardiac irregularities which could show up during surgery.

4.  Preoperative appointment with the surgeon.  Go over the surgery prep, surgery, post-op, recovery, rehab, etc.

5.  Pre-surgical evaluation with anesthesiologist.  To evaluate potential complications during surgery - in my case, discussing my sleep apnea will be an important part of this meeting.

In the meantime, my oncologist took me off the ADT, which is great!  I have also taken advantage of the opportunity of  the EKG to get a cardiac stress test at the same time.  The goal is to get off of blood pressure medication!  Wish me luck.

"Thank you for being such a kind teacher to us. Although it is a pity you will not be at this school anymore I hope that you can continue to teach and care for others like you did for us this year. You were one of my favorite teacher this year because you were also one of the kindest. You helped those that asked for it and I could see that you were sincere to us with your feelings. I hope you can continue to be this kind of person in the future."

I am trying.  I promise, I am trying.