Attitude, attitude, attitude – to me attitude is everything, if you feel crappy well that’s your attitude, if you feel great that is also your attitude. The choice is yours, don't let cancer rob you of your greatest power that you have. When you take away the fear you take away the fuel that cancer needs to grow - don't give it that chance.
When your doctor tells you, you have prostate cancer is like a kick in the gut. The same thing happened to me, I was diagnosed on February 13, 2017 with prostate cancer my PSA was 144, Gleason score 9 and the cancer had metastasized in my bones. Not one of my happiest days on the planet.
Here’s what I said to the doctor, “I’m going to make you the most famous Doctor in America” he then asked, "how I was going to do that?" I answered "because I’m going to survive and get better”, he then said to me,” "if you do that you’ll be the most famous patient in America” I answered him back and said, “I can live with that!”.
Again, it gets back to attitude. Serious scientific research has proven that people who have cancer that have a positive outlook on life live longer than those who don't have such a positive attitude.
Well over a year ago I made a post on HealthUnlocked that I was doing the Pingshuai exercise. It is a simple exercise I do every morning and it takes about half an hour. It's all about getting you QI active. It really is easy to do and it makes you feel good. I've been doing this exercise as of today for 554 days straight – no breaks every day before breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, I have healthy organic oats and fruit, fresh orange juice which I squeeze myself and tumeric and ginger tea.
I also exercise, last week I rode over 220 miles on my bike. I have already biked over 3400 miles for the year so far. I see that not to boast but to say it's about attitude what the mind believes the body can achieve. I totally buy into that 100%..
Last Sunday I biked my age which at the moment is 74 years. I turn 75 in December and I plan next year on riding across America. Two things could possibly stop me, one is the coronavirus it still prevalent around the country and how I feel. There's no doubt in my mind that I can bike across America, I got the legs and I have the strong belief that I can do it. Again this gets back to attitude.
There is something else I would like to say, we didn't get PC by taking pills, we got cancer because of stress, lack of exercise and a crappy diet.
So I know you're probably wondering what is my PSA now, well it's down to 1.49. I take Cassodex and Tamoxifen I will be kicking those as well as my immune system gets stronger and stronger.
I really believe and I know this is definitely not the majority belief that cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm happier now than it ever been my life. It helps of course if you married to a wonderful woman like I am. So, life is good and remember its all about attitude.
To all my fellow PC’ers stay strong, start believing that you're going to get well and you will get well.
Just remember the power prayer and the amazing body that we've been gifted from God.
You are unstoppable!!
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Nice post, you got some attitude! I am up to 3100 miles this year and have a goal of 4000 but I am a bit younger at 57. Keep rocking the exercise and that attitude. We have most of what you said in common the only thing is a I still work and it is a source of stress, probably what got me here. I do what I can to mitigate it now that I know what a literal poison it is. Best to you !!
Thanks for the inspiring post. I need those now. I kept the same attitude throughout the most of my journey not only PCa treatment but throughout life. I've been battling another debilitating malady since childhood (ankylosing spondylitis) and was able to put it into remission by my 40s. Then at 48 I was hit by PCa metastatic stage 4. Since diagnosis every success in treatment was countered ever increasing blow from cancer. And the last one almost took away that precious attitude you're talking about. It felt the bottom fell out underneath and started falling into abyss. Another day, I was surprised to find myself staring on everything and weighing trade-offs of keep going vs. giving up. Repeated pain and suffering can wear the spirit down, I guess. But it can be restored I know.
We have all been given this amazing gift called life. What we do with it this gift is entirely up to us. One of the greatest medicines available to everyone and it's free is laughter. It does the soul good when you can laugh. So I like to watch happy, funny movies, send out funny jokes to my friends and generally laugh throughout the day. Another good thing to do is to sing not just in the shower or in the car when you drive, but anywhere. We all have our favorite songs that we know and love. For a while there I was singing Elton John's "I'm still standing" then I started seeing "We are the champions" by Queen. It takes your mind off of everything and frees your soul. So stay strong, stay positive and just believe. It is an amazing power that we all have inside of us and it is waiting for you to turn it on and unleash the power.
Just remember, you are UNSTOPPABLE!!
"we got cancer because of stress, lack of exercise and a crappy diet." Sorry but I have to disagree with that statement. I was and still am the poster child for constant extreme exercise and a highly regulated and nutritious diet. Still was diagnosed with metastatic castrate sensitive cancer. (PSA 850 with 4 mets, extensive lymph node involvement). I did everything right and still got slammed.
One thing I did not mention and I will mention it now is the power of prayer. Yes you can exercise, yes you can eat nutritionally but unless you have the power prayer in your corner it's pretty much all for naught. I pray several times a day and thank God for all the blessings he has brought to me. Being able to give you troubles over to God takes them off your shoulders and you feel amazing. So if you're not already praying it may be something you want to look into. Stay strong, stay healthy and every happiness in the future.
Fran2020 wrote >>> " ...I did everything right and still got slammed..."
.....Right there with you Fran2020 but I'm only a GL10 --- with no mets found YET??? HELL, I've only ever kissed 1 woman, intimate with only her, been married 47 years and have known her since 1st Grade. Oh yeh, I'm 70, biked 141 miles on my birthday in July, only have 5,634.3 STRAVA miles this year due to fewer miles because of a bicycle crash after being hit by a 150 pound wild hog in April resulting in an injured left shoulder, cracked left scapula, 2 cracked ribs, a punctured lung and some other impact boo-boo's. Another crash in 2011 resulted in a minor broken neck and clavicle along with a Long Thoracic Nerve injury still causing problems. In 2013 for my IRONMAN 140.6 at 5' 8.5" I weighed 136 pounds and this morning even after castration and not exercising as much I'm 139.8 pounds. Always a great diet, never smoked, had occasional red wine and some beer, never super stressed = SCREWED!!!
.....Being lucky has a lot to due with living longer and laughing also helps. As far as PRAYER and GOD, I've known very religious adults and even children who never got to fulfill their dreams and who died horribly from cancer and other terrible illnesses.
Amen, 6 months after running a marathon (3:29) at a 8:00 minute per mile pace, I was told that I had stage 4 cancer all over my body. I did finish 2nd in my age group. I mean WTF???????
I'm in the same category....and found some of the statements made were a bit too Peter Pan for the reality of PCa. If I have eaten well, exercised daily, had a fulfilling life in a field that gives back.....there is nothing that can be done about the genetics I was born with. I understand the power of positive attitude, but I am grounded in science and recognize as well we have certain basics that cannot be magically changed.
Never to late to start praying. By the way, so many posters here mention biking, I'm just wondering, could all that leg action irritate the prostate and cause prostate cancer?
My oncologist is an avid biker. He was telling me that his PSA hit something like 20 and when they did a biopsy all they found was compression necrosis. Ouch!
"we got cancer because of stress, lack of exercise and a crappy diet." I also have to disagree with such generalization. I got cancer because have BRCA2 mutation that makes one's odds almost as 50% to develop prostate cancer. And systemic inflammation from Ankylosing Spondylitis pushed those odds even higher. Plus at some point I used anti-TNF-a drugs which lowers one's immunity. It's that simple.
I also disagree with the statement about diet and cancer. That's a common myth out there (especially here in California) that if people would just eat the right foods they wouldn't get cancer. What bothers me most about it is when people get what I call the "heathier than thou attitude" and become judgmental of the "sinners". One guy spent over an hour trying to save me with a sermon of his elaborate diet regimen. I really felt he was looking down on me as if to say: You obviously screwed up, that's why you have cancer so you need to listen up. When I told him I did chemotherapy I thought he was going to have a heart attack "Oh no, don't do that! That's so bad for you."
Other than that, I completely agree that attitude is so important. We don't have control over much, but we can choose how we deal with things and try to have the best attitude we can.
I wouldn't take ANYTHING health nuts in California say seriously. I mean one of the health crazes that is probably still there is raw water. These are also people who tell me to be healthy I need to drink my pee and shove coffee in my ass too.
I certainly agree with you about how important attitude is. That's one of the things I feel I've learned from cancer. The only thing we have control over is how we deal with things and it really is a choice. We may not have much time left, but we can and should make the most of it.
The only scientific explanation of good attitude and some favorable effect on cancer is thru enhanced immune system as a result of positive and loving attitude plus prayer. Prayer makes us humble, reduces our egoism and thus, provides peace of mind.
Before we got PCa, what was it that kept us cancer free ? It was our innate immunity with its army of Macrophages, Natural killer cells etc. These soldiers would kill or eat cancer cells.
So, if immune system gets a boost from good attitude, it might help and increase effectiveness of our medical treatment.
I admire your attitude and all the things you can do, it is remarkable.!!
I disagree with your statement, that if you feel crappy is because your attitude. There are many people who suffer from depression and they could feel crappy enough to commit suicide.
Nobody wants to feel crappy. For these people feeling crappy is not a choice. The same way many people gets cancer because of genetic mutations, there are mutations which make a person suffer for chronic depression or latent depression or bipolar disease which could be triggered by the stress of having cancer.
The cancer therapy aggravates depression creating a serious vicious cycle for these people. Your statements ignored a frequent mental disorder which could be significantly worsened by the cancer and the side effects of the cancer therapy.
I hope you become the most famous cancer patient in the USA along with the most famous cancer doctor in the USA, your MO.
It's over in a flash, my brothers, and one of the very few things we really control is our attitude about life, so.......be happy and don't sweat the little stuff.
Stress, lack of Exersize ,and crappy diet .. I believe that all 3 of these promoted my bad chemistry also . My dad and his brother had this too.. the . Stress is a killer ..
Well, some of your post is nonsense. We still do NOT know why men get prostate cancer, diet is thought to be a major factor but there is still far more that we do NOT know about pc., so please limit yourself to the facts.
Also, as I have so often and for so long have stated, AT present, there is NO cure for advanced prostate cancer and NO matter what you do, how you live, what you eat, how far you run, the bottom line is none of this will have major impact on how long you get on the planet.
What your post is doing is to mislead men and their families that they can control and have the MAGIC cure by what you suggest. This is FALSE and should not be posted on this site.
FACTS AND ONLY FACTS, should be presented herein.
YOU are alive because you are taking drugs that we ALL Know will keep app at bay for a period of time, so with luck, you die of something else!!!
Stay well, but remember to think about what you post as you may end up doing considerable harm to men who are looking for the magic pill that does not exist.
What is the matter with a nice encouraging post, my oncologist said he wishes all his patients had my attitude, it is important. I ate healthy, no family history yet I got it, now I enjoy the small things, still eat healthy, pray for others every night and keep that smile on my face. I lost my sister to lung cancer even though she did the right things, my brother has bladder cancer twice, 2 stints, 3 small strokes and now colon cancer. Granted he did not follow a healthy diet and smoked for 50 years but he still jokes and laughs at life. Sometimes you take ourselves too seriously and forget to enjoy life, it can always be worse and others are worse off than you.
Nobody is objecting to our need for medical treatment. Many people are saying here that besides medication we can do some more interventions to get the best out of our medical treatment. Anti inflammatory diet , regular physical exercise, good positive outlook on life and loving and caring attitude ,prayer to almighty etc. are additional interventions which are supportive to medical treatment. These are not against medical treatment.
I'm another slacker - 70 years old and just 2337 miles on the bike so far this year.
FYI, I was diagnosed as a Gleason 9 eight years ago with metastasis to my bladder and pelvic lymph nodes. I had radiation therapy and spent 27 months on Lupron and Casodex. I am currently in a long remission - no meds of any sort since October 2014. I like to think the exercise and my vegan diet, with an emphasis on reputed anti-cancer foods, is the reason for my good fortune, but, hey, that's just what I like to think...
Mileage on a bike ( or equivalent) is not the measure of the man. And there is no magic number that keeps incurable cancer at bay. Do it because you love it and because you can do it so it as a celebration of life and being alive for this too-short time on this beautiful crazy planet. Do it to celebrate your amazing body and the gift of life. While you can and for as long as you can or until it no longer nourishes you or is no longer fun and feeding your heart. Then move on to something else.
I burned out on cycling after years of excessive training and painful competition at national masters levels. Professional cyclists actually do not live that long in general. I wonder about that. From this perspective moderation looks pretty healthy and a happy place to be.
Now hiking in the mountains, moving more slowly through nature is my happy place to be. Rather than the triathlons, road races and time trials and the damage they probably left in their wake.
Love your attitude just the same. I know the enthusiasm well and bow to it.
A sport which is taken for peace and happiness of oneself and not with the desire to compete and defeat someone else is a noble task...with spiritual connotation. Ability to Be with nature and feeling the beauty of our planet is a blessing.
My objections gents was two fold. His claim that a positive attitude will be the magic bullet is FALSE and can be dangerous.
My second point, which I never made was it is OK TO FEEL LOUSY!!!
It is ok, as I did this morning and just NOT be able to get out of bed. To deny those who may not be as strong and are I suggest, more practical, is WRONG.
He may feel great right now, and good on him, but for most, in fact, for all men who have advanced prostate cancer, the day will come, sadly, where our bodies will be taken over by his disease and NO amount of positive attitude will change that, nor the pain and suffering that accompany end stage disease.
It is not right to claim to possess some magic bullet, i.e. positive thinking, will in and of itself be a cure or curative in terms of progression.
I have seen too many men DIE because they thought that they were all powerful, or by virtue of being super fit, that their cancer would not spread and cause the demise-if nothing else did in the meantime.
It is also FALSE to state that a healthy lifestyle will prevent advanced prostate cancer, again a very dangerous and ignorant statement!!!!!
Those who are able to become or are healthy, MAY get more time, but there is NO evidence that anyone has beat apc by what they ate, how far they ran etc. !!!!!
I note that he in fact does have apc, is in fact taking medically approved drugs and fails to acknowledge that these are in fact, are what is keeping him alive!!!!
Some of us deal better with things than others. THAT WILL IN AND OF ITSELF, NOT CURE US. In fact, having a positive attitude at risk of all else, can be very dangerous, as it gives one FALSE expectations that they have the power to keep their advanced prostate cancer at bay!!! -and from this false notion of being ALL POWERFUL, will not die or suffer from pc and its impact.
Statements like his, I repeat, are dangerous in terms of causing some men to delay treatment until it is too late, and again, for those of us in the game for a long time, will have seen men who waited until their cancer had spread to the point, where there was little to be done in terms of added time that our current regime of drugs can provide to us, IF we get on them early and follow the accepted gameplan!!!
To suggest that he will be strong enough to beat his cancer, stop taking his drugs, are NOT comments that should be on this site.
He can do what he wants but has no right to publish FALSE STATEMENTS that assert that his positive attitude will prevail over all else. COMPLETE RUBBISH.
He can again, do whatever he wants with his life, but should NOT be allowed to hinder anyone who comes here for help, because we ALL know that he is speaking cheat talk and has not been in the last stage game long enough to know that he is not GOD or has somehow found a cure for this dreaded disease.
Well billyboy3 your post reminded me of a story about a friend of mine who was born with a brass phillips head screw for a belly button. He kept messing with it all his life and wouldn't listen to us "to stop messing with it". Well one day he got a hold of a phillips head screw driver and unscrewed his belly button and as sure as shit his ass fell off.
The moral of this story is if you can't laugh your ass off, then screw it....
One of San Antonio's most beloved and quirky curators has passed away.
Barney Smith, owner, creator and collector of the Toilet Seat Art Museum died Tuesday at 98, his family shared on a Facebook page dedicated to the world-famous attraction of rows and rows of decorated commode lids.
In the post, the family shared a poem by Rudyard Kipling titled "When Earth's Last Picture Is Painted." When speaking with the San Antonio Express-News in 2017, the "King of the Commode" recited the poetry and added that it was his favorite to share with all the travelers who stopped by the museum at his Alamo Heights home.
"Yesterday he passed on from this world," the family said online. "He will be missed."
It is one thing to use whatever one can to help one keep going, I understand and accept that, no matter how effective it really is. That said, and has been noted above, one should not feel guilty or bad about getting prostate cancer, it is reality in our world at this time. Men should also not feel guilty because they feel like shit some day, or even all days.
I try to keep focused on the medical part of the journey, because there is NOTHING as important to men with advanced prostate cancer than to get into some treatments at the earliest time frame possible, and that any delay, can be catastrophic in terms of shortened survival.
Posts that offer false hope and/or expectations are not doing those in need of direction, the best advise. We need to assist men to get into the best treatments according to their disease, help them to get updated to make this decision, then support them/us all by keeping us all going on this damn treadmill.
So, please be respectful and remember that many who come to our site are rookies at the end stage game, and those us still lucky, and yes it is LUCKY for me, as an example to still be here at 20 years plus.
My job is to make sure to get men onto treatments, medically approved ones by the way, at the earliest, all else pales in terms of survival for the longest time possible!!!!!!
Ok boys and girls, ROCK ON, LIVE LARGE, LIVE AND LOVE WELL, and get to making up a bucket list and do what you can on it, while you can.
I think you are right that a positive attitude helps you get through any illness but I would not attribute your response to just a positive attitude. I’ve been a positive person all my life. Still got cancer at age 43. I’ve been positive these last 3.5 years and I’m still losing this battle slowly but surely. You can’t account for what mutations an individual has which is really gonna influence your outcome and treatment response. I’m very happy for you but please do not oversimplify that all that is needed is positive energy to battle cancer. It’s a bit more complicated than that and I think you dishonor our fallen brothers who succumbed to their disease.
Thanks for the support boys, I have not meant to criticize you Ur, but you need to think of the impact on others, in particular the newbies when you put up posts. Us longer time guys in the war can handle just about anything but we need to keep the focus on this site of helping newly advanced guys needing guidance, as well to keep track of the now endless number of new treatments coming and/or now in various trials etc. it is becoming a huge task in and of itself.
ok rock on all!!!
I am big on trying to maintain a good attitude although I do realize that those who don't have their basic needs met will understandably be unable to do so.
We should however object to statements made without sited evidence such as:
Serious scientific research has proven that people who have cancer that have a positive outlook on life live longer than those who don't have such a positive attitude.
When making claims like these, please provide links to this research. The research I did shows otherwise:
To learn more about attitude and survival, researchers looked at the emotional well-being of more than 1,000 patients with head and neck cancer to find out whether it affected survival. Over time, those who scored high on emotional well-being showed no differences in cancer growth or length of life when compared with those with low scores. Based on what we know now about how cancer starts and grows, there’s no reason to believe that emotions can cause cancer or help it grow.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Way to go, brothers, and ride on!!
I just was reading about Diet controlling cancer (again)
Thinking of all the help for cancer
Prostate Cancer Second Time
The Truth About Cancer / Ty Bollinger
