Posts by Gerald Gray2

vividsailor7 said:1. How fast? It's hard to say, but the outlook isn't great if he decides against the surgery.
2. All those medications—especially the blood pressure pills and statins—won't do much good if he won't stick to a proper diet.
Still, it's his call. He gets to decide what happens with his own health. You can't force someone to do something they just aren't willing to do.

Thanks so much

vividsailor7 said:After consulting with a cardiologist beforehand, I can't see the full medical picture or perform an exam, but I'd say this shouldn't affect the decision regarding surgery, though it might slightly bump up the risks.

Thanks for the reply.
Looking at those test results... if he actually turns down the surgery and opts for just radiation, how fast could things take a turn for the worse?

He’s actually pretty active, but he completely ignores everything his cardiologist tells him about diet—he's still eating all this heavy, greasy food. On top of that, he has a massive phobia of hospitals.
(When he saw "Inpatient Treatment" written on his biopsy referral, he just shut down and said he was done with everything and wasn't going.)
It was such a struggle just to convince him he'd be able to head home that same day.
I'm starting to think the diagnosis itself isn't even the biggest hurdle; the real challenge is getting him to listen. But honestly, like Angela Wright said, we have to give him the space to make his own choice. At the end of the day, it's his life and his health.

Angela Wright said:With people like this, the best move is to frame things so they feel like they’ve reached the conclusion themselves. It’s almost like saying, "Look, you're a wise man with tons of life experience, and you've never been one to rush into big decisions. I know things feel heavy right now, but we're certain that once you get some sleep, you'll realize you need to sit down with the pros—the cardiologist, the surgeon, the oncologist—to hear their take and what they expect. Once you do that, you'll know exactly how to handle the next steps." Anything else, or even trying to give deep advice, usually just backfires with this personality type. You have to give them the space to make their own calls, even if you have to use a little reverse psychology to nudge them toward the right path so they don't jump to conclusions too fast.

You're right—at the end of the day, he's the one who has to decide what's actually best for him.
When we told him last night that he shouldn't just rule out surgery until he actually sits down and talks to the doctors, he got all defensive. He acted like we were just trying to get rid of him or something. Honestly, I just gave up on trying to argue the point.
I honestly think everything is still pretty "fresh" for him. I’m hoping that in a few days, he'll start looking at the whole situation from a different perspective—at least, that's what I'm praying for.

vividsailor7 said:What other diagnoses does he have, and what medications is he currently taking?

Hey, vividsailor7, hope you're doing well!

He’s dealing with angina pectoris, and for his meds, he's taking ISMN Jadran 20 a few times a day, along with Aspirin, Carvetrend, Lipex, and Lacipil.

Angela Wright said:From what I can gather as a layperson, the situation seems fixable since there aren't any metastases. I don't know how old your father-in-law is, but based on what happened with my late uncle, if surgery is an option, it really should be done. My uncle lived with that diagnosis for 20 years. He eventually passed away from old age at 94. During those two decades, he took chemotherapy and went in for surgeries with Dr. Trnski at Mount Sinai Hospital to clear out new growths, and he just kept living his life.
He definitely needs to talk to a cardiologist, though. These days, anesthesia is advanced enough that patients in his condition can handle it without much trouble. It would be such a shame to let the disease spread and cut his life short if there's a real chance for him to have more good years ahead.

Angela Wright, thank you so much for the reply.
I did a little Googling myself, and it also feels like treatment could be successful (at least looking at other people's experiences with similar results).
The urologist told him to see an oncologist, but right now he’s just in that phase where he says, "I'm finished anyway," so it’ll be a win if I can actually convince him to go.
He’s 72, and he’s convinced that surgery would do more harm than good—he even told his doctor that. Because of that, they mentioned radiation might be an option if he refuses to go under the knife.
We'll just have to see what the oncologist says.

Sometimes I find myself coming back to this topic (since I'm often on health forums while working on files for my kids, who deal with their own health issues), and reading your posts always leaves me with a lump in my throat.

Hang in there, everyone.🙂

Unfortunately, I’ve ended up on this thread too.
It involves a family member (my mother-in-law's father), who just got his results back today. He's a total wreck right now. He's flat-out refusing any talk of surgery because he has heart issues, and he’s convinced he won't make it off the operating table. (He's also a very difficult person to deal with in general, but that's a whole different conversation.)
He mentioned the doctor brought up both surgery and radiation, but said he needs to get clearance from his cardiologist first.

So, I was wondering if anyone could help me make sense of these results? How serious is this situation, really?
(Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place.)

D: Prostate Adenocarcinoma
Six partially fragmented tissue cylinders, ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 cm in length.
Histologically, this is prostate tissue where the cylinders are infiltrated by a tumor composed of small, irregular glandular formations lined with atypical cuboidal epithelial cells featuring prominent nucleoli.
The tumorous glands are coalescing.
One of the cylinders also shows areas of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia.
In the remaining two cylinders, there are sparse prostatic glands within the fibromuscular stroma, lined by epithelium without atypia and with a preserved basal cell layer.

Six partially fragmented tissue cylinders, ranging from 0.6 to 1.2 cm in length.
Histologically, this is prostate tissue where sparse to moderate numbers of prostatic glands are found within the fibromuscular stroma, lined by epithelium without atypia and with a preserved basal cell layer.

The findings under D correspond to a Gleason score of 7 (3+4) prostate adenocarcinoma.
Tumor tissue occupies between 10% and 80% of the positive cylinders.

Since nobody else seems to be posting anything, I figured I’d jump in and share my own story
I actually got tested for HIV about a year and a half ago when I was storing stem cells after having my baby
Before that, I’d never even thought about getting tested. In my head, I wasn't exactly part of a "risk group"—I mean, I’m not out there being promiscuous, I don't do drugs, things like that
There were times I actually considered going in, though. I had a few unprotected encounters—not like one-night stands or anything, just instances where I thought, "Who knows what my exes were up to before they met me?"
But I never pulled the trigger. Part of it was honestly just fear of what the results might say, and part of it was that typical American denial: "Oh please, it’s so rare, it doesn't happen around here, it's mostly just junkies..." stuff like that
Looking back, I’m so glad I finally did it. Even though the chances of a positive result were tiny, I feel like I can finally breathe again now that it's over
The truth is, if I hadn't been required to get tested during the stem cell process, I probably would have never gone on my own...

I’d honestly suggest calling 911 just to get a professional opinion, or at least have your mom swing by her primary care doctor first thing in the morning.
We went through something almost identical with my grandma, and it turned out she'd had a minor stroke.

Nicole Martin83 said:Okay, so "contact" happened on Jan 1st. Putting "contact" in quotes because there was zero actual sex—just some fingering. The only issue is he tried to push it in, but since I wasn't feeling it, my muscles just tensed up and obviously nothing happened. So, my big question is: could he have finished and then basically shoved sperm inside me with his fingers???

I got my period on Jan 11th (which was day 27 of my last cycle), then my ovulation felt super weird. Even during my period (which lasted its usual 6 or 7 days), I was dealing with nausea and headaches, and I was peeing constantly—though my doctor at the local clinic told me it’s probably just gastritis since I was freaking out over finals at the time.
Since I couldn't just relax about it, I took a test on Jan 20th and it was NEGATIVE!

Then I got my next period on Feb 2nd, lasted 6 days, but right before that, my breasts started hurting—which has never happened to me before. I can't say for sure because my memory is a bit fuzzy, but...
And again, around ovulation, I was peeing like crazy, though no nausea this time, just some acid reflux—but I've dealt with that for years so maybe it really is just the gastritis...

My third period came on day 28 of the previous one, so March 1st (my cycles are usually pretty much 28 days), and it was heavier than the last two. It's still going, though it's winding down now.

But what's really messing with my head is that my lower stomach is still so bloated! Mind you, everything I eat sticks to my stomach (I'm naturally thin), so maybe that's why????

What I actually want to know is: has this happened to anyone else? Getting pregnant without actual sex (I've never slept with my boyfriend...), but where sperm gets pushed in via fingers,
plus having three periods and a negative test???? 😢 😢 😢 😢 😢

I am losing my mind here and I need help! I already posted in the "Am I pregnant" thread, but nobody really gave me any clarity, and since you guys here actually have experience with pregnancy...

(Also, my labia look a little wider and kind of rough—could that be from the fingering, like they stretched during the "contact"?)

Please help me because I'm seriously stressed out. Honestly, the thought of taking another test and finding out the worst makes me feel sick. I'm young, I'm in college, and I have really conservative parents, so this situation is definitely not ideal. 😢 😢 😢 😢 😢

Three missed periods and a negative test... honestly, what more do you want from it??
Girl, you aren't pregnant. ☕

I have a quick question that’s a bit off-topic. I was wondering which blood draw lab I can use if my doctor isn't actually in the neighborhood where I live now? I recently moved, but I’ve stuck with my old physician, so I'm curious—can I just head over to a Community Health Center in my new area to get my labs done? To be more specific, does it matter where you live or where your doctor is located, or can you pretty much walk into any lab?

Dr. Zahi Khouri is my gynecologist, and honestly, I can’t say enough good things about him!
He’s incredibly knowledgeable, super kind, and always has a smile on his face when you see him.