Karl Grabowski, owner of J
& K Sales Associates in Manchester,
NH, recently shared his personal
ordeal with friends, customers and business associates in a particularly classy
way. He graciously granted Supply House
Times permission to reproduce his remarks, as follows:
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Now that I have the shock and
awe out of the way, I wanted to relate a medical condition that I have been
dealing with over the past 20 years.
I have been vacillating over the past eight weeks regarding how and in what
detail I should inform my manufacturers, key customers, fellow business
associates, friends and neighbors on my current situation. I have decided the
best course of action is to be fairly transparent. Two reasons: I have no wish
to have 1,000 one-hour conversations with the entire world relating the blow by
blow of my recent medical history and future prognosis. Secondly, it might be
somewhat helpful to folks that may have or could have issues with respect to
the walnut-sized organ known as the prostate.
First, a little primer on the prostate is in order. Basically, there are three
major medical issues that guys can have with the prostate. They are as follows:
- *Prostatitis - This is an infection of
the prostate. It can come in two forms, acute and chronic. The acute form can
come on suddenly for no apparent reason and can be treated with antibiotics for
several weeks. This is a once-and-done type of medical event. The chronic form
of this infection reoccurs and is very difficult to treat. Since about age 35,
I have been plagued with the chronic variety about every 12 to 18 months. The
treatment for chronic prostatitis is long-term antibiotic therapy. In my case,
I have been taking Ciprofloxacin (this is the stuff that they give you for
anthrax poisoning) for anywhere from one month to as much as six months with
some very nasty side effects that I will not go into.
- *Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/BPH - This is a
non-cancerous slow growth of the prostate. Because the prostate sits below the
bladder and surrounds the urethra, it tends to affect urination over time as
the prostate grows and slowly compresses the urethra. This is a very common
ailment in older men. It is the reason why some of us get up continually in the
middle of the night for trips to the bathroom. Most middle aged men have a
prostate size of about 40 grams. My prostate is a "keeper" at 80
grams.
- *Prostate Cancer - No need for explanation here.
Cancer is cancer. Everyone knows the deal.
From what I have been told by my urologists, there is no medical evidence
anywhere that the above three conditions are related in any way. That being
said, because I am a winner in both Door #1(infections) and Door #2 (BPH), I
have been watched very carefully over the past several years. This has included
the standard DRE (digital rectal exam) and PSA/PCA-3 Blood Marker Exams. The
unfortunate thing about PSA blood testing is that it is not a direct indication
of cancer. Prostate infections and Benign Prostate Hyperplasia can and does
mimic the same blood test results as cancer.
As a
result, I have been introduced over the past several years to the delightful
experience of a Trans-Rectal Ultrasound Guided Prostate Biopsy on multiple
occasions. (I highly recommend this "experience" to my
progressive/liberal friends on a weekly basis.) There is no better way to spend
an afternoon than getting intimate with a pneumatic nail gun taking cores out
of your body via your rectum. Literally, a pain in the ass!
With respect to my specific situation, they have been digging around in me for
years with the multiple biopsies (12 cores at a time, once a year) with no
findings of any cancer. On my last "adventure" they did come back
with a single core of about 1cm of cancer. They test this sample for the type
of cancer on a scale to determine how aggressive it is. Fortunately, in my case
what they found was not the aggressive variety. I have spent the last
eight weeks looking at my options, including surgery, radiation, freeze
therapy, bead implants and — believe it or not — watchful waiting.
Because of the reality that I have
everything wrong with this organ that one can have, I have decided that I am
going to part ways with my prostate via robotic laparoscopic surgery this
coming Monday at the Lahey Clinic outside of Boston. I have been told that my
statistical prognosis — due to my PSA testing, the size of the cancer, how many
negative cores were taken with no cancer and the aggressiveness of the cancer —
is that I have a 95% probability of being cancer-free in 15 years. This appears
to be a once-and-done treatment with no radiation and/or chemo needed.
I am going to get on my soapbox here a little bit. From what my urologists tell
me, prostate cancer and thyroid cancer are the two completely curable cancers
if caught early. The operative word is "early," as in before the
cancer can exit the prostate into the lymph nodes or bone. One interesting
fact: According to the American Cancer Society, up to 8% of 20-year-old males
who have been autopsied after an auto accident or as a war casualty have cancer
in their prostates. On the other side of the coin, up to 80% of 80-year-old
males have this disease. The moral of the story is, do not avoid your PSA
testing. Make sure that your doctors are ordering these tests during routine
physicals.
Do not spend much time being concerned with Karl Grabowski. I may be out of the
game recovering for several weeks, but be advised, I am not going anywhere. I
have way too many scores to settle!
