Prostate Cancer

There are many people, well of course men, are affected by this disease, prostate cancer, all over the world.

Prostate cancer is cancer of the small walnut-shaped gland in males that produces seminal fluid, the fluid that nourishes and transports sperm. This is one of the most common type of cancer in men. A diagnosis of prostate cancer can be scary not only because it can be life-threatening, but also because treatments can cause side effects such as bladder control problems and erectile dysfunction (impotence). But today, the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer have gotten much better.

Prostate cancer usually grows slowly and initially remains confined to the prostate gland, where it may not cause serious harm. While some types of prostate cancer grow slowly and may need minimal or no treatment, other types are aggressive and can spread quickly. If prostate cancer is detected early — when it's still confined to the prostate gland — you have a better chance of successful treatment.

The picture on the left side is my father, Bart. He is one of the million of men affected by prostate cancer. At first, he didn't notice he had the disease. Everything was normal. Until one day, he felt pain and burning on urination. Days past, severe rump pain attacked, he's been chilling and shivering. Everybody got panic and somebody called for assistance. My mother immediately brought him to the nearest hospital, Nassau Community Hospital in Longbeach, New York. In the hospital, he was cared and medicated. Thanks to the dedicated nurses and doctors who took care of my father. He went through series of test: PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test and DRE (digital rectal exam), biopsy and a lot more tests. Finally, the doctor concluded that my father is positive for prostate cancer. Although the cancer is still encapsulated or localized, meaning the cancer cell has not spread beyond the prostate gland, he still need to undergo therapies to treat and eventually kill the cancer cells.

Now, my father is still undergoing his radiation therapy - the External Beam radiation therapy, in which a machine aims high-energy rays at the cancer, at the Nassau Community Hospital. The goal of radiation therapy is to damage the cancer cells and stop their growth or kill them. This works because the rapidly dividing (reproducing) cancer cells are more vulnerable to destruction by the radiation than are the neighboring normal cells. The treatment for my father is about 44 days, so his radiation therapy will be completed on 22nd July this month.

Knowing the diagnosis of my father really shocked and wrecked us, the whole family. But we put all our trusts to God knowing that He has a purpose in everything that happen in our individual life. We know my father can recover from the devastating disease, cancer, by trusting the Lord for his recovery. We believe that prayer can move mountains and everything is possible in God's name.

Read more...

A Birthday Celebration

My sister, Alodie, just celebrated her birthday this July 9, 2008. The celebration was just simple and was attended by only family members, well including me, and some close neighbors and friends. There were plenty of children around. Two of my mother’s siblings were also there with their family to celebrate.

I arrived in our house around 5:00 in the afternoon. I parked my car near our gate. I could see my sister and her husband, Gigi with two of their children Ann Georgette and Maryse Gwen were already outside the house waiting for me. Sis Alodie waiting for me at the gate. I greeted and kissed her with my gift on my hand. I saw her eyes were smiling, she was just happy that day. We got inside our house and started catching photos. Foods for dinner were prepared at the same time. Dinner was eventually served at around 6:00 in the evening. Everybody was enjoying the meal with letchon de leche, pancit-bihon, ginagmay, nilat-anang karneng baboy, cake, salad, spaghetti, and a lot more.. These foods are actually the Filipino foods we love to prepare on occasions like this..

Despite, we don’t have our parents to celebrate with us on special events and other occasions like this for about eight (8) years now, the simple celebration was ended joyfully. We only wish for good health, happy life with good friends, family and other people around...

Read more...