Anxiety over a recurrence in the future

Excellent mantra. We know our battle which strangely could be a positive. So many new treatments being available as time goes on.

Today is the most important day. So many new treatments are being made available as we move forward. Much of our dreads and fears never materialize. Take heart!

I'm having anxiety over my upcoming surgery and cancer. I'm trying to focus on the future things instead of current things. There are some streaming series that are coming out later on that I really want to see. Also I'm trying to learn some new skills and teach myself some new things. I overthink everything. If I concentrate on a new skill then my brain and anxiety is focused on that. When I was younger I observed that older men tended to whittle, woodwork and do things with their hands. I now know why. It's distracting and gives them something to focus on. Do you have a craft or hobby? that could distract your brain and divert your anxiety? It might be worth a shot to help your anxiety.

Jay, you got it! I make glass and tile mosaics - nothing great but I can get absorbed for hours and days on a project: the planning, the drawing, the scale, what materials, etc.
I give them to friends as gifts and they are truly appreciative; but not as much as I am for having the distraction from you know what…
Phil

Handling stress with cancer...my take...

Since I started this journey 11+ years ago, I noticed there are always those who appeared to manage the stress of a diagnosis or treatment much better than others.

I found myself asking, "How do these men and their partners manage to do so well, while others find a PCa journey mentally or emotionally challenging?"

A fear of the unknown - I noted a same sense of relief occurred when men took the time to learn about what they were facing with a prostate cancer diagnosis and to then understand what options were available at various waypoints on their journey.

Getting multiple opinions - When told my cancer had come back for a third time, strangely I did not feel the same level of stress (panic) I had some 10 years earlier with my first diagnosis. Along the way I researched what possible options might be open to me. Rather than taking the advice of one doctor who had been treating me, I sought out other physicians and treatment centers who eventually came up with a different approach that offered me a better quality of life in the years ahead.

A treatment option with better outcomes - Following a PMSA PET scan which accurately identified the location of my prostate cancer spread, I chose stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). This is a high-dose form of radiation therapy that allows a doctor to target and kill off the cancer in generally 3 to 5 treatments. This is less time than conventional radiation, which is usually administered in smaller doses over several weeks.
With SBRT there is a high level of accuracy in targeting the cancerous growth while avoiding normal surrounding tissue. The outcome with SBRT is supposed to be fewer side effects vs conventional radiation and a better outcome when it comes to destroying the bone-based cancer cells.
I also knew there was likely micro-metastatic disease which required systemic therapy, not that I was eager to do so, given the side effects of ADT, but if I were to gain a more complete and durable remission, systemic therapy was the path to it.

No matter how you look at it, in the end knowledge is a powerful way to help prostate cancer patients take control of stress in their lives. You owe it to yourself and your family to be proactive at every stage of this journey.

Kevin

Thanks everyone for your comments. They are truly helpful. I will keep them all in mind.
Peace / Bob