Women Against Prostate Cancer

TESTIMONIAL OF THE WEEK:

"On June 19, 2009, my husband was diagnosed with an aggressive prostate cancer. Ray was 56 years old when he was diagnosed, with no family history that we are aware of. I knew that a support group is what we needed..., families who are dealing with the same disease as us. I found one, and after attending the first meeting we were overwhelmed with the support of the members who welcomed us with open arms.

Now armed with more information about treatment options, Ray was able to make a decision that best suited him. We did research on the options available and knew the pros and cons of the treatments. I was there to support his decision no matter what he chose. The option that he chose was robotic surgery and the date was October 12, 2009. That day we had another anniversary to celebrate: the day Ray became a SURVIVOR of prostate cancer. Even though he became a survivor, we are still dealing with the disease. After the surgery, the doctor came out to tell me that the surgery was over, but the cancer had escaped the prostate and into the lymph nodes.

At the post-op appointment, the PSA test came back within a normal range. But we are not out of the woods yet, the first 5 years are critical for reoccurrence. Every three months we have the waiting period of the return of the PSA results. My anxiety and depression increases until the test is back and then relieved to hear that it's less than 0.01 or undetectable!

No family should have to go through this when there could be more research done to find a cure. Earlier testing is very important and could save lives and grief. Since prostate cancer has become part of my life I take every opportunity to help bring awareness. I have started a group on Facebook called Prostate Cancer Survivors, Caregivers, and Friends United. I will do whatever it takes to help win this battle of prostate cancer not only for my husband and sons but for other families as well."

Linda

 

Senator Portman's Office Responding to Your Email

Dear Linda,

Thank you for contacting Senator Portman’s Office and sharing your story about your husband Ray’s battle against Prostate Cancer. The Senator and his staff appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us. We are happy to hear that your husband has staved off the Prostate Cancer, and we wish him and your family the best.

The Senator thanks you for your input on the PSA test and he will be mindful of your concerns. Improving and protecting the health of Ohioans and all Americans is one of our country's top priorities. With the cost and prevalence of communicable and non-communicable diseases in Ohio and the United States, the Senator recognizes the positive impact treatment and prevention have on our nation. America is home to the finest health care workforce, hospitals, and research facilities in the world, and the Senator is committed to ensuring the United States retains its excellence in health care delivery and research at a time of constrained resources.

For more information, please visit Senator Portman’s web site, www.portman.senate.gov, which acts as an interactive information source for the people of Ohio. The website is an informative online office where Ohioans can access the federal government, keep up with the latest in Washington, write to the Senator, and join in his efforts to improve Ohio's economy and help create jobs. A few of the most popular features include signing up for the Senator’s e-newsletter, requesting a tour of the White House, seeking assistance with a federal agency, or learning more about the issues being debated in the U.S. Senate.

Thank you for taking the time to contact the Senator’s office. Please keep in touch.

Sincerely,
Brad Couts

Legislative Correspondent

U.S. Senator Rob Portman (OH)

448 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C., 20510

Cancerversary

Petey recently celebrated his Cancerversary. And wanted to wish those a Happy Cancerversary in the days, weeks, months and years too come!

Military camp Petey

Petey can't go into the toy isle without looking for something to play with.

Surf'n Petey

He mastered a new sport! Watch for him in the next Olympics!  USA! USA! Go for the GOLD Petey!!!

Running shoes

Petey's got his running shoes on.

Prostate Cancer Information Bags

I am working on this idea on getting the Men to not be so hesitant in picking up prostate cancer information.

I have been contacting differnet business for Drawstring Backpack/Bags. Currently the Air Force and the Army has donated the bags. Subaru is looking into donating bags also.

Nascar Petey

When learning that the prostate was the size of a Walnut at a support group meeting in 2009.

My creative brain started creating what is now know as Petey The Prostate Crusader. 

Drawstring Backpack/Bags

I asked my group if they had a choice of Prostate Cancer information being displayed on a table or in a
drawstring backpack/bag. Which one would they take and most of them said in a bag.

So I started out an email to the Air Force and got a response that they have 22 gathered up for me. Thank You Air Force! Sent an email to the other branches of the Military and to some Sports teams but have not heard back from them.

If you know a business or Sports team who would be able to donate 10-20 drawstring backpack/bags please let me know.

Heart of Africa

Yesterday July 5, 2014 was the Welcome Home Event at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium for Veterans and their families. The Veterans and thier families get in Free. There was a fairly new exhibit that opened called The Heart of Africa. Giraffes have returned to Columbus, Ohio!  http://www.columbus.va.gov/Welcomehome.asp

Facebook Cover Banners

Show your support for Lighting the White House BLUE in September for Prostate Cancer Awareness! With your help we will reach our goal to raise awareness to this horrible disease. 

Sign the Petition and then download the cover photo to add to your Facebook page!

http://whitehouseblue.org/

Morning breakfast

Keys

Hey they left the keys on the desk! We can take them and go for a drive. Maybe they won't notice!

Relay for Life Lancaster, Ohio

Last night our group had  tables set up at the Relay for Life Lancaster. I had Petey there along with the Proclamations from the President, Governor and Mayor of Columbus. All supporting Prostate Cancer Awareness.  People were saying they remembered Petey from last year or they have a Petey! It's so nice to hear that he is still helping to raise awareness in this horrible disease.

We had prostate cancer information on the table as well some took the information. At the end some came by the table when most of the crowds were gone and talked more about prostate cancer and took more information. Now it has my brain thinking for the next events.

Watch  out brainstorming about to happen. One idea is the bag ideas with the information inside. Hoping to get businesses to donate drawstring backpacks. If you know of a business or own a business an would like to donate any please contact me.

Email from Senator Brown

Dear Mrs. Hoetger:

Thank you for getting in touch with my office regarding prostate cancer. I appreciate your bringing this issue to my attention.

I have passed your concerns along to the legislative assistant in my office who monitors health issues. I will keep your thoughts in mind should this issue come before the Senate.

If you require any other assistance, please call my office at 202-224-2315. Thank you again for being in touch with me.

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                            Sherrod Brown
                                                            United States Senator

Celebrities, athletes support 'Light the White House Blue' petition

Petey is a Celebrity!

http://www.csnhouston.com/blog/other/celebrities-athletes-support-light-white-house-blue-petition

Dave and Connor cancer survivors

Utah father-and-son cancer survivors run ‘The Amazing Race’ again

Television » A serious injury forced Dave and Connor O’Leary out the first time.

By Scott D. Pierce
 
The Salt Lake Tribune

A year ago, fans of "The Amazing Race" were becoming fans of Utahns Dave and Connor O’Leary.

The father-and-son cancer survivors — Dave had prostate cancer; Connor had testicular cancer — were doing great on the CBS reality/competition show that takes contestants around the world. They finished third in the first leg of the race and were about to finish second in the second leg … when, suddenly, Dave felt something. Something bad.

He had ruptured his Achilles tendon.

With Dave on crutches, the O’Learys actually won the third and fourth legs of "The Amazing Race." But they were forced to drop out in Episode 5 so that Dave could go home and undergo surgery.

"It was a bummer, to say the least," Dave said. "It was a terrible way to leave ‘The Amazing Race.’ "

"Everybody was, like, ‘Oh, it was so heartbreaking you guys had to leave,’ " Connor said. "We definitely know it was heartbreaking."

Fans of the show — fans of the O’Learys — quickly began to speculate that perhaps the Utahns would be invited back to race again. About the only ones who didn’t think about that were Dave and Connor.

"At the time, I don’t think anything crossed my mind except the need to get home and have surgery," Dave said. "After the fact, we thought, ‘Boy, wouldn’t it be great if they let us come back.’ But we had no idea if that would happen. And certainly, we were dumbfounded when it did happen so soon."

The O’Learys returned to film Season 24 of "The Amazing Race," which begins airing Sunday. And they did it without hesitation.

"I didn’t even question it," said Dave, 59. "I said, ‘Yes, we want to do it again! We want a shot at redemption!’ "

His 22-year-old son was also quickly on board, but admits he was "a little nervous" about their second round on "The Amazing Race."

"I definitely didn’t want a repeat and have my mom mad at me for some other crazy injury," Connor said. "The Achilles was definitely on my mind."

This was not a minor injury. Dave was advised by doctors that rehab would take a full year.

"It was much more of a recovery process than I expected," he said. "I kind of thought I’d be back into things right away, but it took some time. But, fortunately, everything healed."

But just barely. When it came time to join the other contestants for an all-stars edition of the show, not quite a year had passed since the surgery.

And it wasn’t as if Dave was doing anything particularly strenuous when he was injured. Connor had already reached the mat that marked the finish of that leg of the race and Dave was close behind when the tendon snapped.

"It’s just a function of being old," he said with a laugh. "I hate to play the age card, but I’m old, compared to all these other people. I mean, there’s only a couple of other people who are even close."

Only one, actually. Of the other 20 people in the race — there are 11 two-person teams — nine are in their 20s, eight are in their 30s and two are in their 40s. Only one, 56-year-old Margie O’Donnell, is close to Dave O’Leary’s age.

"If it wasn’t for having a good teammate, there is no way I would’ve gone back," Dave said. "If it was me and another 60-year-old, there’s no way I would have done it."

"I definitely would say I felt more protective than the last time around," Connor said. "I mean, I know my dad is fully capable and can do everything fine. But — I don’t want to say I sheltered him. But I just kind of did as much as I could to make it easier on him."

The O’Learys are, perhaps, operating at a disadvantage in this all-stars edition of the show. Margie and her son, Luke Adams, are one of three teams returning to the race for the third time. As a matter of fact, all but one of the other 11 teams has run more legs of "The Amazing Race" than the O’Learys.

"Going back, we said, ‘Shoot, we don’t have a prayer … against all these young people. Some of them are professional athletes.’ "

Those would be the Harlem Globestrotters duo — Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nate "Big Easy" Lofton.

"I got to know Connor and Dave really well," Lang said. "Good guys. They’re both cancer survivors, and my dad passed away from cancer so I had a link with those two from the beginning. Running a race with them was so much fun."

And fun was what the O’Learys decided to have on "The Amazing Race."

"When we went into it last time, we had no idea what our chances were," Dave said. "And at the end of the second leg, I ruptured my Achilles. So from that point, we said, ‘We’re in this for fun.’ We knew we couldn’t win. And we had a great time."

And the great thing about "The Amazing Race" is that if you make it through two legs or six legs or all the way to the end, you get a chance to visit some cool places and experience cultures far different from what you’ll find in Salt Lake City.

"Honestly, the draw of going on the race for me initially was seeing some amazing places," Connor said. "You’re a winner regardless of how far you make it."

spierce@sltrib.com

Twitter: @ScottDPierce

David O'Leary

Remember Dave and Connor O'Leary from the Amazing Race? They were the Father and Son team from a few years ago but was not able to continue as Dave tore his Achilles heel and had to with draw from the race. I was heart broken as they were my favorite team.
Dave was diagnosed with proatate cancer and Connor had cancer also. Well this last season they returned and again my favorite team! This time they were able to finish and WON The Amazing Race.
A few days ago I tweeted to Dave and tonight he retweeted. I was so HAPPY I got choked up some. He even had another guy sign the petition.
One day we will get the White House BLUE in September for Prostate Cancer Awareness month!
Dave is signature #1304!
THANK YOU Dave!

My feelings as a Caregiver

Five years later…June 19^th 2014 it is now 5 years later as a Wife/Caregiver to a prostate cancer Survivor! There are still good days and bad days of this horrible disease, it is not an Old Man’s but a Couple’s disease. Yes the men have the cancer inside them and have to deal with the treatments, side effects, PSA tests, Etc. As the Caregiver we suffer along with our men but in a totally different way.

June 20^th 1983 I met my husband who was stationed at Rickenbacker ANGB aka Lockbourne AFB at which I was born there in 1963. Must have been fate that we meet! It was love at first sight and on September 28^th we were married. I was a very happy Air Force Brat/ Wife now. Our four sons were to follow after that 1984, 1985, 1987 and 1990!  Now we are a family that will live happily ever after. But on June 19^th 2009 our lives had changed forever. Words that a family never wants to hear. “I’m sorry you have prostate cancer.” My husband’s cancer is an aggressive form. For me when we were told it felt like it was a bad dream and was going to wake up anytime. Except it was not a dream it was real! Emotions were running ramped shock, silence, tears and then over and over again felt like hours but just a short time, The doctor gave us time to absorb the news and when we were ready to talk about the biopsy results were would be able to ask questions. But one question that I wanted to know the answer to was. Why? But there was No answer for it. As far as we know my husband is the only one in his family to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. His father passed in 1987 from a heart condition.  Ray went into the Air Force in 1971 and retired in 1991 while in the Military he never Stepped Boots in Vietnam. So the Military is saying that his cancer was not caused from Agent Orange while doing research this could be disputed. He tried to get the Agent Orange Committee at the VA to possibly give some answers but was basically denied due to not Stepping Boots in Vietnam. His first career in the Air Force was a Firefighter stationed in England. One of his stories of putting out a fire that puts questions in my mind and the response from the VA really upset me some. During the time of the interview a question was asked why he thought his cancer was caused by Agent Orange if he never Stepped Boots in Vietnam. My husband’s response was that while fighting a truck fire there were some barrels in the fire. The question from the interviewer. What color were the barrels? Were they Orange? My husband’s response I don’t know they were black when the fire was out. Interviewer if the barrels were not Orange then it can’t be Agent Orange. My training in firefighting is from what I have seen from things that have been in a fire they are black when they are put out. So needless to say my husband was denied further testing to see if his cancer was caused by Agent Orange. I know that it would not change him having prostate cancer but some answers are all I am asking for.

Being the parents of 4 sons and knowing that their risk of prostate cancer has now increased due to the fact of Dad being diagnosed is hard for me. I never want to hear that one of our sons has been diagnosed. My husband was 56 at the time of his diagnosis!

October 12^th 2009 was the day of Ray’s prostatectomy and I thought and prayed that the cancer would be gone. Sadly that was not the case after the surgery and the doctor came out to tell me how the surgery went. The news was not good! I am sorry the cancer has escaped the prostate and into the Lymph-nodes. Again felt like I hit a brick wall, stunned, silence and tears. But I could deal with it at that time I had to see my husband after the surgery. I had to be strong at that time but it was really hard. After he was released from the hospital it was time to be seen for post-op follow up and the plan of attack for the remaining prostate cancer. From now on he has to have PSA tests every 3 months, it only takes a few minutes to draw the blood and takes days for the results to return. The waiting is the hardest part it feels like years before the results return. A stressful time but when it comes back as in remission they joy for the next 3 months. The plan is to have hormone shots for the rest of his life or until it is no longer effective. To this day the hormone shots are still working and have kept the cancer in Remission. Unfortunately I am having some growing concerns as one doctor suggested that Ray have radiation treatments done to see about killing off the cancer in the lymph-nodes. He had 7 weeks of radiation in late October 2013 to January 2014 since then his PSA has started to rise slightly. Does this mean that the cancer is coming out of remission? I don’t know! This is not suppose to be happening remember we are suppose to live happily ever after into our Golden years!

Now living the life of a wife/ caregiver there are two words that seems to be taboo to say Prostate Cancer. I can honestly say that until my husband’s diagnosis I never heard of Prostate Cancer. Since 2009 I have become and active advocate to raise awareness here in Ohio, and on Capitol Hill. With all the other support that all the other cancers, and causes that are supported in Ohio. Why can’t we add just one more Prostate Cancer? There is no real support from businesses like there is for breast cancer. One day I hope to change that and during the month of September which is Prostate Cancer Awareness there will be public service announcements, commercials, fundraising at the checkout lines. 

Canal Winchester Cancer Survivor Lunch

 Petey Welcomed everyone to Relay For Life at the Canal WInchester High School.

Petey having lunch!

Ray
5 years with Prostate Cancer

WOW!

I sent a tweet to Michael Skupin from my favorite TV show Survivor.  He favorited it!

Petey's Brownie Bite

Petey had to go out with Ray and I for our 1st Date Anniversary.  He finished all his dinner and so he got desert.

Cancer Survivor Dinner

The Cancer Survivor Dinner in Lancaster. Petey had to go and support our Prostate Cancer families. Mom win the Relay for Life Travel bottle.

Response to my email

Linda,

 No need to apologize for informing me and sharing your passion!! I appreciate you sharing your experience and sharing such a personal story.

Michael

Michael Stinziano

State Representative

Help Petey!

Petey needs your help! Please go to and sign the petition and share it. Encourage other to slso sign we can get the White House BLUE in September for Prostate Cancer Awareness!

WhiteHouseBlue.org