"The Doctor" is Back in the Office

Hello my friends! It is with great excitement that I am once again writing for AHP and for everyone who takes the time to check out "The Sox Therapist".

As it turns out, “Dr. Rob - The Sox Therapist”, could have used a real Doctor about five months ago. You see, I found out that Prostate Cancer doesn’t really care how healthy you think you are, nor does it care about how old you are. It doesn’t discriminate in any way, shape, or form. A routine test led to another test, which led to a biopsy, which finally led to a diagnosis for yours truly.

At 38 years old and in great physical shape, I was given the wonderful news that I had Prostate Cancer. I immediately had laser surgery and the tumor was removed. After that was a nice little bout with Chemotherapy. And then after that, well, let’s just say it has been a very trying few months. But I am healthy, feeling a lot better, and very excited and optimistic about starting the next chapter in my life.

So why am I telling you this? Because I want to challenge every male reader of At Homeplate.com over the age of 35, to go to their doctor and get checked out. I am not going to get up on the soapbox, but what I will say is that I never thought that Prostate Cancer is something I would have to deal with, much less deal with at my age.

Okay okay, I hear ya, and I agree, that test sucks, not one good thing about it. But there are other tests too, like the blood test that checks your PSA levels. Don’t ask me, but high PSA levels can be a
bad sign. But you really need to get the “other” test as much as we don’t like a doc jamming his finger up there.

Listen guys, here is the bottom line. There was a college a couple of years ago that did a study of Autopsies for a year; the total was in the thousands. The study was on different types of diseases that go undiagnosed. Of all the men, I think the number was around 65% who had some form of Prostate Cancer at different stages. So it really is not a matter of if you get it, it is a matter of when. And since it is such a slow growing form of cancer, the treatment if caught early is nearly perfect as far as results go.

I will close by saying that I am glad to be back in the saddle again, I will start writing the “Sox Therapist” once the All-Star break is over and the season starts up again. Also I want to thank all the wonderful readers and friends who sent me E-Cards, emails, and IMs wishing me well. It truly meant a lot to me and on a couple of days, picked me up emotionally when I was feeling pretty down. Again, I sincerely thank you.

I want to also thank the staff of AHP, I consider them true friends. Jonathan, Frank, Laura and many others have been incredibly patient with me and always supportive. I would not be writing right now if it wasn’t for all of them.

With that, I will say let the second half of the season be good to your team and exciting for all of you. I look forward to hearing your comments on my White Sox and the blog entries I post.

The Doctor is back and he is definitely in!