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A light blue awareness ribbon is positioned on the left side of a white background, next to bold text that reads "JOURNEY to ZERO". The ribbon and text appear to be part of a banner or header image. The blue ribbon commonly represents prostate cancer awareness, and the text suggests a campaign aimed at reaching zero cases or deaths.

Sportsman Vic Lombardi's Take on Prostate Cancer and the "Waiting Game"

"The prostate is obviously what holds the knee cap in place. In fact, the prostate ligament runs parallel to the anterior cruciate ligament."

Caucasian man in a dark suit

That, sports fans, is how I would best describe the prostate a mere two months before I would undergo prostate surgery. Yup. I'm dumb.

The truth is, most men under 50 are fairly dumb when it comes to understanding men's health. We simply assume we're going to be healthy. Don't assume.

For some strange reason only the fates can explain, I decided to schedule a physical in late December of 2018. Been there, done that. But this one came with a blood test. And an elevated PSA score. And a visit to the urologist. And a biopsy. And a phone call:

"You have cancer. And it's a mean one."

Great. Knee cancer (sorry).

Needless to say, I've done enough keyboard pounding over the last six weeks to earn an honorary doctorate in urological oncology. They found two cores of Gleason-9 (4 5) prostatic adenocarcinoma. Robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection scheduled for February 27th.

Surgery. Catheter. Diapers. Mommy.

If you'd like to listen to Vic's podcast with his surgeon Dr. Paul Maroni, click here.

The surgery was the easy part. The waiting - that sucked! We had to wait eight excruciating days for the pathology report, which would reveal whether or not the cancer spread. Thankfully, on the morning of March 7, my surgeon called with the results:

"The cancer was more aggressive than we thought. A gleason 5 4. But the margins were clean. The lymph nodes were clean, which is great. Let's wait for that next PSA score in April."

So the waiting game continues. It never really ends. My cancer is officially Stage 3 now. Not sure what stage 3 actually means. If it means obsessing about whether cancer cells are sneaking their way into other parts of my body, I'm definitely stage 3.  If it means feverishly researching the benefits of plant-based diets, PET scans, genetic testing and genome sequencing, I'm stage 3. If it means diaper-shopping (big fan of the slim-fit velour version with the model who looks like Thor), I'm totally stage 3.

You know what stage 3 really means? I'm the lucky one. I caught it. I can see it. I can feel it. I can fight it. And I can't help but wondering how many thousands of unsuspecting men are thinking what I was thinking:

"Man, my knee hurts. Wonder if it's my prostate?"

To listen to more of Vic's podcasts on his prostate cancer journey, go to his YouTube Channel Vic Lombardi Sports.

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Caucasian man in a dark suit
Vic Lombardi

Vic Lombardi is an Emmy award winning sports journalist based in Denver, Colorado. He's currently a host and reporter for Altitude Sports.Lombar...

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Biopsy


For a biopsy, the doctor takes out a small piece of tissue where the cancer seems to be. This tissue is checked for cancer cells. A core needle biopsy is often used to find prostate cancer.

Lymph Node


Small bean-shaped collection of immune system tissue, such as lymphocytes, found throughout the body along lymphatic vessels. They remove cell waste, germs, and other harmful substances from lymph. They help fight infections and also have a role in fighting cancer, although cancers can spread through them. Sometimes called lymph glands.

Urologist


A urologist is a physician specializing in diseases of the male reproductive organs and male and female urinary tract. Some urologists have oncology training. All urologists are surgeons as well, and many perform prostate cancer surgery.

Radical Prostatectomy


Surgery that removes the entire prostate gland and some of the tissue around it. This is used most often if the cancer is thought to be confined to the prostate.