Marty fitzhenry

Sorry to hear about your predicament Marty. Hope you have a speedy recovery and hope to see you at Trainstock and the next York show in April.

Everyone,

Both Dotty and I want to thank you for all your kind words.  I have been on the mend and hope to get a good report next week.  I was fortunate enough to get the best Doctor in the world that does this surgery.  I am walking, talking and doing good.  When I was at York and my Doctor called me and told me the prostate biopsy he took a few days earlier was very bad and it needs to come out, my knees buckled.  I have always had pride in my health never smoking, taking drugs and walking three miles every day.  All your kind words mean a lot to me and I thank you all very much.  Guys, this thing can sneak up on us and I felt like a million dollars.  My PSA was perfect in August of this year.  Do not put off getting checked.  I was amazed at York how many people came up to me and told me they had the operation I was facing.  Again, so many kind words and words of encouragement from forum members has helped me very much.  My good friends Paul Strickland and Jim Rawlings has been a huge help to me in keeping my spirits up.  Thank you Paul and Jim.  As I drove out of the York Fairgrounds and looked back, I wondered if that was my last York.  I hope not and I will be at Trainstock with Dotty in January. 

Speedy recovery to you Marty!

Great to hear you are on the mend. 

Marty, it has been a real honor to be there for you...as I always will be...no matter what and no matter when.  Jim

Marty:

VERY GLAD you are on the mend! 

Many of these things are inherited and genetically-based, thus we have NO control over them. I lost my kidney function nearly eight-years ago to inherited polycystic kidney disease. Worse, I passed it on to both of my children and two of my grandchildren! 

Marty,

Thanks for the update.  I hope you continue to heal up and that I have the opportunity to run trains with you some day.

I don't know you, nor have we met, but from my point of view I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. I hope you heal fine and can go back to many of the things you were doing.Fred

Marty should be congratulated for sharing his story with us. It takes a good deal of courage to discuss this openly and I hope that all of our male members of the Forum take Marty's advice very seriously.

I remember on the news several months ago that some Washington bureaucrats were trying to convince us that the PSA test was not effective. I bet not one of them had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

I got the news about my prostate cancer while walking off an aircraft when my cell phone rang. My annual physical piked up my elevated PSA count and thank goodness for this test. I shortly thereafter had surgery. That is not the end of my story as a year ago last fall my annual physical revealed my PSA count was again going crazy. Like Marty, I was referred to an excellent urologist who sent for my surgical records and determined that probably infected tissues surrounding the prostate gland were not removed during surgery and after six years, they were showing activity. I had radiation therapy at the beginning of this year and my PSA count is now back to normal.

The message I deliver to you is to get your PSA tested at least once a year. Even if you have had surgery to remove the prostate gland, like me, get it done. It could very well save your life.

Finally Marty, I hope you have many, many more York's in your future. A positive attitude like yours, faith, a special lady like Dotty, good friends and great docs should be all you need.

Great news Marty, I wish you many more Yorks.

Great news indeed - you are truly a great one in this community and we all wish you and your family well.

Marty,  We appreciate appreciate your openess about your condition and wish you the best.  You can't keep a good man down.  Pat B.

Passenger Train Collector (Brian) is correct, the powers that be are telling us that  the PSA test is not effective. Unfortunately, it is the only test available to test for prostate cancer. It isn't as accurate as we would like it to be, you can have a low PSA and still have full blown cancer; a friend of ours has  continuously had a PSA of over 25 and has no cancer cells evident when biopsies are done. Marty's urologist is heading up a study to develop a newer and better method of testing for this cursed disease, and the preliminary results are hopeful. Considering the ages of most men in this hobby, including the Forum, the chances are very good that a large percentage of you will be affected by this disease. 60% of men over age 60, 70% of men over age 70... So PLEASE get tested yearly. We need you all around to pass on your knowledge and wisdom to the next generation of Trainiacs.  

Marty...as I said way back on the first page of this thread, LaKeeta and I have you and Dotty in our prayers.  Even though we have not met in person yet, we will and it will be soon...hopefully this coming year.  You have been a positive influence for all of us and at the top of this hobby for a long time.  I have a feeling that you are going to see many more Yorks and inspire many more folks for decades to come!!!

Take care my friend...

Warmest Regards to you and Dotty....

Alan and LaKeeta

Brian, this was tough to respond to but members were so kind and wanted to know what was going on. 

Marty, you absolutely did the correct thing. Many people follow your every word in terms of trains so hopefully, they will also take notice to your advice to get tested regularly. By your courage, you have no doubt helped many.

It is nice to be counted as one of your friends and I personally am very proud of you.

Wow ... speaking of the fragility of life!  Best Wishes Marty.

Hoping for a speedy & full recovery.

Marty,

I didn't see that you posted your progress on this thread. Today was the first time I saw that you posted in a few weeks.

I'm so happy to hear you are working on getting better.

Wishing you good luck and GREAT Health.

Mike R

Thanks Mike.  I will do my part and hopefully my body will carry me the rest of the way.  I have always done my best to stay healthy.  I walk three miles a day (before operation) and hope to be back at that mark soon.  My Doctor informed me that my physical condition has been an asset to me so far.  The Doctor told me I will need a course of radiation soon to clear up any problems that reside outside the prostate.  He took a PSA test on me this week and it came back 0.1.  He was very happy with that.

My father just got diagnosed with this.  They say it's the slow growing kind and will check every six months to see if it's growing.  My grandfather died from this also.  From what I hear it's not a easy surgery.  Glad you are on the mend and hope to see you at the Amherst show.

Hi Marty, this is great to hear the PSA number is  great. You've been very very positive through this tough time and I know you will be fine, I'm 100% sure. Looking forward to seeing you at Trainstock

Alex

With the fast turnover of these threads, I entirely missed your whole story Marty until just now - So glad to hear that you are doing well!

God bless you sir and like many others here, although we've not met, I look forward to doing so someday. You have all of our respect!

That is great news Marty!  Glad you are on your way to a full recovery!

--Greg

I had the surgery 4 years ago, I go every year for a PSA test and so far all is well.

It take 4-6 weeks to get back to normal, I can do all the things I did before the surgery.

 As Marty said I had no symptoms and 2 years before my PSA was .1. I cut my finger and it became infected. My doctor ordered a full blood test and it came back with a PSA of 6.7.

 I went to a Urologist that did robotic surgery, he did a biopsy and 6 of the 12 samples showed cancer.I was only in the hospital 1 day but the recvovery process took 5 weeks.

 Even though the PSA test is not always reliable its better to be safe and get tested every year.  And you should not ignore having the test just because you have no symptoms. Your life is worth more than the time it takes to have the blood test done.

Marty just follow the doctors orders and you will be back to new in no time and be able to do all you did before the surgery.

Good Luck and God Bless you and your family

Best of luck in your recovery Marty!

Marty,

Great to hear good news about your comeback.

Ginny and I have you and Dotty in our thoughts and prayers.

eliot

Wonderful to hear things are going well.  My best to you.

Hi Marty:

I could say "welcome to the club" as it is amazing how many of us have prostate problems and don't know it. I'm glad to hear you're coming along well. In my case, last December, when my PSA showed a sudden jump, surgery. radiation or chemo was out of the question because I've already had too much surgery "down there" and because of lots of scar tissue any more was not possible. My Dr. told me there is one more treatment that many of you may not be aware of and that is "hormone therapy." So long as the cancer is contained in the prostate and has not spread to any other part of the body (which can be determined easily with a full body scan), the hormone therapy which consists of a shot every six months can work fine. What it does is basically shut off testosterone production which in turn causes the prostate to shrink and keeps and cancer cells contained to the prostate gland and prevents them from spreading. Side effects of this shot are minimal (slight breast development and weight gain). Its been a year now for me and my last psa test was back to near zero. Perhaps this info will be of help to some one of you as well. Best to you and Dotty for a healthy New Year in 2013.Come see us anytime!

Best

Fred Dole

Marty, we've never met each other, but I can see that you're one of the good guys.  (We've dealt on the Buy/Sell Forum.)  So I wish you a timely and complete recovery.

Gary,  I plan on making the show.  I wish your Dad good luck with his .

I feel for you Marty, I had it done 2 years ago.  Never expected getting it at my age.  I'm having more after effects than average, but I'm glad to get that cancer out of me.

John

Marty,

Best wishes for your continued health and well being.  Have fun at the train show!

Norm Rish

I have been off the forum for a while so I have missed a lot.  Hope all goes well for you Marty. 

Marty:

I've been away from the forum for a few weeks and missed the updates on your progress.  Jean & I are thrilled to hear of your rapid progress and probable full recovery.  We never doubted that you would do so well.  We can't make Trainstock, so we'll see you at York in April.

My father survived prostate cancer surgery many years ago and at age 91 finally lost his life to Alzheimers - had a full recovery from the Prostate cancer.

Marty,

Delighted you are on the mend.  The fact that you told Forum members and other hobbyists about your experiences with prostate cancer will undoubtedly save some lives by those who heeded your words.

Looking forward to seeing you and Dotty at Trainstock 5.

Ed Boyle

Thanks Ed.  I was not going to and Eddie G started the post and when people wanted to know, I figured it was better to let people know and not have them wonder if it could be other things.  I have received many emails in support from members who have been there and did not want to put it on the post.  Thanks goes to everyone for the great support.  Guys, get checked.  I felt the best of my life when I got the word.  Do not put it off until you are not feeling well.  If you do that, you will not get lucky.

Met you several times at Ro's and read you all the time. Happy to hear your on the mend, best for the coming year and stay well.

Marty:  You didn't know me but you were extremely helpful in solving my PS-1 problem on one of my favorite engines.  I continue to thank you for that.  I've survived that form of cancer and know you are doing the right thing.  It will be your faith and attitude plus support from all these friends you have developed that will bring you through.  God Bless and get strong soon.

Bud

Marty, wishing you a full speedy recovery!

Marty, Best wishes for a speedy recovery.