Terrible news, Dave, and you have my support too.

When talking to someone that we know has a chronic life-threatening disease, most of us avoid talking about the issue for fear of upsetting the sufferer, either by reminding them of their condition or by saying the wrong thing. By starting this thread, you've got us over the first hurdle, and I hope that neither I or anyone slse says something that upsets you - well, not much, anyway.

Prostate cancer runs in my Dad's side of the family, so I've learnt a bit about it. It's also the cancer that affects or has affected more people I know than has any other cancer. 4 of them including my "baby" 61-yo brother, have had RP surgery. 3 of those are clear of the cancer, tho at about 1 year later for 2 of them it's a bit soon to tell. The cancer came back in the 4th guy but he's still alive after about 10 years, tho he's had a rough time at various stages. And I know 2 others who were diagnosed too late for surgery. They're both still going some years later. They've been very sick sometimes, but have had good periods too. Bottom line is that with therapeutic intervention it's usually a slow-growing cancer, so you should be around to see that beastie machine you've built climb up through the crunching rankings.

Re: "We aren't born with a sticker on our backsides that says " Guaranteed for XX years"
I've had a rough year healthwise over the last 12 months too. Someone informed me that "65 is the age when the warranty on your body runs out" (I'm 66 now). You've still got a few years to run on yours, young fella, so you might try getting an RMA from your makers if they're still in business. OTOH they may not be able to do a replacement nowadays, so you'll just have to accept a really good hug.