Dad update
In the time since my last post (er...5 weeks ago), my dad went back to the specialist with my mom in tow and together decided that he would have surgery to remove his prostate. His other option, radiation, would apparently make future surgery (if necessary) more difficult, so he decided to do surgery, and then radiation if it's necessary. The doctor also gave Dad the go-ahead to go on their yearly trip to Florida, so the next day, no joke, my parents were on the road to Florida for a month. To me this is even better news, because they're not saying "surgery ASAP". What I find a little odd, though, is that the doc told my father that once he gets home (a month later), they'll book the surgery for 6 weeks after that. I don't really get that, considering they told him it was aggressive. I guess this is the part where I put my blind trust in the experts, and hope that they are in fact experts.
Anyway, in the next 6 weeks or so, Dad will be taking iron supplements, and the doc will start taking his blood and storing it, in case they need it for surgery. That is, if the surgery happens. Apparently the doc's office was saying that hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries because there's a shortage of anesthesiologists. I personally wouldn't consider this completely elective, being a cancer-removal surgery, but at the same time, I suppose it's more elective than, say, heart transplant surgery, but I'd still rather he have it done.
Anyway, in the next 6 weeks or so, Dad will be taking iron supplements, and the doc will start taking his blood and storing it, in case they need it for surgery. That is, if the surgery happens. Apparently the doc's office was saying that hospitals are cancelling elective surgeries because there's a shortage of anesthesiologists. I personally wouldn't consider this completely elective, being a cancer-removal surgery, but at the same time, I suppose it's more elective than, say, heart transplant surgery, but I'd still rather he have it done.