Returning to work after robotic prostatectomy.
Hello. I got diagnosed in early December after a progressively high PSA. Did the MRI, Had the biopsy done. came up a 3-4 with 13 out of 15 cores. I had the bone scan which showed nothing so hasn't spread outside the prostate hopefully. I'm leaning toward the prostatectomy to get rid of it hopefully. I still have to see a few more docs to get different opinions and decide. My question is..... I understand different people have different "healing' timeframes and complication type scenarios. I've heard from 6-8 weeks? But, i deliver home heating oil and propane in the Northeast. My job requires mostly heavy lifting, climbing fences, walls, as well as climbing up into the truck 100 or so times a day. There must be other drivers out there with the construction type jobs? Did the say 8 week recovery work out?
My biopsy came in at 4+3=7 on all cores except 4+4=8 on one. I had my prostate removed on January 13 using the robotic assisted "DaVinci" method. I was discharged from the hospital the following afternoon. My surgeon emphatically told me not to pickup anything weighing over 5 lbs for 6 weeks. He said that at some point my 5 incisions would appear to be healed, but I would not be healed on the inside. He said that lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs before I was totally healed could result in a hernia. He also said that after 6 weeks I could return to doing anything that I was doing before surgery.
Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
Hi
. Sorry to hear about the diagnosis, but it certainly sounds like it was caught early. In fact, a 3+4=7 Gleason score opens a lot of options for treatment. Of course, the first consideration should be treating the cancer, but your concern for side effects and recover are completely understandable and a big part of the prostate cancer experience. It can be important to speak with different specialists, as it is not uncommon for doctors to focus on their area (surgeons like to cut, radiologists like to radiate). Some options have little downtime, such as proton therapy and Cyberknife (both types of radiation therapy) or cryotherapy. This article from our editorial team gives an overview of radiation therapy options: https://prostatecancer.net/treatment/radiation-therapy and this one cryotherapy: https://prostatecancer.net/treatment/cryotherapy. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences. Wishing you the best and feel free to keep us posted on how you are doing. Richard (ProstateCancer.net Team)
