The Shock & The New Lease On Life

Prostate cancer and covid

Following two PSA”s to determine if the results were in fact correct given the sharp rise in the scores within 8 months from 3.59 (previously ranging an average of 2.4-2.8 over 17 years to a first-time ever above 3) to 81.6 and on the retest to 76.7 my doctor says something is wrong and you need further evaluation and gave an order for an MRI. The immediate challenge was how to get an MRI and where - it’s Covid. The PSA rise was alarming indicating something was seriously wrong, notwithstanding my doctor was subjecting me to many DREs suspecting BPH and the detection of grooves coupled with my labs showing a rising creatinine. In the height of the pandemic, travel was virtually impossible as the borders were closed and air travel where possible was minimal and heavily restricted!

Prostate cancer diagnosis

After a couple of inquiries on the availability of services and the recurring message that you’ll face a quarantine period of 14 days and be required to complete health questionnaires and temperature checks finally, I was able to secure an appointment! The urologist dismissed the MRI request and after reviewing my PSA’s conducted another DRE and requested another PSA. In the DRE, no detection of grooves, and if the PSA dropped to 4 or below, then no further evaluation but if not, then a biopsy will be ordered! Well, it dropped to 11.9 so the biopsy it was! I was feeling overwhelmed as the urologist told me there was a high probability of cancer, (hoping it had not spread to my bone) and the biopsy results will confirm this! He then explained that the biopsy is an office procedure, the area will be numbed and in preparation, I will need to use a laxative and go on a liquid diet the day before. I said to myself not again as I had recently completed a colonoscopy and endoscopy which thankfully were negative!

Four days after the biopsy, I received the dreaded call confirming Prostate cancer! I was in an emotional tailspin how, why me, am I stage 4, how long do I have to live? He then said he’ll discuss treatment options on his return in two weeks as he is traveling but arranged an order for some CT scans. Rather depressed, I immediately contacted my wife with the news and spoke with a few family members and two close friends. I was feeling so upbeat prior to the call and my world suddenly felt dark and darker with nightfall.

Anxiety with prostate cancer

I couldn’t sleep and my sister in law herself a cancer survivor and nurse called me around midnight and we spoke for close to two hours. So the pelvis and bone scans were negative! I felt great as I was thinking I don’t have cancer - I guess I was in denial. So my urologist discussed various treatment options and narrowed it down to two options; radiotherapy or robotic surgery. He gave the pros and cons of each and I asked what’s his recommendation. He said surgery for the side effects was the same but given the location and size of the tumors, surgery was the better option plus there was the risk of LUTI. More importantly, since it was localized, reoccurrence was minimized with surgery. Opting for radiotherapy and there was a reoccurrence surgery would not be possible. However with surgery, if there was a reoccurrence radiotherapy would be available as a treatment option. However, I have 8 weeks to reach my decision as any treatment had to be scheduled for that period following my biopsy allowing more time for family discussion.

Prostate cancer treatment plan

Now my initial travel plan was to return home in two weeks instead this turned out to be two months! The 8 week waiting period was filled with anxiety. Prior to the diagnosis, the symptoms of prostate problems were not really noticeable except for frequent urination at night and this sharp infrequent excruciating pain on my right side that will cause my right leg to literally collapse! I had robotic surgery and the surgeon said that the prostate was enlarged (3 times the normal size) and it was heavily protruding into my bladder this required reshaping which took quite a bit of time. I was made to walk the same night following recovery from the afternoon surgery and was discharged at 8:00 am the following morning. For 10 days I wore a first-time catheter which presented a little level of discomfort at times. I experienced urinary incontinence for just over 6 months, and ED for just under 9 months, and that was a rather complex experience! Sexual stimulation proved beneficial and the return of that sensation felt so good even though at times it felt like my mind was playing tricks on me! My donut cushion was my pain reliever and strongly recommend it. So I’ve completed my 4 quarterly visits and my first semi-annual visit with my doctor. My PSA (third generation) has been consistently at zero or 0.008 indicating that I’m a cancer survivor thanks be to God.