Decided on treatment

By tnewman

1 min read

I posted three months ago that I was somewhat undecided about having treatment. I had been under active surveillance and the doctor wanted to do the third set of biopsies. I choose treatment and last Wednesday I had my prostate removed with the DaVinci robotic surgery. The two days after surgery were rough. The pain was extreme. Every day since then I am getting stronger and have very little discomfort. The catheter is a little hassle not bad. Today the doctor called with the pathology, my cancer had advanced and was a 4+3 and he said it was good that I removed it. The lymph nodes are clear.

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ninawCommunity Admin
That is really tough to hear, <inline-mention user-id="3261824" username="railwayman" class="bp-suggestions-mention"/> , that you would not have had aggressive prostate cancer. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I know there is great controversy about the age at which testing stops being recommended. I'm thinking of you both. - Nina, <a href='https://prostatecancer.net' target='_blank'>ProstateCancer.net</a> Team
tnewmanMember
RailwayMan, I am sorry for you. It seems like every day you see a news article saying that it is better to wait on treating prostate cancer and you will likely die of something else. I think those articles most often are written by people who don't have prostate cancer. There is no doubt that is possible, but we that have prostate cancer want nothing more than to be cured. I am hopeful that my surgeon spared enough of the nerves to continue a normal life. I will not regret removing cancer from my body.
tnewmanMember
Deemusicman, thank you for the words of encouragement. I am guessing I am lucky. I have not really experienced incontinence, I had trouble for the first four hours and after that, it has not been a problem. I am now using the small pads. Just in case. I did a lot of Kegels before the surgery and maybe that is paying off. I do experience some fatigue though and take a nap every day. I had lunch with my brother yesterday and he is stage four prostate cancer. He is totally incontinent. They are looking to install a magnetic valve in his urethra to control his urine flow. I feel bad telling him how well I am doing. Best to you !!!!!
ninawCommunity Admin
Thank you for your words of encouragement to <inline-mention user-id="3267488" username="tnewman" class="bp-suggestions-mention"/> , <inline-mention user-id="3259671" username="deemusicman" class="bp-suggestions-mention"/> . It's great to have you here. - Nina, <a href='https://prostatecancer.net' target='_blank'>ProstateCancer.net</a> Team
railwaymanMember
"Watchful waiting" was a huge mistake for me, and an older friend. Our HMO stops PSA testing at age 70 ... mine had been 2-3 slowly rising for years. His wife insisted he have a PSA after a decade .... his has spread to all parts of his body. I'm currently in radiation as surgery was ruled out, ... and was using Lupron for two months until it's side effects made us stop. If my bump had been removed 6-7 years ago I would most likely be cancer free today. And our friend would not be going through the death-by-hell he is experiencing. DO NOT WAIT ONCE YOU HAVE THE TUMOR "BUMP!!!!!!" Get it removed. Had I, the new doc says I most likely would NOT have aggressive prostrate cancer!