Shocked in Idaho - Updates - Saw 2 Specialists - Decision time - Help!!!

fishing_fool

My head is still foggy from all of the information since my diagnosis. Paraplu and I are very similar in our situation. Paraplu, what was the deciding factor for you to go ahead with the surgery? I have seen two specialists now. First one does Di Vinci (250 – 300 cases). My wife called the hospital where he operates and talked to the head surgical nurse which happened to be a male. She asked about the surgeon and his reply was that if he - himself had prostate cancer this doc would be his first choice. Second Doc – different State does the open gut (1,000 to 1,500 cases). Second surgeon said that with the Gleason score of 6, and one out of twelve were positive (less than 5% of tissue) PSA of 5.01, I could do the active surveillance... However he said that where I am only 56 that it was very young and alarming to have prostate cancer and that with cancer, even though it seems early in the game there are no guarantees. His opinion was even a small cancer could spread via seeding or tentacles... Both surgeons pride themselves on the nerve sparing. Has your catheter been removed? Are you dry? What about everyone else that has had the surgery??? I am sorry for what you and everyone else are going through. Leaning towards surgery this fall and going with Di Vinci.

Paraplu

Hi, it's Paraplu
Hi there, you're at a spot where many of us were a while back. We either took the step to get surgery or another option. I can only speak from what I went through, see my post on 'there is good news' also.

To me this was a fairly easy decision. I read a lot about my options, the side effects, how long things would take and what was about to happen to me. The biggest issue after getting used to the idea, was that I decided to go in for surgery and I was not in pain, I did not feel I needed surgery and I knew I was going to feel a lot worse getting out of it than going into it.

I am 58, live a fairly healthy life style, am in good shape and had surgery before so I figure, out with that thing. I don't want to wait to see what happens. Wait for what? Wait till it grows somewhere else? I quickly decided in the first few days that taking it out was the only option. I wonder why people wait if they are in my condition, I wonder why they take the seads or radiation because once you radiate in any form there is no more surgery option.

So, once I decided to go for surgery and have the whole bloody thing removed I decided to look at the DaVinci option. So far the best recovery results of all surgeries. I found a surgeon who has done it all, open, laprascopic and daVinci. That was important to me as he would know what to do if the equipment came to a sudden halt. We all like Microsoft (or not) but a piece of robot runs on software and who knows. So, ask what they would do if the robot fails before surgery or during. I told them if it failed before I would want to be woken up and try when they fixed the thing. If during, I would want a surgeon who could finish the job. I don't want a 25 year old who might be great at the robot but without any experience of doing Open surgery.

Anyway, here I am, came out of it fine. The catheter was the next big thing on my mind, however it was a decent experience, a bit of a showstopper in shorts, but it was not bad at all. Removing it did not hurt at all, just felt weard. Now I am working on the incontinence part and even that is something one can get used to. Takes a while I understand and it's only been a few weeks since the catheter came out, but there is progress. I am dry at night, dry when I sit, soak when I take long hikes. Well, bring an extra pad.

So all in all, it's been Ok. Not the greatest experience but I hate to think about the alternative.

Take one step at a time though, dont get overwhelmed, we're here for you.
Theo

hopeful and optimistic

Some information
Active Surfeillance Protocol... Lawence Klotz, Univ. Toronto

PSA and DRE every 3 months, prostate ultra sound every 12 months, repeat biopsy at month 12 and 36

AFTER 8 YEARS

55% remain untreated with stable disease
36% decided to have treatment(even though they did not have progression
9% treated with surgery or radiation for increase in PSA or gleason score

None had metastatic disease
Less than 1 percent of men died with prostate cancer.