11 Days Post Op All Is Good

SLONG1958

Hi to All
Well it's been 11 days since my surgery and everything is doing better than expected.Went into surgery 10/4/11 at 7:00 am back in recovery at 9:00am.Cath. came out 10/11/11 and what a relief.I'm staying dry at night and using 1 pad during the day.I started walking in the hospital and I have been walking everyday.On my first Doc appointment we talked to the Doctor and he said everything went just fine but my Path report came back different from the biopsy report.The first was 3+3=6 now it's 3+4=7 can some tell me what this means in plain English.

This is the Final Diagnosis I got from my Doctor.

Tumor involves the left lobe (7/20 paraffin blocks)
Extraprostatic extension: Not identified
Seminal vesicle invasion : Not identified
Lymphovascular invasion : Not identified
Margins:
Apical: Negative
Bladder: Negative
Capsule : Negative
AJCC Pathologic stage pT2b pNX

Comments
Perineural invasion is identified.There is a significant proportion of grade 4 tumor present,but it appears to be slightly less in quantity than the grade 3 tumor.

Also has anyone experienced night sweats.I don't think I'm running a fever because I don't have any chills I'LL wake up and my shirt is wet.

VascodaGama

Celebrate the SUCCESS
Slong

Congratulations. Items you posted from the pathologist report (path-stage pT2b pNX) are all indicative of a super SUCCESS.
To complete the diagnosis will be a PSA in remission levels.

The different grade in Gleason (3 to 4) it means that the cancer was of a more aggressive type than the one indicated by biopsy, therefore the score changed from 3+3=6 to 3+4=7. An important comment from the doctor is that the volume of grade 4 is lesser than the grade 3. Nevertheless your risk for recurrence is classified as Intermediate, but the path stage indicates that the cancer was contained (no extra capsular extension/negative margins) which leads to a conclusive that the “bandit” may have been caught totally.
I say “may have” because of the indication of an identified perineural invasion. This is the portion where nerves “run” aside which are a layer in the outer “shell” of the prostate but considered within the capsule.
The probabilities that cancer has escaped from the prostate in cases with “identified PNI are not zero but rare. Read this on PNI; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1476100/
Here is an article with rates and the possibilities related to PNI vz Extra-capsular extension;
http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2010/06/23/the-prognostic-implications-of-perineural-invasion-at-the-time-of-surgery/

I hope that the side effects are mitigated the soonest and recovery gives an END to your case.

The best to you.
VGama

lewvino

Congrats, the 3+4 7 has been
Congrats, the 3+4 7 has been explained to you by vasco.
Some like to raise all the bad points of surgery in their opinions. However your post shows one of the Good points of removal! You know exactly how much involvment their was with the cancer!

I also had surgery (davinci) and my gleason was 4+3 = 7 before surgery and changed to 3+4 = 7 after my surgery.

Lewvino

Kongo

Great news
Sounds like a great report, along. I hope everything continues to go well for you.

K

Kongo

Great news
Sounds lhope great report. Just about everything negative. I hope everything continues to go well for you.

K

ProfWagstaff

Congratualtions! I went
Congratualtions! I went through daVinci back in '09. I don't recall going through night sweats but everyone's recovery is different. For example, you're staying dry at night already and it took me a couple weeks. Celebrate the success!