Up-Date on my RP

Hello Group, I just want to up-date my status on my RP for any body contemplating doing one.
I had the surgery on April 15th with a 6 day stay in the Hospital and the long stay in the hospital was only because I could not get my system to function ( Pass Gas ) out of the whole procedure that had to be the worst part . I had the staples removed in a week and the catheter out in 12 days . I never felt any surgery pain what so ever, in fact I got off of medication on the 2nd day after my operation and left the hospital without a pain prescription. In about 3 weeks I was almost back to normal and doing almost anything I wanted to do (except Kayaking) only because I knew that I have to heal not because I didn’t think I could do it. My wife is so happy that I’m back to pushing the lawn mower again!
For anybody feeling scared about going through this type of surgery, don’t be! I have a little incontinence, use one lite depends pad a day, and than its only spotted in a few places. I only drip when I bend over in a certain way sneeze or cough. If I really wanted to I could use the same pad for about a week, but for cleanliness purposes I change it every day. I mention this only so that someone thinking about having a RP , the side effect are not always as bad as sometimes mentioned. My Doctors were only able to save the nerves on one side so I am still having a problem in the sexual area, but hey, I’m alive and that is really the only thing that matters to me.
Here is a little background info on me.
I am 58 years old, my cancer was picked up routine blood test, and my PSA was 4.2 , it had jumped from 2.2 in a year. My Physician told me that if I had not had this test in the past to have created a base line ,he would have sent me home and waited for another year to check it. For my age 4.2 was not a bad reading, but to go from 2.2 to 4.2 in a year indicated something. My Urologist told me after the operation and the Pathology work came back the he has never seen a Cancer spread so fast in such a young guy with such a low reading, and I would have surly died from this disease because it was spreading so fast. So if I had not been based lined and my Doctor had sent me home for another PSA check a year from now , who knows what condition I would have been in by than! My current condition now is : My staging was upgraded after the Pathology workup to a stage 3 because I was Margin Positive in 3 locations. My Urologist said the good things are is that my Gleason level stayed a 6 and was not upgraded and my Lymphoids were removed so if the cancer does show up again it should stay local and can be easily zapped with radiation treatments if and when its needed. So I will wait until July 1st for my first PSA test results and go from there.
I feel that by doing the RP verses the other options that were given to me I was lucky that I chose to go with the RP because the spreading was picked up and my lymphoid were also removed, all in all giving me a better chance to beat this disease.
I will end this on a positive note, I just came back from two trips in my Motor home covering over 1,500 miles ( I’m retired ) with out any discomfort what so ever from driving. In fact I can’t believe that I even had the operation until I see my scare!!!!
So don’t be afraid guys , if you have the Cancer and you can do the operation get it done and over with, it really was not a big thing believe me, I almost pass out thinking I have to have a needle ( shot ) at the Doctors office, so I am probable the same type of person you are, not some big macho type that you can’t associate with. After it was all over with I felt so foolish with myself that I was actually crying over this prior to having it done.
Dario