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DerekO
DerekO Member Posts: 6
edited March 2014 in Prostate Cancer #1
Hi,all...
I have been recently diagnosed....4+3 and a 3+3, clean scans and
a good DRE...Opted out of going the Da Vinci route due to prior abdominal
surgery and opted out of radiation due to possible bowel complications.
I have had 3 opinions and I have decided to have Dr. James Eastham
perform open RP. I thank all of you who have contributed to these discussions
as they have helped me immensely.
It seems the cancer is with in the prostate but who knows what they will find when
the doctor goes in. Like all of you, at 59 I still enjoy sex with my ladyfriend.
I drip now after urinating and hopes that may improve after the surgery now scheduled
for March 30. I have to get a pre-op the week before....seems scarier than the surgery itself. Something about a rectal imaging so as to verify the cancer is contained only in the prostate. Any insights or comments about Sloan Kettering would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Derek

Comments

  • dakotarunner
    dakotarunner Member Posts: 102 Member
    #2
    Welcome to the club.
    Hi Derek,
    Welcome to the club that no one really wanted to join, but is made up of a great group of men from the entire world. You will find plenty of support, humor, advice of all types, and more.

    Your upcoming rectal imaging sounds like a coil MRI. Regrdless of what you see or hear here, it is not so bad, and gives the doctors the best picture possible of what they are working with. I have had 2 of them, the last one about 36 hours ago.

    Best to you and your surgery in March. Keep coming back.

    Bill Kennedy
    RP Class of '04
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 866 Member
    #3
    Welcome to the Reluctant Club
    Sloan Kettering one excellent places to go to-feel good about that and feel good about your treatment choice no matter what it is….it was the best choice for you

    The dribbing I do not know about but I am interested in an answer from someone

    I was diagnosed (consultation) on Dec 28, 2009: 4+3=7, TB2, 9/15 biopsy specimens (100% down to 2-3% in specimens), palpable nodule right base and right mid and PSA 2.8.
    The test I have had done are and have had done for prior to surgery are:
    PSA
    DRE
    Biopsy
    CT Scan with and without constant
    Bone Scan
    Chest X-ray (21 days prior to surgery)
    Acid Phosphatase test (21 day prior to surgery)
    Blood work (21 day prior to surgery)
    Urine Culture (21 days prior to surgery)
    EKG/ECG (21 days prior to surgery)

    I am not having the MRI or other stuff I read about
    My Open surgery will be done at Northwestern by Dr. Catalona in March

    Best of luck
  • DerekO
    DerekO Member Posts: 6
    #4
    dakotarunner said:

    Welcome to the club.
    Hi Derek,
    Welcome to the club that no one really wanted to join, but is made up of a great group of men from the entire world. You will find plenty of support, humor, advice of all types, and more.

    Your upcoming rectal imaging sounds like a coil MRI. Regrdless of what you see or hear here, it is not so bad, and gives the doctors the best picture possible of what they are working with. I have had 2 of them, the last one about 36 hours ago.

    Best to you and your surgery in March. Keep coming back.

    Bill Kennedy
    RP Class of '04

    Bill,
    Thanks for the input. I go back and forth from being scared to being accepting.
    You probably went through the a similar experience of thinking any ache and pain was
    advancing PC.??? It seems the need for the rectal MRI is to help the surgeon when it comes time for the surgery. Yes? But I'm thinking, it will be done a week before my surgery so I will know if the PC is outside the capsule. And if it is,then more choices of the reluctant kind have to be made. And always it seems when you get new info from your doc, that it just seems to lead to scarier questions. Whaet I like about all these posts,is the
    positive vibes I get from everyone. I want to be able to contribute when it is my time to do so....to be able to help another member of our CLUB.
    A joke I heard ..Mr. O's urologist tells him he has good news and bad news. Christ,says Mr. O,,,give be the bad news first. Well, you've got prostate cancer. What the hell could be the good news..Well,says the doc, you've go prostate cancer....and that is what I get from you guys here,,,hope...
    Derek
  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,346 Member
    #5
    endorectal MRI with Spectrocopy
    I believe that that is the best test that I've had. YOu can have an MRI only , or an MRI with a spectroscopy which gives more accurate results.......the spectrocopy is considered investigational and you have to pay extra for this.......you will find out if there is nodule involvement, stage and location of the cancer.

    ira

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