Well,I,ve been diagnosed today..

I was back at work four weeks after my DaVinci RP. I was almost dry 4 days after catheter was removed. 9 months post op ED is still an issue but my OH and I still have fun. It was not all plain sailing and I have had further procedures (see my profile). Lynn says my recovery was amazing,but it was as predicted in the literature I was given "back to work within 2_6 weeks." We all recover at different rates, back to work may also depend on your type of work. What is a reinstater hug driver ? I did pelvic floor exercises for four months pre op and still do when I remember. My biggest fear was incontinence but was I lucky or was it the skill of my surgeon ? Make sure your are comfortable with your surgeon, mine had carried out about 140 Da Vinci procedures when it came to my turn but was very experienced in laparoscopic surgery.

Hope all goes well for you.

Thanks Chris

Hi Sonic. Just wanted to share with you that I am on a similar journey and have had all the same worry over choices. I saw my surgeon today and am booked in for surgery on 9th March. As daunting as this is to comprehend I want the problem removed in the same way I would want an old and decaying tooth extracted. No one can foresee the after affects and side effects until after surgery so I am just focussing on the surgery now and will deal with the aftermath when that is all done and dusted. I wish you well with your condition and hope you make a good recovery.

Edited by member 13 Feb 2015 at 17:23  | Reason: Not specified

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones,surgery at 56, getting on towards 2 yrs this coming July not sure what age those those that say that too young to have the op mean.

Dry after 7 months no erectile problems,manual handling helps.I think general fitness helps,I'm no marathon runner but liked/like a good walk to keep relatively fit,the skill of the surgeon is also a factor.

Sadly it must be realised for some incontinence remains a problem long after surgery,Capitalman springs to mind (is he still around?) I suppose this is the main concern of all who undertook the surgery route.

Will the cancer return who knows but to me at least the option was the much preferred route and I don't regret it one bit.I would add make your choice on treatment what best suits you and don't look back.

Too young, too old ..... John was refused brachy for being too young and opted for surgery instead. He was 50.

Been here for circa 10 years, I’ve still to see a best treatment for all. It also needs to be born in mind it’s not just the treatment that gives the best result as it’s also down to the unknown of such as are there any stray cells laying dormant somewhere waiting to mutate further. You can look at the charts saying x staging at x age gives x possibility of that being the case, but its still an unknown. All I can say is make the choice on what you feel looks the best option to you now. At 58 I would have chosen brachy because it would allow me control over my quality of life than the unknown quantity. However my staging ruled that out so I went with what I saw for me was the next best, RT/HT.

Good luck in your choice.

Ray

Yes Lyn he would have struggled to work, but at that point they had not asked what he did for a living anyway, no one asked at urology or at oncology. They only asked if he worked once we were referred to the brachy chap.

I can quite believe brachy causing bowel cancer and bladder for that matter, my other half has been burning constantly in his prostate, bladder, back passage and right to the tip of his penis, it seems constant, was ok first week or so and gradually getting worse and worse, it can't be doing him any good. Seeing consultant Monday thankfully.

Edited by member 14 Feb 2015 at 11:57  | Reason: Not specified

Lyn

Surely choice of treatment for any man with PCa has a lot to do with their personal circumstances. e.g. I am self employed and 6 weeks off work after RP is not an option for me as it wouldn't be with most farmers. My understanding is that bowel cancer occurrence after RT is a measurable statistic but still very, very small whereas continence and erectile problems after RP are considerable. Even the surgeon I first dealt with admitted this.

Also my understanding is that whilst there is no concrete evidence ATM that after Brachy there is any less chance of developing bowel cancer than with ERT the main advantage of Brachy over ERT is that it concentrates the radiation in the area it is most needed and avoid 'collateral' damage to other nearby parts of the body ......... in which case one would expect the results of the current studies would eventually show that after Brachy one has less chance of developing collateral radiation damage. Also with Brachy serious side affects (continence and erectile functions) are overall less of a problem than after RP and therefore disruption to 'normal' life, which is more important for some than others, is much less.

If, as may be offered to me if my cancer is very localised, they can offer treatment that targets the cancer rather than the whole of the prostate gland then the possibly of bowel cancer occurring after Brachy (which is already very, very small) would be even less.

As we are all individuals both physically, spiritually and mentally and our cancers and personal circumstances are almost unique then the range of options men would chose, if offered the whole range of treatments, are likely to be wide.

My view is that a man should be clear that whatever treatment they eventually have they have chosen it, or are 'happy' with their consultants choice.

All should be offered the full choices without prejudice.

dl  

Edited by member 14 Feb 2015 at 23:38  | Reason: Not specified

Sorry - which bit don't you understand? Some people are too young for some options, some people are too old. In general, young men are encouraged towards surgery and older men are pointed towards radiotherapy. There are exceptions - men with heart problems can't always have LRP and some men with breathing problems struggle with HT. A few have the RT without the HT but this seems increasingly rare. A friend of ours was put off brachy by the fact that he would not be allowed to cuddle his grandchildren for a while - pre-existing medical conditions prevent him from having RP so he has opted for active surveillance instead. 

When we first thought my other half had prostate cancer (between biopsy and results) I googled all treatments, he said he would not want to have it removed.
When we spoke to the oncologist, he did not tell her he didn't want it removed, neither did he say he was a farmer. She just went through options, she said due to his bowel problems she would not recommend EBRT she said removal was also not recommended in man so young, HE NEVER REFUSED IT, she said Brachy was a good option but thought AS was best.
Hospitals obviously do things differently, we were given a large pile of books on Brachy, AS and EBRT and told to have a good read through. No info was given on removal, it was definitely not him saying he didn't want it removed as he only said that to me.
The only thing he told the oncologist he didn't really want was hormones, having seen a friend blow up on them, also I had to have zoladex myself for 6 months and went from 8 stone to 11 ( amazing that zoladex is for woman too!) but he told her if he had to take them he obviously would. But they said prostate was small so hormones not needed. I noticed Lyn that you said it is rare to be offered no hormones, we have 3 friends all had brachy in the last 3 years, none had hormones, we were not offered them either, one of them had an aggressive cancer but still contained, the others were like my OH with a gleason on 6.
So our hospital does not favour removal.

Edited by member 15 Feb 2015 at 10:37  | Reason: Not specified

lol - I guess their is no point anyone posting on this site except Lyn then!

I would like to ask which part of my post disagreed with the 'experts' but to be honest I'm not really interested in hearing your reply.

Think I'll stick to PM's from now on.

dl