Thanks all, your responses are very much appreciated.
Lynn - us childcare pro's seem to pop up everywhere nowadays! :) What area of children's services do you work in? I'm in the private sector working as a placements manager - residential and fostering. It's been a busy few years!
Apologies for not returning sooner to acknowledge your posts. I realised a week or so ago that I had become overly obsessed with my PCa diagnosis and was spending too much time on the internet researching. This led to sleeping issues, fatigue and very low mood. I made the decision to concentrate on other areas of my life; work, family, hobbies, Christmas etc. to distract myself and regain some normality. It seems to have worked and I feel in a much better place now.
Progress:
I had my meeting on Tuesday to further discuss my diagnosis and treatment options and everything seems a lot clearer. Whilst a PCa diagnosis can never be a good thing, at this stage, the probability of a successful outcome is looking good. I know there's a chance this could change following treatment, but I'm taking this a day at a time and hanging on to the positives for now.
- Gleason score of 7 was confirmed to be 3+4.
- Although 8 of 13 cores were positive, percentages were low with several showing just 1mm of the 20mm core being positive and the highest being 7mm.
- Everything so far suggests the cancer is well contained within the prostate capsule with no indication of spread to the lymph nodes.
- Nerve sparing definitely possible for one nerve bundle and probable for the other, but the decision will be taken on the fly during surgery
I've decided on surgery as my treatment option and have been booked in for an RP (robotic) on 11th January. The surgeon was very reassuring and answered all my questions with comprehensive answers, drawing diagrams where necessary and going the extra mile to make sure I fully understood everything we discussed. I feel like I'm in good hands. He will have a 'fellow' with him in theatre, but reassured me he would be doing all the nerve sparing work and remaining very much hands on throughout the procedure.
For now, I'm looking forward to a relaxing Christmas weekend and then a full on crash diet and exercise regime to make sure I'm as match fit as possible.