A Russian Experience

User

Posted 14 Mar 2018 at 08:51

Hello,

I am 68 years old and primarily live in Australia. However, while in St. Petersburg with my Russian wife, I decided, after reading about yet another celebrity exhorting men to have a scan, I decided to have a check.

Not having any symptoms, I was confident there was not a problem. The clinic is extremely modern, the only problem being the language. My wife resolved this issue and so became intimately embroiled in what transpired.

The invasive digital check suggested my prostate was normal. I then had a blood test with showed an elevated PSA count. Two days later I had an MRI which showed a shadow on the dark side.

This was followed, the next day by a biopsy. I cannot say this was painful, but extremely uncomfortable. I can only say it was tantamount to having a Kalashnikov being fired (16 times) into ones inner sanctum.

I had to wait two weeks fro the results. They were positive with an aggressive level of 5 , or medium.

My wife took me to a second opinion and it was decided that an operation was necessary. Before this could happen I needed to ensure the malign cells had not travelled and had to have a CT scan and a Scintigraphy. As an operation would be of no use if travel had occurred.

One scan for the organs, one for the bones. The scintigraphy being a radioactive procedure necessitated travelling to an out of town facility. It was like a bad spy movie.

Everything was OK and my operation is scheduled for the 29th March.

The whole process will have taken 6 weeks.

I must admit, I did have a fit of depression when first learning of the problem and started to think about organising my affairs to ensure security for my family.

However, that lasted a day and I now feel very positive. I do not feel that I am ill or have a sickness. I have this growth that must be eradicated. The doctors here are extremely positive have all the expensive equipment which seems to comprise of large shiny machines made by Siemens.

I found the articles by Jeffrey Archer and Stephen Fry in the National Press

particularly useful.

Regards,

Keith

User

Posted 14 Mar 2018 at 18:32

Hii Keith,

Well what a visit that turned out to be!!

Hope all goes well for you with your scheduled surgery. Will it be robotic and has anything been said about nerve sparing? Was it convenient convenient or cheaper to have it there than in Australia where they have some pretty good facilities?

We are happy to support you in any way we can but the protocols for dealing with PCa in Russia may differ from those we are used to in the UK. There is a very good and extensive Australian PCa site started by the now late Terry Herbert some years ago that you might find interesting. It is called YANA which stands for You Are Not Alone Now . It is worth working your way round this site which provides a lot more information than may appear from the home page, as here :- http://www.yananow.org/

Barry

User

Posted 15 Mar 2018 at 21:02

Having lived in other countries I know that the UK and the NHS is not the best at anything and I have no reason to believe that Russia does not have the latest and very best treatment but . . . it sounds to me that you should do more research and become better educated as to what questions to ask. Specifically (as Barry said) will it be robotic assisted surgery and what is the track record of the surgeon for nerve sparing - will he be able to spare the nerves, some of the nerves, which nerves and why.

User

Posted 20 Mar 2018 at 18:49

Thanks for the responses and I understand the queries raised.
The Doctor will carry out the process discussed the option of using the DaVinci robotic system or having a manual operation. My wife plumbed for the manual. he discussed at great length the issues concerning the nerve endings and is confident, in my case of achieving a successful outcome. He said there is a slight chance of urine seepage when I coughed. This was all in a translation from my wife, so some of the nuances may be lost.
This particular doctor appears to be one of the predominant practitioners of this operation in this city an possibly country.
As an aside, I have visited two hospitals apart from the clinic where the initial findings occurred, the first one for a second opinion and a recommendation for a surgeon and the second for the actual process. Bothe were brand new with marble flooring and glass domes not out of place in Dubai. I realise this is not of the greatest importance, but does give one a sense of confidence.
There was white grand piano in the four of the first one. Not sure the NHS or Medicare in Australia goes that far.
Out of interest, as Barry mentioned the total cost the amount for the operation that includes my own room for 7 days (they insist on staying for 7-10 days) is £2500. I have been very impressed with the level of professionalism and facilities that I have seen. The only problem being the language.

User

Posted 20 Mar 2018 at 20:42

Seems not bad on price. My dad self-funded over 20 years ago to have nerve sparing which at the time was available only as part of a trial or private health - it cost him £18000 in total.

"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User

Posted 20 Mar 2018 at 22:04

Compared to Western European prices, that is indeed amazingly low. Health tourism is a growing business worldwide and has expanded considerably in some of the former Eastern Bloc countries such as Hungary and the Czech Republic due mainly to very high prices in developed Western Countries. So maybe Russia is now happy to encourage foreign patients like travel tourists. One drawback can be that of arranging further treatment at home should this be necessary (which for you I hope it will not be the case). St Petersburg is a beautiful and by Russian standards prosperous city which attracts many tourists. Our guide there told us it would take 7 years to properly view all the exhibits in the Hermitage Museum, so plenty for you to see whilst convalescing!

Barry

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