Hello all,
Firstly, I'd like to thank Kennt for his excellent posting on his experience with Brachytherapy. It has helped me greatly over the last few days, and inspired me to write this.
After reading his post, I thought it might help others to also share my experiences as a slightly younger man.
I also want to thank my wife for being there at every step!
A Bit Of Background:
So about me, I'm 48, fairly fit and active, and was diagnosed back in December with T1 stage and a gleason score of 7.
Back then I was told that although there was no urgency, that because of my gleason score, it was likely that I'd need treatment at some point in the next couple of years. Like Kennt, I too also felt that opting for AS was just putting off the inevitable, and that as a pretty healthy fit guy, I would be better off having treatment now whilst I'm fit and strong and the cancer isn't than waiting for things to possibly reverse.
After speaking to surgeons and oncologists we decided to opt for brachytherapy. This was mainly because as I'm fairly active, it presented a far shorter recovery period and potentially less side effects than RP, with a very similar success rate.
I'll say straight away, that I'm not here to "sell" brachytherapy to anyone. Its each persons choice, and whats right for one isn't necessarily right for another. I just want to share my experience to help others.
The Journey So far:
We finally made the decision on brachytherapy after Christmas. We had a snowboarding holiday booked for early March and agreed with the consultant that we could book in the procedure for when we returned without any fear of things getting worse. We were also fortunate to have private health care through my wife's work, so decided we would have it done through that.
Its now exactly a week since I went in for the procedure....
D-Day:
The day of the procedure itself couldn't have gone any better. I was admitted 1st thing in the morning, and went down for surgery @ 9:30.
On waking, I really didn't know I'd had anything done (except for feeling a bit "groggy" from the anaesthetic, and uncomfortable from the catheter).
I returned to the room, and within a couple of hours had a very welcome light lunch. I had dinner in the evening and after several checks had the dreaded catheter removed about 10pm (hooray!). I then had a reasonable nights sleep, though had to get up a couple of times to pee. I didnt need any painkillers at all through my stay.
After more checks the next morning, I was released, and was home by mid day.
Week 1:
Week 1 has been a mixed experience. The first thing to say is that I probably underestimated how it would affect me. Having read the literature, spoken to specialists etc, I'd really believed I'd be reasonably back to normal after a few days. One of the doctors even said to me they'd had patients return to the golf course after a few days!
However, that hasn't really been my experience. Day 2, when I returned home wasn't too bad. I felt pretty tired, and delicate as the anaesthetic slowly wore off, but I took it very easy, and felt ok.
Going for a pee was fairly painful, though that improved over time. However, I didn't have a bowel movement at all.
But the next day was alot worse. I felt pretty rough. Really tired, and sore and uncomfortable. This was the first day I needed pain killers. Peeing was still painful and I still hadn't had a bowel movement, even though I was eating regularly.
From then on, physically things have slowly got better. I finally had a bowel movement on day 4, by which point I was getting pretty uncomfortable, and peeing has slowly improved, though it is still uncomfortable and can be painful sometimes. I've also found I have some regular "leakage". Not bad, but have had to buy some pads to put in my underwear (which is nice!). I'm guessing this might be down to the alpha blockers, though not sure?
I am finding I need to get up anything from once to four or five times at night to pee. There doesn't seem to be much of a pattern as to why.
I have also been out for a few short walks though I find I cant go too far as it starts to feel pretty uncomfortable. My wife also took me out in the car at the weekend, and again, I found I cant sit in the car for long as it gets really uncomfortable very quickly. Ihaent tried to drive yet, but not sure I want to yet after the experience of being a passenger.
I've also noticed a pattern, where I seem to start the day feeling not too bad, then get slowly worse through the day. Most days so far, I get very tired around mid afternoon, and struggle to concentrate. Not sure if this is down to disturbed sleep, the seeds, or both??
On a positive note, I tried drinking a cup of coffee (which I love and really want looking forward to giving up!), and it doesn't seem to have made any real difference. I've decided that I'll restrict myself to one or two cups per week to see how it goes.
Also, though, other than when I was originally diagnosed, I am now very aware of having cancer. Its probably just the side effects of surgery, but I really feel like I've gone from feeling pretty much totally ok, to feeling like an old man in the space of a few days!
It has also really made me start thinking about life priorities etc. If I'm honest, I'm really struggling with motivating myself to return to work. At this stage I'm not sure where that will lead, but I am more determined to prioritise my and my families happiness that I was in he past. its a cliche, but it's really made me realise that you only get one shot....
I'll also add though, that although it hasn't been quite as simple a recovery as I'd expected, I'm also still pleased with the treatment choice I made. Time will tell what the long term side effects are. But so far, I still feel that I've made the right decision.
I'll post more updates over time.
Hope this helps????