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Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 19:10

Edited by member 07 Jul 2022 at 21:47 | Reason: Doctors name removed

User

Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 20:55

Hu User999. I am relatively new here as well (diagnosed in December). Suddenly you find “the path of your life is strewn with cow pats from the devil's own satanic herd!” (Blackadder II) and your head is spinning. I guess we have all been there, I know I have. There are lot of fantastically knowledgeable and helpful people on this forum (I’m not one of them) but please be assured those feelings of anger, panic and despair will go quickly go away when you can put things into perspective. I find reading some of the threads on here certainly helps. PCa is a very treatable (and it would appear in your case curable) disease. I’ve not yet had my surgery, so I still have that to worry about (see my profile) but I can now see a s**t dodging pathway ahead and I feel much better for it. Keep thinking positive. You can get over this. Chris

User

Posted 08 Feb 2022 at 07:51

Hi Martin

sorry to find yourself here but from someone who has just turned 51 and have been through this especially with getting your head around it all, one thing I was told on here was to take a breath to start with ok.

Go to your meetings and take one thing at a time. Get some more opinions especially after the MDT meeting and then you can weigh up options.

My gleason was 7 (3+4) and T2 until it was upgraded to T3a so was in the same situation as you.

The mental side of being diagnosed is hard to deal with but you must lean on family and friends and get as much support as you can. Reach out and ask for help!

I found the way to deal with it all is to take one thing at a time, deal with that hurdle and move onto the next one. One at a time or you get bamboozled with loads of information. Stay strong!

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 15:52

Hi user999 I was diagnosed Nov 21 Gleeson 3_4 localised prostate cancer I had robot surgery on 22 Jan 22 I am now just over 4 weeks from surgery and believe it or not I am back out walking for 5 miles three times week i have orgasmed 4 times in the last 10 days my erections aren't the best yet if i could call them erections but I have enough to work with the first week after op wasn't nice with catheter trapped wind and no bowel movement but after catheter comes out about the one week Mark everything gets better day by day I was shiting myself before op but the surgeons are amazing and your body is more amazing at healing and im about 95% continent now as long as you follow surgeons and nurses advice you will be fine especially if you are fit look at some of the questions I was asking on here a few weeks back so your not alone its hard to believe im saying this now but im so glad i went through with it and would do it again in a heartbeat if needed you will be fine i know everyone does not get back to normal in a set time as we are all different but in my case I am moving forward way quicker that I ever imagined hope my experience helps put your mind at ease

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 17:48

I was the same before op I got through it by looking at my dad's picture on the wall who died 6 years ago from prostate cancer it was because of him i have been getting tested every 6 months he never got the chance to be saved so I regard myself as extremely lucky ps forget about drink until about 3 weeks after op its a waste of time you end up pissing every 5 mins but I can enjoy a wee drink now at 4 1/2 wks

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 18:09

Before my op I felt that my life was over at 61 but as soon as I came round from op and realised what had just happened to me my first thought was (right) I've been given a second go so let's concentrate on recovery and getting back to were I was before if not better the last thing i remember before op was nurse asking me about my job then it seemed like seconds (although it was hrs ) a nurse asking me if I would like a cup of tea

User

Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 00:50

Hi Martin,
Sorry you find yourself here. As others have said it will get easier when you are fully informed and have a plan going forward.

My OH had robotic surgery in December with lymph node removal. He is quite a bit older than you but so far has recovered really well. Continence has been really great. ED is an issue but he’s been on hormone treatment so no inclination at the moment anyway.

He had the MRI, CT scan & bone scan locally. He was diagnosed advanced because the bone scan showed a lesion on his pelvis and CT in a local lymph node. We went private for a second opinion, they disagreed about the bone and he had a further PSMA pet scan which confirmed no bone mets but one lymph node. He was originally diagnosed Gleason 4+3=7 but post op histology upgraded that to 4’s and 5’s (they get to look at the whole prostate then) I’m not sure which way around. We were so happy with the surgeon and he thinks he got pretty much all the cancer….however we’ve always known that radiotherapy will more than likely be needed in the future. (Still hoping for a miracle 🙏🏼)

Surgery wasn’t offered to my husband but he really felt he just wanted to ‘get it out’ so went with our gut. Everyone is different of course so really important to do as much research to help you. I’m sure lots of people will come on with their experiences too, that always helped us.

Wishing you all the best with whatever decisions you make, will keep an eye on the post for any updates.

Elaine

User

Posted 10 Feb 2022 at 14:00

Contact specialist nurses through the web site and ask to be put in contact with one to one support,someone who has been through the procedures will speak to you and tell you their experience,you can ask questions,there are many volunteers who will be matched to your requirements,more than one in many cases,really helps to have a conversation imo rather than texted info

User

Posted 19 Mar 2022 at 17:17

all the best with your procedure

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User

Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 20:22

The surgeon is bound to say that surgery is your best bet; he is a surgeon. Hopefully you will now also be referred for a bone scan and, once that is done, ask to meet with an oncologist as well as the new urologist. Depending on your age, staging, etc, it will be important to have the opportunity to talk through all treatment options. Your PSA is not within normal range - it is about 4 times higher than normal so could you have misheard that bit?

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

User

Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 20:55

User

Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 22:42

Yes a bone scan will be done with T2 to check if it has spread from the prostate or not. That was one of the checks I had and was shown to be ok. Then a better idea / plan can be made for treatment.

Good luck.

User

Posted 05 Feb 2022 at 23:27

Hi Martin,

Gleason 7, localized is most certainly not a death sentence so on the information so far you can consider yourself to be in the 5% you've mentioned above.

You definitely need to know if there's any spread to bones and that is a scan to look forward to. The other possibility that could be checked out is mets in nearby glands but depending on what your oncologist thinks, that could be scanned and treated now or later.

Jules

User

Posted 06 Feb 2022 at 00:50

Hi Martin,
Sorry you find yourself here. As others have said it will get easier when you are fully informed and have a plan going forward.

Wishing you all the best with whatever decisions you make, will keep an eye on the post for any updates.

Elaine

User

Posted 08 Feb 2022 at 07:51

Hi Martin

Go to your meetings and take one thing at a time. Get some more opinions especially after the MDT meeting and then you can weigh up options.

My gleason was 7 (3+4) and T2 until it was upgraded to T3a so was in the same situation as you.

The mental side of being diagnosed is hard to deal with but you must lean on family and friends and get as much support as you can. Reach out and ask for help!

I found the way to deal with it all is to take one thing at a time, deal with that hurdle and move onto the next one. One at a time or you get bamboozled with loads of information. Stay strong!

User

Posted 08 Feb 2022 at 09:23

Hi Martin

First and foremost it is very unlikely that you will die of prostate cancer for a long time, if at all! Generally Prostate cancer is slow growing and that also means that you have time to think through your treatment options and unless your advisors tell you otherwise there is no need to rush into a treatment decision.

Your diagnosis seems similar to mine ……. I was 59 at the time, and you sound fit and otherwise healthy so there are lots of things on your side.

Main treatment options are prostatectomy, external beam radiation and brachytherapy …… all able to cure you if, as you suggest, your cancer is localised. All have different degrees of the side effects. As already said it is crucial to see an oncologist for you to discuss the options.

If you are researching the options best to look at the more recent information as there has been improvements in all treatments options recently. A classic example of this is robotic prostatectomy (RALP). Modern advances have reduced the degree of side affects in most patients. I know someone who had RALP a couple of years ago and within a couple of months he was virtually back to normal!

So take good care of you, take a little time deciding what YOU feel is the best treatment option for you and try not to worry too much (I know, easier said than done!).

zum

User

Posted 08 Feb 2022 at 10:48

Worth spending a bit of time to consider your options. I had my prostate removed 2 years ago after spending over 2 years on active surveillance. Have a look at my profile if you would like to know more.

Good luck

User

Posted 10 Feb 2022 at 14:00

User

Posted 20 Feb 2022 at 11:38

Hi ChrisBromsgrove

Site won't let me post a private message to you as I am relatively new!!!

Wanted to thank you for your message and as we are in same county and reading what you said about potential waiting times, I think we will be looking at dipping into savings once we, hopefully get to see the consultant surgeon in a couple of weeks. Best wishes

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 15:52

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 17:48

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 17:57

Hi Shippy, thank you for putting my mind at rest - saw my husband's consultant yesterday, he suggested surgery. Good to hear positive stories. Wish you all the best

User

Posted 22 Feb 2022 at 18:09

User

Posted 19 Mar 2022 at 15:35

Hi, after my OH had his diagnosis our GP rang us and the main theme of the call was advising us to do our research. So we are following that sage advice and carefully researching all options. Means that about all we talk about is this ..... disease, but you all need to make sure you go for the treatment that gets rid of the enemy and gives you the for you most acceptable side/after effects. Wish you all the best

User

Posted 19 Mar 2022 at 17:17

all the best with your procedure

User

Posted 19 Mar 2022 at 19:42

Well done and good luck Martin.

I started doing about 3k on an indoor circuit a few days after the op and my surgeon gave me a right b**licking. Reminded me I had just had major surgery and to take it very slowly (but steadily) for the first few weeks. Mind you don't overdo it, the inside heals slower than the small incisions.

Peter

User

Posted 19 Mar 2022 at 21:42

Sounds like everything has gone really well Martin. Onwards and upwards now. Really wishing you all the very best going forward x

User

Posted 20 Mar 2022 at 08:39

Thank you Peter. I thought the hospital staff were giving me funny looks as I did circuit after circuit. I am taking it easier now. It was 'only' keyhole but six holes is six holes and lots of snipping and stitching went on down there. All the very best to you.

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