Prostatectomy Recovery Time

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User

Posted 20 Sep 2022 at 17:15

Good afternoon. Firstly, apologies if this is posted in the wrong part of the forum. I think my problem/query is rare or even unique; during pre-ops for a prostatectomy (T2C - Gleason 7 (3 + 4) in February it was discovered that I also had myeloma - a blood/bone marrow cancer that is treatable but not curable. I’ve just finished 4 cycles of light chemo which has allowed the haematologists to do a successful stem cell harvest ready for a transplant in 4 - 6 weeks time. But both the haematologists and the urologists are really cautious as to what should happen first …. so I suspect that I might ultimately be invited to state a preference as to whether I want the prostatectomy first (awaiting results from a recent MRI, and PSA hasn’t increased) and have a stem cell transplant once fully recovered, or go for the transplant and then have the prostatectomy once I’m in remission from the myeloma….

I know that recovery time isn’t a precise calculation, but I’d be really grateful if any readers could give me an indication of how long it was after their prostatectomies before they felt fully fit as I need to be 110% ok before facing the heavy chemo which is part of the transplant process…. This will obviously help inform my decision!

thanks in advance!

nick

User

Posted 20 Sep 2022 at 18:39

I have not had a prostatectomy myself. So I can only summarise the sorts of times I have heard on this forum. No one would describe themselves as fully fit by week six. But a few are back to fairly normal activity by this. By six months a lot are back to normal activity, but some incontinence and ED is very likely. After a year incontinence and ED may still be around and may then improve slowly.

You can then add the possibilities of complications like migrated heamoclips (whatever they are) urethral stricture etc.

Because this forum is mostly populated by people whose treatment was not plain sailing, one should be cautious of drawing conclusions about possible bad outcomes.

My guess is that about 90% of people would be 100% fit in six months. However you need 110% that is to say better than just comfortable. You need an exceptionally good outcome and any complications are going to affect your other treatment.

I would give serious consideration to not having a prostatectomy and having radiotherapy instead. At three months post RT I would think you would be fit enough for the next treatment. The chances of complications are fairly small with RT. Even better would be HIFU if your cancer is appropriate for that treatment.

Dave

User

Posted 21 Sep 2022 at 17:32

Your situation is distinctly unusual, and not surprisingly no one is venturing any suggestions from experience.

I think Dave has a point about choice of treatment for the prostate. I have experienced both surgery and radiotherapy - three weeks ago I completed a course of salvage radiotherapy, six years after surgery. I feel almost fully recovered three weeks after radiotherapy, I think I am better than I was six months after surgery. You would most likely be fit enough for chemotherapy much sooner.

Another thought that occurs is hormone therapy, commonly used in conjunction with radiotherapy. The suppression of testosterone inhibits prostate cancer growth (the cancer cells need the stimulation of testosterone to grow and divide) which means you could have the myeloma treated without worrying that the prostate cancer is getting worse in the background. I don't think there is any reason why you can't have your prostate surgically removed following hormone therapy, even though the treatments aren't routinely combined.

Good luck! In a situation like this I think you do need to depend on the specialists to advise on where the priorities lie.

Edited by member 21 Sep 2022 at 17:34 | Reason: Not specified

User

Posted 21 Sep 2022 at 19:16

Thank you Dave & J-B for your helpful responses. Nick.

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