I have been on the forum for a few days and thought I would say hello to everyone and share some of the journey. I so hope this will encourage anyone who is just starting their journey. It is a roller coster!
In March 2024, I found myself in a hospital room with a doctor who I expected would tell me that my biopsy had found nothing. Instead the doctor explained it was cancer and said a lot of other things while my mind stopped processing. Thankfully my wonderful wife was with me and later she was able to tell me what I missed.
A few weeks later, I was offered the choice of hormone or surgery. I had done my homework and was leaning toward surgery. However, before I could make my choice, I made sure the doctor was aware of my other condition, Ulcerative Colitis. Please make sure you do point out any conditions you may have! This changed everything and I was told the only course of treatment was surgery.
In June 2024, I had my surgery and began the long path to recovery. It took me nearly a week after the op to find out it had been non-nerve sparing. On top of this I had to keep a blood drain in for a week and I had a catheter for 24 days. The catheter was a real pain and I literally counted the days down to its removal. Sadly, when it was removed I instantly got a water infection and had several days of non-stop pad changing.
Over the next few weeks the water infection went and I began to recover. Unfortunately, I started to get a lot of hip pain. This turned into an investigation for possible spread. To cut a long story short, it wasn't but I did need some physio as the muscles around my pelvis had not set back in the correct place after the operation.
From day one after the operation, I had a lot of fatigue. By December, this fatigue was worrying me a lot and I went to my GP and had a series of blood tests. This turned up a worry with my liver and again it was possible spread. An ultrasound test identified it wasn't spread but was fatty liver.
In March 2025, I had blood in my urine and was back on the oncology two week list. I had a CT scan of my plumbing and a camera in my willie and into my bladder. There was a strange lump in my bladder. So I had another camera and a biopsy taken from my bladder. Sadly, this set me back to being incontinent, but this time, I expected the worst and got the best when the results were shared with me.
It is now June 2025 and I am back to routine PSA checks. I am off to Florida for a week to see my newly born grandson and finally feeling like I can look forward again.