Has anyone ever heard of someone having their prostate removed to prevent getting cancer?

My husband is interested in doing this when he is in his 40s. His father just died after getting prostate cancer at 50, then bone cancer. His paternal grandfather also got prostate cancer at 50 then bone cancer and died. His paternal great-grandfather died at 52 of what was called "a wasting disease" that everyone suspects was prostate/bone cancer.

I don't know of any doctor who would remove a healthy organ from your body just in case something bad might happen. I personally wouldn't trust a doctor who would do that kind of operation. Have your husband to start having his PSA test done and go from there. Get a good uro doctor with his family history to start checking it out. Just my advice ( my husband had prostate cancer and had surgery in March ) His recovery was rough but so far so good. There are also operations that go wrong such as urine leakage not able to get an erection etc... I wouldn't want to take a chance of the side effects if there is no cancer. Just our opition Take care and stay safe geifer :wave:

I think I'd prefer PSA tests every 3 months or so over a preemptive RRP. I've read of women having preemptive mastectomy surgeries with a strong family history of breast cancer, but in my opinion the prostate is another issue since it's part of the reproductive and urinary systems.

I can understand and identify with your husband's feelings. I too have a long family history of prosate cancer (Granddad, father, 2 uncles and two cousins), but I would never have gone through the surgery and the after affects just to "eliminate" the chance of getting prostate cancer. I agree with James 100% ... have the PSA tested every 3 months if need be and if he develops the disease, he can deal with it early on. The side effects of the surgery are definitely life altering, even with the best of surgeons, so why play with the chance of long term impotence and incontinece if it is not medically necessary to have the surgery? Odds may be in his favor to not develop ... who knows?
Best of luck.

Thom in VA

It sounds to me like someone is borrowing trouble. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The end result could be worse than the speculation. The thought of incontinence, leakage, erectile dysfunction, reverse ejaculation are not too pleasant to think about unless their is a real health threat. Have your husband consult a specialist before he does anything drastic.

I agree 100% with previous posters. Nobody wants prophylactic prostate surgery. If hubby did find a doctor to perform it, the odds that he would be very disappointed with his resultant lifestyle are far too great. Heck, get him to read all the issues everybody writes about on the board here. If we can't convince him, tell him OK, have at it, but first just put Mr. Weenie away and forget about any more lovin' for 6 months. And hold out on his butt. Holster that weapon, boy. All animals have to stay in their cage. I do not want to even hear the sound of a zipper. See how long he can hold out.

Regular PSA checks and an annual DRE are the way to go. Almost invariably, our ancestors died of prostate cancer simply because it wasn't detected early enough. We have no reason to not find it nowadays in plenty of time to make necessary corrections.

DB