I'm 45 dx with PC last Weds... I was told I have a Adenocarsinoma. I need some more questions to ask my doctor. If anyone could help me out I would appreciate it. Pathology Meeting Friday

I guess I need some words of encouragement too. I will probably opt for the surgery. Cant afford proton ($37,000):dizzy: even though I live very close to a center. They want $7000 up front and $1200 a month. I'm on auto pilot here and I'm doing my research and reading some pretty scare stuff. I have kaiser and I don't think they are doing robot assisted or anything fancy. Anyone had any luck with Kaiser So Calif?

Here are the numbers:

PSA 5.4
Gleason 6
Stage T1C
Prostate wt 20 g
Biposy positive on both sides

I told the wife and family on Sunday. Anyone had any luck with treating this in other ways besides surgery?

Thanks in advance :blob_fire

Geeemeee

geeemeee, I'm 58 and my pre surgery numbers were PSA 12, Gleason score of 3+3, T1C. I had open surgery, Thursday February 22, 2007.

I went for my one week checkup last Thursday March 1, and my pathology report came back with with a Gleason score of 3+3, 10% of the prostate involved with cancer throughout and staged at T2C, no cancer found in the lymph nodes, seminal vesicles, and surgical margins. I was very happy with the pathology report and at this point in time, I'm not looking at any further treatment.

The doctor took out the 22 staples and the catheter last Thursday March 1. I currently don't have much pain, I take an Aleve when I want to fall asleep, I'm walking around the neighborhood, and I did a little driving for the first time yesterday. I can hold my urine when I"m laying flat on my back or on my side, but when I move around, sit, bend, walk I have a slow drip. I'm doing Kegel exercises during the day, and stopping and starting the flow when I can build up urine in my bladder at night. I'm a little disappointed with my ability to hold urine and I currently use about 7 max absorb pads a day, but from what I hear that should improve, since it's only been 13 days after the surgery.

I could have gone to the City of Hope for Devincy laproscopy, which is supposed to be the best in the West, but that would have involved hotel stays for my wife and I afterwards and car trips down for follow-up visits.

I choose open surgery for a variety of reasons. To me the main goal was to get rid of the cancer. I joined a local prostate cancer support group to learn more and some of the members had the same surgeon I was leaning towards, and they were very satisfied with the outcome. I live in a rural area and laproscopy isn't offered locally. With either type of surgery, your post-op pathology report can tell you volumes. I learned you can always get radiation treatments after surgery, but it's very difficult to get surgery after radiation.

The open surgery isn't a cake walk, but I'm relatively young and in simi-good shape, so I felt I could deal with it. I was only in the hospital for two nights then I recovered at home. I had a morphine pump while in the hospital, so I could administer the narcotic as I needed it. Dealing with the catheter was the biggest problem after the surgery, it was really umcomfortable, confining and took a lot of maintenance.

A good book to read is Guide to Surviving Prostate Cancer by Dr. Patrick Walsh.

I know what your going through geeemeee. I was in a complete fog from the diagnosis on December 19, 2006 until the surgery and the follow-up pathology report March 1, 2007. Now I'm on the road to recovery, I have a positive outlook and I'm retiring this coming October, YAAAAHOOOO.

Good Luck, slosurfer

Hello

I had open radical prostatectomy on 1/26/07 am now almost 6 weeks post op. I have several posts on this site detailing my experiences with all this, so if you have some time you can look them up.

I am 52 and in pretty decent shape, and I didn't find the surgery horrible at all. The hospital kept the pain under control, and it wasn't even too bad when I got home. The Rx they gave me for pain did the trick. I understand that since the surgeon does not really cut through muscle (the abdominal muscle runs vertically...they spread it rather than cut it) is the reason it's not very painful.

I spend 3 nights in the hospital, and had the catheter in for 18 days! Slosurfer was right, the worst part of the whole ordeal was the catheter. And that too is not horrible, it's annoying, it feels like it's poking you from the inside, and in my case, it leaked constantly. You do have to keep it clean, and be very careful not to tug on it.

So far my continence is pretty good. I'm totally dry overnight, and leak a little bit when walking or standing for a long time, and when I'm tired, or when I sneeze, cough, or bend down. I use woman's "ultra thin maxi pad" stuffed into my briefs to catch the drips, and I use just one per day.

Potency is an issue though. So far, not much is happening in that department even with Cialis. But I'm told it's a matter of time. Both nerves that control erection were spared in my surgery, so theoritally I should become potent again, but of course with no ejaculate.

In my case, my cancer was more involved. Lymph nodes, seminal vesicles and bladder were not involved, but the margins were positive and there was some involvement with striated skeletal muscle, so I'm facing radiation therapy in the near future.

The book, "Surviving Prostate Cancer" by Dr. Patrick Walsh is a good one to buy and read. It will explain in detail the procedure he developed, which is now considered the "gold standard" in this type of surgery. I opted for traditional open surgery because I trust a person more than a robot controlled by a person. And for sure, radiation can be done after surgery, but surgery cannot be done after radiation, generally speaking.

All in all...it was not horrible, and I feel that getting rid of the cancerous organ is better than trying to kill the cancer inside it.

Good luck...keep us posted. And look for my other postings....they may be of some help.

prostateC
Dan

Slosurfer and Dan,

I want to thank you both for the words of encouragement. I have spent the better part of this day pondering about what my next steps will be... and until I speak with the urology doc on Friday I have only questions. Thank you both for taking the time to reply. I hope your recovery is speedy. I will purchase the book. I am a survivor and I know you both are too...

Good Luck to you both.

Geeemeee

I had surgery 01/25/05 open RP and I'm only at 50 percent potency.Nerves saved. Looooong process,, LOL,, so don't get too worried if you aren't seeing results yet

You might find that seeds or cryosurgery are options. One very good thing is that your prostate is quite small. That would make it amenable to surgery or other options. One advantage of cryosurgery is that it is less invasive than seeds and can be repeated. My former urologist (He fired me when I decided to do robotic surgery, though I respect him) does cryosurgery and does not think highly of seeds. He likes cryo because of the advantages mentioned above. He also feels that seed surgeons are often directed by profit motives rather than solely by treatment efficacy. He is a salaried, university doc, so he does not have that possible conflict.
Your Gleason is good, so you do have time to decide, though I know about the anxiety of waiting, a position I am currently experiencing.

GeeMee:

I had proton at Loma Linda 5 1/2 yr ago and know that Kaiser is one of only a few insurance companies that do not pay for proton. It was my understanding that you were pretty much obligated to only treatments that Kaiser did in house.

Regarding cryosurgery, in my research I found that the impotence rates were in the 80% range and incontinence could be higher than in other treatments. I couldn't find a large data base as there seems to be only a small number of men who have had the procedure.

Wishing you the best in your journey.
Major